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18 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • April 2020 Spring means baseball and there has never been a more exciting time for local fans. The Washington Nationals, buoyed by last year's World Series Championship, are back on the field and, in Fredericksburg, baseball fans will welcome the Fredericksburg Nationals, a Carolina League (Class A-Advanced affiliate) of the Washington Nationals. The FredNats will have a brand-new stadium and baseball culture to embrace. Over a thousand season tickets have been sold, local businesses are investing heav- ily and fans are elated to have minor league baseball so close they can smell the fresh-cut grass. One of the most endearing aspects of minor league baseball is its infectious dedica- tion to affordable family fun. The Fredericksburg Nationals will offer that and more. The team has ownership of its stadium, and its owners are dedicated to baseball his- tory, tradition and the magic of big-league dreams. The dream starts with Art Silber, owner and CEO of the Fredericksburg Nationals. His baseball journey is the embodiment of a childhood dream. A dream forged in his youth, among family and fandom. It is his desire to share with others the same joy he first experienced as a kid growing in Brooklyn, New York. Silber is approaching his 80th birthday in July, and he wants to blend past, present and future to provide a complete baseball experience for fans. He wants to give Fredericksburg a gift called hometown baseball. "What we have attempted to create is a visual cornucopia for everyone to experi- ence our baseball park. The architecture and design will immediately attract with attractive lines, the crossed bats in the entrance, and even its physical address, 42 Jackie Robinson Way," says Silber proudly. "This was done on purpose to honor my childhood hero Jackie Robinson." To understand Silber's love for baseball one must return to a time in American histo- ry when baseball was the most popular sport in the nation—and in the city where he lived. Radios crackled with colorful descriptions of baseball games. Children watched games from behind an outfield fence and played street ball. Neighborhoods had competing baseball teams and children looked up to their baseball heroes. WRITTEN BY MARSHALL CONNER "In 1947, I was a 7-year-old kid living in Brooklyn— it was also Jackie Robinson's rookie season with the Brooklyn Dodgers. It was a time before television when baseball on the radio was the most popular way to visualize a game," recalls Silber. "When I was kid I used to walk alongside Robinson down the street next to Ebbets Field and into the players' entrance. To me, he looked like a man carved out of granite and he was my immediate hero." This pre-game tradition allowed Silber to build a unique and life-changing friendship with his baseball hero. This friendship spanned Robinson's remark- able rookie season when he broke the segregation barrier in Major League Baseball to the sad depar- ture of the team from Brooklyn. This friendship lasted after Robinson's retirement from the game. "I will always remember when he said, 'Call me Jackie.' The baseball he signed for me during that time became my first one and the most cherished one in my collection," says Silber. "I eventually had the entire team on a baseball. In honor of Robinson, I wore his famous number 42 as a high school base- ball player and in college." He remembers Robinson's bravery, athleticism and heart. "I spoke to him years after he retired and I asked him if he remembered me," remembered Silber. "He looked at me and said he did. He remembered— and that meant the world to me." The number 42 was officially retired throughout professional baseball—including the minors in 1997. Play Play Ball! Ball! FredNats Owner Art Silber remembers special relationship with Jackie Robinson, hopes to make baseball equally memorable for kids and families in Fredericksburg