Henry ‘Hank’ Bozzi and the Schenectady Mohawk Giants

 This post was written by guest contributor, Keith Wood. Mr. Wood is a teacher, historian, and author: https://www.keithbwoodauthor.com/

 Henry ‘Hank’ Bozzi, owner of the Schenectady Mohawk Giants, was described by the Schenectady Gazette in 1963 as “the promotional genius for pro and semi-pro sports here in the Golden Era before World War II.”[1]

Henry Bozzi was born on January 21, 1892, in Italy, to Mary and M.B. Bozzi.[2] The Bozzis arrived in Schenectady in 1901, with Henry as a nine-year-old. He grew up in the Mont Pleasant neighborhood. At twelve, he dropped out of school and began working for General Electric.[3] Bozzi decided to leave the plant and began serving as an apprentice at his father’s barber shop at 137 South Ferry Street. This gave him the freedom to promote local sporting events.[4]

Schenectady Gazette, 1923

 

In 1920, he became the booking agent for the Knights of Columbus, and over the next four seasons, his notoriety as a local promoter grew. By 1924, when Chappie Johnson brought his Colored All-Stars to Schenectady, Bozzi stood as the obvious choice as promoter for Johnson’s club.[5] Bozzi expanded his regional connections, while Johnson acquired Bozzi’s knowledge of local semi-professional teams. At the onset of the 1927 season, Chappie Johnson headed north to Canada to promote baseball in Montréal. Bozzi retained ownership of the team and rebranded it as Buck Ewing's All-Stars. Bozzi's relationship with Buck Ewing solidified his ability to continue the all-Black professional baseball team. At the end of 1928, Ewing received an opportunity with the Homestead Grays.[6] Without Ewing, Bozzi reincarnated the Mohawk Giant moniker from the 1913 club. 

By 1929, the Pittsburgh Courier described the Mohawk Giants as "the best club thereabouts since the great aggregation of 1914. 'Men were men in them days,' and that was a team."[7] Bozzi began receiving national attention. When Schenectady opened its Twilight League in 1931, Bozzi’s club became the primary focus. The Mohawk Giants stood as the standard by which semi-professional teams judged themselves. The 1932 season also saw the establishment of an Eastern New York Semi-Professional League. Many of the clubs that considered joining this semi-professional league were mainstays on the Mohawk Giants’ barnstorming schedule.[8] Once again, Bozzi’s club was sought out to strengthen a local league.[9]

Crowds at Mohawk Giants games at the A-Diamond in Central Park looked like “a huge bowl of overflowing humanity,” according to Dan Duval, the Union Star’s sports editor.[10] Bozzi collected admission for the bleachers behind home plate, but those fans willing to stand or sit along the baselines or in the outfield enjoyed free admission. Bozzi passed the hat around, but in the middle of the Great Depression, the hat often came back less than full.[11] For Bozzi, booking the club at the A-Diamond was an act of civic boosterism. Bozzi often brought his Mohawk Giants to Saratoga in August. His club’s popularity ensured solid crowds as they played games under the lights, allowing fans to see games after a day at the track.[12]

Two Mohawk Giants players posing in front of spectators gathering for the game.

 

Bozzi’s club played the House of David bewhiskered nine in front of over 3,000 fans at Central Park’s A-Diamond.[13] They also traveled to the home of baseball and played at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown against their town’s nine, and in 1932 they took part in the first night game ever played in Cooperstown.[14] The club barnstormed throughout the state and in the neighboring states of Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Massachusetts. The most coveted games were against Negro major leagues teams like the New York Black Yankees and the Brooklyn Royal Giants, including a 5 to 1 defeat of the Black Yankees in 1934 at the A-Diamond.[15]

By the early 1940s, holding on to the club for Hank Bozzi became more arduous with each passing season. Bozzi publicly announced that 1941 would be his last year in charge of the Mohawk Giants.[16] The following May, Bozzi sold the Mohawk Giants outright to McDonald Lewis, an African American business owner in Schenectady.[17] After a one-year hiatus, Bozzi brought the Mohawk Giants back for one last abbreviated season.[18]

From 1929 to 1940, the Mohawk Giants went 690-259 (.727), making them one of the strongest semi-professional teams in this era, white or Black.[19] The Mohawk Giants stood as a standard of excellence, providing entertainment for the region’s sporting communities.

