Hagerty: Wade Boggs, Rickey Henderson, and the fly ball that disappeared
From SABR member Tim Hagerty at The Hardball Times on June 12, 2017:
In 1976, KISS performed at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, N.J., a show documented in a DVD titled “The Lost Concert.” Two years later, Roosevelt Stadium was the site of another event, The Lost Fly Ball. A fly ball vanished from a Double-A game between the Bristol Red Sox and Jersey Indians on May 28, 1978.
The Indians were an Oakland A’s affiliate but kept the name “Indians” from a previous major league partnership so they wouldn’t have to buy new uniforms. When the Double-A club filed paperwork to join the Athletics organization, some publications listed the team as the “Jersey City A’s,” an inaccuracy that still appears in baseball encyclopedias and websites. The team’s general manager, Mal Fichman, decided to use “Jersey” instead of “Jersey City” to appeal to the entire state.
Rickey Henderson played center field for the Indians. That’s probably a strange image, as we don’t associate Henderson with the Indians or center field.
There was no confusion surrounding the Bristol Red Sox team name. The Red Sox were a Red Sox affiliate. They were based in Bristol, Conn., a 2.5-hour bus ride from Jersey City. Bristol players loved road trips to Jersey City because they were a short cab ride from postgame excitement in New York City.
Read the full article here: http://www.hardballtimes.com/wade-boggs-rickey-henderson-and-the-fly-ball-that-disappeared/
Originally published: June 12, 2017. Last Updated: June 12, 2017.