Tombstone
Born: December 1964 – The Reading Red Sox relocate to Pittsfield, MA
Moved: October 1969 (Pawtucket Red Sox)
First Game: April 24, 1965 (W 5-1 vs. Springfield Giants)
Last Game: September 2, 1969 (W 7-4 vs. York Pirates)
Eastern League Champions: 1965
Stadium
Wahconah Park (3,500)11969 York Pirates Program
Ownership & Affiliation
Owner: Joe Buzas
Major League Affiliation: Boston Red Sox
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Attendance
Source: The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (3rd ed.), Lloyd Johnson & Miles Wolff, 2007
Background
The Pittsfield-Berkshire Red Sox, also known simply as the Pittsfield Red Sox, were a Class AA farm club of the Boston Red Sox for five seasons during the late 1960’s. When the team arrived from Reading, Pennsylvania in late 1964 it marked the return of professional baseball to the Western Massachusetts city after a 13-year absence.
1965: A Pennant & A Triple Crown
The 1965 squad, managed by Eddie Popowski, edged out the Elmira Pioneers by a single game to win the Eastern League pennant during their first season in the Berkshires. Pittsfield also led the Eastern League in attendance that summer with 79,001 fans passing through the Wahconah Park turnstiles.
Future BoSox star George “Boomer” Scott won the 1965 Eastern League Triple Crown in preposterous fashion on the season’s final day at Wahconah Park. Facing the Springfield Giants, Scott homered in his final plate appearance of the year during the 8th inning. The homer not only clinched the pennant for Pittsfield, it lifted him past teammates Owen Johnson and Chris Coletta in all three Triple Crown categories. Scott finished with 25 homers to Johnson’s 24, 94 RBIs to Johnson’s 93 and a .319 batting average to Coletta’s .318.
Scott also accomplished the extremely odd feat of winning a Triple Crown without earning his league’s Most Valuable Player honors. That accolade went to his teammate Owen Johnson, a 27-year old journeyman catcher who would never make the Major Leagues.
Future Stars
Besides Boomer Scott, a number of other future Red Sox stars came through Pittsfield on the road to Fenway during the 1960’s. Top prospects included:
- Outfielder Reggie Smith (Pittsfield ’65)
- Pitcher Sparky Lyle (Pittsfield ’66)
- Pitcher Ken Brett (Pittsfield ’67)
- Future Hall-of-Famer Carlton Fisk (Pittsfield ’69)
- Pitcher Bill “Spaceman” Lee (Pittsfield ’69)
Final Seasons & Move To Rhode Island
The 1968 Pittsfield-Berkshire Red Sox won the pennant again with an 84-55 record. Unlike 1965, the Eastern League held playoffs in 1968. The Sox lost to the Reading Phillies three game to one in the finals. Third sacker Carmen Fanzone (.270, 17 HR, 70 RBI) took home Eastern League MVP honors for 1968.
During the 1969 season, the Pittsfield Red Sox sold “home” games all over New England, supplementing their Wahconah Park homestands with appearances West Haven, Holyoke, Chicopee, Greenfield and Pawtucket. Shortly after the season, owner Joe Buzas moved the team to Pawtucket’s McCoy Stadium permanently.
The Washington Senators quickly moved in to replace the departing Red Sox and McCoy Stadium and Pittsfield remained in the Eastern League with the Senators, Rangers and Brewers until 1976. (Eastern League baseball would return to the city again in the mid-1980’s.)
Trivia
18-year old pitcher Ken Brett won 10 games for Pittsfield during the summer of 1967. He was promoted to Boston and turned 19 that September. Brett pitched one-and-a-third innings for the Sox in the 1967 World Series against St. Louis, making him the youngest man ever to pitch in a World Series at the time at 19 years and 1 month old.
Pittsfield Red Sox Shop
In Memoriam
Pitcher Ken Brett (Pittsfield ’67) died of brain cancer on November 18, 2003 at age 55. New York Times obituary.
Links
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