Related reading: 

WMHT The Mohawk Giants: Schenectady and the Negro Leagues

Guide to the Frank Keetz Baseball Collection at SCHS

Schenectady in the Green Book

The Walter Johnson -- Frank Wickware Showdown 

Works Cited:

1 “Things You Ought to Know.” Schenectady Gazette. November 29, 1963.  
2 "United States, Census, 1910", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MRQZ-STB : Wed Aug 13 18:10:23 UTC 2025), Entry for M B Bozzi and Mary Bozzi, 1910. 
3 Keetz, The Mohawk Colored Giants of Schenectady (Schenectady: Schenectady Historical Society, 1999), 23.
4 “Barbershop Ad.” Schenectady Gazette. July 25, 1972.
5 “Tonight’s Ballgame Called Off.” Amsterdam Evening Recorder. July 29, 1924.
6 Gary Ashwill, “1928 Homestead Grays,” Seamheads Negro Leagues Database, accessed July 23, 2025, https://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/team.php?yearID=1928&teamID=HG&LGOrd=4. 
7 “Sports Shorts.” Pittsburgh Courier. June 20, 1929.
8 “Local Semi-Pro Baseball League to begin play in May.” Troy Times. April 5, 1932. 
9 “Mohawks play all Dorp team in mix tonight.” Schenectady Gazette. May 31, 1932.
10 Keetz, 71. 
11 “Games book by Incarnation.” North Adams Transcript. August 3, 1932.
12 “Buck Ewing and Mohawk Giants to play here today.” Hartford Courant. September 4, 1933.
13  “Mohawks beat House of David in close game.” Schenectady Gazette.  September 6, 1929.
14 “First night game draws record crowd.” The Otsego Farmer. September 9, 1932.
15 “Mohawk Nine halts rush of Yankees.” Syracuse Journal. August 25, 1934; & Lester, 67. 
16 “Dressing Room Chatter.” Amsterdam Evening Recorder. August 12, 1941.
17 Keetz, 138. 
18 “Pros defeat Mohawk Giants 10-3.” The Saratogian. July 26, 1943.
19 Keetz, 4. 

"Fadeaways? Curves? Speed? We Had 'em All": The Illustrious Career of Pitcher Frank Mountain

Special thanks to Julie Mountain for sending us articles and information on Frank Mountain and to library volunteer Diane Leone for compiling this information.

Between the ages 10 and 14, my friends and I would gather for weekly games of Wiffle Ball in the court next to my house. We formed our own league, had our own constantly changing rules, decided what counted as a home run (over the power lines, over my neighbors fence, or if we managed to hit the street light), made some drastic modifications to the bats we used, decided whether a player running the bases would be considered out if he was hit with a thrown ball, and tried a few different types of ball (later experiments with a tennis ball led to unhappy neighbors and bruised hands). Like the residents of Pittsfield, Massachusetts in 1791 who banned bat and ball games within 80 yards of the newly built meeting house, I’m sure our neighbors often wished to ban us from playing ball in the court. Similar to our ever changing rules, rule changes in professional baseball during the late-1800s happened quite frequently and Schenectady’s Frank “Curley” Mountain was one of the preeminent players during this evolving period of baseball.

