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Filling the bleachers at the old Amenia High School field, Would there be baseball if there were no fans? In baseball lingo the word “fan” has two meanings. Webster defines a fan as an enthusiastic follower of a sport or entertainment, while in the game of baseball it means to strike out. We are going to discuss the first meaning, although, if teams strike out too much and begin to lose games, the fans might not be as enthusiastic. In the first article in this series, “Amenia Has Always Been a Baseball Town”, there was a reference to John Crossen as Amenia’s Oldest Fan in 1966. How did that designation come about? John’s daughter Catherine wrote to a newspaper correspondent, saying: “Father missed reading your column in the News this week, especially concerning the baseball news.” Spurred by this concern, the article that followed included some great history about local baseball and the man, John Crossen, who came to Amenia and became partner in the Mahoney & Crossen store in Wassaic. Crossen followed “Amenia’s colorful career on the diamond” for approximately 70 years. Now that’s being a FAN. In the fourth edition of the Early History of Amenia with Impressions by Dewey Barry, Barry says, in the section devoted to the Amenia Field Day and the years 1910 – 1914, he said: “No field day in those years would have been complete without its baseball game at a time in the nation’s history when the sport had a special allure”. Joe Poillucci, in his book, Baseball in Dutchess County, has many comments about fans. “In 1931, the Depression was getting worse but baseball kept getting more popular. Times were tough but the fans still loved the game and would usually scrape up enough money to go to a game and cheer for their favorite player and teams.” Later, in 1950, Pollucci added, “The fans of eastern Dutchess loved their baseball and continued to support the league by turning out in good numbers for the Sunday afternoon games.” The teams from New York were Amenia, Millerton, Millbrook and Pine Plains and those from Connecticut were Canaan, Oakville, Sharon and Lakeville. Our own John Quinn, in his research on baseball, notes that attendance at an Inter-State game could be anywhere from 700-800 fans and for special games that number could go up to 2000. And in a really great quote about fans from an undated article by Bob Palmer Jr. of the Waterbury Republican writing about the Tri-State League (which followed the Inter-State League after 1967), Palmer said of the fans from the more rural towns, “The fans are a special breed, but then again most country folk are”. Today’s Monarchs, the Amenia team managed by Town Downey, has recently returned to action at Amenia’s Beekman Park. The Monarchs reigned supreme for the last half of the 1900’s, and won many Tri-State League championships during those years. Enthusiastically support Amenia’s past time right here in Amenia when Spring time rolls around and be part of some of the greatest history in town. BE A BASEBALL FAN. For more information about local baseball check out Baseball in Dutchess County, a paperback by Joseph Pallucci – published in 2000. |
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©2007 Amenia Historical Society |
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