The Pawtucket Red Sox opened play at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, R.I., in 1970. For two seasons, Pawtucket served as the Boston Red Sox’s Double-A affiliate, and in 1973, the club transitioned to Triple-A when the Louisville Colonels International League franchise relocated to the city.
Over the years, McCoy Stadium became a cornerstone of minor league baseball in both Rhode Island and New England. The old ballpark has stood dormant since the end of the 2019 International League season, when the Red Sox, commonly known as the PawSox, relocated to Worcester, Mass., in 2021.
The club is now known as the Worcester Red Sox, or the ‘WooSox’ for short, and plays its home games are played at Polar Park in Worcester.
The Mayor of Pawtucket, Donald R. Grebien, told WPRI.com in late November that the tentative plan was to begin a demolition project on the stadium in March, and like clockwork, the demolition project started last Wednesday. Multiple reports from publications in and around the Rhode Island area indicate that a new high school will be constructed on the grounds of where McCoy Stadium stood.
Although the last game at McCoy Stadium took place nearly six years ago in September 2019, the demolition project cements the end of an era. Unfortunately, the PawSox and their fans did not receive an opportunity to say a proper farewell to McCoy Stadium, since the COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of the 2020 minor league baseball season.
Those in attendance who witnessed the extra-innings 5-4 victory over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on Sept. 2, 2019, had no idea there would never be another game held at their local stadium. And although the PawSox began the day in last place in the International League’s North Division at 58-81, a bottom-of-the-10th game-ending home run from outfielder Cole Sturgeon jolted those left of the 5,049 announced attendance into a frenzy.
McCoy Stadium also hosted the longest game in professional baseball history. In 1981, an April 18 matchup between the PawSox and the Rochester Red Wings kept going into April 19, with the teams playing 32 innings before umpires decided to suspend the game. The sun rose at approximately 4:09 a.m., and the two teams were tied at two-apiece.
Pawtucket owner Ben Mondor, who owned the club from 1977 until his death in 2010, was the last person to leave McCoy Stadium that chilly April morning. Mondor was elected to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2004 for his part in keeping the PawSox in Pawtucket after the club went bankrupt in 1976.
“It was the first time I’d ever driven home from a night game with my headlights off,” Mondor told the Boston Globe. He left McCoy Stadium at 5:15 a.m.
The 33-inning game, which featured future Hall of Famers Wade Boggs and Cal Ripken Jr., resumed play on June 23 and ended 18 minutes after it restarted. Pawtucket’s first baseman, Dave Koza, hit a bases-loaded game-ending single to end the madness in front of a crowd of 5,756 interested fans. The attendance for the game’s opening pitch on April 18 was 1,740.
The infamous 33-inning game is one reason McCoy Stadium’s demolition signifies the end of an era in Pawtucket. The location has so much history to share. What did McCoy Stadium mean to the people of Pawtucket?
During the organization’s time in Pawtucket from 1970 to 2019, the club won seven division titles (1977, 1991, 1994, 1996, 2003, 2011, 2013) and four International League titles (1973, 1984, 2012, 2014).
Former players who made a name for themselves in MLB and who played complete seasons and or made rehab appearances with Pawtucket include outfielder Mookie Betts, third baseman Wade Boggs, starting pitcher Roger Clemens, outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, starting pitcher Jon Lester, and outfielder Manny Ramirez.
The nine members of the Pawtucket Red Sox Hall of Fame include Mondor, 1974 International League Triple Crown winner Jim Rice, Boggs, former manager Joe Morgan, the 1995 American League MVP Mo Vaughn, Carlton Fisk, team executive Mike Tamburro, Fred Lynn, and Clemens.
Worcester fans now hope players like those who developed their game in the minor leagues with Pawtucket will transfer to the WooSox. Former Worcester employees also have high praise for the organization and its fans.
“During my time with the Worcester Red Sox, I got the sense that Worcester is a city that was ready to be a home of a MiLB team and host a ballpark of that caliber,” former WooSox Spanish-language broadcaster Michael Smithers told World Baseball Network. “People in Worcester, regardless of age, gender, or ethnicity, welcomed the team with open arms. Also, the geographical location of Worcester is a huge plus. A 35-minute drive from Fenway Park, in the heart of the Commonwealth, people can enjoy a Major League spectacle for a great price in tickets, food, drink, and merchandise.”
Smithers, who created and led the first-ever entire Spanish-language television broadcast for a minor league baseball team, joined the WooSox in 2022. He told WBN that even though he’s unaware of any memorabilia moved from McCoy Stadium to Polar Park, the club recognizes the team’s time in Pawtucket once a year.
“I started working with the team in 2022, their second [season] in Worcester. From what I have seen, they cherish the franchise’s time in Pawtucket, and they have great memories from their time in McCoy,” said Smithers. “There is even a home game where the WooSox pays tribute to the PawSox with a ‘PawSox Heritage Day’ where the players wear custom Pawtucket jerseys. I’m not entirely sure there is actual memorabilia from McCoy at Polar Park, but I can definitely tell you that the time in Pawtucket is remembered with pride.”
The City of Pawtucket website recently announced that memorabilia from McCoy Stadium will be available for auction starting Monday, July 15, at 8 a.m. EDT. The announcement included that the proceeds from the auction will benefit the Boys and Girls Club, Pawtucket YMCA, Little Sisters of the Poor, the Pawtucket Soup Kitchen, and the construction of the Ben Mondor Park.
“We are thrilled to see the community’s overwhelming interest in the McCoy Stadium auction,” Mayor Donald R. Grebien said in the City of Pawtucket release.“This initiative allows us to deliver cherished memorabilia to our loyal fans while supporting organizations that have been pillars of our community. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.”
Now that the franchise is in Worcester and McCoy Stadium will no longer stand, the PawSox era is officially over. However, there will always be stories to tell and memories that will last a lifetime. In the coming years, parents will paint a picture for their children about the time they spent at McCoy Stadium, and that’s something excavators can never touch.
Photo: Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz gets ready to bat on Thursday, July 17, 2008. Ortiz joined Triple-A Pawtucket against Toledo at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, R.I. to rehab a partial tear of the sheath that surrounds the tendon in his left wrist. (AP Photo/Stew Milne)
