The Hudson Valley Fort was a team in the Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL). The team played the 2015 season at Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill, New York .
27-717: After the 2014 season, the FXFL announced that three of its four teams would begin sharing operations with teams in the New York–Penn League , a low-end minor league baseball circuit in the northeastern United States. One of those teams, the Brooklyn Bolts , already fit that description, but the other three did not. Initially, it was assumed that the two other teams would be the Blacktips (a traveling team that had been unable to play in its originally announced home state of Florida) and
54-512: A Brooklyn Dodgers affiliate, won both the regular season and playoff championships. Batavia was the last remaining charter city in the league when it ceased operations after the 2020 season. The Hamilton Red Wings folded early in the 1956 season, and with no more teams in Ontario , the circuit became the New York–Penn League in 1957. The league crossed back into Canada with the formation of
81-499: A clubhouse attendant (or "clubbie") for the Aberdeen IronBirds during the 2012 and 2013 seasons. The book's depiction of players' financial struggles is widely credited with inspiring changes to long-standing minor league compensation structures. On December 9, 2020, Major League Baseball (MLB) announced its list of 120 teams invited to be a part of the minors after restructuring for the 2021 season. As first reported in 2019,
108-668: Is an official New York–Penn League game played at Doubleday Field in conjunction with the Hall of Fame's Induction Weekend festivities. In 1999, the Yankees moved their affiliation to the Staten Island Yankees , so the Detroit Tigers organization moved in. Notable Oneonta Yankees alumni include Don Mattingly (1979), Bernie Williams (1987) and Jorge Posada (1991). NFL hall-of-fame quarterback John Elway batted .318 over 45 games in 1982 for
135-503: The Brooklyn Bolts . Two of the contests were held at Dutchess Stadium, the first drawing an alleged (and patriotic) 1,776 fans; the second game's attendance was not recorded, but was believed to be no more than a few hundred. (Only two other games were played in the FXFL that season, the others being the Bolts against the traveling Blacktips team.) The Fort's final home game, against the Blacktips,
162-510: The Lowell Spinners were left without future plans and eventually folded. League champions were determined by different means during the New York–Penn League's 82-year run from 1939 to 2020. For a few seasons in the 1960s and 1970s, no playoffs were held and the league champions were simply the regular season pennant winners. Most seasons, however, ended with playoffs to determine a league champion. The Oneonta Tigers won 12 championships,
189-649: The St. Catharines Blue Jays in 1986. They were joined by the Hamilton Redbirds in 1987 and the Welland Pirates in 1989, but all three clubs had moved back to the United States by 2000. The New York–Penn circuit was originally a Class D league (the minors' lowest classification through 1962). It was a full-season Class A league from 1963 through 1966, and became a short-season Class A league in 1967. The start of
216-596: The 2010 season. The new team would play their games in the newly renovated Dodd Stadium which had been vacated by the Connecticut Defenders of the Eastern League , who had left for Richmond, Virginia . Miller also said in the press release that he had hoped to have organized baseball playing in Damaschke Field for the 2010 baseball season, but early indications showed that local Oneonta High School will use
243-605: The 2015 season before deciding if they would offer another lease. The league never returned for the 2016 season, rendering the decision moot. New York%E2%80%93Penn 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 their amateur draft picks to professional contracts, and ended in early September. In 2019, its last season of operation,
270-603: The 2020 season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic before being cancelled on June 30. Good Enough to Dream is a memoir by renowned baseball writer Roger Kahn , published in 1985. The book chronicles Kahn's experience as the owner of the Utica Blue Sox during the 1983 season. Good Enough to Dream was the recipient of the Casey Award in 1985. Clubbie is a 2021 memoir by Greg Larson that recounts his experiences as
297-582: The Boston Brawlers, who had the worst attendance, and that the Bolts and Omaha Mammoths (who had by far the league's best attendance and were also an on-field success) would remain in their cities. Indeed, the Brawlers would relocate to Ohio and become the Mahoning Valley Brawlers that offseason, later being forced out of the league before the 2015 season began. However, in a somewhat surprise move,
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#1732877052107324-451: The Fort announced via Facebook that former Blacktips head coach, John Jenkins , would be the new general manager and head coach for 2015. Jenkins and several players quit the team midseason due to lack of payment, water and access to trainers; Robert Gordon replaced Jenkins for what would be the team's final two game. Wayne Anderson Jr. would take over as offensive coordinator for the remainder of
351-581: The NYPL ceased operations. The Aberdeen IronBirds , Brooklyn Cyclones , and Hudson Valley Renegades joined the new High-A East , becoming the new High-A affiliates of the Baltimore Orioles , New York Mets , and New York Yankees respectively. The Mahoning Valley Scrappers , State College Spikes , West Virginia Black Bears , and Williamsport Crosscutters moved to the new MLB Draft League for players wishing to showcase themselves to MLB teams in advance of
378-463: The NYPL had 14 teams from eight different states. In addition to New York and Pennsylvania , from which the league drew its name, the NYPL also had clubs in Maryland , Massachusetts , Ohio , Vermont , West Virginia , and Connecticut . The Brooklyn Cyclones were the last NYPL champions , defeating the Lowell Spinners , two games to one, in 2019. The Oneonta Yankees/Tigers won 12 championships,
