Historic baseball home plate to be dedicated at Hickory library

Community members are invited to the dedication of the Claremont Central High School Baseball Home Plate at Patrick Beaver Memorial Library on Wednesday, December 14, at noon.

The dedication ceremony will include an informative presentation about the history of the home plate in the community room at the library, followed by a light reception. 

Speakers at the event will include Hickory Mayor Hank Guess, Claremont Central High School graduate Bob Duckworth, Hickory High School Athletic Director and Head Baseball Coach David Craft, Claremont Central High School graduate and former baseball player Danny Thompson, and Claremont Central High School graduate and former baseball player Charles Young.

The historic baseball home plate was in use for 50 years, from 1928 to 1978, on the baseball field at Claremont Central High School. The plate was originally located in the southeast corner of the current parking area of the SALT Block, near the entrance to Catawba Science Center. Patrick Beaver Memorial Library now stands in what would have been center field.

Roger Martin, Claremont Central High School Class of 1967, salvaged the plate the day that construction began for the current SALT Block and stored it at his home until his passing in 2017. 

Many people in Hickory touched this home plate over the years, either through high school athletics or recreational sports activities. Martin’s friends felt the historical plate was something that would help people in the community connect with their past.

Bob Duckworth, a graduate of the last class of Claremont Central High School in 1972, approached the City of Hickory for assistance with finding an appropriate place to permanently display the plate for the community. 

The plate will hang on display in the lobby of Patrick Beaver Memorial Library.

Patrick Beaver Memorial Library is located at 375 Third Street NE, on the SALT Block in Hickory.