Hot summer nights in Hampton, Virginia, have almost always featured baseball.
Fans of the Peninsula Pilots who pack into War Memorial Stadium are particularly grateful for it. The stadium is a gem and minor league teams called it home year after year. But for a time early in the 2000s, there was no baseball. Minor league franchises moved on. There was talk of bulldozing the old park.
Then the Morgan family came along, and the rest is history.
Henry Morgan bought the Peninsula Pilots and has made the Coastal Plain League team a fixture in the area. Son Hank Morgan is the field manager. It’s a family affair, with Henry often greeting everyone who walks through the gates.
On this night, sweltering hear barely relented after the sunset and the team scuffled in a loss. But with the lights of the grandstand glowing and ceiling fans lazily spinning, it just felt perfect.
Nights like this are supposed to include baseball.