The Pittsfield Red Sox was the name of an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 minor league baseball

Minor league baseball

Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

 franchise based in Pittsfield, Massachusetts

Pittsfield, Massachusetts

Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Its area code is 413. Its ZIP code is 01201...

, from 1965 through 1969. It was the Double-A Eastern League

Eastern League (U.S. baseball)

The Eastern League is a minor league baseball league which operates primarily in the northeastern United States, although it has had a team in Ohio since 1989. The Eastern League has played at the AA level since 1963. The league was founded in 1923 as the New York-Pennsylvania League...

 affiliate in the Boston Red Sox

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...

 farm system and produced future Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 players such as George Scott, Sparky Lyle

Sparky Lyle

Albert Walter "Sparky" Lyle is an American former left-handed relief pitcher who spent sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball . He was a closer from 1969 to 1977, first for the Boston Red Sox and then the New York Yankees. A three-time All-Star, he won the American League Cy Young Award in 1977...

, Reggie Smith

Reggie Smith

Carl Reginald Smith is a former Major League Baseball outfielder, coach and front office executive. During a 17-year big league career , Smith appeared in 1,987 games, hit 314 home runs and batted .287. He was a switch-hitter who threw right-handed. In his prime, he had one of the strongest...

 and Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk

Carlton Fisk

Carlton Ernest Fisk , nicknamed "Pudge" or "The Commander", is a former Major League Baseball catcher. During a 24-year baseball career, he played for both the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox .Fisk was known by the nickname "Pudge" due to his 6'2", 220 lb frame...

. The team played at Wahconah Park

Wahconah Park

Wahconah Park is a city-owned baseball park located in Pittsfield, Massachusetts and nestled in a working class neighborhood. One of the last remaining ballparks in the United States with a wooden grandstand, it was constructed in 1919 and seats 4,500. The stadium is now currently home to the, yet...

.

Professional baseball in Pittsfield before 1965

The Berkshire

Berkshire County, Massachusetts

Berkshire County is a non-governmental county located on the western edge of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2010 census, the population was 131,219. Its largest city and traditional county seat is Pittsfield...

 city fielded its first team in Organized Baseball in 1894 when the Pittsfield Colts debuted in the New York State League

New York State League

This article refers to the modern New York State League. For the original incarnations of the New York State League see New York State League ...

, but the Colts folded after 30 games. 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

Eastern League (baseball, 1916-32)

The Eastern League of 1916 through the mid-season of 1932 was an American minor baseball league and the third of four circuits to use the Eastern League name since the 19th century...

 (then Class A) in 1919-20 as the Hillies, and won the 1919 EL pennant.

Pittsfield then fielded a team in the Class C Canadian-American League

Canadian-American League

This article refers to the original incarnation of the Can-Am League, which operated between 1936 and 1951. For the modern league, see Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball...

 from 1941 through 1951 (although the league suspended operations for 1943-45 due to World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

). This club, initially nicknamed the Electrics, was affiliated with the Detroit Tigers

Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...

 (1942), Cleveland Indians

Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...

 (1946–50) and Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

 (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

Joe Buzas

Joseph John "Joe" Buzas was a Major League Baseball shortstop. Buzas played for the New York Yankees in the baseball season. In 30 career games, he had 17 hits, 6 RBIs and a .262 batting average. He batted and threw right-handed.He was the owner of the Salt Lake Stingers and the team's president...

, owner of the Reading Red Sox

Reading Red Sox

The Reading Red Sox are a defunct minor league baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox baseball franchise.The ball club was based in Reading, Pennsylvania, and played in the Class A New York-Pennsylvania League and its successor league, the Class AA Eastern League...

, Boston's Class AA farm team, announced plans to move his franchise to Pittsfield. The 1965 Pittsfield club, managed by Eddie Popowski

Eddie Popowski

Edward Joseph Popowski , nicknamed "Pop," was an American coach and interim manager for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball...

, proved to be a powerhouse. Led by Scott, who won the league's Triple Crown

Triple crown (baseball)

In Major League Baseball, a player earns the Triple Crown when he leads a league in three specific statistical categories. For batters, a player must lead the league in home runs, run batted in , and batting average; pitchers must lead the league in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average...

, and left-handed pitcher Billy Macleod

Billy Macleod

William Daniel MacLeod is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played briefly for the Boston Red Sox during the 1962 season. Listed at 6' 2", 190 lb., he batted and threw left-handed....

