Pittsfield Red Sox

The Pittsfield Red Sox was the name of an American minor league baseball franchise based in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, from 1965 through 1969. It was the Double-A Eastern League affiliate in the Boston Red Sox farm system and produced future Major League Baseball players such as third baseman George Scott, pitcher Sparky Lyle and catcher Carlton Fisk, who became a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The team played at Wahconah Park.

Professional baseball in Pittsfield before 1965

The Berkshire city fielded its first team in Organized Baseball in 1894 when the "Pittsfield Colts" debuted in the New York State League, but the Colts folded after 30 games. [Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., "The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball," 3rd edition. Durham, N.C.: Baseball America, 2007] After the Pittsfield Electrics played two seasons (1913-14) in the Class B Eastern Association, which folded after '14 campaign, Pittsfield was first represented in the Eastern League (then Class A) in 1919-20 as the "Hillies," and won the 1919 EL pennant. [Ibid.]

Pittsfield then fielded a team in the Class C Canadian-American League from 1941 through 1951 (although the league suspended operations for 1943-45 due to World War II). This club, initially nicknamed the "Electrics," was affiliated with the Detroit Tigers (1942), Cleveland Indians (1946-50) and Philadelphia Phillies (1951). After 1948, it dropped the "Electrics" identity and was named after its parent club.

The Pittsfield Red Sox

The Can-Am League folded after the 1951 campaign, and Pittsfield was without representation in organized ball for the next 13 years. But after the 1964 season, Joe Buzas, owner of the Reading Red Sox, Boston's Class AA farm team, announced plans to move his franchise to Pittsfield. The 1965 Pittsfield club, managed by Eddie Popowski, proved to be a powerhouse. Led by Scott, who won the league's Triple Crown, and left-handed pitcher Billy Macleod, a Gloucester, Massachusetts, native who had a perfect 18-0 season, the Red Sox won 85 of 140 games and nipped the Elmira Pioneers (a Baltimore Orioles farm team led by Earl Weaver) by a game for the EL pennant. Pittsfield also led the league in home attendance that season.

Three years later, Pittsfield enjoyed another banner season when the 1968 Red Sox, managed by Billy Gardner, won 84 of 139 games and the regular-season title. That club was paced by future MLB infielders Luis Alvarado and Carmen Fanzone. Attendance rose to a peak of 79,000 fans in 1969, but the Red Sox decided to locate their Eastern League franchise closer to Boston, and moved the club to Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and McCoy Stadium in 1970.

Later Eastern League franchises

The Washington Senators moved quickly and replaced the Red Sox in 1970, and the Pittsfield "Senators" (later "Rangers" when the parent team moved to Dallas-Fort Worth) remained through 1975. The Milwaukee Brewers replaced the Rangers in 1976, and the team played a season as the Berkshire Brewers. With fan support at a new low — only 23,500 fans came through the turnstiles all season — the franchise moved to Holyoke, Massachusetts, as the Holyoke Millers, and Pittsfield was again left without baseball, this time for eight seasons.

But in 1985, the Buffalo Bisons moved up from the EL to the Triple-A American Association, creating a need for an eighth Eastern League franchise, and the Chicago Cubs placed its Double-A affiliate in Wahconah Park. The Pittsfield Cubs played through 1988, fielding such players as Rafael Palmeiro and Mark Grace, and winning the 1987 regular season title. But the Cubs' attendance was mired at the bottom of the league. After 1988, the Eastern League reorganized, replacing Pittsfield and other under-performing franchises with new cities.

However, Pittsfield continued to participate in professional baseball at a lower classification, in the Short Season Class A New York-Penn League (1989-2001) and in various independent baseball leagues since 2002.

References

* Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., "The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball," 3rd edition. Durham, N.C.: Baseball America, 2007.