County gives away seats as relics

Jay Skeldon wore the Toledo Mud Hens jacket belonging to his late grandfather Ned Skeldon when he drove from Cincinnati to the old Ned Skeldon Stadium in Maumee.

“I recall coming to games here as a little kid, I remember the sights and the sounds of the stadium here, the cigar smoke in the air, peanuts and popcorn, and [have] fantastic memories here,” Mr. Skeldon said.

He was one of at least 300 people who went to the old ballpark Saturday to claim seats given away all day on the Lucas County commissioners’ behalf while demolition crews continued their work at the Mud Hens’ former home.

“It’s really a great honor to be able to take a little piece of memory home, and I know the memories of this stadium will live on forever,” Mr. Skeldon said before adding that baseball is a huge part of the Skeldon tradition and the stadium was “real central to all of that,” he said.

His brother Ryan, who drove in with him, agreed.

“Grandpa died when I was 6, so I don’t have a lot of fun memories of him,” Ryan Skeldon said. “... But I think it’s neat that I’ll be able to have this to take with me to my home to have memories that will last forever.”

During his 1958-1966 run as a Lucas County commissioner, Ned Skeldon helped bring Mud Hens baseball back to Toledo in 1965. The ballpark at the Lucas County Recreation Center, converted from a horse-racing track, was renamed in his honor after he died in 1988.

The Mud Hens moved to modern Fifth Third Field in downtown Toledo at the start of the 2002 season.

The old ballpark, known to many as The Ned, has been idle for years. The county commissioners announced in May they would make its seats available to the public as historical relics after its demolition, and they were distributed in sets of three at no charge.

Because of the high level of interest, the giveaway was limited to one set per person. About 20 vehicles lined up at Recreation Hall 2 by 8 a.m. when the giveaway started and a steady stream of vehicles followed thereafter.

Two hundred sets of seats were claimed in advance, with 100 more available for walk-ups. Mark Reiter, a county spokesman, said 12 sets remained when the doors closed at 4 p.m. Saturday, and those would be reserved for future county use.

People picking up their sets early gladly shared fond memories of attending baseball games at The Ned, starting with Robert Hazel of Luckey, Ohio, who was first in line.

The 63-year-old retired car dealership worker said that not only do the seats have nostalgic meaning for him, but installing them at his house will be a way to cherish the memory of his father, Ronald Hazel, who died in June. He woke up at 4 a.m. to be sure he was there on time and said he plans to put the seats in his den, where other Mud Hens memorabilia is displayed.

“My dad and I came here a lot over the decades, so it kind of means a lot to me to have an opportunity to get a set of seats,” Mr. Hazel said.

Sean Beach, a 30-year Toledo electrical parts salesman and another of the early seat claimers, said he had similar plans for his set.

“I think this [giveaway] is exciting. It’s a good way to pass on a little bit of history in the demolition stages of the Ned Skeldon Stadium,” Mr. Beach said.

Gary Byers, the county commissioners’ president, said county leaders were pleased to be able to offer a piece of Lucas County history to keep people’s memories of the stadium alive.

“We’re moving ahead and we’re demolishing the stadium and that needs to be done,” Mr. Byers said. “But at the same time, we’re doing it in a way that preserves the history of that location and the years that that Mud Hens were there.

“[The stadium] is meaningful to so many in our community ... so we thought instead of just throwing the seats away that we should give back to the community ... so that they continue to be used in a way that’s nostalgic and meaningful,” he said. “And this, we thought, is a nice thing to do for the community, especially during the holiday season.”

The commissioners announced in February their intent to raze the stadium to free its site for upgrading the rest of the Lucas County Recreation Center, and in September awarded an $885,484 demolition contract to Mark Haynes Construction, Inc., of Norwalk, Ohio.

Along with the former stadium, the Rec Center’s more than 70 acres includes the Lucas County Fairgrounds, the two recreation halls, seven baseball and softball fields, six tennis courts, a football field and running tracks, and a walking path.

The stadium site’s future use is the subject of an ongoing feasibility study expected to yield results by March, Mr. Byers said.

Contact Mike Sigov at:

sigov@theblade.com or

on Twitter @mikesigovblade.