FARMINGTON – Taking a step onto Hippach Field is like taking a step back in time.

Actually, standing outside the brick facade next to Route 4 can be a history lesson in itself. There is a plaque commemorating the dedication of Hippach in 1916. It was donated by a wealthy Chicago glass manufacturer whose son, Howard Hippach, starred in three sports at Abbott School, which used to be a private school nearby. Hippach died in a car crash shortly after his graduation in 1914 and the field is a memorial to him and, as a plaque reads, “true sport and clean manhood.”

In addition to the plaques, the wall is decorated with bas-reliefs in granite carved to depict baseball and football players.

“The day is full of calls to action,” reads the inscription under the baseball players. “Prepare and preserve your strength.”

Hippach Field has seen many days of action in its 93 years. Farmington State Teachers College, now the University of Maine-Farmington, has played its home games there for decades. In the middle of the 20th Century, it hosted the Farmington Flyers, a legendary semipro team.

Today, it is home to local American Legion and Babe Ruth teams and the Mt. Blue Cougars, who experience the pros and cons of playing at Hippach on a regular basis.

Old fashioned baseball

For atmosphere, few high school baseball fields in the state can match Hippach. It is the centerpiece of a municipal park which also includes a Little League field, a basketball court, a playground, a wading pool, tennis courts, and, in the winter, a skating rink.

With its wooden grandstand, dugouts and quirky dimensions, it has the feel of an old-fashioned ballpark. When they step onto the field, many Mt. Blue players can imagine they are standing in the same spot their father, grandfather and great-grandfather once stood.

“Every time you go there, you feel like you’re playing back in the old days,” said Mt. Blue High School baseball coach Craig Collins.

While most high school fields are set in semi-isolated areas, behind the school or in the middle of a vast athletic complex, Hippach is set in the heart of the hustle and bustle of downtown Farmington. The groan of traffic from Routes 4 and 27 is constant. The field is so close to Route 4 that whenever a ball is fouled back over the grandstand, spectators often hold their breath in anticipation of the sound of a windshield being shattered or a hood being dented.

Gary Parlin, who played and coached for Mt. Blue, recalls patrons of the Farmington Diner, which used to sit right across Route 4 from the grandstand, occasionally finding an unexpected garnish with their meal.

“There were a few broken windows at the diner,” he said. “Some people had a baseball land in their bowl of soup.”

Parlin watched his father, Bob, a Maine Baseball Hall-of-Famer, play at Hippach, then followed in his footsteps.

“One of my favorite places on Earth,” Parlin said.

“Every coach that came there when I coached, almost to a man, said, ‘This is one of the great places to come to play baseball,'” he added.

But Hippach can be a nightmare for opposing coaches, too. The fence down the right field line is listed at 266 feet, although it is more likely closer to the 200 feet listed in right at the neighboring Little League field. Opposing hitters often see the short porches down the lines (315 to left) and think it is the perfect place to show off their power. But that often plays into Mt. Blue’s pitching strategy.

“If we see someone hit a few out in batting practice, we’ll talk about jamming him inside during the game,” Collins said. “I tell my hitters: ‘It’s going to happen. You’re going to pull it and get it out there, but don’t try to pull it each time.'”

While there aren’t as many home runs at Hippach as one might think after surveying it, pitchers have to be careful not to let the dimensions affect their approach on the mound.

“I’ve had a couple go out here,” said senior pitcher Brad Dority. “You can’t let something like that affect your pitching. You’ve just got to go after them.”

Even balls that stay in play can be problematic at Hippach, particularly in late afternoon games.

“I think the sun is the worst factor when you play in the afternoon here,” said Lawrence coach Wally Covell, moments after his left fielder lost a fly ball in the sun for a key three-run triple in a loss to Mt. Blue. “That always comes into effect when you play here.”

When it comes to breaks for the offense, Hippach will taketh away as much as it will giveth.

“You can play your right fielder very shallow, and that takes away some runs at times,” Parlin said. “I always put out best arm in right instead of left field, and I can remember our kids throwing some guys out on the bases.”

Can’t be replicated

Although their record hovers around .500, the Cougars can be tough to beat at home. But their days at the venerable park will soon be numbered. Mt. Blue’s plans for a renovated and expanded high school in 2013 include a new baseball field on campus.

Collins hopes to continue scheduling at least one home game per season at Hippach, “just because I don’t want that (tradition) to die.”

“There’s just a different aura when you walk in there,” he said. “What’s different about it is the fans are right there on top of you. You go to some high school fields, the fans are not really near you.”

“I’ve had kids come to the back of the dugout and say, ‘Hey coach, you got any (sunflower) seeds?'” he added. “That’s what makes playing there so unique. In the past, we’ve talked about covering the back of the dugout so people can’t do that. I don’t want that. I want our community, our fans to feel like they are a part of it. Having young kids come up to you and say ‘Hi’ before a game. That’s baseball. That’s what’s always been happening here. Let’s keep it that way.”

Hippach continues to cling to its tradition, but it is aging gracefully. The original grandstand was destroyed in a November, 1999 fire, then rebuilt to handicap accessibility standards. New dugouts were built in 1993, new lights dedicated in 1998, and an electronic scoreboard named after long-time Mt. Blue coach Warren “Red” Deane stands in left-center field. A public address system was added this year.

Whether the Cougars continue to play there or not, Hippach is equipped to be the centerpiece of baseball in Farmington for years to come. Baseball fans in Farmington wouldn’t have it any other way.

“You can’t replicate it,” Parlin said. “You can’t build another Fenway Park, and this is our community’s Fenway Park.”