The Wellsville Red Sox were a minor league baseball team, based in

Wellsville, New York Wellsville is a Town and largest community in Allegany County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town had a population of 7,099. Wellsville is centrally located in the south half of the county, north of the Pennsylvania border ...

. The team played in the Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League, which is still in existence as the

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

History

The team began as the Wellsville Yankees, a class C affiliate of the

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 ...

from 1942 through 1946. In 1943, the team won its first league title. After the 1946 season the Yankees ended their affiliation and were replaced by 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 ...

and the team was renamed the Wellsville Nitros. The Nitros were kept their affiliation with Boston until 1949. However, for the 1949 season, the club continued to play as the Nitros. In 1950 the Nitros changed their name to the Wellsville Senators when they became a farm team of the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

in the Washington Senators' farm system. The team became the independent Wellsville Rockets in 1951 when their one-year affiliation with the Senators ended. In 1952, the Rockets were affiliated with the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

, before becoming the Wellsville Braves, an affiliate of the

Milwaukee 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) East division. The Braves were founded in Bost ...

. During their time as the Braves the team, won 3 league titles; in 1956, 1959 and 1960. In 1963 the team once again became an affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and took up the Wellsville Red Sox name. In 1966, the Red Sox moved the team from Wellsville to

Oneonta, New York Oneonta ( ) is a city in southern Otsego County, New York, United States. It is one of the northernmost cities of the Appalachian Region. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, Oneonta had a population of 13,079. Its nickname is "City of the Hil ...

, under the ownership of Sam Nader the team became the

Oneonta Red Sox The Oneonta Red Sox were a minor league baseball team based in Oneonta, New York. The first incarnation of the team played in the first New York–Pennsylvania League in 1924. On August of that year, the Utica Utes relocated to Oneonta to finish ...

. The club played in Oneonta until 2010, when they were relocated to

Norwich, Connecticut Norwich ( ) (also called "The Rose of New England") is a city in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Yantic, Shetucket, and Quinebaug Rivers flow into the city and form its harbor, from which the Thames River flows south to Long ...

, and continue to play as the

Connecticut Tigers The Norwich Sea Unicorns are a baseball team located in Norwich, Connecticut. From 2010 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They play th ...

Year-by-year record

{, class="wikitable" , - ! Year !! Record !! Finish !! Manager !! Notes , - align=center , 1942 , , 65-60 , , T4th , , Walt VanGrofski , , Lost 1 game playoff for 4th place , - align=center , 1943 , , 58-51 , , 3rd , ,

Herb Brett Herbert James "Duke" Brett (May 23, 1900 – November 25, 1974) was a professional baseball player. He was a right-handed pitcher over parts of two seasons (1924–25) with the Chicago Cubs. For his career, he compiled a 1–1 record, with a 3.9 ...

& Sol Mishkin , , League champs , - align=center , 1944 , , 51-73 , , 7th , , Sol Mishkin , , , - align=center , 1945 , , 57-68 , , 5th , , Bob Crow & Sol Mishkin , , , - align=center , 1946 , , 52-72 , , 6th , , Joe Abreu , , , - align=center , 1947 , , 64-59 , , 4th , , Tom Carey , , Lost in 1st round , - align=center , 1948 , , 60-64 , , 6th , , Tom Carey , , , - align=center , 1949 , , 45-81 , , 7th , , Tom Kister &

Jimmy Wasdell James Charles Wasdell (May 15, 1914 – August 6, 1983) was an American professional baseball outfielder and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for all or portions of 11 seasons between and for the Washington Senators, B ...

, , , - align=center , 1950 , , 50-75 , , 7th , , Jimmy Wasdell & Bill Mongiello , , , - align=center , 1951 , , 53-73 , , 6th , , Walt VanGrofski , , , - align=center , 1952 , , 36-89 , , 8th , ,

Gene Crumling Eugene Leon Crumling (April 5, 1922 – February 11, 2012) was a backup catcher in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Cardinals during the 1945 in baseball, 1945 season. Listed at , 180 lb., he batted and threw right-handed. Cruml ...

