Several different Minor League Baseball teams have been located in the city of Waterbury, Connecticut since 1884.
16-722: The earliest Waterbury teams played in the Connecticut State League between 1884 and 1912. These teams went by several different nicknames during this period, including the Brassmen, Brass City, Indians, Pirates, Rough Riders, Authors, Invisibles, Finnegans, Champs and Spuds . The Waterbury Brasscos (also called the Nattatucks ) played in the Eastern League from 1918 to 1928. They won two league titles in 1924 and 1925. The Waterbury Timers played in
32-643: A few full seasons "every day". Following the 1872 Mansfields, Murnane played in the majors for the Philadelphia Athletics (1873–74), Philadelphia White Stockings (1875), Boston Red Caps (1876–77), Providence Grays (1878)—as the first player signed by a new club—and finally the Boston Reds (1884), whom he also managed. During eight seasons in the major leagues Murnane batted .261 with five home runs and 127 runs batted in . Highlights of his playing days would include finishing fifth in
48-757: A heart attack while attending the opera at the Schubert Theatre in Boston. News reports said his death came only about 30 minutes after he had written his daily sports column for the Globe. He was originally buried in the Old Dorchester Burial Ground in Dorchester . Hundreds attended Murnane’s funeral. The pallbearers included Boston mayor James Michael Curley and Congressman James A. Gallivan ; former Red Sox owner John I. Taylor
64-665: Is known about his childhood; he mentioned in one of his newspaper columns that he attended school in a one-room rural schoolhouse. Murnane attended the College of the Holy Cross . During Murnane's early years in baseball, he played as a catcher for the Stratford, Connecticut , club in 1869 ; some old-timers of that era said this club was called the Savannah Seniors. Murnane remained at catcher for two seasons with
80-744: The Colonial League between 1947 and 1950. Waterbury became home to professional baseball again in 1966 when the Waterbury Giants , an affiliate of Major League Baseball 's San Francisco Giants came to town. From 1966-1986 (with the exception of 1972), the Waterbury team played in the Eastern League as an affiliate of the Giants, Cleveland Indians , Pittsburgh Pirates , Los Angeles Dodgers , Oakland Athletics , Cincinnati Reds and California Angels . The team name changed every time
96-1840: The Eastern Association due to several teams outside of the state entering the league. Also a Class B league, it survived two more seasons, then folded after the 1914 season. 1884 Connecticut State League Willimantic expelled September 3. The league played two games each week: Wednesdays and Saturdays 1885 Connecticut State League (Continuation of the Southern New England League ) New Britain disbanded September 8 1888 Connecticut State League President: J. Howard Taylor Bridgeport transferred to Stamford in May, then disbanded June 27. Danbury disbanded June 5. The league disbanded July 25. 1891 Connecticut State League President: A.W. Lang Hartford disbanded June 10; Portland disbanded June 10. 1894 Connecticut State League Standings unknown 1895 Connecticut State League President: Jim O'Rourke 1896 Connecticut State League President: D.W. Porter (aka Naugatuck Valley State League) 1897 Connecticut State League President: Sturgis Whitlock 1898 Connecticut State League President: Sturgis Whitlock New Britain disbanded June 23. Derby disbanded June 25. 1899 Connecticut State League - schedule President: Tim Murnane No Playoffs. 1900 Connecticut State League President: Sturgis Whitlock No Playoffs. 1901 Connecticut State League President: Tim Murnane No Playoffs. 1902 Connecticut State League President: Jim O'Rourke / Sturgis Whitlock No Playoffs. 1903 Connecticut State League President: Sturgis Whitlock No Playoffs: 12 Holyoke games (8-4) were deducted after
112-583: The NL's champion team and one of its anchor franchises. Rather, the Reds or "Unions" were a welcome but decidedly lesser attraction when the Beaneaters were out of town. After his career in uniform, Murnane served as president of the minor league New England League and Eastern League , and went on to a 30-year career as a sportswriter and baseball editor with The Boston Globe . Murnane died in 1917 at age 65 of
