Shea Field
Shea Field is one of the two softball fields of the Peggy Hannon-Rizza Recreation Complex off Campbell Road and Ed Hayes Way, listed by the Recreation Department as "Softball Field 1 (Shea)"; the other is Donati Field. It lies at the southeast side of the complex, south of the two turf fields, and is used by the Billerica Softball Association and for tournaments. Like the rest of the complex it is on the old Mitchell Boys' School land that the town accepted in 1950 as the Memorial Athletic Field.
Softball came to the grounds in 1975, when the Park Department cleared "a large tract of land at the 'Chuck Lampson Memorial Football Field' on Campbell Road" and turned the woods into "a new softball field to be used in the summer of 1976"; the Recreation Commission called it "the new softball field (for Girls)" and thanked George Gracie for his work on it. In 1979 the stone dust infield at the Lampson Field was replaced with a clay one. Lights were built for the girls' softball field in 1982 and 1983, and the School Committee gave lights for "the second Lampson softball field". The town reports first name the field in 2013, when new infields were put in "at the Donati, Shea and Men's Softball fields", and in 2017 the backstops "at the Shea and Men's softball fields" were replaced. In the rebuilding of the complex that began in March 2022 the old diamonds were replaced by "two brand new softball fields", and the Shea name was kept for the first of them.
The town reports do not say for whom the field is named.
Deed References
| Date | Type | Grantor | Grantee | Summary | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 14, 1950 | Quitclaim Deed | Thomas S. Taylor, Roger H. Hildreth and Austin F. Perry, all of Billerica (Grace M. Taylor, Audrey W. Hildreth and Florence W. Perry releasing dower and homestead) | The Inhabitants of the Town of Billerica | 1950 Taylor, Hildreth and Perry deed the Memorial Athletic Field (the Mitchell Estates land on which the field lies) to the town | 1148/432 |
Pages 432-433. Dated Aug. 3, 1950, acknowledged at Lowell the same day; recorded Aug. 14, 1950. "For consideration paid", five parcels on the 1935 Mitchell Estates plan: Lots 1 to 4 in Block H (north "by the shore of a pond"), Lots 1 to 8 in Block G, Lots 1 to 5 in Block F, Lots 5 to 7 in Block D, "Being the same premises conveyed to us by John F. Poole ... Book 1098, Page 18", and Lots 1 to 6 in Block E, "Being the same premises conveyed to us by Blanche S. Mitchell ... Book 1099, Page 363". Accepted under Article 13 of the town meeting of Feb. 11, 1950: "a deed of the Athletic Field and land adjacent thereto located on the Mitchell Estates, together with bleacher seats", on condition that a commission of three control it and that it "be used solely for athletic activities of the Town, preference and priority to be given to the High School athletics".
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Recorded is Book/Page at the Middlesex North Registry of Deeds unless noted.
References
- Annual Report 1975: Park Department clears land at the Chuck Lampson Memorial Football Field for a new softball field for girls
- Annual Report 1982: lights for the girls' softball field; School Committee donates lights for the second Lampson softball field
- Annual Report 2013: new softball infields at the Donati, Shea and Men's Softball fields
- Annual Report 2017: replacement of backstops at the Shea and Men's softball fields
- Annual Report FY2022: PHR renovation, Quirk breaks ground in March; two new softball fields and two turf fields
- Billerica Recreation: Peggy Hannon-Rizza Rec Complex (PHR), Softball Field 1 (Shea)