A Playoff to Remember: Schenectady vs. Amsterdam, 1947

Schenectady had fielded a professional baseball team in three different minor leagues between 1895 and 1957. The Electrics played in the Class B New York State League in 1895 and from 1899 to mid-season 1904. The Blue Jays, a Philadelphia Phillies affiliate, played five seasons in the Class C Canadian-American League from 1946 through 1950 before moving up to the Class A Eastern League from 1951 to 1957. The Schenectady team won the league championship three times, once in each league — 1903 in the New York State League, 1947 in the Canadian-American League and in 1956 in the Eastern League.

During the teams’ 19 full or part-time seasons, there were many thrills and despondent moments. There were no-hitters, triple plays, ninth-inning rallies, wonderous outfield catches and throws, umpire baiting, errors, smooth infield play, and even pennant races decided on the final day of the season. But nothing can match the 1947 team’s seven-game playoff success against the Amsterdam Rugmakers for pure tension and exhilaration for both players and local fans.

Schenectady had been starved for professional baseball with its last team in 1904. A new franchise, however, opened the 1946 season finishing in seventh place. It was post-World War II America. The boys were coming back home. The war was over. America wanted to relax and enjoy itself and there was no better way to do so than “go out to the ballgame.”

The 1947 Blue Jays easily won the pennant by a 13-game margin over second-place Gloversville. Amsterdam and the Oneonta Red Sox finished in third and fourth place, respectively. Schenectady romped through the league playing near .700 ball through May, June and July. The team then coasted to the league title winning only 22 of the final 45 games. Part of the letdown could be attributed to the normal runaway easing up, part to injuries to the pitching staff and center fielder Pinky Watson, and part to bad luck after a long period of good luck.

With a first-place team in 1947, the turnstiles really clicked at McNearney Stadium when 146,132 spectators paid to see the Blue Jays. Such a turnout in the factory town set a new Can-Am League record. In fact, the attendance figures surpassed the old league record by 40 percent. It was an average well above 2,000 per game, a remarkable number for a Class C baseball team at that time.

Playoff Time

The first four teams would play for the Can-Am League title in the September playoffs. Gloversville versus Oneonta and Schenectady vs. Amsterdam in the best-of-seven semi-finals. Amsterdam, a Yankees farm team, was the only team that gave manager Lee Riley’s Schenectady men trouble during the regular season. Amsterdam, managed by Mayo Smith, and Schenectady split the 20 scheduled games during the season. One newspaper reported that the Rugmakers “may be a tough nut to crack for the weakened Jays.” The first game was scheduled at night in Schenectady on Tuesday, Sept. 9.

Hundreds of fans were lined up before the gates opened at 5 p.m. A record 5,330 spectators paid their way into the stadium. There was a full house in attendance to enjoy all the pre-game practices during which pitchers Joe Milians and Steve Ridzik even helped to sell team yearbooks. The Jays’ Charlie Baker (17-5) opposed season-long nemesis and future great Lew Burdette. The Jays started fast and KOed Burdette in the second inning. The enthusiastic crowd cheered almost every pitch, but Amsterdam scored seven runs in a sixth inning rally and won the game 8-4. Only one Amsterdam run would have scored in the fateful sixth had not McConvery been jarred at the plate when receiving a long throw from center fielder Lorenz. McConvery dropped the ball in the collusion.

The second game turned out to be a thrill-packed 14-inning Amsterdam victory before 3,549 fans. Steve Ridzik pitched nine good innings for Schenectady, but trailed 3-1 when he retired the last Amsterdam batter in the ninth. Manager Riley reached base in the bottom of the ninth inning when hit by a pitch and Pandemonium broke loose when Charlie Dykes hit a Merriwell home run to tie the game. Dykes received $125 in spontaneous gestures of fan appreciation. Burdette then entered the game in relief for the visitors and dueled reliever Walt Graham until the 14th inning, when Amsterdam scored twice for a 5-3 victory.

The third game started a 8 p.m. in the Mohawk Mills Park in Amsterdam (seating capacity of 3,000). A huge crowd of 3, 530 saw the home team break away to a 6-2 lead as Blue Jays’ pitchers Joe Milians and Sam Mayton were hit hard. But the visitors fought back and trailed only 7-6 entering the ninth inning. Ben Gregg blooped a hit to the right, took second on Mike Genevrino’s sacrifice and scored the tying run on Lee Riley’s single. Catcher Bob Perry, who had been ejected from the previous game by the plate umpire, unloaded a 33-foot blast off the left field fence to win the game 8-7.

After a Friday night rainout, Schenectady won 3-2 on Saturday before 3,680 fans in Amsterdam to even the series. The Jays had to sweat out a bottom of the ninth inning rally by the Rugmakers, which was described as “perhaps the most nerve racking inning of the entire Schenectady season.” Amsterdam loaded the bases with only one out, but Schenectady’s Baker escaped with the 3-2 victory.

The teams returned to Schenectady for Sunday’s fifth game. Despite rain, a Can-Am League record 6,209 fans filled McNearney Stadium to witness the wildest game in Blue Jays history.

The Amsterdam batters knocked both Ridzik and Milians out of the game early. By the eighth inning, the Jays were hopelessly behind 13-5 and many in the crowd had started to leave.

But then it happened.

Riley started the home eighth with a single to center for Schenectady. Perry doubled to left, Speranza was safe on the shortstop’s error. The attack continued and before long it was 13-11. There were wild whoops on every pitch. The bases were loaded again for Twarkins, batting for the second time in the inning. His sharp grounder hit first base and rolled into right field. Two runs scored and Schenectady had a 14-13 lead. Walt Graham held Amsterdam in the ninth and Schenectady led the series three games to two.

The sixth game moved back to Amsterdam (13 miles west along the Mohawk River). A capacity 3,117 fans were on hand with Schenectadians almost outnumbering Amsterdam’s rooters. Big Ben Gregg had a wisdom tooth pulled that morning, but still pitched, although to no avail as Lew Burdette beat the Jays 2-1. For local upstate New York, this was a World Series. The league showed their agreement by assigning four umpires for each game.

Schenectady had the home field advantage for the seventh and deciding game. Another massive Class C crowd of 5,238 filled the stadium. The two evenly matched teams moved into the ninth inning tied 2-2. Baker, who pitched a six-hitter for Schenectady, led off the home ninth with a double down the left field line. Fred Speranza laid down a perfect bunt to move Baker to third, but Amsterdam first baseman Art Pollock missed third baseman Paul Hazle’s throw and the ball sailed into the right field bullpen as Baker raced home to win the game and the series. It was Baker’s third playoff victory.

The Anticlimactic Finals

Gloversville, a St. Louis Browns affiliate and second-place team during the regular season, was Schenectady’s opponent in the final playoff series. Led by Stanley “Packy” Rogers, the Glovers had defeated Oneonta easily in the semifinal series. The final series was anticlimactic after the wild Schenectady-Amsterdam series. Gloversville was a good team, but no match for the Blue Jays as Schenectady won the series and the title in five games.

A season-ending gala victory banquet was held for the team the night after the playoff victory. Like 1903, there also was a victory parade through the city after the regular season. Manager Riley was given a special gift of $1,000 and the McNearney brothers, who owned the team, gave the players $4,000 to split among themselves. The players also split $2,019.60 as their playoff reward and another $2,000 for the team’s first-place finish. Each player, therefore, received approximately $500, which was a tidy sum for Class C players n 1947, who were lucky to earn $200 a month during the season.

For a few weeks Schenectadians thrilled to the accomplishments of their local team — accomplishments which, to the, equaled the heroics of the 1947 seven-game World Series between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees.