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A 33-year tradition continued in Newark’s North Ward on Saturday when children from the North Ward Center Little League and Liga Roberto Clemente de Newark marched down Mount Prospect and Bloomfield Avenues for the annual parade and opening day festivities.
Hundreds of children dressed in their baseball uniforms marched with parents, grandparents and siblings to the Stephen N. Adubato Sr. Sports Complex in Branch Brook Park. Teams are sponsored by local businesses, schools and non-profit organizations as well as elected officials.Each team was called individually to run onto the field before the opening ceremonies, which featured the National Anthem by Kyana Santos and the national anthem of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico sung by Beatrice Hurtas.
“The growth of our two leagues is due to the support, the cooperation and the dedication of all our volunteers on a daily basis,” said Gerard Marchese, the president of the North Ward Center Little League.
The leagues honored two men who contributed to the programs. Nelson Ruiz, a principal at Barringer 9th Grade Academy, and Arnaldo Mateo, a State Trooper. Mateo played in the North Ward Little League and the Roberto Clemente Little League and worked at Barringer High School before becoming a trooper. Mateo threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Several local elected officials who sponsor teams in the leagues joined the festivities, including state Sen. Teresa Ruiz, Councilman Anibal Ramos and Councilman Luis Quintana.
The North Ward Center Little League was founded in 1978 by Stephen N. Adubato Sr., the founder of the North Ward Center, LeRoy “The Doc” Smith, Anthony Burke and Joseph DiVincenzo, then the director of recreation for the North Ward Center who is now the Essex County executive.
This season, the North Ward Center league will serve nearly 500 boys and girls between the ages of 8 through 15 on 30 teams in six divisions.
“It wouldn’t be spring in the North Ward without the annual parade,” said Adrianne Davis, the co-founder of The North Ward Center. “It’s a geat tradition that we want to see continue for years to come.”
