Matthew C. “Matt” Minker played a major role in bringing professional baseball back to Wilmington after a 35-year hiatus and building Frawley Stadium, home of the Blue Rocks, which sparked the renaissance of Wilmington’s waterfront. Minker’s lifelong passion was baseball. He played varsity baseball at Conrad High, the University of Delaware and in Wilmington’s semi-pro leagues. He later founded Minker Construction Company.

In the early 1990’s Matt became a part owner of the Blue Rocks franchise and his company completed the teams’ new stadium in time for the Blue Rocks April, 1993 home opener. Wilmington’s re-entry into professional baseball was an immediate and long-term success under Minker’s leadership. As an affiliate of the Kansas City Royals from 1993 through 2004, Wilmington had the best winning percentage among all full-season minor league clubs. Also during that span, the Rocks made the Class A Carolina League playoffs 10 times, winning four championships. Minker eventually became the team’s majority owner, and was named to the national Minor League Baseball Board of Directors. He also owned a share of the Class AAA Omaha, Nebraska Royals club.

Matt believed in giving back to the local community. He was a strong supporter of the Canal and other Little Leagues, and opened Frawley Stadium to Delaware high school baseball. For these efforts, Matt was inducted into the Delaware High School Coaches Hall of Fame in 2006. Minker was instrumental in obtaining the present-day site of the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame at Frawley Stadium.