The Nashua Dodgers, a farm club of the Brooklyn Dodgers, was a baseball team which operated in the class-B New England League between 1946 and 1949. It is believed to be the first professional baseball team based in the United States in the twentieth century to play with a racially integrated roster. The team was based at Holman Stadium in Nashua, New Hampshire. The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team that played from 1890-1957. ... The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played sporadically in five of the six New England states (Vermont excepted) between 1886 and 1949. ... Holman Stadium is a baseball stadium in Vero Beach, Florida, built in 1953 to accommodate spring training for the Dodgers as part of a complex called Dodgertown. In addition to the Dodgers spring games, it is also the home of the Vero Beach Dodgers of the Florida State League. ... Nickname: Gate City Location in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire Coordinates: Country United States State New Hampshire County Hillsborough Incorporated 1746 Mayor Bernard A. Streeter (Rep) Area    - City 82. ...

1946

In 1945, Dodgers president Branch Rickey contacted executive Emil J. "Buzzie" Bavasi, who was relaxing with family in Georgia after his return from Italy during World War II, and asked Bavasi to find a suitable location for a club in the newly reformed New England League. Rickey had just signed Jackie Robinson to a contract, and while Robinson and John Wright were expected to integrate the International League as a member of the Montreal Royals, Bavasi believed that Rickey would sign other African American players during the 1945-46 offseason. With the possibility that the New England League club would be integrated, Bavasi looked for a community with a significant French Canadian population (believing that the ethnic group would be accepting of African Americans) and a racially progressive newspaper. He chose Nashua, New Hampshire. 1914 E145 Crackerjack Branch Rickey Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 - December 9, 1965) was an innovative Major League Baseball executive best known for two things: breaking baseballs color barrier by signing the African-American player Jackie Robinson, and later drafting the first Hispanic player, Roberto Clemente; and creating... Jack Roosevelt Jackie Robinson (January 31, 1919 - October 24, 1972) became the first African American Major League Baseball player of the modern era in 1947. ... John Wright may refer to: John Wright (cricketer) (born 1954), member of the New Zealand cricket team, coach of the Indian cricket team John Wright (inventor), an inventor of electroplating (method patented, 1840) John Wright (politician), New Zealand MP, 1996–2002 John C. Wright (born 1961), science fiction and fantasy... The International League (IL) is a minor league baseball league which operates in the eastern United States and Canada. ... Statue at Montreals Olympic Stadium of the Royals most famous player, Jackie Robinson. ... Nickname: Gate City Location in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire Coordinates: Country United States State New Hampshire County Hillsborough Incorporated 1746 Mayor Bernard A. Streeter (Rep) Area    - City 82. ...

Nashua's population of approximately 34,000 made it the smallest New England League city; the next largest, Portland, was more than double the size of Nashua. Furthermore, the city counted fewer than fifty African Americans in its population. But it boasted a sizable French Canadian population. Bavasi negotiated for the lease of Holman Stadium, a nine-year-old multipurpose stadium owned by the city, and spoke with Nashua Telegraph editor Fred Dobens about the city's racial climate. By March 1, Rickey had signed two African American players, catcher Roy Campanella and pitcher Don Newcombe, to play for the Dodgers organization. Initially he offered Campanella to the Danville Dodgers (Illinois) of the Three-I League, but the Danville general manager believed that his league was not ready for integration. Bavasi readily accepted the two players. Rickey did not announce the signings to the media for another month, however, to give Bavasi time to integrate the team into the community. Holman Stadium is a baseball stadium in Vero Beach, Florida, built in 1953 to accommodate spring training for the Dodgers as part of a complex called Dodgertown. In addition to the Dodgers spring games, it is also the home of the Vero Beach Dodgers of the Florida State League. ... The Telegraph of Nashua is a daily newspaper in Nashua, New Hampshire. ... Roy Campanella (November 19, 1921 – June 26, 1993) was an American catcher in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball. ... Donald Newcombe (born June 14, 1926 in Madison, New Jersey), nicknamed Newk, is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher and left-handed batter who played for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (1949-51 and 1954-58), Cincinnati Reds (1958-60) and Cleveland Indians (1960). ... Danville is the name of some places in the United States of America: Danville, California Danville, Georgia Danville, Idaho Danville, Illinois Danville, Indiana Danville, Iowa Danville, Kentucky Danville, North Carolina Danville, New Hampshire Danville, Ohio Danville, Pennsylvania Danville, Vermont Danville, Virginia Danville, West Virginia Other: Danville, Pretoria is a suburb... The Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League was a Minor League Baseball organization that operated for the better part of 60 years, mostly in those three states. ...

