Bing Crosby, the celebrated singer, actor and sportsman, created a lasting memorial in the form of a baseball stadium on a day when 25,000 people came out to help create it.
Courtesy Keith Menefee
Crosby thrilled locals and showed off his best moves at a square dance named in his honor.
Cradled beneath the wide skies of Shenandoah National Park, Front Royal, Virginia, has a long history of stargazing. So perhaps it’s no surprise then that when a big star fell upon that little valley town on April 1, 1950, more than 25,000 people from miles around showed up to catch a glimpse.
The star was not celestial, but of the Hollywood variety, in the person of American film and radio superstar Bing Crosby, who arrived in Front Royal with a mission: raising funds for a first-class sports stadium for the town’s youth.
Warren Heritage Society Laura Virginia Hale Archives
Singer/actor/bon vivant Bing Crosby was a major star at the time of his 1950 visit to tiny Front Royal, Virginia.
Almost 75 years later, the fruit of that effort, Bing Crosby Stadium, still serves as Front Royal’s front porch, where generations regularly gather to hear the crack of the bat while sharing hotdogs and brew.
Home to the Front Royal Cardinals, a collegiate summer baseball team of the Valley Baseball League, the stadium is also used by high school and other local teams. Modern renovations include covered stadium seating, a press box, restrooms and concessions. A plaque dedicated to Crosby greets visitors near the stadium’s front gates. The field itself is dedicated to the late David L. Wines, a founding member of the Front Royal Cardinals.
It was a friendship and shared love of thoroughbred horses with then-Virginia Senator Raymond R. Guest, Sr., that first brought Crosby to Front Royal. Guest owned a nearby farm, and through that connection Crosby served as grand marshal in 1948 for the annual Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival in neighboring Winchester. During that visit, Guest asked if Crosby would channel his fame to help raise money for a stadium, to be built on 50 acres the town already owned. Crosby agreed and was the first contributor, holding an impromptu public concert and writing a personal check for $1,000 to launch fundraising.
Courtesy Keith Menefee
Crosby tasted locally made entries at the Swans Down cake baking contest before naming the final winners.
It took a cast of thousands to achieve what happened afterwards. For the next two years, community groups from the entire region, from high school bands, majorettes and Scout troops to local fire departments and ladies’ social committees, sprang into action, planning celebrations for what the town council declared by resolution to be “Bing Crosby Day.” Local newspapers kept residents apprised with daily itinerary updates for what became the most anticipated event in Front Royal history. Adding to the excitement, Paramount Pictures arranged for a world-premiere of Crosby’s latest film, “Riding High,” to be shown at Front Royal’s Park Theatre on East Main Street.
When April 1, 1950, finally arrived, thousands of fans followed Crosby on a two-hour parade through town that ended at the stadium site for the official dedication. During the ceremony-packed day, Crosby served as judge for the Swans Down cake baking contest, visited Skyline Caverns, watched a trick-horse demonstration, attended a square dance named in his honor, remotely hosted an ABC coast-to-coast radio broadcast, received a giant key to the town and was made an honorary colonel by Randolph-Macon Academy and presented with a scabbard and sword by the cadets.
The evening “Riding High” movie premiere was a gala affair, complete with Hollywood searchlights. Prominent patrons, including state governors and federal, military and business leaders, arrived decked out in fine attire.
At day’s end, the Front Royal-Warren County Recreation Association announced it had raised $11,405 to build the stadium, upon which Crosby wrote a personal check for $3,595 to reach the $15,000 goal.
Courtesy Keith Menefee
Bing Crosby waves to crowds along the parade route, escorted by his friend, Virginia Senator Raymond R. Guest, Sr.
“The biggest event in Front Royal’s history,” says Keith Menefee, who at 62 is a sixth-generation Front Royal resident. Menefee and his wife, Maureen, own Down Home Comfort Bakery across from the old Park Theatre (now operating as Royal Cinemas). Both the bakery and the theater exhibit Bing Crosby Day photos and artifacts. A few blocks away, the Warren Heritage Society’s Laura Virginia Hale Archives maintains a large collection of Bing Crosby Day newspaper clippings and memorabilia.
“We want everyone to view these and learn about our history,” says archivist Vernee Peterson.
Carolyn Brown Butler, 80, remembers driving to the event from Sperryville with her family when she was in first grade.
“My mother was excited to see Bing Crosby,” she says. “The streets were so crowded that we had to push our way through. I remember looking up, seeing my mother smiling and so happy.”
And by all accounts, it was exactly that—a happy day where Bing Crosby truly knocked one out of the park for Front Royal. The thanks continue, these many years after Crosby’s death in 1977, at age 74.
The story above first appeared in our January / February 2024 issue. For more like it subscribe today or log in with your active BRC+ Membership. Thank you for your support!