Hitting contest at Coleman Memorial Park is a big hit among baseball fans

Golf competitions, football games, basketball extravaganzas. There are plenty of cool community athletic events going on throughout Lebanon County.

But none are quite as unique as the Coleman Memorial Park Hitting Contest. None of those other athletic events offer competitors an opportunity to partake in one of the most sought after and challenging exercises in all of sports – hitting a pitched baseball with a bat.

“I think it’s the coordination aspect of it,” said Karl ‘Skip’ Wolf, the Coleman Park Hitting Contest’s founder and director. “They say it’s one of the most difficult things to do in all of sports. People come to see if they can do it.”

The athletic fascination with hitting will be the main attraction when the city of Lebanon’s Coleman Memorial Park hosts its 39^th annual baseball hitting contest on Saturday, August 16 at 1400 West Maple Street. The drop-in event will be staged from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Coleman Park’s lower, big field.

The cost of competition is $10 for 25 pitches – not swings – and $8 for a second round of 25 more pitches.

“It’s an activity,” said Wolf. “It’s a fun event. We’ve had third generations hit in it. That’s what’s neat about it. It’s meant for all ages. We’ve had a three-year-old hit. As long as it’s fair, you get a point.”

Points are awarded for how far fair batted baseballs travel, with seven points going to competitors who clear Coleman Memorial Park’s big field fence more than 300 feet away from home plate. Points are totaled and prizes and awards are presented to those with the highest scores.

Among the prizes and gifts will be casual wear from Enkay Sporting Goods in Palmyra and coupons for sweet treats from Dairy Queen East in Avon, both long-time supporters of the Coleman Memorial Park Hitting Contest.

“It’s the longevity of it, the consistency of it that makes it so special,” said Wolf. “We’ve had the same rules and the same formula for 39 years. We don’t have pitch clocks. The baseballs are the same as they’ve been. You can use wood or aluminum bats.”

As many as 80 competitors are expected to take part in the hitting contest. Many are former baseball players from Lebanon County, but some come from communities outside the locale.

The competitors will be divided into six categories by age and gender – youth, teener, legion, women, adults and seniors. Hitters are encouraged to bring their own bats, helmets and pitchers.

“Some come just for the tradition of it. They’ve done it for years,” said Wolf. “They bring friends, family and teammates who they want to challenge. Some come to shag flies, to relive their youths or their baseball careers. Some played at Coleman Park in the past. Some come from out of town, because it’s unique I guess.”

If there is money left over after expenses, it is donated to Coleman Memorial Park for the maintenance of its four baseball fields.

“The hitting contest started in 1987, when the bottom field had no fence,” said Wolf, who’s been a member of the Coleman Memorial Park Board of Trustees for 43 years. “A dentist died and left money to the park to build a fence. That’s when we decided to have a hitting contest.”

The inaugural Coleman Memorial Park Hitting Contest featured 12 competitors. After it caught on, the popularity of the hitting contest steadily increased throughout the years.

Over those years, hundreds of local baseball aficionados – both men and women – have competed in the hitting contest.

“I got the idea in the mid 1980s when I went up to John Harris High School (in Harrisburg) and saw a hitting contest there. They were using a pitching machine, but we wanted to have live pitching,” said Wolf. “I used to sit up on the hill (at Coleman Memorial Park) and keep score. Now I need to be down on the field with spotters. I’ve had a lot of good help over the years.”