When baseball was king on Sundays

MILLBROOK — There is a painting that hangs in the meeting room of the Millbrook Village Hall that depicts what looks like a park setting: trees, grass, some (now) vintage cars. What most people don’t realize is that it was once the center of village life on Sunday afternoons, back in the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s. Why? Because this was where baseball teams played, and back then, after church and Sunday dinner, what else was there to do?

Major league teams were doing well, but fans couldn’t always get to see them, so they listened on the radio and kept up with the national baseball scene via newspapers. But to watch a live game, one usually stayed close to home.

John Flanagan, former copy editor and writer for the Poughkeepsie Journal, gave a presentation on Millbrook baseball on Thursday, April 18, to a very enthusiastic audience. He spoke about baseball from 1930 through 1966, and mentioned many names still present in Millbrook today, such as Dash Ciferri, Buddy Marona, Joe Ianucci and a host of others.

Flanagan recalled that there were upwards of 1,500 fans for games, and for many of the games, the count went up to around 3,000. At the field on Elm Street, people sat on blankets, car hoods and grass to see the action; later, portable bleachers were added. People made donations to keep the games going.

There were usually seven to 10 ball boys, and there were bat boys, who would often mature into actual players. Bats were made of ash and often broke during games. Some enterprising bat boys would keep the broken bats, fix them and sell them to other kids.

The Interstate Baseball League had a semi-pro status because some players were paid. Players were also brought in from other places. Some of the teams that played Millbrook were Amenia, Pine Plains, Pleasant Valley and Millerton, and from Connecticut, Sharon, Lakeville, Salisbury, Canaan and Winsted. Flanagan said there were many excellent players, some even got tryouts for major league team farm clubs.

There was a team of black players that was also well known and had many great players, among them Preston Bennett and Ernie Duncan. They were not supposed to play white teams. Flanagan said they played the Millbrook team in scrimmage, but Marian Bennett, widow of Bennett, remembers that they did play white teams in regular games. She remembers attending games, cheering her husband’s team on. When Jackie Robinson was hired in 1946, although there was still prejudice, it opened the way for other players in all leagues.

There were many reasons for local baseball dying out, said Flanagan. When World War II started, many of the players were drafted or enlisted. When they came back, they had not played for several years, were older and were ready to start families or  work and didn’t have the time for baseball. Other young men joined and played, but those who had gone to war, even those who had been picked for tryouts for the major league teams, had passed their heyday.

Next, there was the advent of television, more money for cars and trips and other types of amusements. If one could watch the Yankees on television, the games at Millbrook field on Sundays lost some of their luster.

Finally, the old elementary school on Elm was torn down, and a new one was built, right in the middle of the field. And so, Sunday baseball, local teams, the Interstate League as it was at that time, ended.

The archives of the Millbrook Historical Society have many photos and news clippings about those times, and is always happy to share them with those who are interested. 

For more information about the Millbrook Historical Society, and Millbrook baseball from years ago, go to www.millbrookhistoricalsociety.org.