The Covington Red Sox were a minor league baseball team based in

Covington, Virginia Covington is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,737, making it the second-least populous city in Virginia. It is surrounded by Alleghany County, of which it is also the county seat. ...

. In 1966, the Covington Red Sox played as members of the

Rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

level

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wood bats, its season runs from ...

, placing fourth in their only season of play, while hosting home games at Casey Field. The Red Sox were succeeded in Covington minor league baseball by the 1967

Covington Astros The Covington Astros were a minor league baseball team that played from 1967 to 1976 in the Appalachian League. Affiliated with the Houston Astros, they were located in Covington, Virginia. They played their home games at Casey Field. In 1966, th ...

History

Minor league baseball began in Covington, Virginia, when the 1914 Covington Papermakers became charter members of the four–team Class D level

Virginia Mountain League The Virginia Mountain League was a minor league baseball organization active in central western Virginia in 1914. The Class D (baseball), Class D level league folded during its only season of play. History On March 3, 1914, at a meeting in Lynchb ...

, winning the league championship in their only season of play. Covington was without minor league play until 1966. The 1966 Covington Red Sox became members of the five–team

level

, playing as a minor league affiliate of 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 eight ...

. The

Bluefield Orioles Bluefield may refer to: *Bluefield, Virginia, US *Bluefield, West Virginia, US *Nvidia BlueField, a line of computer hardware See also *Bluefields Bluefields is the capital of the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, South Caribbean Autonomo ...

Johnson City Yankees Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

Marion Mets The Marion Mets were a minor league baseball team based in Marion, Virginia that played in the Appalachian League from 1965 to 1976. They were affiliated with the New York Mets and played their home games at the Marion High School baseball field. ...

and

Salem Pirates Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

joined Covington in beginning league play on June 24, 1966. Covington placed fourth in the final 1966 Appalachian League standings, playing the season under manager

Rac Slider Rachel Wayne "Rac" Slider (born December 23, 1933, at Simms, Texas) is a retired infielder and manager in American minor league baseball who also spent four seasons (1987–1990) as a Major League Baseball coach with the Boston Red Sox. In his pla ...

. For the season, the Red Sox scored 378 total runs and allowed 411 runs, most in the league, with a 5.79 team ERA. In the final standings, the Red Sox compiled a 28–43 record, finishing 16.0 games behind the 1st place Marion Mets. Covington players Steve Blateric,

Dick Mills Dick Mills (born 1936) is a British sound engineer, specialising in electronic music, electronic sound effects which he produced at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Mills was one of the original staff at the Radiophonic Workshop, joining in 1958 ...

and

Mike Nagy Michael Timothy Nagy (born March 25, 1948) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played for the Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers and Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He batted and threw right-ha ...

advanced to play in the major leagues. The Covington Red Sox were succeeded in the 1967 Appalachian League by the

, as Covington became an affiliate of the

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 ...

following the 1966 season. Today, the

Covington Lumberjacks The Covington Lumberjacks are a collegiate summer baseball team in Covington, Virginia. They play in the Valley Baseball League. The team was founded in 2001 and the Lumberjacks play their home games at Casey Field in downtown Covington. Since ...

play as members of the

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

affiliated

Valley Baseball League The Valley Baseball League is an NCAA and MLB-sanctioned collegiate summer baseball league in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia. The league was started in 1923 and sanctioned by the NCAA in 1961. It has been a wooden bat league since 1993 ...

The ballpark

The 1966 Covington Red Sox hosted minor league home games at Casey Field. The ballpark is still in use today as home to the collegiate summer baseball Covington Lumberjacks, after previously hosting the Covington Papermakers and Covington Astros minor league teams. Today, the ballpark site is part of a remodeled multipurpose sports facility hosting Covington High School teams. The site is directly across from Covington High School, where "Casey Field & Boodie Albert Stadium" are located at 700 West Oak Street, Covington, Virginia.

Year–by–year record

Notable alumni

* Steve Blateric 1966 *

1966 *

1966, MGR

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Covington - Baseball Reference
Defunct baseball teams in Virginia Baseball teams established in 1966 Baseball teams disestablished in 1966 Boston Red Sox minor league affiliates Defunct Appalachian League teams Covington, Virginia