The Old Orchard Beach Raging Tide was a collegiate summer baseball team based in

Old Orchard Beach, Maine Old Orchard Beach is a resort town and census-designated place (CDP) in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 8,960 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland− South Portland−Biddeford, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Ar ...

. It was a member of the

Futures Collegiate Baseball League The Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) is an eight-team collegiate summer baseball league. It has four franchises in Massachusetts, two in Connecticut, and one each in New Hampshire and Vermont. Format The Futures League is a wood-bat ...

(FCBL), a wood-bat league with a 56-game regular season comprising 10 teams from

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

to western

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

. The team played its home games at

The Ball Park The Ballpark is a baseball stadium located in the town of Old Orchard Beach, Maine. The stadium has a seating capacity of 6,000 and is a former Triple-A baseball facility that was almost destroyed by years of neglect until a community organi ...

. Until 2012, the team was in the

New England Collegiate Baseball League The New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) is a 13-team collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 1993 and sanctioned by the NCAA and Major League Baseball. Each NECBL team plays an eight-week, 44-game schedule during June ...

. For the first ten years of the team's existence, its home was in

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...

and it was known as the All-Americans. The 2014 season was the final year in Old Orchard Beach. Owners John & Pam Gallo sold the Raging Tide franchise, which became the Bristol Blues.

History

All-Americans

In the 2000 season, the NECBL expanded by adding two teams: the Manchester Silkworms and the Mill City All-Americans. The name "All-Americans" came from the fact that Lowell was named an All-American City in 1999 and was named a finalist in 1997 and 1998. From 2000 to 2006, the team was known as the Mill City All-Americans because Lowell's nickname is "The Mill City." However, many NECBL teams are located in the "mill cities" of

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

; and beginning with the 2007 season, the team changed its name to the Lowell All-Americans for clarity. The All-Americans reached the playoffs in the team's inaugural season but fell 2 games to 1 to the then- Rhode Island Gulls. The team only reached the playoffs 2 more times: in 2002 and 2007.

Move to Old Orchard Beach

During the 2010 NECBL regular season, the All-Americans played two home games in Nashua, New Hampshire and one at

in Old Orchard Beach. Newspapers in both places interpreted the decision as a search for a new home. The Ball Park, which once played host to the Triple-A

Maine Guides The Maine Guides were an American minor league baseball franchise that played in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, between 1984 and 1988. The Triple-A International League (IL) club was named for a classification of registered hunting and wilderness g ...

and Maine Phillies, had fallen into disrepair but had been rehabilitated by local volunteers. The visitors for this contest, on July 2, were the

Mainers The following is a list of prominent people who were born in the American state of Maine, live in Maine, or for whom Maine is a significant part of their identity. A * Angela Adams (born 1965), designer; born in North Haven * Paul André ...

of nearby

Sanford, Maine Sanford is a city in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 21,982 in the 2020 census, making it the seventh largest municipality in the state. Situated on the Mousam River, Sanford includes the village of Springvale. The city ...

. On Sept. 22, 2010, the Old Orchard Beach Town Council accepted a letter of intent from the All-Americans to place a franchise at The Ball Park, a move that the NECBL had approved. The Town Council signed a final agreement on October 5. On November 8, the team announced that its name would be the Raging Tide.Raging Tide coming to The Ballpark near you
at journaltribune.com The 2011 regular season featured six games against Sanford, three in each venue. The Raging Tide finished the inaugural season at The Ball Park with a record of 9-33, last in the Eastern Division.

Switch to FCBL

In 2012, the team jumped from the NECBL to the

, joined by fellow NECBL team, the

North Shore Navigators The North Shore Navigators are a wooden-bat, collegiate summer baseball team based in Lynn, Massachusetts, playing in the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL). The team plays home games at Fraser Field in Lynn. The team is owned by Ol ...

, in a round of expansion that more than doubled the size of the FCBL.

Postseason appearances

NECBL

** The NECBL did not separate into divisions until 2001.

FCBL

** The FCBL changed its postseason to a two-round format starting in the 2012 season *** A one-game Play-In round was added in the 2013 season

References

External links

Old Orchard Beach Raging Tide official site

FCBL website

NECBL website
{{Maine Sports Futures Collegiate Baseball League teams New England Collegiate Baseball League teams Defunct baseball teams in Maine Amateur baseball teams in Maine Sports in Old Orchard Beach, Maine 2000 establishments in Massachusetts 2014 disestablishments in Maine Baseball teams established in 2000 Baseball teams disestablished in 2014