, a Gloucester, Massachusetts

Gloucester, Massachusetts

Gloucester is a city on Cape Ann in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is part of Massachusetts' North Shore. The population was 28,789 at the 2010 U.S. Census...

, native who had a perfect 18-0 season, the Red Sox won 85 of 140 games and nipped the Elmira Pioneers

Elmira Pioneers

The Elmira Pioneers are an amateur baseball team based in Elmira, New York. They currently compete in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, a wood bat collegiate summer baseball league. Prior to the 2006 baseball season, the team was a professional ballclub with a rich history of league...

 (a Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...

 farm team led by Earl Weaver

Earl Weaver

Earl Sidney Weaver is a former Major League Baseball manager. He spent his entire 17-year managerial career with the Baltimore Orioles . Weaver was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.-Playing career:After playing for Beaumont High School in St...

) 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

Billy Gardner

William Frederick Gardner is an American former Major League Baseball player, coach and manager. Gardner was a scrappy light-hitting second baseman who batted and threw right-handed. Gardner played for the New York Giants, Baltimore Orioles, Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees,...

, won 84 of 139 games and the regular-season title. That club was paced by future MLB infielder

Infielder

An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field.-Standard arrangement of positions:In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles...

s Luis Alvarado

Luis Alvarado

Luis César Alvarado Martínez , born in Lajas, Puerto Rico, was a utility infielder in Major League Baseball....

 and Carmen Fanzone

Carmen Fanzone

Carmen Ronald Fanzone is a former utility man who played between and in Major League Baseball. Listed at 6' 0", 200 lb., he batted and threw right-handed...

. 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

Pawtucket, Rhode Island

Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 71,148 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth largest city in the state.-History:...

, and McCoy Stadium

McCoy Stadium

McCoy Stadium is a Minor League baseball stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. It is currently home to the Pawtucket Red Sox of the International League.-History:...

 in 1970.

Later Eastern League franchises

The Washington Senators

Texas Rangers (baseball)

The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...

 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

Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

 replaced the Rangers in 1976, and the team played a season as the Berkshire Brewers

Berkshire Brewers

The Berkshire Brewers were a minor league baseball team that operated in 1976. They played in the Eastern League.-Future Major League Berkshire Brewers:*Dick Davis*Greg Erardi*Gary Holle*Dan Thomas*Gary Beare*Barry Cort*Greg Erardi*Sam Hinds...

. With fan support at a new low — only 23,500 fans came through the turnstiles all season — the franchise moved to Holyoke, Massachusetts

Holyoke, Massachusetts

Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range of mountains. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 39,880...

, as the Holyoke Millers

Holyoke Millers

The Holyoke Millers were a minor league baseball team located in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The team played in the Eastern League. Their home stadium was Mackenzie Stadium. The Millers played from 1977 to 1982 and was a farm team of the Milwaukee Brewers the first four years and the California...

, and Pittsfield was again left without baseball, this time for eight seasons.

But in 1985, the Buffalo Bisons

Buffalo Bisons

The Buffalo Bisons are a minor league baseball team based in Buffalo, New York. They currently play in the International League and are the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets...

 moved up from the EL to the Triple-A American Association

American Association (20th century)

The American Association was a minor league baseball league at the Triple-A level of baseball in the United States from to and to . Together with the International League, it contested the Junior World Series which determined the championship team in minor league baseball, at least for the...

, creating a need for an eighth Eastern League franchise, and the Chicago Cubs

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...

 placed their Double-A affiliate in Wahconah Park. The Pittsfield Cubs

Pittsfield Cubs

The Pittsfield Cubs, located in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, were a minor league baseball team that played in the Eastern League from 1985 to 1988...

 played through 1988, fielding such players as Rafael Palmeiro

Rafael Palmeiro

Rafael Palmeiro Corrales is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and left fielder. Palmeiro was an All-American at Mississippi State University before being drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1985...

 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.

Future Major League Pittsfield Red Sox

• Chris Coletta
  Chris Coletta
  Christopher Michael Coletta is a retired professional baseball player who played one season for the California Angels of Major League Baseball. Coletta was also with the Boston Red Sox organization and had an impressive career in the International League...
  
