The wooden bat Valley Baseball League is one of eight summer collegiate baseball leagues that are members of the  National Alliance of College Summer Baseball and is funded in part by a grant from Major League Baseball.   Players need to have completed at least one year of college with eligibility still remaining.  The 12 team VBL plays a 44 game regular season schedule, playoffs and a championship series. Over the years, the Valley League has received the tagline "Gateway to the Majors" because of the high number of players who have gone on to play professional baseball...

 

The Front Royal Cardinals joined the VBL in  1984. Games are played in Bing Crosby Stadium, named after the late actor/crooner who donated money to the building of the stadium back in 1949. The Board of Directors are all unpaid volunteers who work year round on field maintenance, fundraising and community awareness with the goal of bringing to Front Royal the highest caliber of amateur baseball in America.

 

Plan a visit to Front Royal this summer- take in some games. We would love to count you among our fans. We are within easy driving time of major cities - 1hr. Washington D.C. - 2 hrs. - Baltimore, MD. - 2½ hrs. Richmond, VA and Harrisburg, PA.

 

Front Royal has long been known as a baseball town. But until 1950, it provided no formal playing field for its favorite spectator sport.  The fifty acres, along Happy Creek, was purchased at $250 an acre.

 

The Front Royal - Warren County Recreation Association undertook the project of raising funds to develop the stadium. Besides playing fields, the stadium needed a wall, bleachers, dugouts and lighting.

 

A goal of $10,000 was set for accomplishing all that needed to be done. Local citizens and businesses were invited to purchase bonds in denominations of $10 per bond to finance the project. Fund raising projects were undertaken.

 

A break for the community and its fund raising efforts came in the spring of 1949, the year Bing Crosby was grand marshal of the Apple Blossom Festival in Winchester, Va. Raymond R. Guest, Sr., a personal friend of the late entertainer, prevailed upon him to make an appearance in Front Royal on behalf of the recreation association.

 

Mr. Crosby appeared before a sell-out crowd in Warren County High School and during the ensuing year, plans were made for a Bing Crosby Day celebration to benefit the recreation association. Bing Crosby Day, April 1, 1950, drew crowds from everywhere, as Mr. Crosby entertained and captivated the huge audience with his expert blending of friendliness and informality. Highlight of the evening was his rendition of "I feel like I'm on my own soil, when I'm down in Old Front Royal," his own version of "Dear Hearts and Gentle People".

 

A grateful community named its new stadium in honor of a nationally known Hollywood figure that had taken time and given money to forward one of its dreams.