|
Do you know these players?
The famous “Sunny” Cunningham is the fourth player from the left in the
back row. He was the star of that era.
Amenia has always been a Baseball Town
By Arlene Iuliano
“Baseball’s been king for years in these
towns”, said Doc Bartlett while being interviewed by a local paper in the
1990’s. Tom Downey III made a
similar statement in an interview when talking about the team he coached
for over 25 years, the Amenia Monarchs.
He claimed the Monarch’s success has always been due to the savvy
players on the team, “but only in relation to what he calls the “baseball
town of Amenia
itself.”
Recognized
as the national pastime, the game was invented and named “base ball” in 1839 by Abner Doubleday when he was a schoolboy in Cooperstown, NY. New
York State is also
credited with having the first club to play organized baseball in 1845; and
in Poughkeepsie the
game was first introduced in 1859.
Because local newspaper coverage of baseball games was lacking at
that time, the game also could have been played before then in other parts
of the country.
An
interview done in September 1966 in The
News gave a good picture of events from the late 1800’s to the
1920’s. John Crossen,
born in 1878, who was cited as “Amenia’s Oldest
Fan”, named ballplayers and events that are documented in other newspapers
of this period. It appears that
all games were amateur; however, paid pitchers and catchers were beginning
to be hired as the games increasingly became major town events. While there was no admission charge,
the hat was passed to garner some funds.
Arlene
Iuliano, in charge of the Amenia
Historical Society baseball archives and author of this article, can
personally report that this was so from the 1930’s through the 1950’s since
she attended many games with her family, who were all avid fans.
When
local baseball was being covered by the press, it was done with
enthusiasm. As an example: reporting of activities at the 1890 Dutchess County
Fair included a section on baseball games played at this event. The article began, “Great interest and
excitement was created by the ball games between local clubs” which were
listed as Wassaic, Lithgow, Millbrook and
Lakeville with scores given.
In
1899 a detailed lineup and scores of a game between Amenia
and Wassaic was given with an announcement that
this was part of a series of games and that “People who admire the game
should not miss this series.” A
game played on June 30, 1905 by the Amenia
Club against Philmont was played at the Amenia Diamond, says Pollucci
in his book, Baseball in Dutchess County, also noting that a “July 4th
game is scheduled.” A review of the
lineup listed for Amenia included names of
players from the 1899 team some of whom were still playing in a 1909 Amenia vs. Millbrook 3-day event.
The
year 1910 marked the beginning of Amenia Field
Day at which baseball was a major event.
The celebration was held at Troutbeck and
was an annual event until the beginning of World War I in 1914.
The
early 20th century saw the game of local baseball reported with
more detail, often supported by local businesses, and often included games
with semi-pro teams from New
York and New
Jersey.
By the 1990’s the game was still being played with many local
athletes, some hired players and lots of fans. Throughout the century the game of
baseball continued to dominate the sports scene in Amenia,
aided and abetted by such men as William “Doc” Bartlett and Tom DowneyIII who not only played the game and managed it,
but organized various youth teams in the town, developed the present ball
fields at Amenia (Beekman)
Park and kept great records. The Amenia Historical Society has archived many of “Doc” Bartlett’s
records as well as others, including pictures and newsprint articles.
For more information about local baseball check out Baseball in Dutchess County, a paperback by Joseph Pallucci – published in 2000.
|