128-625: The National Association batting race with an average of .359 in 1872, and leading the NA with 30 stolen bases in 1875. While Providence won the championship in its second season, the 27-year-old Murnane was no longer on the team or in the league. In 1879 and 1880, he played part-time for Capital City (in Albany, New York ), Rochester, and Albany, before retiring "to open a saloon and billard hall in Boston". Murnane returned to baseball and
144-658: The Savannah Seniors, but moved to center field while with the Middletown Mansfields club of Middletown, Connecticut , halfway through the 1871 season. The Mansfields entered the professional National Association for 1872 , which begins Murnane's major league career in records that count the National Association as a major league . He was the Mansfields' regular first basemen; that would be his most common fielding position but he played only
160-543: The Waterbury Spirit, but they folded after the 2000 season, only to be resurrected in 2003 under a new owner, relocating to Lynn, Massachusetts and becoming the North Shore Spirit . Connecticut State League The Connecticut League , also known as the Connecticut State League , was a professional baseball association of teams in the state of Connecticut . The league began as offshoot of
176-535: The affiliation agreement changed hands. Waterbury did not have an Eastern League team at the start of the 1972 season. However, midway through the season, flooding in Elmira, New York made the home ballpark of the Elmira Pioneers unusable, forcing them to play their "home games" in the second half of the 1972 season in Waterbury. The Independent Northeast League chose to place a team in Waterbury in 1997 as
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#1732797927319192-606: The major leagues for one year when the Union Association challenged the newly organized baseball industry, placing one of its eight clubs in Boston, backed by George Wright with Murnane one minor investor. Only 32, he served as recruiter, captain, and first baseman of the Boston Reds and guided them to a fifth-place finish with a record of 58–51. They did not threaten the National League in Boston, home to
208-563: The original Connecticut State League, which dates back as far as 1884. In 1891, the Connecticut State League included the Ansonia Cuban Giants , a team made up of entirely African-American ballplayers, including future Hall of Famers Frank Grant and Sol White . In 1902, it was a Class D league with teams in eight cities. In 1905, the league became Class B , which lasted until 1913, when the league became
224-1016: The season due to ineligible player violations. 1904 Connecticut League President: Jim O'Rourke Worcester (26-11) moved to Norwich June 21. No Playoffs. 1905 Connecticut State League President: Jim O'Rourke No Playoffs. 1906 Connecticut State League President: Jim O'Rourke No Playoffs. 1907 Connecticut State League President: W. J. Tracey No Playoffs. 1908 Connecticut State League President: W. J. Tracey No Playoffs. 1909 Connecticut State League President: Jim O'Rourke No Playoffs. 1910 Connecticut State League - schedule President: W.J. Tracy] No Playoffs. 1911 Connecticut State League President: Jim O'Rourke Northampton and Holyoke disbanded June 26. No Playoffs. 1912 Connecticut State League President: Jim O'Rourke New Britain (12-22) moved to Waterbury June 15. No Playoffs. Tim Murnane As manager Timothy Hayes Murnane (June 4, 1851 – February 7, 1917)
240-580: Was an American sportswriter specializing in baseball , regarded as the leading baseball writer at The Boston Globe for about 30 years until his death. At the same time, he organized and led professional sports leagues and helped govern the baseball industry. He had been a professional baseball player, and played several seasons in the major leagues as a first baseman and center fielder . Born in Naugatuck, Connecticut , Murnane acquired his Irish brogue from his father, an Irish immigrant. Little
256-725: Was an usher. Many ballplayers attended, including Babe Ruth , then a pitcher for the Red Sox. Murnane's place of burial was later moved to the Old Calvary Cemetery in Roslindale . Murnane had left little to care for his widow and four children from his second marriage, so the American League and the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) established a memorial fund for his family and held
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