Main entrance to Yogi Berra Stadium, Jul-2002. |
Interior of Yogi Berra Stadium, from the right-field berm, Jun-2004. |
A gleaming office building punctuates the tree-lined setting on the north end of the Montclair State University campus. This photo is from Jul-1998. |
Chronological Tour: Stop 130 |
Floyd Hall, chief executive officer of K mart and a resident of Montclair, had a stadium and an ice arena built on Montclair State University lands in Little Falls, adjacent to the academic campus in Montclair. When an opening arose in the Northeast League, Hall bought in and started the New Jersey Jackals. The stadium was finished just hours before the home opener in May 1998. Fans hungry for economical entertainment flocked to the ball park for a fun night out. (Hall sold the team to Al Dorso in the spring of 2017. Dorso also owns the Sussex County Miners.)
Attendance at the modest park tailed off after a booming start, as the novelty wore off and local competition arrived in nearby Newark. However, the Jackals have held their own. Competitive teams havent hurt, either, as the Jackals won the Northeast League title four times in their first seven seasons.
The Jackals run at Montclair State ended in August 2022. The next month, the club announced that they were relocating to a refurbished Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, one of only a few stadiums left in the nation that hosted Negro League baseball. Of course, the Red Hawks will continue to play here, and they have since been joined by the NJIT Highlanders, who put money into renovating the facility after utilizing several homes once Riverfront Stadium in Newark was demolished.
After about two seasons, the Jackals made a deal with the university parking manager to allow fans to park for free (building the cost into the ticket price). However, due to the expansion of dormitory housing and campus recreational facilities, parking near the stadium is limited, especially once school is back in session. Many fans now park in a relatively new garage located down the campus road.
NJ Transit rail serves the campus; Montclair State University Station at Little Falls is a short walk from the ballpark. However, trains only run on weekdays, and service is limited late at night. The closest bus on weekends leaves patrons on the south end of campus, and it is a ten-minute walk to the ball field.
Box seats are red plastic folding seats (which over time have bleached out to a deep shade of pink), taking up the majority of the bowl; aluminum bleachers with red backs flank these, above the cross aisle. Red is a prominent color for both the Jackals and the Red Hawks. The original plans had several suites being erected above the seating bowl, but those were never built. There is an owners box next to the press box, and there is also a private sky box built out from the museum.
Unfortunately, the same lack of suites that helps make for a more homey atmosphere also makes this a very difficult park during sunny afternoons or on rainy days. The only shelter from which the game is visible is under the Yogi box or under some picnic umbrellas.
Lineups are posted on a whiteboard behind the press box, the only place on the concourse where one cannot see the game. The team also prints copies of the lineup and game notes and distributes them free of charge, in addition to selling a program.
Like most teams, the Jackals run all sorts of between-inning promotions. One of the most enduring is their variation on the mascot race, called Tackle the Jackal, in which the youngster catches up to the mascot as in any race but, instead of winning a race to the plate, is encouraged to tackle Jack the Jackal somewhere past third base.
Pictured is Scott Freier, aka Trumpet Guy, who has played at over a thousand baseball games since the early 1990s. He used to put in regular appearances with the New Jersey Cardinals, and he has been known to travel as far as Virginia to toot his horn, but he has established a home base with the Jackals since the club was started. From his seat in Section FF above the cross aisle near the third-base dugout, Freier serenades opposing batters with the Army Duff when they strike out, a la the old Dodger Sym-Phony at Ebbets Field, and he plays other tunes in an effort to rally the Jackals.