Frank Mountain was born in Fort Edward, NY on May 17, 1860 to David and Elizabeth Mountain. The family moved to Schenectady in 1865. Frank would play sandlot ball while going to class at the Union Classical Institute, and would often head straight for Union College’s field. As a student in high school, he wasn’t technically allowed to play with the college students on campus, but his skill on the field made him a welcome addition. Mountain pitched one game for Union College in 1879 and at least 10 in 1880 before officially enrolling in Union in 1881. As a freshman, Mountain debated with Union Professor Cady Staley about the physical and mathematical possibility of throwing a curveball. It was widely believed that the curveball was an optical illusion and Mountain was set on proving that the ball actually curved. According to Reverend W.N.P Dailey in the St. Johnsville Enterprise, the debate was ended when Mountain “placed his teacher so that unless he moved suddenly in the straight pitch the curved ball at the plate would have hit him.” Staley was amazed by the pitch and would go on to have Frank demonstrate his curve for physics classes. Mountain and fellow student Daniel McElwain would lead Union to win the 1881 championship of the New York State Intercollegiate Baseball Association.

Frank Mountain shown in the front row, second from the right, and the Union Class of 1884. Courtesy of Julie Mountain.

He made his professional debut in 1880 for the Troy Trojans back when Troy had a professional baseball team. It wasn’t until 1883, when he was playing for the Columbus Buckeyes, that he really showed his skill as a pitcher. Pitchers during this era would often play full games, and Frank Mountain was no exception. During the 1883 season, he pitched 59 games for a whopping total of 503 innings pitched. He was also known to pitch double headers, 4 games in a row, and would often play the field when not pitching on his “day off” due to his skill as a hitter and fielder. His best season was in 1884 where he won 24 games, lost 17, and had a 2.45 earned run average which was the fifth best in the American Association. He also pitched a no-hitter against both the Washington Nationals and the Cincinnati Red Stockings during that season. Unfortunately, this brutal pace took a toll on Mountain’s arm and by 1885, he became a coach and trainer (one of the first to coach from the bench) while occasionally playing first base or in the outfield. His last Major League appearance was on August 17, 1886 while playing for the Pittsburgh Alleghenys.

The 1884 Columbus Buckeyes. Pitchers Frank Mountain and Ed Morris are shown in the front row. Mountain and Morris pitched a total of 94 games in the 1884 season. Courtesy of the issue #37 of Old Cardboard (http://www.oldcardboard.com/enews/2007/enews37/enews37.htm).

Mountain moved back to Schenectady, started a family, and worked at General Electric as the Assistant Fire Chief for about 40 years. An unidentified 1921 article titled “Frank Mountain Craves Chance to Pitch Them Over to Babe Ruth” profiled Mountain. In the article, he states that he would like to be back in the game “with his old-time pitcher’s cunning” to face off against Babe Ruth. The article also focuses on some of the changes that have occurred in baseball since his heyday. According to Mountain, the pitcher would never think of taking instructions from the catcher, as he would be able to decide which pitch he threw by sizing up each batter. It is also reported that he discovered the spitball and frequently used a “moist delivery to secure a fairly slow ball that broke with a drop as it crossed the plate.” He also played during a time when baseball gloves were optional. Even if players chose to wear a glove, they were more like a leather work glove and lacked padding or webbing. One of the first instances of adding padding to a glove was in 1885 when Providence Grays shortstop Arthur Irwin attempted to protect two broken fingers by padding his glove.

An example of the type of glove players "subject to sore hands" would wear in the early 1880s. From the 1880 issue of the Spalding Base Ball Guide courtesy of The Smithsonian Library on Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/spaldingsbasebal1880chic).

In 1938, Frank Mountain was given a silver pass which gave him lifetime admission to any Major League Baseball game. The pass came as a complete surprise to Mountain who said that receiving the pass was one of the happiest moments of his life. He passed away on November 30^th, 1939 and was buried in the Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery. His legacy lives on through great granddaughter  Julie Mountain, who also graduated from Union 103 years after Frank. She feels that his efforts to leverage Union and engineering professors to demonstrate that the curve was real and not an optical illusion is important to show his commitment to learning and education. Julie very kindly sent us her research on Frank Mountain for this post and is working to nominate Frank for the Buck O'Neil award for his early contributions to the game. If anyone has any additional information about him please contact her at Mountain_299@hotmail.com.




