Last week Base Paths read elsewhere that “thousands” of pro ballgames have been played at Sal Maglie Stadium.
That figure seemed as high as a Maglie fastball. Base Paths dived out of the box and into the record books, notably Miles’ Wolff’s four-pound Minor League Encyclopedia.
It lists only won-lost records, so Base Paths took each season’s total games and divided by two, not NASA accuracy, but in the ballpark (sorry).
It turns out that “play ball” was called professionally about 1,193 times since “The Barber Shop” opened as Hyde Park in 1939.
Some guesswork involved the Bisons’ 60’s tenure. The late Joe Overfield’s “100 Years of Buffalo Baseball” testifies that the Herd played in Buffalo only on Sundays, the rest of the time here, so Base Paths took the Herd’s home games those years and multiplied them by six-sevenths.
The Encyclopedia also includes attendance figures. That raised another curiosity bump, how many people have sat in those seats? We calculated 1,210,000, give or take a few. It seemed incredible, but if a thousand-plus games average a thousand fans each, that’s a million. You could look it up. From the beginning, then:
1939 – First-ever Niagara Falls pros, the Rainbows, finish fifth in a six-team PONY League.
1940 – Rainbows fade away to Jamestown on July 13 – the day after Rainbow Wally Balash pitches a no-hitter at London, ON.
1946 – War’s over, Niagara Falls Citizens report to the Class C Middle Atlantic League, playing around 120 games a year.
1951 – With Ken Yount winning 20 games, the Citizens finish second at 74-47, then win the playoffs over Erie. Then the entire league, including the Lockport Locks, folds. No team will represent Niagara Falls for nearly two decades.
1967 – But, when “urban unrest” infects Buffalo’s “Rockpile,” the Bisons stampede to vacated Hyde Park July 1, for 2,621 fans, bringing the likes of Johnny Bench and Don Zimmer.
1968 – April 27, Opening Day at Hyde Park, attendance 3,871. April 28, second “opener” in Buffalo, attendance 3,541.
1969 – Final Bison year, estimated attendance 57,596 for 58 games.
1970 – Pirates swagger into the New York-Pennsylvania League, managed by ex-Yankee Irv Noren, finish next to last but draw a league-high 60,962.
1979 – Pirates walk the plank, last in the league, attendance 29,908.
1982 – They’re back, as the White Sox, win NY-Penn title in playoff with Oneonta, draw 29,883.
1983 – Stadium re-named for native son Sal Maglie.
1985 – So long, Sox. Next to last, 31,149 in attendance.
1989 – Bisons, building farm system for major-league bid, establish the Rapids here.
1991 – All-time Niagara Falls attendance record, 62,157.
1993 – City shuns stadium upgrades, Rapids move – to Jamestown – after winning playoffs on the road. Five Rapids will play major-league ball, including union leader Tony Clark.
1995 – Independent North Atlantic League welcomes the Mallards, last in the standings, first in attendance, a mere 17,938.
1996 – Mallards fly the coop, league folds.
2000 – Stadium reconfigured, more baseball-friendly, but short of enhanced minor-league standards. Home for high school, college, amateur and New York Collegiate Baseball League.
2014 – “Barber Shop” in limbo. Can it be saved? Should it? Base Paths reports, you decide.
Signal back to Base Paths via pollyndoug@hotmail.com
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