   (1965–1969)
• Pete Magrini
  Pete Magrini
  Peter Alexander Magrini is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox. He attended Santa Clara University, where he struck out Willie Mays during an exhibition game against the San Francisco Giants. He was signed as an amateur by the Minnesota Twins in...
  
   (1965)
• Al Montreuil
  Al Montreuil
  Allan Arthur Montreuil was an American Major League Baseball second baseman who played 5 games for the 1972 Chicago Cubs....
  
   (1965–1968)
• Jerry Moses
  Jerry Moses
  Gerald Braheen Moses is a retired American professional baseball player. A catcher, he signed a bonus contract with the Boston Red Sox in and spent his early Major League Baseball career with the Bosox, but over the course of his nine years in MLB Moses would play for seven different teams...
  
   (1965–1967)
• George Scott (1965)
• Reggie Smith
  Reggie Smith
  Carl Reginald Smith is a former Major League Baseball outfielder, coach and front office executive. During a 17-year big league career , Smith appeared in 1,987 games, hit 314 home runs and batted .287. He was a switch-hitter who threw right-handed. In his prime, he had one of the strongest...
  
   (1965)
• Gary Waslewski
  Gary Waslewski
  Gary Lee Waslewski was a Major League Baseball player who played as a pitcher from 1967-72. He was 11-26 with 5 saves in his career, with an ERA of 3.44....
  
   (1965)
• Fred Wenz
  Fred Wenz
  Frederick Charles "Fireball" Wenz is a former middle relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from through for the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies...
  
   (1965)
• Billy Conigliaro
  Billy Conigliaro
  William Michael Conigliaro is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who played in the American League for the Boston Red Sox , Milwaukee Brewers and Oakland Athletics...
  
   (1966, 1968)
• Carmen Fanzone
  Carmen Fanzone
  Carmen Ronald Fanzone is a former utility man who played between and in Major League Baseball. Listed at 6' 0", 200 lb., he batted and threw right-handed...
  
   (1966–1968)
• Jerry Janeski
  Jerry Janeski
  Gerald Joseph Janeski , was an American baseball player who played pitcher in the Major Leagues from 1970-1972. He played for the Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers and Washington Senators.-External links:...
  
   (1966, 1968)
• Sparky Lyle
  Sparky Lyle
  Albert Walter "Sparky" Lyle is an American former left-handed relief pitcher who spent sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball . He was a closer from 1969 to 1977, first for the Boston Red Sox and then the New York Yankees. A three-time All-Star, he won the American League Cy Young Award in 1977...
  
   (1966)
• Bobby Mitchell
  Bobby Mitchell (1970s outfielder)
  Robert Vance Mitchell, better known as Bobby Mitchell is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He was born on October 22, 1943 in Norristown, Pennsylvania. He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 1965. Mitchell played for the New York Yankees in 1970 and the Milwaukee Brewers in 1971-1975...
  
   (1966–1967)
• Bob Montgomery (1966)

• Ken Wright (1966–1968)
• Ken Brett
  Ken Brett
  Kenneth Alven Brett was a Major League Baseball pitcher and the second of four Brett brothers who played professional baseball, the most notable being the youngest, George Brett.Ken played for 10 teams in his 14-year MLB career.Born in Brooklyn, Ken Brett grew up in southern California and was an...
  
   (1967)
• Russ Gibson
  Russ Gibson
  John Russell Gibson was an American reserve catcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants between and . Listed at 6' 1", 195 lb., he batted and threw right-handed. Gibson was born and raised in Fall River, Massachusetts, and was a graduate of B.M.C...
  
   (1967)
• Ron Klimkowski
  Ron Klimkowski
  Ronald Bernard Klimkowski was a baseball player born in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was a right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher and junkball specialist. He played for the New York Yankees and the Oakland Athletics during his career.Klimkowski attended college at Morehead State University...
  
   (1967)
• Ed Phillips (1967)
• Ken Poulsen
  Ken Poulsen
  Ken Sterling Poulsen is a former utility in Major League Baseball who played briefly for the Boston Red Sox during the season...
  
   (1967)
• Luis Alvarado
  Luis Alvarado
  Luis César Alvarado Martínez , born in Lajas, Puerto Rico, was a utility infielder in Major League Baseball....
  
   (1968)
• Dick Baney
  Dick Baney
  Richard Lee Baney is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox with the 9th pick of the secondary phase of the 1966 amateur draft, and later drafted by the Seattle Pilots from the Red Sox as the 33rd pick in the 1968 expansion draft...
  
