The Holyoke Millers were a minor league baseball team located in

Holyoke, Massachusetts Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,238. Located north of Springfield ...

. The team played in the Eastern League. Their home stadium was

Mackenzie Stadium Mackenzie Stadium is a baseball venue located in Holyoke, Massachusetts.Holyoke Sox Info
at necbl.com ...

. The Millers played from 1977 to 1982 and was a

farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

of the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

the first four years and the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

the last two years. In 1980, the team won the Eastern League championship. The nickname 'Millers' was derived from the many

paper mills A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...

that Holyoke was noted for, especially in the first half of the 20th century.

1981 Holyoke Millers

Tom Kayser was general manager and was in his second season as an owner of the Millers. Kayser had been with the club since it moved from

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield� ...

in 1977.

Jim Saul James Allen Saul (born November 24, 1939, at Bristol, Virginia) is a retired American catcher, manager and coach in minor league baseball. The season marked Saul's 50th season in professional baseball, all but three of them at the minor-league l ...

was the new manager of the Millers, replacing Lee Sigman who had left the club to become manager of the

Vancouver Canadians The Vancouver Canadians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians play their home games at Nat Bailey Stadium. ...

of the Triple-A

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. Like Sigman, Saul had a long history in baseball as both a player, a catcher, and as a coach and manager. Saul was going into his sixth season as a manager when he joined the Holyoke Millers, having made stops in

Salinas, California Salinas (; Spanish for "Salt Marsh or Salt Flats") is a city in California and the county seat of Monterey County. With a population of 163,542 in the 2020 Census, Salinas is the most populous city in Monterey County. Salinas is an urban area lo ...

, Midland and

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

. Helping Saul with managerial duties were Dave Thomas and Dave Comforti. who were both interns from the

University of Massachusetts The University of Massachusetts is the five-campus public university system and the only public research system in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes five campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and a medica ...

and completing their course of study in sports management. T.J. Byrne was a trainer for the club in 1981 and came to the Millers from the Pioneer League's

Idaho Falls Angels Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

after the 1980 season. As for the 1981 Holyoke Millers roster behind the Plate was Mark Nocciolo who had been with Salinas and Salt Lake in 1980. 12 John Yandle LHP 1980 Hawaii Pacific Coast League 3 Ricky Adams 2B 1980 Salinas California League / El Paso Texas league 22 Mike Brown C/OF 1980 Salinas Cal. League 18 Chris Clark OF/1B 1980 Salinas Cal. League 9 Dennis Gilbert OF 1980 El Paso Tx. League 8 Curt Brown RHP 1980 Salinas Cal. League 26 Jeff Conner LHP 1980 Salinas Cal. League / El Paso Tx. League 16 Lonnie Dugger RHP 1980 Salinas Cal. League / El Paso Tx. League 13 Dave Duran RHP 1980 Salinas Cal. League 20 Rick Foley RHP 1980 Salt Lake City 25 Pat Keedy 3B 1980 Salinas Cal. League / El Paso Tx League 24

Darrell Miller Darrell Keith Miller Sr. (born February 26, 1958) is an American former professional baseball player. While with the Los Angeles Angels, he was a catcher and outfielder, playing from 1985 to 1988. He is also a Catholic deacon, the first African Am ...

C/OF 1980 Salinas Cal. League/ Salt Lake City 21 Mark Nocciolo C 1980 Salinas Cal. League / Salt Lake City 17 Les Pearsey 1B 1980 Orlando / Toledo International League 15

Gary Pettis Gary George Pettis (born April 3, 1958) is an American former professional baseball center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) and current third base coach for the Houston Astros. During his playing career, Pettis won five Gold Glove Awa ...

OF 1980 Salinas Cal. League 14 Gus Polidor SS -rookie for 1981- 27 Brandt Humphry RHP 1980 El Paso *note played third base* 5

Bill Mooneyham William Craig Mooneyham (August 16, 1960) was an American professional baseball pitcher for the Oakland Athletics of the Major League Baseball (MLB). Mooneyham attended Merced College. He was originally drafted in 1980 Major League Baseball dra ...

RHP 1980 Salinas Cal. League 23 Perry Morrison RHP 1980 Salinas Cal. League/El Paso Tx. League 30 Dennis Rasmussen LHP 1980 Salinas Cal. League 19 Rick Rommell RHP 1980 El Paso Tx League 1 Ed Rodriguez Ult.INF 1980 Redwood Cal. League Note that the 1981 Millers roster had future Major Leaguers Gary Pettis who would go on to play for the Angels, Tigers, Rangers and Padres. Dennis Rasmussen who would go on to play for the Padres, Yankees, Reds, Cubs and the Royals. Pat Keedy would go on to bounce around in the minor leagues after leaving Holyoke seeing playing time with the

Edmonton Trappers The Edmonton Trappers were a minor league baseball team in Edmonton, Alberta. They were a part of the Triple-A level in the Pacific Coast League, ending with the 2004 season. Their home games were played at Telus Field in downtown Edmonton. The ...

of the PCL and Midland of the Texas League in 1986, then in 1987 he played with the

Hawaii Islanders The Hawaii Islanders were a minor league baseball team based in Honolulu, Hawaii, that played in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League for 27 seasons from 1961 through 1987. Originally an affiliate of the Kansas City Athletics, the Islanders played ...

of the PCL and the Chicago White Sox. In 1988 he joined the Tucson Toros of the PCL. Bill Mooneyham would play one season in the majors with the Oakland A's in 1986. Ricky Adams played briefly with the Angels and SF Giants. Mike Brown played 5 seasons with the Angels and Pirates. Darrell Miller played 5 seasons with the Angels. He is the brother of basketball stars

Cheryl Miller Cheryl D. Miller (born January 3, 1964) is an American former basketball player. She was formerly a sideline reporter for NBA games on TNT Sports and also works for NBA TV as a reporter and analyst, having worked previously as a sportscaster f ...

and

Reggie Miller Reginald Wayne Miller (born August 24, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played his entire 18-year National Basketball Association (NBA) career with the Indiana Pacers. Miller was known for his precision three-p ...

. Jim Saul is a retired minor league coach, having managed in the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

farm systems from 1989-2002.

Sources

Note this information was taken from the 1981 team set by TCMA.

External links

{{external media, video
Miracle on Beech Street: A History of the Holyoke Millers, 1977-1982
Eric T. Poulin, Simmons University, via Holyoke Public Library
April 15, 1977: After 64 years, Holyoke gets a rough welcome back to the minors

Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball primarily through the use of statistics. Established in Cooperstown, New ...

August 31, 1982: Holyoke’s minor-league dream ends with a win August 31, 1982: Holyoke’s minor-league dream ends with a win

1977 establishments in Massachusetts 1982 disestablishments in Massachusetts Baseball teams established in 1977 Baseball teams disestablished in 1982 California Angels minor league affiliates Defunct baseball teams in Massachusetts Defunct Eastern League (1938–present) teams Milwaukee Brewers minor league affiliates Professional baseball teams in Massachusetts Sports in Holyoke, Massachusetts