By Doug Smith
Have we all gone crazy with the weather, or does somebody actually propose to put a professional baseball team in Niagara Falls, perhaps as soon as this May?
Maybe, but yes.
Collin Cummins, a 44-year-old go-getter from Mississauga, ON, has his eye on Sal Maglie Stadium as a playpen for his brainchild East Coast League, scheduled to launch in about 11 weeks.
The independent ECL has five teams, from Old Orchard Beach, ME to Waterloo, ON, with Watertown and Newburgh, NY, and Welland, ON, in between. Because baseball leagues abhor odd numbers, the ECBL figures to fill in the gap with a “travel team,” the Road City Explorers.
Cummins would like to have the Explorers play a few games in Sal Maglie, preferably in May and August, before and after the Niagara Power NYCBL season. It sounds like the stuff dreams are made of, except that he’s a lot closer to assembling a league than the city of Niagara Falls is to assembling a team to run the stadium.
There’s precedent. The well-established independent Frontier League housed its “travel team” in Slippery Rock, PA, eight years ago, staffing it with sports management students at Slippery Rock State. The Sliders played one-third of their games at home with some success. Base Paths saw one game there, paid $5 to join the Booster Club, entitling him to two Coors Lights (no substitutions) under the Keystone State’s goofy beer laws.
Cummins’ notion is to have the Explorers (attention, LaSalle alum) play a few games here, probably against Welland. As in independent, the ECBL is not bound by “organized” ball’s territorial protections. Somewhat in the mold of Cal Kern, Cummins seems able to get things done. He’s principally a sports agent and has founded and run the pre-developmental Winter League at Myrtle Beach, SC.
The Bigfoot-printed East Coast resembles the North Atlantic League, which fielded the Mallards in the Barber Shop’s old configuration in 1995. The team lasted one year, last in the standings, first in attendance and, as nearly as Base Paths can determine, paid all its bills.
Among East Coast cities, Waterloo’s never had a team; neighboring Kitchener had a pro team around 1920. Old Orchard once had the International League’s Maine Guides. Newburgh helped found the Atlantic League, which moved on to larger venue. In 1994, Watertown’s New York-Penn team moved to Welland for five seasons. Despite a terrific ballpark, Welland didn’t draw enough NAL fans in 1995 to fill up Sal Maglie once, and its Canadian League team (2003) lasted six weeks.
History is not on Mr. Cummins’ side, but so he has dotted every “i” and crossed every “t.” Base Paths can’t figure what’s in it for him except to possibly sign a few players. It’s a long shot, but until Niagara Falls makes up its mind about Sal Maglie, it’s no shot at all.
Signal back to Base Paths via pollyndoug@hotmail.com
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