PORTSMOUTH — If you’re driving down East Main Road, you may have noticed a small shop called Patriot Upholstery across the street from Clements’ Marketplace and thought nothing …
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PORTSMOUTH — If you’re driving down East Main Road, you may have noticed a small shop called Patriot Upholstery across the street from Clements’ Marketplace and thought nothing of it.
But what you might not know is that behind the business is a small dirt lot that’s been turned into a Wiffle ball field.
Every Tuesday and Thursday night, Patriot Field is home to games as part of the Mick Fenway Wiffle Ball League.
This isn’t the first Wiffle ball field built in Portsmouth. That honor goes to Mick Fenway, a replica of Fenway Park in Boston that even features a scaled-down duplicate of the NESN booth.
Patriot Field, while not built to replicate any MLB stadiums, still serves the purposes of the league and features a set of wooden bleachers, a large scoreboard and a concessions stand.
Bill Whitmarsh is the owner of Patriot Upholstery and the backyard lot in which the field sits. He said the field was built because the owner of Mick Fenway, Chris “Mick” Richard, was going to stop holding games at his West Main Road home.
“He asked if there was anyone who would keep the league going if he could have another field somewhere,” Mr. Whitmarsh said. “I said, ‘I have this space in the back of my shop I’m sure we could build a field there.’ He came and checked it out and here we are today.”
The Mick Fenway Wiffle Ball League, a nonprofit, is currently made up of eight teams, but anyone can form a team and join the league.
Each team must have a minimum of six members, and each player pays a $50 fee that goes into a pool which goes back to the league.
For more information or if you’re interesting in joining the league, e-mail mickfenway@yahoo.com.