Joe and Donna Marshall – a perfect baseball marriage

CREST HILL – Back in 1978, Joe Marshall Field, as it is known now, was nothing but a field, a fence and a backstop. Wooden pillars, overgrown with foliage, greeted fans coming in off Root Street.

New Crest Hill residents Joe and Donna Marshall had just moved into their home, across the street from the field. Joe, a full-time high school and college baseball umpire, was asked by a neighbor, whose 12-year old son played there, to help out. Help out, indeed.

“Next thing you know, I was a coach,” he said. “Next thing you know, I had my own team. Next thing you know, I was president of the league. Donna and I are both neat freaks and lived here, cleaning the place up and working on the field.”

The rest was history.

Now, Joe Marshall Field at Richland School is a multi-diamond complex with dugouts, stands along the first and third base lines, lights and a huge concession stand, and a press box. Crest Hill Pony League formed in 1982, and the league has grown to include multiple divisions – Pony (13-14-year-olds), Bronco (11-12), Mustang (9-10), Pinto (7-8) and Shetland (4-6).

“I wanted to give something back to the town I lived in,” Marshall said. “I wanted to provide a service to the kids of Crest Hill and the surrounding area. And I could not have done any of it without Donna.”

Having celebrated their 42nd wedding anniversary earlier this month, the Marshalls are the reason Joe Marshall Field has been rated one of the best youth baseball facilities in Illinois. As far back as 1998, the Chicago Tribune presented the Marshalls an award proclaiming Joe Marshall Field the best youth baseball facility in the state.

“Donna and I lived here and worked very hard to make this field what it is,” Marshall said. “We raised our kids and then when our grandchildren came along, Donna forced me to retire from umpiring and become head groundskeeper in 2002. She did not want the grandkids in day care and to this day, she is their baby sitter and has done a great job raising them.

“I come over here every day at 5 o’clock in the morning and work until 11, and Donna helps me out from 6 until 8 and then goes and picks up our 3- and 5-year-old grandkids for the day. Everything I have accomplished, again, would not have been possible without her.”

Years ago, Marshall developed an idea, and the renewal of his season-ending event took place last weekend as the DuPage River Conference All-Star games were played at Joe Marshall Field. The two 15-member all-conference teams were announced before the tournament championship game Saturday night. The North and South met in a doubleheader Sunday, also, of course, at Joe Marshall Field.

“I came up with the idea a number of years ago,” Marshall said. “I wanted to honor our kids for their hard work and determination of playing the game of baseball the right way. Before the championship game, we honor the 30 individual All-Stars by announcing their names and giving them plaques in recognition of their all-conference standing.

“Most of these kids may not ever again in their lives be able to make an all-conference team in high school and beyond. Some won’t even be able to play high school baseball. I wanted to give them something that in 50 years, they can show their grandkids what they achieved when they were young. This is truly why I do what I do.”

Yes, another gift from a man – and his wife – who always wanted to give back to the kids of their town, Crest Hill, and the surrounding area.

This year, Joe and Donna Marshall received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Old Timers Baseball Association of Will County.

“Dan Bertino (chairman of the Old Timers Youth in Baseball committee) approached me about the award,” Marshall said. “They originally wanted me to make me Coach of the Year. I have been blessed to have won many awards honoring me. I told Dan that I would only accept the award if it honored both Donna and myself. I suggested to them to call it a Lifetime Achievement Award for Joe and Donna Marshall.”

Joe and Donna Marshall. The perfect baseball marriage.