The Reading Red Sox were a
minor league baseball 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 ...
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
franchise.
History
The team was based in
Reading, Pennsylvania
Reading ( ; Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Reddin'') is a city in and the county seat of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city had a population of 95,112 as of the 2020 census and is the fourth-largest city in Pennsylvania after Philade ...
, and played in the Class A
New York–Pennsylvania League
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, ...
(1933–1934) and its successor league, the
Double-A Eastern League (1963–1964). During the latter period, the manager was
Eddie Popowski
Edward Joseph Popowski (August 20, 1913 – December 4, 2001), nicknamed "Pop", was an American coach and interim manager for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. Popowski spent 65 years in organized baseball—all of them in the Boston or ...
and the team featured such star players as veteran former Red Sox slugger
Dick Gernert
Richard Edward Gernert (September 28, 1928 – November 30, 2017), was an American professional baseball first baseman, outfielder and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox (–), Chicago Cubs (), Detroit Tigers ...
, a Reading native, and prospects
Mike Andrews
Michael Jay Andrews (born July 9, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an infielder for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics. After his playing career, he served fo ...
,
Joe Foy
Joseph Anthony Foy (February 21, 1943 – October 12, 1989) was an American professional baseball player who played third base in Major League Baseball.
Boston Red Sox
Born in New York City, Foy was signed as an amateur free agent by the Minnesot ...
,
Tony Horton,
Mike Ryan,
Rico Petrocelli
Americo Peter "Rico" Petrocelli (born June 27, 1943) is an American former baseball shortstop and third baseman who played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Boston Red Sox. Listed at and , he both threw and batted right-hand ...
and
Reggie Smith
Carl Reginald Smith (born April 2, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and afterwards served as a coach and front office executive. He also played in the Nippon Profe ...
.
In 1965, Boston moved its AA affiliate to
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. Pittsfieldâ ...
, and the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
re-established a
farm club
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 ...
in Reading, where the Indians had a successful affiliate from 1950 to 1961. Since 1967, the
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
have based their
Double-A affiliate in the city (named the
Reading Fightin Phils
The Reading Fightin Phils (also called the Reading Fightins) are a Minor League Baseball team based in Reading, Pennsylvania, playing in the Northeast Division of the Eastern League. The team plays their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Re ...
); it led the Eastern League in attendance in 2006.
Notable players
* See
:Reading Red Sox players
References
External links
1933 team photoat goreadingberks.com
Defunct New York–Penn League teams
Defunct Eastern League (1938–present) teams
Defunct baseball teams in Pennsylvania
Boston Red Sox minor league affiliates
Reading, Pennsylvania
1933 establishments in Pennsylvania
1964 disestablishments in Pennsylvania
Baseball teams established in 1933
Baseball teams disestablished in 1964
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