& Rocco Sgro , , , - align=center , 1953 , , 59-67 , , 6th , , Ted Sepkowski , , , - align=center , 1954 , , 69-56 , , 3rd , , Ted Sepkowski , , Lost in 1st round , - align=center , 1955 , , 68-58 , , 4th , ,

Alex Monchak Alex Monchak (March 5, 1917 – September 12, 2015) was an American baseball shortstop who played briefly for the Philadelphia Phillies during the 1940 season. Listed at , , he batted and threw right-handed. He was primarily known as the first-ba ...

, , Lost in 1st round , - align=center , 1956 , , 74-46 , , 1st , , Alex Monchak , , League Champs , - align=center , 1957 , , 74-43 , , 1st , , Alex Monchak , , Lost in 1st round , - align=center , 1958 , , 70-56 , , 1st , , Harry Minor , , Lost League Finals , - align=center , 1959 , , 80-46 , , 1st , , Harry Minor , , League Champs , - align=center , 1960 , , 69-60 , , 2nd , , Harry Minor , , League Champs , - align=center , 1961 , , 55-71 , , 7th , , Bill Steinecke , , , - align=center , 1963 , , 73-57 , , 2nd , ,

Bill Slack William Henry Slack (born May 3, 1933) is a Canadian retired professional baseball pitcher, manager and coach, and a member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (french: Temple de la renommée du b ...

Matt Sczesny Matthew John Sczesny 'says'-nee''(September 7, 1932 – January 4, 2009) was an American infielder and manager in minor league baseball, and a longtime scout for the Boston Red Sox of the American League. Sczesny, a native of Flushing, New Y ...

, , Lost in 1st round , - align=center , 1964 , , 70-60 , , 3rd , , Larry Thomas , , , - align=center , 1965 , , 62-64 , , 4th , ,

, ,

Notable alumni

Hall of Fame alumni

Phil Niekro Philip Henry Niekro ( ; April 1, 1939 – December 26, 2020), nicknamed "Knucksie", was an American baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball, 20 of them with the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves. Niekro's 31 ...

(1959) Inducted, 1997

Notable alumni

Jerry Coleman Gerald Francis Coleman (September 14, 1924 – January 5, 2014) was a Major League Baseball (MLB) second baseman for the New York Yankees and manager of the San Diego Padres for one year. Coleman was named the rookie of the year in 1949 by Ass ...

(1942) MLB All-Star *

Tony Conigliaro Anthony Richard Conigliaro (January 7, 1945 – February 24, 1990), nicknamed "Tony C" and "Conig", was a Major League Baseball outfielder and right-handed batter who played for the Boston Red Sox (1964–1967, 1969–1970, 1975) and California ...

(1963) MLB All-Star *

Elrod Hendricks Elrod Jerome "Ellie" Hendricks (December 22, 1940 – December 21, 2005) was a U.S. Virgin Islander professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from through , most notably as a member of the Baltimore ...

(1960) *

Dick Littlefield Richard Bernard Littlefield (March 18, 1926 – November 20, 1997) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Card ...

(1947) *

Charlie Maxwell Charles Richard Maxwell (born April 8, 1927) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Boston Red Sox (1950–52, 1954), Baltimore Orioles (1955), Detroit Tigers (1955–62) ...

(1947) 2 x MLB All-Star *

Don McMahon Donald John McMahon (January 4, 1930 – July 22, 1987) was a right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he was signed by the Boston Braves before the 1950 season. He played for the Milwaukee Braves (1957 ...

(1950) MLB All-Star *

Don Nottebart Donald Edward Nottebart (January 23, 1936 – October 4, 2007) was an American professional baseball player. The right-handed pitcher appeared in 296 games in Major League Baseball for five teams over nine seasons (1960–1967; 1969). Notteb ...

(1954) *

Bill Robinson Bill Robinson, nicknamed Bojangles (born Luther Robinson; May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949), was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid African-American entertainer in the United States during the f ...

(1961) * George Scott (1963) 8 X Gold Glove; 3 x MLB All-Star *

(1949-1950)

References

Baseball Reference Wellville, New York
Baseball teams established in 1942 Baseball teams disestablished in 1965 Defunct baseball teams in New York (state) Defunct New York–Penn League teams Boston Red Sox minor league affiliates Milwaukee Braves minor league affiliates New York Yankees minor league affiliates St. Louis Browns minor league affiliates Washington Senators (1901–1960) minor league affiliates 1942 establishments in New York (state) 1965 disestablishments in New York (state) Sports in Albany County, New York