Rebuilt Miller Field blends baseball, past and present
The home of Wooster Youth Baseball since 1958, Miller Field recently underwent some major changes with the two oldest fields rebuilt and renamed. Throwing out honorary first pitches for the dedication of Jones and Schaeffler Fields on June 20 were Mady (Miller) Noble, third from left, accompanied by Jay Rumbaugh, far left, and Ralph “Pete” Miller; Schaeffler Group USA's Chris Shamie; and Ralph R. and Grace B. Jones Foundation representative Doug Drushal.
Wooster’s strong baseball tradition past and present came together for two special field dedications at the Miller Field complex, located at the corner of East Highland and Portage Road, on June 20.
And all indications are the Wooster Youth Baseball program will remain strong for many decades to come.
The former North Miller Field was renamed Jones Field, and South Miller Field was renamed Schaeffler Field. The Ralph R. and Grace B. Jones Foundation and Schaeffler Group USA Inc. both made $100,000 donations to act as lead donors as $470,000 was raised for the Miller Field capital improvement project.
“This project is the result of support from area businesses and local supporters with no government funding of any kind,” Brian Ritchie, the WYB president from 2015-22, said to a crowd of around 100 people who gathered for the ceremony before Coach Pitch playoff games were held. “We’ve been really lucky to have some great partners, like Schaeffler Group USA Inc. and The Ralph R. and Grace B. Jones Foundation, the Donald and Alice Noble Foundation and many, many others over the years, who’ve helped get us to where we are. Thank you for the support that you've given us.”
Current WYB President Tom Montelione and Ritchie also thanked a long list of current and former WYB board members for their roles in the project and program.
It’s important to note the entire complex will still be called Miller Field, in honor of the family that developed and donated the land in 1958.
“The thing about this place is that Miller Field is more of a community building event,” Ritchie said. “Any time you come down here, you'll see parents, grandparents, cousins, siblings and neighbors, all coming to watch that little kid get his first hit or that really cool play that they make in the field for the first time.
“Without those other surrounding people, we wouldn't have as big of crowds as we do on a nightly basis. We really appreciate all the family members who support these young boys and girls that are out here playing on the fields.”
Major improvements hadn’t been made at Miller Field since the mid-1990s, which led to the WYB board kicking off what was announced as a $1.5 million capital improvement project in 2017.
Although WYB hasn’t been able to reach its fundraising goal, many of its capital improvement objectives have still been realized.
Ritchie detailed the many improvements to the crowd.
—Schaeffler and Jones Field were both repositioned as brand-new ball diamonds with modern drainage systems.
“We wanted to make sure that when we have Ohio weather in the spring, these coaches and these adults don't have to spend many hours looking at puddles and working on the fields,” Ritchie said. “For those of you that have been volunteers here with brooms and shovels, you know what I’m talking about. This will help us get the fields playable much faster.”
—Many safety issues also have been improved, ranging from going to all-dirt infields to eliminate the “Miller Field hop” off of the previous uneven grass infields to installing new dugouts and fences on Schaeffler, Jones and Denton Fuller fields.
“That’s all cleaned up now to make sure that these kids have a safe environment to play at,” Ritchie said. “Finally, we reshaped these diamonds so they're now all official-size fields, which means Wooster can now be a site that hosts official Little League tournaments or other sanctioned tournaments.”
—Two new storage sheds were constructed.
—The next phase of the project the WYB board is working on is to construct a new concession stand.
Miller family legacy
Among the dozens of people who were thanked by Ritchie and Montelione were Ralph “Pete” Miller, Mady (Miller) Noble and Jay Rumbaugh, who was married to the late Susie (Miller).
Arthur Miller, who donated the ball fields that are still used 65 years later, was the grandfather of Susie, Mady and Pete.
“Without the Miller family, Wooster baseball wouldn’t have been the same,” Ritchie said. “We’ve had many generations who have learned the game here.”
Arthur Miller donated the fields in honor of his late son William Franklin Miller, who died at age 35 in 1954 in an attempt to save a co-worker’s life after a mining accident.
A plaque at Miller Field honors Bill Miller — a star athlete at Wooster High and The College of Wooster and World War II Army captain — who was posthumously awarded the Carnegie Medal for heroism.
Mady Noble, a retired Wooster teacher, was 11 when her uncle Bill passed away. Older sister Susie was 14, and Pete was 4.
“I loved my uncle Bill very much,” Noble said. “This is very special to be here (for the field dedications) because our grandfather Arthur Miller was very generous to donate this land. I think my grandpa and dad had broken hearts for the rest of their lives over what happened to Bill.”
Out of the Miller family’s tragedy rose a beloved baseball complex that has positively impacted thousands of kids and families for more than six decades.
That was something to cheer proudly for as the Miller family representatives, Schaeffler’s Chris Shamie and Jones Foundation representative Doug Drushal, himself a Miller Field player in the 1960s, threw out first pitches.
“The COVID pandemic was tough for WYB, but we’re back close to having 300 kids in the program from Coach Pitch through majors,” Montelione said. “Thank you to all of our sponsors, donors, volunteers, players and their families. This is a special night for Wooster Youth Baseball.”
Donations to help complete the capital campaign project should be sent to the Wooster Youth Baseball Fund at the Wayne County Community Foundation, 517 N. Market St., Wooster. Visit the WYB website for more information at www.woosteryouthbaseball.com. All donations are tax-deductible as WYB is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
WYB will hold a golf scramble and silent auction dinner on Sept. 1. For more information or to sign up, go to the Wooster Youth Baseball Facebook page or email Landre.McCloud@gmail.com.