The Catskill Cougars were a minor-league baseball team based in

Mountaindale, New York Mountaindale is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in the town of Fallsburg in Sullivan County, New York, United States, situated at an altitude of . History Mountaindale changed drastically in character from a rural farming hamlet, beginn ...

in the state's

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas cl ...

region. The Cougars played in the North Atlantic League in 1996 and the

Northeast League The Northeast League was a professional independent baseball league that operated in the Northeastern United States from 1995 until 1998 and from 2003 until 2004. Between 1999 and 2002, the league was part of the Northern League after the two leag ...

(later known as the

Can-Am League The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, commonly known as the Can-Am League, was a professional, independent baseball league with teams in the Northeast United States and Eastern Canada, founded in 2005 as a reorganization of ...

), from 1997-1998 and 2000. The North Atlantic and Northeast leagues were independent leagues that were not affiliated with

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

or Minor League Baseball. The Cougars played their home games at Baxter Stadium, and were part-owned by comedian

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on '' Saturday Nig ...

North Atlantic League

The team played as one of the six teams in the inaugural 1995 season of the Northeast League. The following year, a new ownership group moved the renamed Cougars to the year-old North Atlantic League. In their first season, aided by several victories by default over the bankrupt Nashua Hawks, Catskill finished 35-35, good enough for second place and a spot in the league championship series against the

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, who finished 14 1/2 games ahead of the rest of the NAL. The Cougars then stunned the Mad Dogs by sweeping the best-of-three title series, two games to none, becoming the first pro baseball team based in Sullivan County to win a championship. The team also did well in attendance, averaging 1,075 fans per game, which ranked third in the six-team league. The Cougars used former major-leaguers

Wally Backman Walter Wayne Backman (born September 22, 1959) is an American former Major League Baseball second baseman. He is best known for his time with the New York Mets from – and was a member of their 1986 World Series-winning team. He was also the for ...

and

Gates Brown William James "Gates" Brown (May 2, 1939 – September 27, 2013) was an American Major League Baseball left fielder who spent his entire career with the Detroit Tigers (1963–1975). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Early life Brown ...

as managers. However, the North Atlantic League filed for bankruptcy and folded after the 1996 season.Archive - recordonline.com - Middletown, NY
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Northeast League

By 1997, the Northeast League had grown to 8 teams. The Cougars entered the league, but did not enjoy the same success; they finished the season in the cellar (21-62) and were last in the league in almost all offensive, pitching and defensive categories. They still averaged 925 fans per game. The team featured former major-leaguers

Vance Lovelace Vance Odell Lovelace (born August 9, 1963) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher from 1988 to 1990 for the California Angels and Seattle Mariners. Lovelace was a southpaw power pitcher from Tampa's Hillsborough High School, the same school w ...

Kerwin Moore Kerwin Lamar Moore (born October 29, 1970) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played for the Oakland Athletics of the Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the ...

, and Matt Murray. In 1998, the Cougars improved on the field, finishing 6th in the league (36-47). The team was led by former

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

player Juan Guerrero. The Cougars drew about 1,000 fans per game. However, other teams in the league such as

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, Albany and

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

were averaging about 2,300 fans per game, thus breaking the 100,000 fan mark for the season. The Cougars suspended operations after the 1998 season.

Northern League - East

The

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assumed Catskill's spot in the league for the 1999 season, and the

merged with the successful Northern League to form the Northern League-East. But prior to the start of the 2000 season, the

ran into financial trouble and folded. The league needed a team to fill the eighth slot and the Cougars stepped up. New owner Van Schley gave Baxter Field a $150,000 facelift. But the Cougars finished 7th (38-47), and the break in play caused average attendance to drop to an average of 645, last in the league. Schley estimated losses on the season at about $500,000. Following the 2000 season, the team stated that it could only compete in 2001 if it pre-sold 250 season tickets. It did not, and ceased operations, along with the Waterbury Spirit. Baxter Field was eventually sold and torn down.

Notable alumni

Gavin Fingleson Gavin Fingleson (born 5 August 1976) is a South African born-Australian switch-hitting former professional baseball player. Primarily a second baseman, he has also played designated hitter, third base, shortstop, and first base. Early life Fin ...

, Olympic baseball

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

winner

References

Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010) teams Defunct independent baseball league teams Defunct baseball teams in New York (state) Sports clubs disestablished in 2000 1995 establishments in New York (state) Baseball teams established in 1995 2000 disestablishments in New York (state) Baseball teams disestablished in 2000 North Atlantic League teams