Minium: A.H. Foreman's Grandchildren Approve of the Memorial to old Foreman Field

By Harry Minium

Peggy Bartlett called a few months ago and asked if I would show her what Old Dominion University had done to honor her grandfather, A.H. Foreman, at the new S.B. Ballard Stadium.

Foreman not only secured federal funding to build a football stadium that bore his name for 82 years, he was also a founding father of the Norfolk Division of the College of William and Mary, which eventually became ODU.

That phone call led to a truly memorable three-hour meeting in which Dr. Wood Selig, ODU's athletic director, and I watched the grandchildren of A.H. Foreman break bread with the family that paid for a memorial to honor their grandfather and his esteemed legacy.

They walked into the Norfolk Yacht and Country Club for lunch as strangers and walked out of S.B. Ballard Stadium hours later as friends.

First, some background: Peggy Bartlett, a retired Portsmouth school principal, and Herbert Foreman Hargroves, a Richmond businessman, are the grandchildren of A.H. Foreman

 A century ago, Mr. Foreman was one of the leading members of the Norfolk business community and served for many years as the rector of the Board of Visitors at the College of William and Mary.

He helped lobby and win support from the commonwealth and William and Mary to start a two-year branch in Norfolk.



In part because of his efforts, the Norfolk Division opened its doors 90 years ago this fall to the first class of students. ODU has since grown into a university with nearly 24,000 students and 160,000 living alumni.

Save for a short section of the brick fence behind the north end zone, the original Foreman Field was demolished in November of 2018. It was replaced with a brand-new, $67.5 million facility that seats nearly 22,000 people and has luxurious creature comforts.

When Bartlett called me, she said she was under the impression that ODU had put up a plaque to honor Mr. Foreman. It was a delight to show her that ODU did much more than put up a plaque.

About 20 yards long, the Foreman memorial is anchored by a small brick wall in that replicates the brick of the old stadium, with an ODU logo and "Foreman Field" in all caps.

On either side is a stadium timeline with dozens of photographs, including the first Norfolk Division football team, the iconic leaping high five of Jonathan Duhart and Travis Fulgham during ODU's 2018 upset victory over Virginia Tech and Mr. Foreman being praised by Norfolk Mayor's when the stadium opened in 1936.

The memorial exists because of the generosity of W. Sheppard Miller III and his wife, Gigi. The Millers made generous donation to fund the memorial.



Located just past the ticket gate on the stadium's east side facing Hampton Boulevard, the memorial did not open until late last football season, and if you haven't seen it, make sure and give it a look-see this fall.

Both of Foreman's grandchildren were moved by the memorial.

"I did not expect all of this," Hargroves said. "This is really impressive."

Hargroves brought along a scrap book his father collected during his career and all four pored over faded newspaper clippings and other memorabilia during at lunch the Norfolk Yacht and Country Club. The conversation was almost non-stop.

They talked about Mr. Foreman, about the history of ODU and of so many friends and connections they shared. Honestly, if they hadn't had anyplace they had to be, the conversation could have gone on into the evening.




"I remember thinking to myself how fortunate I was to be there at that moment and to hear the stories and the memories Peggy and Herbert were sharing with all of us," Selig said.

Shep Miller and Selig were raised in Larchmont, and both hopped the brick fence, which had broken glass imbedded on the top, to get into events at Foreman Field when they were kids. At the time, kids ran the streets a lot more than they do now, and hopping the fence was a time-honored tradition carried on by kids from Larchmont and Lamberts Point.

It wasn't until years later, when Shep Miller became involved in ODU athletics, that he remembered Selig "as that little kid down the street who used to stare at us." Miller is four years older than Selig.

Miller's family has been in Norfolk since 1867, when his mother's great grandfather, Judge Oldfield came to what was then known as Norfolk County from New York. He was, in the vernacular of the time, a "carpetbagger."

He was a Union officer who fought during the Peninsula campaign during the Civil War. He returned to the area and settled in Norfolk and made his fortune selling brick and block in a city that was rebuilding after the devastation of the war. One project still obvious today is Virginia Hall at Hampton University where he manufactured almost one million bricks for its construction. 

Members of the Miller family have lived in Larchmont for more than 100 years, so when it was time to find a donor to pay for a Foreman tribute, Jena Virga of the Old Dominion Athletic Foundation approached them first.  

They agreed on the condition that they could play major roles in the design, content and photographs used.

And they did their research.

"I knew Mr. Foreman was important to the stadium, I knew he had gotten money from the federal government," Shep said. "But I didn't understand what he meant to the school.

"Without Mr. Foreman, there might not be an Old Dominion University. And that's much more profound, frankly, than the stadium. The stadium was merely a symbol of what he did to help found the Norfolk Division."



Bartlett and Hargroves loved the timeline but Gigi Miller lamented the history left out.

"There's a lot there, but there's so much more," she said. "You couldn't put it all there. There's just too much."

While all six of us around the table were saddened to see the old stadium come down, everyone agreed it had to be done.

"As much I hated to see the stadium come down, it shows more to the current general public (about Mr. Foreman) than they would have known otherwise," Hargroves said. "That's the best part about it."

"I want to thank you," Bartlett told the Millers. "What you've done to honor my grandfather was admirable.

"He was a very unassuming man and he never wanted attention. But this is quite a tribute."

As they left the stadium, Shep Miller looked back at the memorial and said something I'm sure is true.

"I think Mr. Foreman would be pleased."

Contact Minium: hminium@odu.edu