Frank Mountain kept his signature handlebar mustache (a bit difficult to see in this photo) throughout his life. Courtesy of the Grems-Doolittle Library.

Vintage baseball leagues have been making a comeback in recent years. The Atlantic Base Ball Club based out of Brooklyn plays home games on the grounds of the Smithtown Historical Society in Long Island, but have been playing at the Annual Ommegang Brewery Festival in Cooperstown, NY. Follow this link to watch a clip of the Atlantics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5I98ACObgnw.

The Grems-Doolittle Library has been digitizing some of our photos on sports and recreation in Schenectady through the New York Heritage website. This collection features photos of the Schenectady Blue Jays, the J.C. Baseball Club, and the Schenectady Whirlwinds, with more being added periodically. Check it out at http://nyheritage.nnyln.net/cdm/landingpage/collection/p16694coll45.  

                                                                                                                                         -Mike Maloney

The Early Years of Professional Baseball in Schenectady

Photograph of the 1895 Schenectady team -- Schenectady's first professional baseball team. Image from Frank Keetz Professional Baseball Collection. 

"Professional ball in any city is one of the characteristics of a live, progressive people and is a desirable acquisition to any place, and of the best means of advertising a town. It furnishes an animating entertainment to people who are bored by the hot summer months ... it relieves you of that tired and weary feeling and puts you in good humor with yourself."
- Evening Star, between 1899 and 1900 baseball seasons.


The origins of professional baseball in Schenectady came about during the winter of 1894-1895. On January 25, 1895, the Evening Star reported that a Schenectady team would be established to play in the New York State League. Manager P.M. "Hawker" Shea led the team throughout the season. The team had an overall 24-26 record when the State League folded, coming in fourth place out of the eight teams in the league. Despite a so-so record, enthusiasm ran high in Schenectady for the city's first professional baseball team; chants such as "Who are we? Who are we? Rooters from Sche-nec-ta-dy!" rang in the air during games.

During 1896, 1897, and 1898, Schenectady did not have a professional team. In 1899, the decision was made to again form a team. Unfortunately, that decision came in the spring, shortly before the season was to begin, and when most of the good players were already signed to other teams. The local team came in last place that year, with a record of 29 wins and 77 losses, earning the epithet "Schenectady the Booby." The team fared better over the next few years, again ranking in the mid-range of the league. In the seasons of 1900, 1901, and 1902, the team started the season strong, but fumbled later in the season. In 1901, a new ballpark was established for the team. Island Park, as it was known, was on Van Slyck Island (later Iroquois Island) in the Mohawk River. Prior to 1901, the team had played on Driving Park, located in what is now the Hamilton Hill neighborhood. The Schenectady team was known by a few nicknames, such as the Dorps, the Electrics, and the Frog Alley Bunch.

A baseball crowd at Island Park, around the turn of the century. Image from Frank Keetz Professional Baseball Collection. 

The 1903 season was to be the peak of the turn-of-the-century years of professional baseball in Schenectady. Facing fears that the team might disappear, team owners organized a new association of supporters, and managerial duties were handed off to Ben Ellis, a minor league veteran and a player on the Schenectady team in the 1902 season. "There is not a fan in the State League who has not a warm feeling for Ben Ellis and his associates," wrote Sporting News. The roster of players was all experienced players; the most popular player was Fred "Old Reliable" Betts, who played for three and a half seasons with the team. None of the men on the 1903 team were locals.

In the 1903 season, Schenectady won its opening game. The scrappy team played an exciting season, often coming from behind to beat their opponents in the final innings of the game. A number of players on the team were also injured during the season. Schenectadians rallied around their team, which they thought of as "courageous," "crippled and overworked;" its players who "displayed grit" deserved the public's "credit and support." A fund was established for injured Schenectady players, and benefit amateur ballgames and concerts were held to raise money for the fund. As the season came to a close, crowds of 2,000 people at Island Park watched the home team win the season's final games, against Johnstown. Schenectady narrowly won the State League championship that year, with a record of 80 wins and 52 losses. As Schenectady won its final game, cheers could be heard in downtown Schenectady and in Scotia. A celebratory parade and fireworks preceded a banquet held for the team at the Hotel Vendome on State Street.

