From the gym to the grandstand
Paterson plays hard: public school teams that pack the stands, a restored Negro Leagues ballpark with pro ball on the hill, and youth leagues that start the next generation young. This page points you to the real, current results and schedules, because scores change every night.
Friday nights and rivalry days
Two public high schools carry the city's biggest rivalries. Both compete in the Big North Conference, and both field teams across football, soccer, basketball, volleyball, tennis, track and field, wrestling, baseball, and softball.
The Knights · Big North Conference
Red and black
Kennedy fields teams across football, soccer, basketball, volleyball, tennis, track and field, wrestling, baseball, and softball. Friday nights at the football field and winter hoops in the gym draw the whole neighborhood out.
JFK live schedules and scoresThe Ghosts · Big North Conference
Eastside fields teams across the same sports as Kennedy: football, soccer, basketball, volleyball, tennis, track and field, wrestling, baseball, and softball. The Ghosts have a deep tradition that runs through the school's history.
Eastside live schedules and scoresLive scores, refreshed in real time. The scoreboards above update as games finish, so you always get the current score instead of a stale box score.
Paterson Public Schools athletics: registration & schedulesA ballpark that made history
Perched at Liberty and Maple streets above the Great Falls, Hinchliffe Stadium is a horseshoe-shaped ballpark built in 1932. It is one of the last surviving Negro League ballparks in the country: the New York Black Yankees, the New York Cubans, and the Paterson Panthers all called it home, and it hosted the first professional baseball game ever played within a U.S. National Park when Paterson's Great Falls earned that designation.
After sitting closed for more than two decades, the stadium reopened in 2023 following a $103 million renovation. Today it is the home of the New Jersey Jackals of the MLB-partnered Frontier League, a club with six championships now playing its 28th season in 2026.
Where the next generation starts
The City of Paterson Parks and Recreation runs programs all over town, from the littlest T-ball players up. Registration and the full program list live on the city's official sites, and the leagues below are great places to start.
Sign up for Parks and Recreation programs and camps, and see what has openings this season.
Register at patersonnj.myrec.comThe official city page for recreation programs, facilities, and seasonal offerings.
See the program listYouth basketball for ages 7 through 14, with seasons, teams, and registration on the league site.
Visit pybleague.comPaterson also has a city youth football league that keeps the gridiron going at the community level. For sign-ups and age groups, check the city's recreation pages above or ask Johnny and he will point you to the right league for your family.
See it live
Summertime means catching a Jackals game at Hinchliffe, where the gorge drops off behind the outfield and the crowd stretches out under the lights. Fall and winter mean packing the stands for the Knights and the Ghosts, trading cheers and a little friendly trash talk across the city.
Follow the schools and the Jackals on their social channels and scoreboards for the latest, and bring the kids: a live game in this city is how Paterson sports fandom starts.
A place close to the schools, the parks, and the stadium makes every game day easier. Johnny knows the neighborhoods that fit a sports-loving family.