Tombstone
Born: November 1971 – The Waterbury Pirates relocate to Sherbrooke, Quebec
Moved: 1974 (Thetford Mines Pirates)
First Game: April 22, 1972 (W 4-3 @ Pittsfield Rangers)
Last Game: September 3, 1973 (W 5-1 vs. Les Aigles de Trois-Rivieres)
Eastern League Championships: None
Stadium
Ownership & Affiliation
Owner: Ray Blomquist
Major League Affiliation: Pittsburgh Pirates
Attendance
Background
The Sherbrooke Pirates were the Class AA farm club of the Pittsburgh Pirates for two seasons in the early 1970’s. Pittsburgh shifted their Eastern League farm club to Sherbrooke from Waterbury, Connecticut in November 1971, which was part of a larger Eastern League push into the province of Quebec during the era. The league added clubs in Quebec City and Trois-Rivieres in 1971 and by 1972 three of the circuit’s eight clubs were located in French Canada.
The Pirates had a strong farm system at the time, with future Major League All-Stars Tony Armas and Kent Tekulve spending time in Sherbrooke on their way to The Show.
Oddly, the team moved 65 miles north to the small asbestos mining community of Thetford Mines after the 1973 season. Attendance collapsed from 70,000 during the Pirates final season in Sherbooke to only 22,000 in Thetford Mines in 1974. Consequently, the Pirates abandoned French Canada and the Eastern League in 1975 and transferred their Class AA operation to Shreveport, Louisiana in the Texas League.
Sherbrooke has not had professional baseball since the Pirates left town after the summer of 1973. Amedee Roy Stadium still stands, however, and is used periodically for amateur baseball leagues and tournaments.
In Memoriam
Pitcher Juan Jimenez (1973), who later played briefly with Pittsburgh in 1974, died October 12, 2008 at age 59.
Links
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