By Dominic Konareski
Special to the Voice
The West Haven Yankees were the pride of West Haven, winning a total of four Eastern League titles across nearly their decade-long stay.
Playing in Quigley Stadium and in West Haven as a whole had its benefits. For one, West Haven’s baseball history was rich, with the semi-pro Sailors and even Yankee legends such as Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig barnstorming at Donovan Field in the 1920s. When it came to Quigley Stadium you had a Yankee affiliate playing just over two hours away from the Bronx, which led to Mickey Mantle putting on a home run derby and Joe DiMaggio having a promotional night.
West Haven saw numerous star and hall of fame managers and players go through their system such as Bobby Cox, Buck Showalter, Ron Guidry and Willie McGee. An overall combined win-loss record of 611-496 from 1972-79, that only saw two losing seasons.
New York kept their Double-AA affiliate in Allingtown for eight years, which brought in an inconsistent fan attendance rate after a boom of over 100,000 in their inaugural season. At the point of 1979, the Yankees were once again champions, but the poor field and stadium conditions from lighting to clubhouse facilities in the dilapidated Quigley Stadium led to numerous issues with ownership.
West Haven Yankees owner Lloyd Kern, who owned the team with Robert Zeig from 1977-79, frequently dealt with the City of West Haven, who owned the stadium, on the dim lighting and several other issues that plagued the outdated stadium. During West Haven’s 1979 season, New York Yankees General Manager Lee McPhail came to West Haven on a visit and after walking through the outfield, McPhail stated, “This is an absolute disgrace. We’re out of here.” The statement by McPhail was the final nail in the coffin for New York affiliated baseball in West Haven.
At the end of the 1979 season, the New York Yankees shifted their Double-AA farm to Nashville, becoming the Nashville Sounds in the Southern League.
Kern and Zeig reached a deal with the Seattle Mariners, forming the West Haven Sailors under the new rebranded, newly affiliated team. Hoping to stay in West Haven, the Sailors sank in Connecticut over the winter, instead relocating to Lynn, Massachusetts, before the start of the 1980 season to become the Lynn Sailors under the Seattle affiliation.
West Haven kept minor league baseball in the town with the Oakland A’s moving their affiliate from Waterbury to West Haven, but the West Haven Yankees franchise itself moved out of state.
After the relocation to Massachusetts, the-then Yankees-turned-Sailors underwent multiple rebrands, team affiliations and relocations. Moving from Massachusetts, Vermont and then a final stop in Ohio in 1997, the-now Akron RubberDucks play Double-AA baseball still today as the affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians.
RubberDucks baseball plays its home games in Akron, OH, at Canal Park in the Eastern League. The team’s name comes from Akron’s history in the rubber industry, which saw the birthplaces of Goodyear and Firestone. The only remnants of their West Haven Yankee heritage are the titles won (1972, 1976, 1977, 1979), and the mention of Quigley being the team’s ballpark on Wikipedia.
The RubberDucks currently rank fifth all-time and are second amongst current teams in Eastern League championships with six, just one place ahead of the four-time West Haven Yankees.