To promote the Nashua Dodgers within the community, Bavasi arranged for local war veterans to try out for the club, and also made the signing of French Canadian ballplayers a top priority. On March 21, he named Fred Dobens President of the Nashua Dodgers, and subsequently he began to promote the ties of Brooklyn Dodgers scout Clyde Sukeforth to the city. Sukeforth, who had scouted Robinson, Newcombe, and Campanella for Brooklyn, had played minor-league baseball briefly in Nashua in 1926, and the Telegraph made that fact known to the public. Finally, on April 4, Fred Dobens announced that Campanella and Newcombe would join the Dodgers in Nashua. Clyde Leroy Sukey Sukeforth (November 30, 1901 - September 3, 2000) was a former Major League Baseball catcher, scout and manager who was best known for scouting and signing the major leagues first black player in the modern era, Jackie Robinson. ...

Although Bavasi attempted to sign Frenchy Bordagaray to manage the club, Bordagaray was assigned to the Dodgers' class-C club in Trois Riviers, Quebec. The Nashua business manager also looked at signing Jake Pitler to manage the team, but decided that Pitler would not be able to handle some of the problems that might arise on a racially integrated club as well as other managers might. Finally, Bavasi settled on Walter Alston to manage the club and play first base. That season at Manchester Athletic Field (Gill Stadium), Alston would collide with Manchester Giants catcher Sal Yvars, ending Alston's playing career. Stanley George Frenchy Bordagaray (3 January 1910-April 14, 2000) was a major-league baseball player for eleven seasons with the Chicago White Sox, Brooklyn Dodgers, St. ... Walter Emmons Alston (December 1, 1911 - October 1, 1984) was an American baseball player and manager. ... Gill Stadium is a sporting complex located in the city of Manchester, New Hampshire. ... Salvador Anthony Yvars (born February 20, 1924 in New York City, New York) was a Major League Baseball catcher from 1947 to 1954. ...

Except for a few racially charged incidents featuring the Lynn Red Sox, the 1946 season proceeded without fanfare. Campanella, who wore number 10, batted .291, hit thirteen home runs, and was named the team's Most Valuable Player. He also managed one game in Lawrence, Massachusetts, after Alston was ejected, becoming the first African American to manage an integrated professional baseball team. Newcombe, who wore number 24 for Nashua, won 14 and lost 4 games, boasted a 2.21 earned run average, and hit .311--even pinch hitting in some games. The Dodgers placed second in 1946, but won the league championship by defeating Lynn.

1947

The team's success carried into the 1947 season. Although Campanella was promoted to St. Paul of the American Association, and Alston and Bavasi joined the Montreal Royals, Newcombe remained in Nashua. The club again placed second, but won the Governor's Cup for the second year in a row. The American Association has been the name of at least two leagues of professional United States of America. ...

1948

Although Newcombe was promoted, the Nashua Dodgers remained integrated in 1948 with the addition of Dan Bankhead, who had been a pitcher with Brooklyn. Nashua was managed by Al Campanis, who was of Jackie Robinson in Montreal in 1946. The Dodgers again placed second, but won the Governors' Cup. Alexander Sebastian Campanis (November 2, 1916 - June 21, 1998) was an American executive in Major League Baseball. ...

1949

In 1949, as major-leaguers Don Newcombe and Roy Campanella led the Brooklyn Dodgers to a pennant, the Nashua Dodgers again seemed ready to compete for the Governors' Cup. However, in July, partly as a result of a collapse in the region's industrial economy, teams from Providence, Manchester, Fall River (MA), and Lynn disbanded, leaving only Nashua, Springfield (MA), Portland, and Pawtucket to finish the season. Sensing doom, Branch Rickey reassigned his best players to other teams, among them Gino Cimoli, so-called "bonus baby" Billy Loes, and Wayne Belardi. Despite its good overall performance in 1949, Nashua finished the second half of the season in last place, and was the only team to miss the playoffs. With that, the New England League folded, and with it the Nashua Dodgers. Gino Nicholas Cimoli (born December 18, 1929, in San Francisco, California) is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball. ... William Loes (born 12-13-1929), a native New Yorker, known to his friends as Billy, was a pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers and several other teams during the 1950s and into the early 1960s. ...

Sources

• Campanella, Roy. 1959. It's Good to Be Alive. New York: Little Brown and Co.

• Daly, Steve. 2002. Dem Little Bums: The Nashua Dodgers. Concord, NH: Plaidswede Publishing.

• Roper, Scott C., and Stephanie Abbot Roper. 1998. "'We're Going to Give All We Have for this Grand Little Town': Baseball Integration and the 1946 Nashua Dodgers." Historical New Hampshire 53:1/2 (Spring/Summer) 3-19.

• Tygiel, Jules. 1997. Baseball's Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and his Legacy. New York: Oxford University Press.