High-A Affiliate
The beach in New Jersey means...badges. Let's celebrate something that is distinctly New Jersey - Beach Badges and the checkers that make sure we are following the rules. Introducing the ShoreTown Beach Badgers, who take the field for one night only on May 29th!
One of the fun elements of Beach Badgers Night is the first 1,000 fans through the gates receive a commemorative BlueClaws Beach Badge! The badge features the BlueClaws 25th Anniversary Logo, which, too, is in the shape of a beach badge!
Bring it to the beach this summer, and maybe they'll accept it (though we can't promise that).
Did you know that Beach Badges were "invented" here in New Jersey?
They are decidedly "Jersey" and were first sold in Bradley Beach nearly 100 years ago!
The shiny brass badge, engraved with the words "bathing privilege" and the date 1929 in the middle, is one of approximately 200 inside a display case at the Bradley Beach Historical Museum. "Unfortunately, Bradley Beach was the first place in the United States to require a beach badge to go on the beach," said Don Lewis, curator of the museum. "We're probably hated for that."
It was mid-July, the summer of 1929, when the local Board of Commissioners held a meeting and passed a resolution "designating the public bathing beaches of this resort for Bradley Beach residents and their guests only. "The mayor at the time, Frank C. Borden, Jr., decided, after talking to friends and residents of Bradley Beach, that they needed to keep the beaches "seclusive for our residents if the property owners expect to make advantageous rentals in the future."
Today, beaches employ Beach Badge Checkers up and down the Jersey coastline to check the badges of the beachgoers. It is these members of the beach-community that we celebrate today.