Saxtons River, Vermont's Own Field of Dreams

Published in The Message, June 3, 2009Boston Globe article, 1904 The Saxtons River Pirates baseball team was at one time a pillar in the local Rockingham community for many decades. In fact, records gathered with the help of the Saxtons River Historical Society date the Saxtons River baseball team all the way back to 1903, with an article published in the Boston Globe on November 24, reporting that the Saxtons River “semi–professional club” had claimed the Southern Vermont championship. The team played a 13 game schedule that year, going up against local teams from Chester, Bellows Falls, Springfield, Brattleboro and Marlboro and Ashuelot, NH.
“I knew the team had a history going back to the 1930’s who were known as the Indians, but didn’t know the history of the team went back that far,” Saxtons River resident Dave Moore stated in a recent interview. Moore was a long time coach and player for the Saxtons River Pirates and his father “Lefty” Moore, was a pitcher on the Saxtons River Indians team just after World War II. The Indians played in the West River Valley League in the 30’s and 40’s, retiring the league trophy after taking home the championship three consecutive years. The retired trophy remains on display at the Saxtons River Historical Society.
In the early 1950’s the team disbanded, mostly because Major League Baseball was now brought into fans’ homes via television and with the introduction of Little League baseball, men who had been playing on teams themselves, were now coaching and watching their kids play the game.
Years later, Moore decided to revive the team in 1974, with the help of some Vermont The Pirates circa 1989 (with Bill Lee)Academy faculty members as well as the community. “There was no team and had not been a team in Saxtons River for over 30 years, so I decided to start a team in 1974 and we entered the Central Vermont League for two years, playing our home games at Vermont Academy." A couple of great Pirate players from the early 70’s teams included Saxtons River’s Gene Hotaling, a center fielder and Canada’s Bill Berry, a Vermont Academy teacher who patrolled the infield and the pitcher’s mound.
In 1977 Moore and North Walpole’s Frank Brown, did some local recruiting and joined the Twin State League, consisting of teams from Vermont and New York. Other local rivals teams included teams from Rutland, West Rutland and Fair Haven. The Pirates dominated, going 25–10 overall and beating West Rutland to win the Twin State League championship. The Pirates dominated again in 1978, winning the Twin State championship for the second consecutive season, as well as taking an open tournament in Burlington.
The Pirates were an impressive 33–6 on the year, giving them an amazing 58–16 overall record over a two–year period. In fact, the Pirates were so dominant, they were not asked back to play in the Twin State league after that. In 1979, new resident and “good baseball man” Joe Maegher became manager and along with a few other local teams including the Brattleboro Maples, Walpole Blue Jays, Bennington Generals and the Burlington A’s and Expos, formed the Northern League.
The Pirates would again be dominant, capturing four consecutive Northern League championships (1977–80) and almost won a fifth, losing in the 1981 championship game to the Burlington A's by a score of 3–1. Another Pirates star from the late–70’s included North Walpole’s Mark Brown, who would go on to pitch in the Major League’s for the Orioles and Twins. The Pirates overall record in that five–year span was 164 wins and 60 losses.
Saxtons River would turn in a decent season in 1982, going 27–19 before losing in the playoffs, but their last big hurrah in the 80's came in 1983 when, after starting the season slow, won their last 15 games of the season before upsetting a tough Burlington Expos team in the championship series. An Expos team that carried six former professional, minor league players on their roster.
The Pirates would continue to field a team through the late 80's and into the 90's, but commitments to family and other things in life made it more difficult to continue the winning tradition of Saxtons River baseball, with the team finally disbanding in 1996. A few other great Pirate players from the 80’s and 90’s included the aforementioned Frank Brown (brother of Mark), who would win over 50 games for the Pirates and was also an excellent catcher and solid hitter.
North Walpole’s Pete Bushway, who played in multiple College World Series games for the University of Maine, was an excellent catcher, outfielder and hitter. Jamie Spence of Springfield was another great player as a pitcher, outfielder and power hitter. Saxtons River’s own Billy Lockerby was another outstanding hitter and second baseman, hitting .456 one season.
The Pirates, circa 2009Flash–forward to 2009 and Dave Moore has once again, decided to revive the Saxtons River Pirates, who are now playing in the Connecticut River Valley Men's League, competing against area teams from Chester and Brattleboro. Although many of the players are older now – even old friend Frank Brown has returned to the team – but one thing is for sure, these players come out on Sunday mornings and put the uniform on for the love of the game, which is the way it should be. Yes, a fourth era of Saxtons River baseball has begun.