Franklin Regional will take over management, maintenance at Murrysville's Haymaker Park

Haymaker Park in Murrysville is old enough that baseball legend and Western Pennsylvania native Honus Wagner once played there.

“It was here way back when they were planting the trees for the ‘Murrysville’ tree sign that overlooks the field,” said Charles Conway of Murrysville, a board member with nonprofit Communities Inc., which managed the park until recently.

It has been the site of home games for the Franklin Regional High School baseball team since the 1990s, along with the American Legion Post 711 baseball team.

At their June voting meeting, Franklin Regional school board members unanimously approved an agreement with Communities Inc. to assume responsibility for ongoing maintenance, management and scheduling at the park. Both the high school and Legion baseball teams will continue to use the park for practices, games and community events.

Post 711 will continue to use the park for preseason training and will contribute a maintenance fee to support its upkeep.

“We want to recognize the tremendous efforts of the Communities Inc. board for their dedication and vision over the years,” Franklin Regional Superintendent Gennaro Piraino said. “They created and sustained a place where generations of kids could safely enjoy America’s pastime, build friendships and create lifelong memories. We also recognized the need to invest in the facilities, to ensure it’s in good shape for our kids, the Legion team and to keep intact the legacy of this field that was created by dedicated community volunteers.”

At the outset, the board was comprised of two members each from a wide array of local community groups including the Lions, Rotary, Murrysville Woman’s Club and Murrysville Garden Club.

“By the 1970s, (former Franklin Regional school board member) Herb Yingling had taken the lead, and the board was mainly folks from the Franklin Regional Athletic Association,” Conway said. “Herb used to send these little envelopes all over town, just asking people for $5 to help maintain the field.”

The park is named for Michael and Obediah Haymaker, who were drilling for oil in 1878 but discovered natural gas instead.

Communities Inc. pursued nonprofit status as a way to maintain the field and to preserve the legacy of the Haymaker brothers and the nearby site of Murrysville’s (and the country’s) first commercial gas well. Today a boulder marker and a replica of the Haymaker well stand on a small parcel of land near the park.

“This lease with the school district will make the park more of a multi-use area, especially if the school district ends up turfing it,” said Communities Inc. board member Dino DePaulo. “With the close proximity to the school’s campus and with all of the local history, this long-term lease makes the most sense.”

School board president Kevin Kurimsky said district officials are excited to begin managing the park.

“This agreement is an excellent example of how Franklin Regional continues to seek partnerships that enhance our students’ experiences, while also being good stewards of community resources.”

Piraino agreed.

“It’s pretty unique when school directors, administrators and community groups can come together and help a community treasure like this to thrive,” he said.