Game | Date | League | Level | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
305 | Fri 3-Jul-1998 | Northeast | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 6, Massachusetts 4 |
314 | Wed 22-Jul-1998 | Northeast | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 4, Albany 1 |
322 | Fri 7-Aug-1998 | Northeast | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 9, Elmira 6 |
46 | Wed 14-Apr-1999 | BCSL American | HS | Rutherford 4, CLIFFSIDE PARK 0 |
18 | Sat 22-May-1999 | NCAA Regional | Div III | New Jersey 11, MONTCLAIR STATE 6 |
357 | Fri 18-Jun-1999 | Northeast | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 14, Adirondack 4 |
407 | Tue 4-Jul-2000 | Northeast | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 6, Allentown 3 |
501 | Sat 1-Sep-2001 | Northeast | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 3, Albany 2, 10 inn |
510 | Fri 21-Sep-2001 | Northeast | Ind. | Elmira 10, NJ JACKALS 3 |
19 | Sat 23-Mar-2002 | Nonconference | Div III | SUNY Cortland 6, MONTCLAIR STATE 3 |
531 | Tue 16-Jul-2002 | Northeast | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 11, Brockton 8 |
552 | Wed 21-Aug-2002 | Northeast | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 5, Allentown 2 |
556 | Wed 28-Aug-2002 | Northeast | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 2, Berkshire 0 |
564 | Wed 4-Sep-2002 | Northeast | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 3, Elmira 0 |
565 | Thu 5-Sep-2002 | Northeast | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 2, Elmira 1 |
569 | Mon 9-Sep-2002 | Northeast | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 13, Adirondack 1 |
570 | Tue 10-Sep-2002 | Northeast | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 9, Adirondack 3 |
22 | Fri 18-Apr-2003 | New Jersey | Div III | MONTCLAIR STATE 7, Kean 6 |
586 | Fri 13-Jun-2003 | Northeast | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 5, Québec 1 |
600 | Sat 21-Jul-2003 | Northeast | Ind. | North Shore 7, NJ JACKALS 6 |
613 | Wed 6-Aug-2003 | Northeast | Ind. | Québec 2, NJ JACKALS 1, 1st |
614 | Wed 6-Aug-2003 | Northeast | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 4, Québec 3, 2d |
644 | Thu 4-Sep-2003 | Northeast | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 10, Brockton 0 |
645 | Fri 5-Sep-2003 | Northeast | Ind. | Brockton 3, NJ JACKALS 1 |
26 | Sun 28-Mar-2004 | Nonconference | Div III | Rensselaer 9, MONTCLAIR STATE 6, 8 inn, 2d |
659 | Fri 18-Jun-2004 | Northeast | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 9, Québec 1 |
665 | Fri 9-Jul-2004 | Northeast | Ind. | NJ Jackals 7, ACES 1 |
668 | Tue 13-Jul-2004 | Northeast | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 1, Elmira 0, 2d |
688 | Fri 6-Aug-2004 | Northeast | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 9, New Haven 1 |
710 | Fri 27-Aug-2004 | Northeast | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 5, Bangor 4 |
713 | Sun 29-Aug-2004 | Northeast | Ind. | Bangor 22, NJ JACKALS 2 |
714 | Mon 30-Aug-2004 | Northeast | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 6, Bangor 0 |
716 | Wed 1-Sep-2004 | Northeast | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 6, Elmira 2 |
718 | Fri 3-Sep-2004 | Northeast | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 10, Elmira 3 |
722 | Thu 9-Sep-2004 | Northeast | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 5, Bangor 4, 10 inn |
723 | Fri 10-Sep-2004 | Northeast | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 5, Bangor 4 |
726 | Thu 16-Sep-2004 | Northeast | Ind. | North Shore 2, NJ JACKALS 1 |
740 | Sun 19-Jun-2005 | Can-Am | Ind. | Worcester 6, NJ JACKALS 2 |
753 | Sat 23-Jul-2005 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 6, North Shore 0 |
762 | Fri 5-Aug-2005 | Can-Am | Ind. | Grays 13, NJ JACKALS 11 |
783 | Tue 30-Aug-2005 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 7, Worcester 4 |
784 | Wed 31-Aug-2005 | Can-Am | Ind. | Worcester 8, NJ JACKALS 7, 12 inn |
785 | Thu 1-Sep-2005 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 9, Worcester 1 |
37 | Sat 25-Mar-2006 | Nonconference | Div III | SUNY Cortland 7, MONTCLAIR STATE 1 |
38 | Sat 1-Apr-2006 | New Jersey | Div III | MONTCLAIR STATE 7, Rowan 6, 1st |
