Northampton Red Sox
{{Infobox Minor League Baseball
| name =Northampton Red Sox
| firstseason =1927
| lastseason =1928
| allyears =
| city =Cape Charles, Virginia
| logo =
| uniformlogo =
| class level =Class D (1927–1928)
| league =Eastern Shore League (1927–1928)
| majorleague =None
| nickname =Northampton Red Sox (1927–1928)
| ballpark =Patton Field (1927–1928)
| classnum =
| classchamps =
| leaguenum =1
| leaguechamps =1928
| confnum =
| conferencechamps =
| divnum =
| divisionchamps =
| wildcardnum =
| wildcardberths =
}}
The Northampton Red Sox were a minor league baseball team based in Cape Charles, Virginia, which lies within Northampton County, Virginia. In 1927 and 1928, the Northampton Red Sox played exclusively as members of the Class D level Eastern Shore League, winning the 1928 league championship. The Red Sox hosted minor league home games at Patton Field. The team nickname was in reference to their uniforms.
History
Prior to minor league baseball, Cape Charles, Virginia hosted the semi–pro Pennsylvania Railroad Baseball Team at Patton Field.{{Cite web|url=http://eshore.iath.virginia.edu/node/6046|title=Pennsylvania Railroad Baseball Team, Patton Field, Cape Charles | The Countryside Transformed|website=eshore.iath.virginia.edu}}
Minor league baseball began in Cape Charles, Virginia and Northampton County, Virginia with the 1927 Northampton Red Sox, who became members of the six–team Class D level Eastern Shore League. The league began play on May 27, 1927, with the Cambridge Canners, Crisfield Crabbers, Easton Farmers, Parksley Spuds and Salisbury Indians joining Northampton in league play.{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/l-ESHL/y-1927|title=1927 Eastern Shore League (ESL) minor league baseball on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}
The Northampton Red Sox team wore red trim hose and the franchise took the name of Northampton County, while playing home games at Patton Field in Cape Charles. The team was not an affiliate of the Boston Red Sox.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oNVs03_8fEcC&q=%22Northampton+Red+Sox%22+1928+baseball&pg=PA54|title=Baseball Team Names: A Worldwide Dictionary, 1869-2011|first=Richard|last=Worth|date=February 21, 2013|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786491247|via=Google Books}}
In their first season of play, the 1927 Northampton Red Sox finished last in the 1927 Eastern Shore League.{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/league.cgi?id=0cab748e|title=1927 Eastern Shore League|website=Baseball-Reference.com}} With a regular season record of 30–55, the Red Sox placed sixth in the final standings under manager Jack Sauter, finishing 28.5 games behind the first place Parksley Spuds. Northampton finished behind the Parksley Spuds (60–28), Salisbury Indians (48–38), Crisfield Crabbers (44–43), Cambridge Canners (41–47) and Easton Farmers (36–48) in the standings.{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/standings/l-ESHL/y-1927|title=1927 Eastern Shore League (ESL) Standings on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/roster/t-ns13407/y-1927|title=1927 Northampton Red Sox minor league baseball Roster on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi|title=1927 Northampton Red Sox Statistics|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}{{cite book |title=The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball |editor-first1=Lloyd |editor-last1=Johnson |editor-first2=Miles |editor-last2=Wolff |edition=Third |publisher=Baseball America |date=2007 |isbn=978-1932391176}}
In their final season, Northampton won a championship in a shortened season.{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi|title=1928 Northampton Red Sox Statistics|website=Baseball-Reference.com}} The 1928 Eastern Shore League folded during the season with the Northampton Red Sox in first place.{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/league.cgi?id=9b1c926f|title=1928 Eastern Shore League|website=Baseball-Reference.com}} After beginning play on June 2, 1928, the league folded on July 10, 1928, with the Northampton Red Sox having a record of 22–9, playing under manager Lester Bangs. Northampton was in first place in the standings when the six–team league folded, 0.5 game ahead the second place Salisbury Indians. Northampton finished ahead of Salisbury (22–10), the Crisfield Crabbers (14–17), Cambridge Canners (13–19), Easton Farmers (13–20) and Parksley Spuds (12–21) in the final standings.{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/standings/l-ESHL/y-1928|title=1928 Eastern Shore League (ESL) Standings on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/roster/t-ns13407/y-1928|title=1928 Northampton Red Sox minor league baseball Roster on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/l-ESHL/y-1928|title=1928 Eastern Shore League (ESL) minor league baseball on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}
The Northampton franchise permanently folded following the 1928 season. Cape Charles, Virginia and Northampton County, Virginia have not hosted another minor league team.{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi|title=Northampton, Virginia Encyclopedia|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}
The ballpark
The Northampton Red Sox played minor league home games in Cape Charles, Virginia. Their home ballpark was named Patton Field. Patton Field was built before the 1915 season and was located near the New York & Pennsylvania Railroad / Pennsylvania Railroad tracks. Patton Field was named after William A. Patton, president of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The ballpark no longer exists.{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/venues/v-1927|title=Unknown in Northhampton, VA minor league baseball history and teams on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://salisburyu.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapTour/index.html?appid=c9a4c1e56da447f094eea5fa4c297280|title=Story Map Tour|website=salisburyu.maps.arcgis.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://sundayhistorical.com/blog/f/patton-field-cape-charles-va|title=Patton Field Cape Charles Va|first=Sunday|last=Historical|website=Sunday Historical material copyrighted}}
File:Cape Charles - Railway lines leading to rail ferry - panoramio (1).jpg
Timeline
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size: 95%;"
! Year(s) !! # Yrs. !! Team !! Level !! League!!Ballpark | |||||
| 1927–1928 | 2 | Northampton Red Sox | Class D | Eastern Shore League | Patton Field |
== Year-by-year records ==
| class="wikitable"
! Year !! Record !! Finish !! Manager !! Playoffs/notes | ||||
| align=center
| 1927 | 30–55 | 6th | Jack Saute | No playoffs held |
| align=center
|1928 | 22–9 | 1st | Lester Bangs | League folded July 10 League champions |
| align=center |
Notable alumni
=See also=
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- [https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi?city=Northampton&state=VA&country=US Northampton - Baseball Reference]
Category:Professional baseball teams in Virginia
Category:Defunct baseball teams in Virginia
Category:Baseball teams established in 1927
Category:Baseball teams disestablished in 1928