The Allentown Red Sox (''A-Sox'') were a minor league baseball team, affiliated with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

and based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, that played from 1958 through 1960 in the Eastern League. At that time, the Eastern League was officially Class A, but, prior to the minor-league classification realignment that took place in 1963, that level was almost equivalent to Double-A.

History

From 1939 through 1952, Allentown had hosted a Class B

Interstate League The Interstate League was the name of five different American minor baseball leagues that played intermittently from 1896 through 1952. Early leagues Earlier versions of the Interstate League, with years active: *1896–1901: an unclassified ...

franchise, the

Cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

—also the ''Dukes, FleetWings'' and ''Wings''—and for much of that period, it was an affiliate of the namesake

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. When the Interstate loop folded, the Cardinals returned to Allentown in 1954 as a member of the Eastern League for three seasons, through 1956. The Allentown Red Sox franchise dates to 1933 as the

Reading Phillies Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

. It became a farm team for the Red Sox in 1938 as the Hazelton (PA) Red Sox. In 1957, the Red Sox purchased the former Detroit Tigers Eastern League team, the

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

, and moved the club to Allentown mid-season, being operated as an unaffiliated team for the balance of the season. The Red Sox ended their affiliation with their Eastern League team in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

after the season and reassigned it to Allentown for the 1958 season. Owned by

Joe Buzas Joseph John Buzas (October 2, 1918 – March 19, 2003)Breadon Field Breadon Field was a minor league ballpark in Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania, located on the east side of MacArthur Road, about north of the U.S. Route 22 interchange outside of Allentown, Pennsylvania. During its existence, the field was ...

), owned by Max Hess, Jr., owner of the Allentown Hess Brothers department store. Former Allentown player Tracy Stallard is remembered as the pitcher who served up Roger Maris' 61st home run in 1961 while playing for Boston. Another player who appeared at the stadium was

Curt Simmons Curtis Thomas Simmons (May 19, 1929 – December 13, 2022) was an American professional baseball left-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to and to . Along with right-hander Robin Roberts (a member of the Baseball H ...

, a native of Egypt, Pennsylvania, who pitched at Max Hess Stadium in a rehab assignment for the Asheville (NC) Tourists, a farm team of the Philadelphia Phillies. The presence of Curt Simmons filled up the stands. For the 1960 season,

Bob Heffner Robert Frederic Heffner (born September 13, 1938) nicknamed "Butch", was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher with the Boston Red Sox (–), Cleveland Indians (), and California Angels (). He stood tall and weighed , in his playing days. ...

, who graduated from

Allentown High School Allentown High School is a public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from three communities in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Upper Freehold Regional School District. The scho ...

as a two-sport letterman in 1957 played for the A-Sox. He had the best pitching record on the club at 16-9. Heffner later played in the majors for the Red Sox,

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

and California Angels in 1968. The A-Sox's best season was 1960. On September 3, 1960, the Red Sox kept its Eastern League playoff hopes alive with a 7-6, 3-2 sweep of Williamsport at Hess Stadium, the second of four straight doubleheaders the A-Sox played to close out the season. Two days later, Allentown's playoff bid ended in a 5-4, 11-inning defeat at Springfield in the first game of a Labor Day doubleheader. The holiday crowd of 1,297 at Hess Stadium witnessed the last professional baseball game in Allentown for 37 years.

Legacy

After the 1960 season, the team was relocated due to a lack of attendance (average of 650 fans per game in 1960),Box Office Anemia, The Morning Call, March 30, 2008
/ref> the team moved to

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, Johnstown is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, whi ...

on December 5, 1960, for the 1961 season played as the Johnstown Red Sox at Point Stadium. Over subsequent seasons, the club has remained in the Eastern League under different names in various cities: * 1962

York White Roses The York White Roses was the name of a minor league baseball team in the city of York, Pennsylvania, US, that existed from 1894–1969. History Early years The York White Roses began as members of the short-lived Keystone Association in 1884. ...

, York, Pennsylvania (Class A) * 1963–1964

Reading Red Sox The Reading Red Sox were a minor league baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox baseball franchise. History The team was based in Reading, Pennsylvania, and played in the Class A New York–Pennsylvania League (1933–1934) and its successor le ...

, Reading, Pennsylvania (Double-A hereafter) * 1965–1969

Pittsfield Red Sox The Pittsfield Red Sox was the name of an American minor league baseball franchise based in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, from 1965 through 1969. It was the Double-A Eastern League affiliate in the Boston Red Sox farm system and produced future Majo ...