   (1968)
• Mark Schaeffer
  Mark Schaeffer
  Mark Philip Schaeffer is former Major League Baseball pitcher. Schaeffer played for the San Diego Padres in . He batted and threw left-handed.-External links:*...
  
   (1968)
• Carlton Fisk
  Carlton Fisk
  Carlton Ernest Fisk , nicknamed "Pudge" or "The Commander", is a former Major League Baseball catcher. During a 24-year baseball career, he played for both the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox .Fisk was known by the nickname "Pudge" due to his 6'2", 220 lb frame...
  
   (1969)
• Buddy Hunter
  Buddy Hunter
  Harold James "Buddy" Hunter is a former utility infielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox in part of three seasons . Listed at 5' 10", 170 lb., Hunter bat and threw right-handed...
  
   (1969)
• Bill Lee
  Bill Lee (left-handed pitcher)
  William Francis Lee III , nicknamed "Spaceman", is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for the Boston Red Sox from - and the Montreal Expos from -...
  
   (1969)
• Rick Miller (1969)
• Dick Mills
  Dick Mills (baseball)
  Richard Alan Mills is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. Mills had originally been drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1965 amateur draft and by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the January 1966 draft, but did not sign with a major league team until he was drafted by his...
  
   (1969)

Pittsfield Red Sox with previous Major League Experience

• Dave Gray
  Dave Gray
  David Alexander Gray is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played briefly for the Boston Red Sox during the 1964 season. Listed at 6' 1", 190 lb., he batted and threw right-handed....
  
   (1965)
• Billy Macleod
  Billy Macleod
  William Daniel MacLeod is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played briefly for the Boston Red Sox during the 1962 season. Listed at 6' 2", 190 lb., he batted and threw left-handed....
  
   (1965)
• Pete Smith
  Pete Smith (1962-63 pitcher)
  Peter Luke Smith is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from to for the Boston Red Sox. Listed at 6' 2", 190 lb., Smith batted and threw right-handed...
  
   (1965)
• Ed Connolly
  Ed Connolly (pitcher)
  Edward Joseph Connolly, Jr. was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians . Connolly batted and threw left-handed. He was born in Brooklyn, New York...
  
   (1966)
• Bobby Guindon
  Bobby Guindon
  Robert Joseph Guindon is a former utility player in Major League Baseball who played briefly for the Boston Red Sox during the season. Listed at 6' 2", 185 lb., he batted and threw left-handed....
  
   (1966–1968)
• Pete Charton
  Pete Charton
  Frank Lane "Pete" Charton is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.Charton was signed in 1963 by the Boston Red Sox as a free agent out of the Baylor University...
  
   (1967)
• Galen Cisco
  Galen Cisco
  Galen Bernard Cisco is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for three different teams between and . Listed at 6' 0", 200 lb., Cisco batted and threw right-handed...
  
   (1967)

• Billy Gardner
  Billy Gardner
  William Frederick Gardner is an American former Major League Baseball player, coach and manager. Gardner was a scrappy light-hitting second baseman who batted and threw right-handed. Gardner played for the New York Giants, Baltimore Orioles, Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees,...
  
   (1967, 1969)
• Bill Schlesinger (1967–1968)
• Jose Tartabull
  José Tartabull
  José Milages Tartabull Guzmán is a retired Major League Baseball outfielder; his Major League career lasted nine years, from 1962 to 1970...
  
   (1967)
• Dave Gray
  Dave Gray
  David Alexander Gray is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played briefly for the Boston Red Sox during the 1964 season. Listed at 6' 1", 190 lb., he batted and threw right-handed....
  
   (1968–1969)
• Russ Nixon
  Russ Nixon
  Russell Eugene Nixon is a former catcher, coach and manager in American Major League Baseball. A veteran of 55 years in professional baseball, Nixon has managed at virtually every level of the sport, from the lowest minor league to MLB assignments with the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves...
  
   (1968)
• Fred Wenz
  Fred Wenz
  Frederick Charles "Fireball" Wenz is a former middle relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from through for the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies...
  
   (1969)
• Tom Parsons
  Tom Parsons (baseball)
  Thomas Anthony Parsons is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Mets .- External links :*...
  
  (1969)