Paterson Historic District Keeps Negro Leagues Alive With Charles J. Muth Museum

The history of the Negro Leagues will carry on forever at Charles J. Muth Museum in the Paterson Historic District.

Montclair State University officially opened the Charles J. Muth Museum of Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, NJ on Thursday April 11, 2024. The museum will engage visitors in the National Historic LandmarkÕs history as a Negro Leagues Baseball Stadium and as a local landmark as a center for recreation and entertainment. / Tariq Zehawi/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

2024 was a huge year for the Negro Leagues. Not only did 37 of the best players finally earn a spot in Cooperstown at the Hall of Fame, but MLB re-wrote their record books to include some of the incredible statistical performances they were able to achieve.

The history of the baseball league will forever be kept at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. Opened in 1990, it is dedicated to preserving the rich history of the league that at one time rivaled the MLB before integration.

Now, the history will live on in another place.

In Paterson, New Jersey, another Negro Leagues museum was opened earlier this year. The Charles J. Muth Museum at Hinchcliffe was created after Montclair State University received a massive donation and “that the University would be partnering with Hinchliffe Stadium developers to make the museum a community and educational hub,” per the website.

“My roots in Paterson go back many generations. I grew up and attended schools only blocks from the iconic Hinchliffe Stadium and, like many others, have fond memories of attending events there. The opportunity to work alongside Montclair State University on the Stadium revitalization project presented a terrific way for me to give back,” said Charles Muth, who is an alum of Montclair in the class of 1977.

The museum is inside one of the last remaining Negro League ballparks in the country. Plenty of memorabilia is on display including bats, uniforms, gloves and programs from the games.

There is a lot of biographical information highlighting some of the stars who played when the league operated from the 1880s through 1950. Josh Gibson, Monte Irvin, Satchel Paige and “Cool Papa” Bell are among the players you can learn about.

After the adjustments made to the statistics, Gibson is now the all-time leader in batting average, single-season batting average, slugging percentage and OPS.

But, the most prominently featured players is Larry Doby.

A native of Paterson, he played for the Newark Eagles, one of the teams along with the New York Black Yankees and New York Cubans who called Hinchcliffe Stadium home. Doby served in World War II and was the first African American player to play in the American League after joining the Cleveland Indians in 1947.

Along with the baseball artifacts, people can enjoy a short documentary put together by the University about everything that occurred at the stadium. You can learn about the original Midget Cars as well.

While the Charles J. Muth Museum is one of the newest attractions, a visit to the Paterson Historic District could be turned into an all-day stay for anyone given how much there is to do.