Keep Baseball at the Dartmouth Commons!

Your Support Needed to Keep Baseball at the Dartmouth Commons!

Sign our Petition!

Bob Merrick, son of Arthur H. Merrick, has shared his open letter to Council, which is an incredibly thoughtful and in depth history of Arthur Merrick’s impact on baseball in our community - we would encourage you all to read the letter below:

Good afternoon Mayor Fillmore, Councillor Purdy, and Members of HRM Council,

I am writing to express my deep alarm and strong opposition to HRM’s consideration of converting the Arthur H. Merrick Memorial Ball Field on the Dartmouth Commons into a cricket pitch in 2028. This proposal is not simply disappointing — it is a profound mistake that disregards community history, current usage, and the legacy of one of Dartmouth’s most influential sports leaders.

The Merrick family, countless Dartmouth residents, and the many children who continue to play baseball here are stunned that this field — a cornerstone of our community — is even being considered for removal.

It is essential that Council fully understands the significance of what is at risk.

My father, Arthur Merrick, did not merely participate in local baseball — he built it. In the 1950s, he founded organized baseball in Dartmouth, created the Dartmouth Minor Baseball Association, and led it for roughly 30 years. He fostered competition between Halifax and Dartmouth, expanded baseball into Westphal, and shaped youth sports in this city for generations.

His contributions include:

· Early 1950s — Board of Directors, Dartmouth Arrows

· 1950-1970 — President, Dartmouth Minor Baseball Association

· 1958 — Maritime Midget Baseball Championship (Dartmouth Shipyards)

· 1962 — Dartmouth Kinsmen Plaque for outstanding youth leadership

· 1963 — Joined the National Federation of Amateur Baseball

· 1963 — Nova Scotia & Maritime Junior Baseball Championships (Dartmouth Harbour Construction)

· 1970-1994 — Acting Parade Marshal for Dartmouth Natal Day

In 1982, Mayor Dan Brownlow named him Dartmouth Citizen of the Year.

In 1995 after his passing in the previous year and just before amalgamation, Mayor Gloria McCluskey formally renamed the Dartmouth Commons baseball fields The Arthur H. Merrick Memorial Ball Diamond to honour his decades of service. A monument was installed to preserve that legacy — a monument that still stands today; see photo below.

To now consider removing the field named in his honour is not only disrespectful to his legacy — it is a direct erasure of Dartmouth’s own history.

Our family is deeply concerned that if this field is replaced, the monument will be pushed aside, hidden, or stored away. Dartmouth has already lost too many pieces of its identity over the years including the former adjacent Dartmouth Public Library and Museum. Removing this field and potentially sidelining the monument would send a clear message that our community’s heritage is expendable.

The numbers speak for themselves: approximately 2,000 youth participate in Dartmouth Minor Baseball, compared to around 250 adults in the local cricket league. Eliminating a heavily used baseball field to accommodate a far smaller group is not responsible planning — it is a misallocation of public resources.

If HRM wants to support cricket, then find a new location. The Province has allocated funding for sports infrastructure. There is no justification for destroying an existing, thriving, historically significant facility when alternatives exist.

Adding to the gravity of this situation, my father is being inducted into the Maritime Sports Hall of Fame on July 15 for his leadership in Dartmouth Minor Baseball. It would be an extraordinary and painful irony for the field named in his honour to be eliminated at the same time his contributions are being formally recognized.

If Council proceeds with this plan, it will not simply be replacing a baseball field — it will be dismantling a vital community asset, erasing a foundational part of Dartmouth’s sports history, and disregarding the needs of thousands of local families.

I strongly urge Council to reject this proposal outright. Preserve the Arthur H. Merrick Memorial Ball Field. Protect the monument. Respect the history that built this community. And pursue new recreational opportunities without destroying what already serves Dartmouth so well.

The people of Dartmouth deserve better than to see yet another piece of their heritage removed.

Respectively submitted,

Bob Merrick

Diamond Dawgs Letter to Council: