The Manchester Yankees was the name of two distinct American minor league baseball franchises representing

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is a city in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. It is the most populous city in New Hampshire. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 115,644. Manchester is, along with Nashua, one of two seats of New Hamp ...

, in the Class B

New England League The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played intermittently in five of the six New England states (Vermont excepted) between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League B ...

(1948 through July 5, 1949) and the Double-A Eastern League (1969–71). Each franchise played at

Gill Stadium Gill Stadium is a sporting stadium located in Manchester, New Hampshire. It is one of the oldest concrete-and-steel ballparks in the United States. The venue, which mainly hosts amateur baseball and football contests, has a capacity of 3,012. ...

and each was 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 (AL), ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

History

The Manchester Yankees continued Manchester's long history of membership in the New England League that began in 1887. The Yankees were preceded in New England League play by the Manchester Farmers (1887), Manchester Maroons (1888), Manchester Amoskeags (1891), Manchester (1892–1893), Manchester Manchesters (1899), Manchester (1901–1905), Manchester Textiles (1906, 1914–1915) and Manchester Blue Sox (1926–1930). The Manchester Indians played in the 1934

Northeastern League The Northeastern League was a minor league baseball league that last played in the 1934 season as an eight–team Class B (baseball), Class B level league. The 1934 league franchises were based in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. An e ...

. The New England League Manchester teams were preceded by the Manchester Reds, who were the first minor league baseball team in Manchester, beginning play as members of the 1877

New England Association The New England Association was an Independent level minor league baseball league that played in the 1877 season and briefly in the 1895 season. The league franchises were based in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The New England Ass ...

Postwar Class B team

When the New England League (NEL) was revived after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Manchester was a charter member as an affiliate and namesake of the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

. The 1946–47 Manchester Giants each finished in third place during the regular season and qualified for the playoffs, but they were eliminated in the 1946 semi-finals by the Lynn Red Sox and in the 1947 finals by the

Nashua Dodgers The Nashua Dodgers was a farm club of the Brooklyn Dodgers, operating in the class-B New England League between 1946 and 1949. It is believed to be the first professional baseball team based in the United States in the twentieth century to play wi ...

. The Yankees then replaced the Giants as the team's parent for 1948. However, the 1948 Manchester Yankees finished four games out of the playoffs and drew the third-smallest attendance in the league. The 1949 edition compiled a record of only 28–44, and dropped out of the league on July 5 — one of four franchises to fold during the NEL's final season.

Notable alumni (Manchester Giants)

George Bamberger George Irvin Bamberger (August 1, 1923 – April 4, 2004) was an American professional baseball player, pitching coach and manager. In Major League Baseball, the right-handed pitcher appeared in ten games, nine in relief, for the 1951–52 New ...

Bob Cain Robert Max "Sugar" Cain (October 16, 1924 – April 8, 1997) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Browns between 1949 and 1954. He batted and threw left-handed. Cain was the pitc ...

Charlie Fox Charles Francis Fox (October 7, 1921 – February 16, 2004) was an American manager, general manager, scout, coach—and, briefly, a catcher—in Major League Baseball. As manager of the National League West Division champion San Francisco Giant ...

Alex Konikowski Alexander James Konikowski (June 8, 1928 – September 27, 1997) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher who appeared in 35 games played for the New York Giants of Major League Baseball over three seasons (; ; ). Born i ...

* Johnny Pramesa *

Sal Yvars Salvador Anthony Yvars (February 20, 1924 – December 10, 2008) was a professional baseball catcher. He played all or part of eight seasons in Major League Baseball, with the New York Giants from 1947 to 1953 and the St. Louis Cardinals from 1953 ...

Notable alumni (Manchester Yankees)

Clint Courtney Clinton Dawson Courtney (March 16, 1927 – June 16, 1975), nicknamed Scrap Iron, was an American professional baseball catcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1951), St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles (1952 ...

Hank Foiles Henry Lee Foiles Jr. (born June 10, 1929) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball between and . He had an eleven-year career for seven different teams in Major League Baseball. He was ...

Double-A franchise

After the 1968 season,

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

businessman John Alevizos acquired the Yankees' Eastern League affiliate, the

Binghamton Triplets The Binghamton Triplets were a minor league baseball team based in Binghamton, New York between 1923 and 1963. The franchise played as members of the New York–Penn League (1923–1937), Eastern League (1938–1963), New York–Penn League (19 ...

, and moved it to Gill Stadium as the Manchester Yankees. In 1969, the franchise led the league in attendance, drawing over 91,000 fans despite finishing in next-to-last place. The 1970 team again finished next to last but plunged to the bottom of the league in attendance. The final, 1971 edition of the Manchester Yankees finished last in its division, and reached a new low in attendance, with just less than 29,000 fans passing through the turnstiles. The team then relocated to

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 cap ...

under new ownership as the

West Haven Yankees West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

— winning an Eastern League championship in its maiden season.Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, eds., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd ed.'' Durham, North Carolina:

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

, 2007, pp. 546, 550, 554, 558 Manchester did not receive another Eastern League franchise until 2004, when the

New Haven Ravens New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

transferred to Gill Stadium as the

New Hampshire Fisher Cats The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays major league club. During the team's first seas ...

Notable alumni

Ron Blomberg Ronald Mark Blomberg (born August 23, 1948), nicknamed "Boomer", is an American former professional baseball player and minor league manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a designated hitter, first baseman, and right fielder. He played f ...

Tom Buskey Thomas William Buskey (February 20, 1947 – June 7, 1998) was an American Major League Baseball middle relief pitcher. Listed at 6' 3", 200 lb., he batted and threw right handed. Career Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Buskey attended Harris ...

Mario Guerrero Mario Miguel Guerrero Abud (born September 28, 1949) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop who played for four teams in an eight-year career from to . Career Guerrero signed with the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in . After fo ...

Doc Medich George Francis "Doc" Medich (born December 9, 1948) is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1972–1982. He was a medical student at the University of Pittsburgh, and acquired the nickname "Doc" during his e ...

Gerry Pirtle Gerald Eugene Pirtle (born December 3, 1947) is an American former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played briefly for the Montreal Expos in their 1978 season. Listed at , , he batted and threw right handed. Career Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma he ...

* Charlie Sands *

Rusty Torres Rosendo "Rusty" Torres Hernández (born September 30, 1948) is a former professional baseball outfielder. He played all or part of nine seasons in Major League Baseball for five different teams. In an odd coincidence, Torres happened to be in the ...

References

External links

Manchester, New Hampshire

Baseball Reference Baseball-Reference is a website providing baseball statistics for every player in Major League Baseball history. The site is often used by major media organizations and baseball broadcasters as a source for statistics. It offers a variety of advan ...

{{s-end Defunct Eastern League (1938–present) teams New York Yankees minor league affiliates Professional baseball teams in New Hampshire Sports in Manchester, New Hampshire Baseball teams established in 1948 Baseball teams disestablished in 1949 Baseball teams established in 1969 Sports clubs disestablished in 1971 1946 establishments in New Hampshire 1949 disestablishments in New Hampshire 1969 establishments in New Hampshire 1971 disestablishments in New Hampshire New York Giants minor league affiliates Defunct baseball teams in New Hampshire New England League teams Baseball teams disestablished in 1971