At left, Jeff Newman, son of the late Jamestown Falcons’ slugger Johnny Newman, talks with Durwood Swanson of Lakewood at the Jamestown Tarp Skunks annual meeting at the Robert H. Jackson Center on Saturday. Swanson, now 91, was in attendance for the first game at Municipal Stadium in May 1941 when Johnny Newman made his debut with the Falcons. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

The Jamestown Tarp Skunks’ 2026 season in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League will mark the 85th year of America’s pastime in the city.

And, if truth be told, the Jamestown Community Baseball LLC Board of Directors, as well as the club’s investors, coaching and front-office staffs and their players, wouldn’t mind a repeat of the 84th campaign.

Why?

Because it was that good.

As speakers took to the podium during the Tarp Skunks’ sixth annual winter meeting in the Cappa Theatre at the Robert H. Jackson Center on Saturday morning, they all delivered a similar message: last summer was a special one.

For not only did the team set a record for wins and earn a playoff berth, but the franchise also established an attendance mark, averaging better than 1,000 fans per game, and produced the most total revenue in the team’s history.

“We’re doing great on the business side of things,” said Christian Dolce, the team’s general manager and director of business sales and operations.

On the field, it was much the same, according to Nolan Smith, the Tarp Skunks’ first baseman, who will be returning to the team in 2026.

“It was kind of an easy decision,” said Smith via a Zoom call from SUNY Cortland where he is a student-athlete. “I had a great time last summer. I hope we can repeat some of that. … It’s about as first class as it can get. … I can’t wait to be back.”

Smith will be one of eight returnees next season. The others, according to manager Frank Jagoda III, are Falconer native Branston Lindquist, Joaquin Rodriguez-Costa, Justin Bremner, Eric Weeks, Matthew Dumas, Jase Rutkowski and Cohen Harris.

Jagoda noted that he has commitments from 29 players — 11 from Division I schools, eight from Division II, seven from Division III, two from NJCAA and one from high school. Besides Lindquist and Smith, the other local commits include Aiden Gruber of Frewsburg and Kolden McCall of Bemus Point.

Prior to returning to Chautauqua County last year, Jagoda worked in pro scouting and player development, and has coached collegiately at several places. Last week, in fact, he added another entry on his resume when he was named the head coach of the SUNY Fredonia program.

In other words, he has seen baseball at all levels and in all places.

“I would put Jamestown and this league right at the top,” Jagoda said.

Russell E. Diethrick Jr. Park isn’t a bad place to call home either, which made Jamestown Community Baseball LLC board member Randy Anderson’s history lesson on the Falconer Street stadium especially noteworthy.

Construction, he said, began in the fall of 1940 and was completed in time for the 1941 season at a cost of $60,000. In the first game at the new park — then known as Municipal Stadium — Jamestown mayor Leon Roberts stepped to the microphone in front of the pitcher’s mound and addressed the sellout crowd of 4,200.

These were Roberts’ words, according to Anderson:

“I welcome the Falcons to their new home. We hope it will be the scene of many triumphs. We give them our best wishes and we give them our hearts. We pledge our earnest support, and we know, in turn, they pledge to us their loyalty and best efforts.”

One of the players on that 1941 roster was Johnny Newman, who led the New York-Penn League in batting (.358) and established a home run record (29), which helped the Falcons win the pennant.

Fittingly, Newman’s son, Jeff, was in attendance at Saturday’s meeting and offered several stories about his dad’s playing days. Also fittingly, two men seated in the first row in the Cappa

Theatre were Durwood Swanson and Russ Ecklund, who were also in attendance at the opening game nearly 85 years ago.

They witnessed history then. The Tarp Skunks wouldn’t mind making more of it next June and July.

Noted Anderson as he closed his remarks: “What none of the folks who attended that opening game in May of 1941 could have imagined is the rich history of baseball that would ensue over the next 85 years. It’s a legacy that the Tarp Skunks are proud to represent.”