, Pittsfield, Massachusetts * 1970–1972

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

, Pawtucket, Rhode Island * 1973–1982 Bristol Red Sox, Bristol, Connecticut * 1983–1994 New Britain Red Sox, New Britain, Connecticut * 1995–2015 Hardware City/New Britain Rock Cats, New Britain, Connecticut (affiliated with Minnesota Twins, then Colorado Rockies) * 2016–

Hartford Yard Goats The Hartford Yard Goats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The Yard Goats, which play in the Eastern League, are the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. The team was founded in 2016 when the New Britain ...

, Hartford, Connecticut (Colorado Rockies) The Red Sox parted company with the franchise in 1995, signing a player development contract with the

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the ...

. Since 2003, the

Portland Sea Dogs The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Maine, playing in the Eastern League. Established in 1994, the Sea Dogs are the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. The Sea Dogs became part of the Red Sox syst ...

have been Boston's affiliate in the Eastern League.

Seasons

* 1958 Season : Won: 51 Lost: 83 Pct: .381 4th Place Eastern Division, 24 GB : Manager: Eddie Popowski
1958 Complete Team Statistics
* 1959 Season : Won: 82 Lost: 59 Pct: .582 2nd Place, 3 GB : Manager: Sheriff Robinson : Attendance: 84,000
1959 Complete Team Statistics
* 1960 Season : Won: 67 Lost: 72 Pct: .482 5th Place, 9 GB : Manager: Sheriff Robinson : Attendance: 51,654
1960 Complete Team Statistics

Major league players

* Joe Albanese, 1958 *: Washington Senators, AL, 1958 * Al Cihocki, 1958 *: Cleveland Indians, AL, 1945 * Galen Cisco, 1959 *: Boston Red Sox, AL, 1961, 1967 *: New York Mets, NL, 1963-1964 *: Kansas City Royals, AL, 1969 * Marlan Coughtry, 1959, 1960 *: Boston Red Sox, AL, 1960 *: Los Angeles Angels, AL, 1962 *: Kansas City Athletics, AL, 1962 *: Cleveland Indians, AL, 1962 * Arnold Earley, 1959 *: Boston Red Sox, AL, 1960-1965 *: Chicago Cubs, NL, 1966 *: Houston Astros, NL, 1967 * Don Gile, 1958, 1959 *: Boston Red Sox, AL, 1959-1962 * Guido Grilli, 1960 *: Boston Red Sox, AL, 1966 *: Kansas City Athletics, AL, 1966 *

, 1959, 1960 *: Boston Red Sox, AL, 1963-1965 *: Cleveland Indians, AL, 1966 *

Jim Kirby James B. Kirby (September 28, 1884 – June 9, 1971) was an American inventor and self-taught electrical engineer who focused his career on "eliminating the drudgery of housework". He is known mostly for inventing the Kirby vacuum cleaner ...

, 1958 *: Chicago Cubs, NL, 1940 * Hal Kolstad, 1959 *: Boston Red Sox, AL, 1962-1963 *

Jerry Mallett Gerald Gordon Mallett (born September 18, 1935 in Bonne Terre, Missouri) is an American former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played briefly for the Boston Red Sox during the 1959 season. Listed at , , he batted and threw right-hande ...

, 1958, 1959, 1960 *: Boston Red Sox, AL, 1959 * Al Moran, 1958, 1959, 1960 *: New York Mets, NL, 1963-1964 *

Jim Pagliaroni James Vincent "Pag" Pagliaroni (December 8, 1937 – April 3, 2010) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1955 to 1969 for the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Oakland Athletics and ...

, 1958 *: Boston Red Sox, AL, 1960-1962 *: Pittsburgh Pirates, NL, 1963-1967 *: Oakland Athletics, AL, 1967 *: Seattle Pilots, AL, 1969 * Bill Pleis, 1958 *: Minnesota Twins, 1961-1966 * Jay Ritchie, 1958, 1959 *: Boston Red Sox, AL, 1964-1965 *: Atlanta Braves, NL, 1966-1967 *: Cincinnati Reds, NL, 1968 *

Ted Schreiber Theodore Henry Schreiber (July 11, 1938 – September 8, 2022) was an American professional baseball player. He played part of one season () in Major League Baseball — largely as a third baseman — with the New York Mets, batting .160 with no ...

, 1959, 1960 *: New York Mets, NL, 1963 * Tracy Stallard, 1959, 1960 *: Boston Red Sox, AL, 1960-1962 *: New York Mets, NL, 1963-1964 *: St. Louis Cardinals, NL, 1965-1966 * Bob Tillman, 1959 *: Boston Red Sox, AL, 1962-1967 *: New York Yankees, AL, 1967 *: Atlanta Braves, NL, 1968-1970

Notes

References