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Salem’s Minor League Baseball story began at Municipal Field.
The seven-acre plot of land, located between Boulevard, Florida and 6th streets, originally was slated for an elementary school. But due to lack of funding, a school was never built there, according to “The Diamond in the Valley,” a history story published in Salem magazine in 2014.
Instead, the city opted for a baseball field, which included 2,000-seat concrete bleachers built into the side of a hill at the site. It debuted in 1932.
About seven years later, in 1939, the Salem-Roanoke Friends team became the first minor league team to play at the field. Through the years, the team’s name changed to the Salem Rebels, the Salem Pirates, and the Salem Buccaneers, as new affiliate teams took over.
But in 1990, Major League Baseball released a set of minimum regulations for stadiums. Salem had a decision to make — renovate Municipal Field or build a new stadium.
The city chose the latter. After all, Municipal Field was landlocked. Players often hit balls into the yards of nearby houses.
The new 6,500-seat stadium, called Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium, opened in 1995 at a site between the Salem Civic Center and Salem Stadium.
Fast forward to today. Area schools, such as Salem High School and Andrew Lewis Middle School, still play games at the historic Municipal Field. Also, weekend tournaments and Virginia High School League championships are held at the field.
Only now the field is called Billy Sample Field at Kiwanis Park. In 2019, it was named for Sample, a former Major League Baseball star who grew up in Salem, played for Andrew Lewis High School and went on to play for the Rangers, the Yankees and the Braves before retiring.
“Salem was a great place to grow up and a great place athletically,” Sample said in a 2019 article in Salem Magazine.
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