405-643: The Oneonta Yankees in his brief professional baseball career. On July 20, 2006, the Tigers won the longest game in NYPL history: a 6-hour and 40-minute, 26-inning marathon against the Brooklyn Cyclones . Brooklyn scored the first run in the bottom of the first inning; the Tigers tied the game in the top of the fourth. Neither side scored again until the 26th inning, when the Tigers plated five runs (three earned) off of Cyclones outfielder Mark Wright, who had entered
432-672: The Red Sox moniker for that season. In 1967, Sam Nader and Sidney Levine purchased the team and renamed them the Oneonta Yankees , or O-Yanks, an affiliation they would have for three decades. Stocked with future New York Yankees stars, the O-Yanks won NYPL titles in 1968, 1969, 1971, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1988, 1990 and 1998. Since 1991, the franchise has participated in the annual New York–Penn League Game in Cooperstown, New York . This
459-842: The annual draft . The Tri-City ValleyCats moved to the independent Frontier League , while the Batavia Muckdogs and Auburn Doubledays joined the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League . On February 25, 2021, the Vermont Lake Monsters announced that they would join the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) under new ownership, and the Norwich Sea Unicorns joined the FCBL in late April. The Staten Island Yankees folded, while
486-496: The game to pitch (the Cyclones had already used six of their regular pitchers). The Tigers had three players who went 1-for-12, including center fielder Deik Scram, whose lone hit knocked in the go-ahead run for the Tigers in the 26th inning. The 2007 season ushered a new era for Oneonta Tiger baseball, as their stadium received a face-lift, while premiering the team's official website, www.oneontatigers.com. Guillermo Moscoso pitched
513-521: The league decided to keep the Blacktips and fold the Mammoths, claiming that the team would have had to sell even more tickets than they did to offset the travel costs. The Hudson Valley Fort were announced as members of the league on August 6, 2015. As with the Bolts and Brawlers, the Fort was operated as a joint venture with the local NYPL franchise, the Hudson Valley Renegades . On September 23,
540-583: The league in playing or administrative roles. The Hall of Fame inducted its first class of seven men in 2012. New members were elected before the start of each season. Oneonta Yankees The Oneonta Tigers were a minor league baseball team located in Oneonta, New York . They were members of the New York–Penn League . The Tigers were the Short-Season A classification affiliate of the Detroit Tigers , and played their home games at Damaschke Field . The team
567-519: The most among all teams in the league, followed by the Auburn Mets/Twins/Phillies/Doubledays (8) and Jamestown Falcons/Expos (7). Connecticut Maryland Massachusetts New Jersey New York Ohio Pennsylvania Vermont West Virginia Ontario The New York–Penn League Hall of Fame was established in 2012 to honor league players, managers, and executives for their accomplishments or contributions to
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#1732877052107594-704: The most among all teams in the league, followed by the Auburn Mets/Twins/Phillies/Doubledays (8) and Jamestown Falcons/Expos (7). The New York–Penn League was founded in 1939 as the Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League , generally shortened to PONY League , in a hotel in Batavia, New York . The original teams included the Batavia Clippers , Bradford Bees , Hamilton Red Wings , Jamestown Jaguars , Niagara Falls Rainbows , and Olean Oilers ; all were based in or near Western New York . The Oilers,
621-463: The name, were an affiliate of the Boston Red Sox ) won back-to-back championships in 1941–42 before the loop shut down for three years due to World War II. After the war, the renamed Oneonta Red Sox took two more titles, in 1948 and in the league's final season of 1951. In 1966, the Red Sox shifted their franchise in the current New York–Penn League from Wellsville, New York to Oneonta, keeping
648-469: The season. The league canceled the Fort's final game against the Blacktips, with the league citing the NFL trade deadline and independent observers noting that Dutchess Stadium had major safety concerns in its football configuration and that the Blacktips were largely a paper team consisting of whoever the league could sign for any particular game. On the field, the Fort played only three games, all blowout losses to
675-511: The second perfect game in NYPL history in a 6–0 victory over the Batavia Muckdogs on July 15, 2007. In early July 2008, it was announced that long-time owner Sam Nader had sold the franchise he purchased in 1966. The agreement allowed the Tigers to stay in Oneonta up until the 2010 season. On January 27, 2010, Oneonta Mayor Dick Miller announced in a press release saying that the Tigers would be leaving Oneonta for Norwich, Connecticut for
702-405: Was cancelled; citing safety concerns, three high-school playoff games scheduled for Dutchess were also nixed. As the owner of Dutchess Stadium, Dutchess County held veto power over whether the Fort would return for the 2016 season, had the league survived. The county only offered the league a one-year "pilot" lease on the stadium; county executive Marcus Molinaro would have reviewed the results of
729-602: Was relocated to Norwich, Connecticut , for the 2010 season and became known as the Connecticut Tigers . Oneonta's first pro baseball team came to town on August 7, 1924, when the Utica Utes of the old New York–Pennsylvania League moved there. The newly renamed Indians folded at the end of the season. In 1940, the Cornwall, Ontario club in the old Canadian–American League moved to Oneonta. The Oneonta Indians (who, despite
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