39 | Sat 1-Apr-2006 | New Jersey | Div III | Rowan 2, MONTCLAIR STATE 1, 2d |
810 | Sat 3-Jun-2006 | Can-Am | Ind. | Worcester 6, NJ JACKALS 3, 1st |
811 | Sat 3-Jun-2006 | Can-Am | Ind. | Worcester 5, NJ JACKALS 3, 2d |
813 | Fri 30-Jun-2006 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 13, Sussex 0 |
837 | Mon 14-Aug-2006 | Can-Am | Ind. | Québec 12, NJ JACKALS 5 |
840 | Fri 18-Aug-2006 | Can-Am | Ind. | New Haven 12, NJ JACKALS 2 |
43 | Sat 7-Apr-2007 | New Jersey | Div III | Rutgers-Camden 5, MONTCLAIR STATE 2, 1st |
44 | Sat 7-Apr-2007 | New Jersey | Div III | MONTCLAIR STATE 26, Rutgers-Camden 8, 2d |
865 | Sun 17-Jun-2007 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 8, Grays 4 |
874 | Thu 2-Aug-2007 | Can-Am | Ind. | Atlantic City 7, NJ JACKALS 2 |
902 | Fri 7-Sep-2007 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 3, Nashua 1 |
903 | Sun 9-Sep-2007 | Can-Am | Ind. | Nashua 4, NJ JACKALS 0 |
46 | Fri 21-Mar-2008 | Nonconference | Div III | SUNY-Cortland 11, MONTCLAIR STATE 2 |
50 | Sun 6-Apr-2008 | New Jersey | Div III | MONTCLAIR STATE 15, Ramapo 9, 1st |
51 | Sun 6-Apr-2008 | New Jersey | Div III | Ramapo 4, MONTCLAIR STATE 1, 2d |
929 | Fri 18-Jul-2008 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 5, Worcester 2 |
941 | Sun 3-Aug-2008 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 5, Ottawa 2 |
950 | Sun 17-Aug-2008 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 6, Atlantic City 4 |
957 | Sun 24-Aug-2008 | Can-Am | Ind. | Brockton 7, NJ JACKALS 5 |
960 | Thu 28-Aug-2008 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 6, Sussex 4 |
52 | Sat 21-Mar-2009 | Nonconference | Div III | MONTCLAIR STATE 5, SUNY Cortland 4 |
53 | Sat 28-Mar-2009 | New Jersey | Div III | MONTCLAIR STATE 5, Rutgers-Camden 3, 1st |
54 | Sat 28-Mar-2009 | New Jersey | Div III | MONTCLAIR STATE 8, Rutgers-Camden 3, 2d |
1005 | Fri 7-Aug-2009 | Can-Am | Ind. | Québec 4, NJ JACKALS 3, 12 inn |
1008 | Mon 10-Aug-2009 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 12, Nashua 1 |
1011 | Thu 13-Aug-2009 | Can-Am | Ind. | NH Defenders 8, NJ JACKALS 6 |
1027 | Tue 1-Sep-2009 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 5, Worcester 4, 10 inn |
1029 | Thu 3-Sep-2009 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 6, Worcester 5, 10 inn |
63 | Sat 20-Mar-2010 | Nonconference | Div III | MONTCLAIR STATE 5, Rensselaer 2 |
64 | Sun 21-Mar-2010 | Nonconference | Div III | Rensselaer 9, MONTCLAIR STATE 6, 10 inn |
67 | Fri 2-Apr-2010 | New Jersey | Div III | MONTCLAIR STATE 6, Rutgers-Newark 4 |
68 | Sat 3-Apr-2010 | New Jersey | Div III | Rowan 8, MONTCLAIR STATE 7, 1st |
69 | Sat 3-Apr-2010 | New Jersey | Div III | Rowan 6, MONTCLAIR STATE 3, 2d |
1058 | Thu 10-Jun-2010 | Can-Am | Ind. | Pittsfield 6, NJ JACKALS 0 |
1059 | Sat 19-Jun-2010 | Can-Am | Ind. | Québec 5, NJ JACKALS 1 |
1062 | Wed 28-Jul-2010 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 4, Brockton 1 |
1073 | Fri 13-Aug-2010 | Can-Am | Ind. | Worcester 10, NJ JACKALS 2, 1st |
1074 | Fri 13-Aug-2010 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 2, Worcester 0, 2d |
1082 | Fri 20-Aug-2010 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 5, Sussex 4 |
73 | Fri 22-Apr-2011 | New Jersey | Div III | MONTCLAIR STATE 12, William Paterson 2 |
1122 | Wed 22-Jun-2011 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 2, NY Federals 1 |
1123 | Thu 23-Jun-2011 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 15, NY Federals 7 |
1128 | Fri 22-Jul-2011 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 4, NY Federals 3 |
1134 | Tue 2-Aug-2011 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 2, Québec 0 |
1146 | Tue 16-Aug-2011 | Can-Am | Ind. | NY Federals 8, NJ JACKALS 4 |
1155 | Fri 26-Aug-2011 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 5, Brockton 4, 8 inn, 1st |
1156 | Fri 26-Aug-2011 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 3, Brockton 2, 8 inn, 2d |
1157 | Sat 27-Aug-2011 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 5, Brockton 3 |
1160 | Mon 29-Aug-2011 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 5, Brockton 1 |
