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MLB Strike Could Shift Fan Interest To Amateurs

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When John Bruno called the Park League to request a wood plank for a bench, the folks in the maintenance department duly informed Bruno there was no wood to be found.

“That is the epitome of Proposition 2 1/2 – not one lousy piece of wood,” said Bruno, coach of Great Scott’s.

But there may be some relief, albeit slight relief, on the way – a Major League Players Assn. strike.

Locally, the Boston Park League, starving for funds, and the amateurIntercity League, seeking more fan interest, figure to draw more attention, and some additional funds, should there be a strike. Read more

Park League Comes Out Swinging

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The storms that the 51-year-old Boston Park League has weathered over the years were mere squalls compared to the ravages of Proposition 2 1/2 , but that doesn’t mean that the ship is about to go under.

Far from it. The truth is that everybody connected with the league is determined to keep it alive, and the air of optimism comes as a pleasant surprise to Park Department officials whose lot it was to divulge unpleasant tidings.

“We want the league to survive,” said Dorothy Curran, Parks Dept. recreation director. “We regret that we cannot help as we did in the past, but we do have the playing fields, plenty of them. It will be up to the teams to pay their own way. It’s as simple as that.”

There are two major differences between this year’s operation and the procedure of previous years. In order for the league to function, the teams must now assume the costs of paying the umpires and they will also be assessed a “users fee” to cover maintenance expenses.

In the past, the city has taken care of the fields and paid the officials in all sports. Read more

Norman Rockwell's "The Loser" was the cover of "The Saturday Evening Post" on Nov. 8., 1958. Bernard "Dick" Casey was his model.

Dick Casey – Red Sox’s No. 1 fan for 70 Years

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In 1915, Dick Casey organized and played on his own minor league team, “The Casey All-Stars,” which toured Canada and Maine for the next 11 years. The All-Stars were Casey’s picks of the best college baseball players from five Boston colleges – Boston College, Brandeis, Harvard, Boston University and Northeastern. Each player earned $30, except for pitchers who picked up $5 extra.

When Casey retired from the field in 1927, the team died. But he couldn’t keep his fingers out of the business. Three years later, he joined Bill Mullen and Bob Cusick in forming the Boston Park League, the oldest semi-pro sand lot league in America. Read more

We Could Have Survived

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It was Thursday night, and in New York, Marvin Miller and Ray Grebey were going to the mat once more in what seemed to be a hopeless effort to settle the baseball dispute. But at Town Field on Dorchester avenue in Boston, nobody gave a damn about Miller or Grebey or, for that matter, major league baseball.

This doesn’t mean a whole raft of folks cared much about what was going on at Town Field either, where the Craven Club was playing the Boston Typos in a Park League game.

There were 44 people in the stands when the game began, with perhaps another two dozen clustered around the backstop, where they could watch the pitcher’s breaking stuff, if he had any.

“I can remember games here,” said Dick Holmquist, manager of The Craven Club, “when there were so many fans we had to rope off the crowd. That was a long time ago, of course.” Read more

On And Off Field, Paster Goes To Bat For Park League

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You label attorney Dick Paster a “lobbyist” and he will smilingly agree-provided you make it clear his lobbying is done on a voluntary basis in the interests of the Boston Park League. Read more

Park Leaguers Have A Major Concern

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The probation officer and the recording executive were taking turns explaining why they are so interested in the future of the college kid, Reed Cassidy of Colby College, and Mass Envelope of the Boston Park League. Read more

Stewarts Continue To Rule The Field

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It is a summer ritual that has been handed down from generation to generation for almost five decades by the Stewarts of Jamaica Plain.

First there was Bill Stewart Sr. who umped for 22 seasons in the National League. Then his son Bill Jr., who’s finishing his 30th season as an umpire in the Boston Park League. Then came Bill Stewart 3d, now working his fourth Park League season, right alongside his dad. Read more

Conley Takes Park Crown

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Jim Henderson’s three-run homer in the fourth was the decisive blow that gave the Conley Club a 7-4 victory over the Supreme Three Saints and the Park League’s baseball championship last night at Cleveland Circle. Read more

Park Dept. Clears Way For Park League Baseball

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There will be Boston Park League baseball after all in 1976. After first moving to eliminate the oldest amateur baseball league in the nation, the Park Dept. decided to give it a go. Read more

Park League Baseball In Jeopardy

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It has distinction. But now it faces extinction. The Boston Park League’s senior baseball league, oldest amateur baseball league in the nation, is nearly dead at 45. Read more