SOUTH ORANGE, NJ – The Ivy Hill Park softball field was christened the Mike Sheppard Sr. Field in honor of the former Seton Hall baseball coach on Thursday.
Most often used by the Seton Hall softball team, the Mike Sheppard Sr. Field was rebuilt in 2005.
Growing up in Newark's Vailburg area, Sheppard learned the game of baseball in the area surrounding the park. The field also was named after him because of his work as chairman of the Essex County American Legion Baseball Program since 1983.
Sheppard is mostly known as the head coach of the Seton Hall baseball program for 31 seasons. During his tenure, Sheppard won 998 games while advancing to the College World Series in 1974 and 1975, and winning the 1987 Big East Championship. He also had more than 80 of his former players sign professional contracts.
In 2011, he was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Seton Hall Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996. His number, 17, was retired in 2004.
Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura noted that the best way to honor Sheppard besides naming the field after him was to turn the park into a sanctuary.
Steve Valenti is participating in a hyperlocal journalism partnership between The Alternative Press and Seton Hall University's Department of Communication & The Arts designed to give students real-world experience.