1161 | Tue 30-Aug-2011 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 6, Newark 1 |
1173 | Tue 13-Sep-2011 | Can-Am | Ind. | Québec 3, NJ JACKALS 0 |
1174 | Wed 14-Sep-2011 | Can-Am | Ind. | Québec 4, NJ JACKALS 3 |
1187 | Mon 25-Jun-2012 | Can-Am | Ind. | Québec 3, NJ JACKALS 0 |
1191 | Sat 7-Jul-2012 | Can-Am | Ind. | Newark 4, NJ JACKALS 2 |
1193 | Fri 13-Jul-2012 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 4, Rockland 3 |
1204 | Fri 3-Aug-2012 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 3, Newark 2 |
1228 | Tue 28-Aug-2012 | Can-Am | Ind. | Newark 11, NJ JACKALS 9 |
1230 | Thu 30-Aug-2012 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 10, Newark 3 |
1231 | Fri 31-Aug-2012 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 10, Newark 9 |
1238 | Mon 10-Sep-2012 | Can-Am | Ind. | Québec 10, NJ JACKALS 3 |
1262 | Mon 5-Aug-2013 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 4, Newark 1 |
1267 | Sat 10-Aug-2013 | Can-Am * | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 3, Wichita 1, 1st |
1268 | Sat 10-Aug-2013 | Can-Am * | Ind. | Wichita 2, NJ JACKALS 1, 2d |
1292 | Fri 6-Sep-2013 | Can-Am | Ind. | Québec 6, NJ JACKALS 4 |
1293 | Sat 7-Sep-2013 | Can-Am | Ind. | Québec 5, NJ JACKALS 4 |
1310 | Thu 19-Jun-2014 | Can-Am * | Ind. | Winnipeg 2, NJ JACKALS 1 |
1321 | Sat 26-Jul-2014 | Can-Am | Ind. | Trois-Rivières 12, NJ JACKALS 10 |
1326 | Fri 1-Aug-2014 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 4, Rockland 3 |
1330 | Mon 4-Aug-2014 | Can-Am | Ind. | Québec 8, NJ JACKALS 1 |
1333 | Fri 8-Aug-2014 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 4, Rockland 1 |
1357 | Wed 3-Sep-2014 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 3, Rockland 2 |
1358 | Thu 4-Sep-2014 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 3, Rockland 2 |
1361 | Mon 8-Sep-2014 | Can-Am | Ind. | Rockland 4, NJ JACKALS 0 |
1381 | Fri 19-Jun-2015 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 3, Ottawa 1 |
1395 | Sun 2-Aug-2015 | Can-Am | Ind. | Rockland 10, NJ JACKALS 4 |
1401 | Tue 11-Aug-2015 | Can-Am | Ind. | Trois-Rivières 9, NJ JACKALS 5 |
1411 | Fri 21-Aug-2015 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 11, Québec 3 |
1414 | Mon 24-Aug-2015 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 18, Garden State Grays 0 |
1432 | Wed 9-Sep-2015 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 4, Québec 3 |
1433 | Fri 11-Sep-2015 | Can-Am | Ind. | Québec 4, NJ JACKALS 3 |
1439 | Fri 18-Sep-2015 | Can-Am | Ind. | Trois-Rivières 7, NJ JACKALS 3 |
1440 | Sat 19-Sep-2015 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 7, Trois-Rivières 5 |
1441 | Sun 20-Sep-2015 | Can-Am | Ind. | Trois-Rivières 2, NJ JACKALS 1 |
1454 | Fri 27-May-2016 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 7, Trois-Rivières 2 |
1460 | Thu 16-Jun-2016 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 5, Shikoku Island 3 |
1482 | Mon 15-Aug-2016 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 3, Québec 1 |
1485 | Wed 17-Aug-2016 | Can-Am | Ind. | Québec 7, NJ JACKALS 5, 1st |
1486 | Wed 17-Aug-2016 | Can-Am | Ind. | Québec 3, NJ JACKALS 2, 2d |
1516 | Fri 9-Sep-2016 | Can-Am | Ind. | Ottawa 8, NJ JACKALS 3 |
1554 | Wed 14-Jun-2017 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 17, Dominican 8 |
1557 | Thu 22-Jun-2017 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 4, Cuba 3 |
1561 | Fri 21-Jul-2017 | Can-Am | Ind. | Ottawa 6, NJ JACKALS 2 |
1577 | Fri 11-Aug-2017 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 4, Sussex County 3, 11 inn |
1581 | Mon 14-Aug-2017 | Can-Am | Ind. | Rockland 6, NJ JACKALS 2 |
1584 | Thu 17-Aug-2017 | Can-Am | Ind. | Rockland 4, NJ JACKALS 1 |
1606 | Thu 7-Sep-2017 | Can-Am | Ind. | Rockland 3, NJ JACKALS 1 |
1643 | Sat 9-Jun-2018 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 5, Rockland 3 |
1647 | Wed 13-Jun-2018 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 15, Dominican 0 |
1656 | Thu 28-Jun-2018 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 6, Salina 2 |
1664 | Wed 11-Jul-2018 | Can-Am | Ind. | Rockland 5, NJ JACKALS 4, 11 inn |
1667 | Wed 18-Jul-2018 | Can-Am | Ind. | NJ JACKALS 1, Trois-Rivières 0, 11 inn, day |
* Interleague play (vs. American Association). |