In 1971, John W. Manfredi approached the Kennett Borough Council about building a baseball field on what was a landfill in Kennett, received approval, and began work that summer. Later that summer, Manfredi and his friends from the Italian American club and Hewlett Packard started with 2 teams and played 5-6 games. The following year, a league of 8 teams was formed, and it became the Sam Tavoni Slow Pitch Softball League, which still plays today under the direction of the Kennett Area Park and Recreation Board. The land that Manfredi and his friends turned into a baseball field evolved into Herb Pennock Park. The park is named after Herbert Jeffries Pennock, who was born in Kennett Square, PA, on Feb. 10, 1894, and was a professional baseball pitcher. He played major league baseball from 1912 through 1934 for the Philadelphia Athletics, the Boston Red Sox, and the New York Yankees. Pennock had 241 career victories as a pitcher, was a 5-time World Series champion, and is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.