Cover of April 9, 1904 issue of Sporting Life, showing the New York State League Champions. Image from Frank Keetz Professional Baseball Collection. 

Despite the thrill of winning the pennant, the owners of the Schenectady team had still lost money in the 1903 season. The next season, the team simply unraveled. In beginning the 1904 season, the team's best pitchers, Del Mason and Arthur Goodwin, had left the team. The team played poorly, attendance at games was low, and the owners continued to lose money. Following losses at a July 4th doubleheader, and with the team already at 19 wins and 34 losses, the team's owners abruptly terminated the Schenectady franchise. It was transferred to the State League, where it was picked up by Scranton, Pennsylvania, as the first out-of-state New York State League team. The team ended in seventh place that year, with a record of 40-85. There would be no professional baseball team in Schenectady again until an all-African-American team, the Mohawk Giants, was established in 1913.

To learn more about the early years of professional baseball in Schenectady, join us for a lecture by Frank Keetz this Saturday, April 12. Details are below.


Professional Baseball in Schenectady, 1895-1904: A Fascinating Footnote in Local History 

Presented by Frank Keetz

Date: Saturday, April 12, 2014

Time: 2:00 p.m.

Location: Schenectady County Historical Society, 32 Washington Avenue, Schenectady, NY 12305

Admission: $5.00; Free for members of the Schenectady County Historical Society.

Frank Keetz has written several publications about sports in the Schenectady area, including They, Too, Were ‘Boys of Summer:’ A Case Study of the Schenectady Blue Jays in the Eastern League 1951-1957, Class ‘C’ Baseball: A Case Study of the Schenectady Blue Jays in the Canadian-American League 1946-1950, and The Mohawk Colored Giants of Schenectady.

For more information, please contact Librarian Melissa Tacke at 518-374-0263, option 3, or by email at librarian@schenectadyhistorical.org. The Schenectady County Historical Society is wheelchair accessible, with off-street parking behind the building and overflow parking next door at the YWCA.

The Walter Johnson - Frank Wickware Showdown at Schenectady

Frank Wickware, ca. 1913. From the Frank Keetz Professional Baseball Collection. 

Excitement was running high in Schenectady in the period leading up to October 5, 1913, when Washington Americans pitcher Walter Johnson and a team of "All Americans" -- all minor league players -- would come to Schenectady to face the local all-African-American team the Mohawk Colored Giants and its strongest pitcher, Frank Wickware, for the last game in the Giants' very first season. "Never has such interest been aroused among baseball fans," wrote the Schenectady Gazette. "No more fitting close could possibly have been arranged for the local fans and the largest crowd that has ever witnessed any athletic event or baseball game will be on hand." The newspaper touted the game as "a test of the best white pitcher versus the best colored twirler."

Walter Johnson's visit to Schenectady was scheduled just after Johnson had completed a stellar season with a 36-7 record -- including 11 shutouts -- with the Washington Senators. He was also the American League MVP that year. One of the greatest pitchers in the history of baseball, Johnson's fastball struck out more players than any pitcher in history until the 1980s. Some of the pitching records he set during his 21-year career remain unbroken to this day. Johnson would go on to be honored as one of the "Five Immortals" -- one of the first five players elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Walter Johnson, 1913. Image from Library of Congress. 

On the Schenectady side, Frank Wickware was considered one of the best African-American pitchers of the day, and was compared to white major league legends of his time. The Schenectady Union-Star called Wickware "the best colored pitcher in the world." The Amsterdam Evening Recorder held that it "was no wild assertion to say that were it not for his color he would be placed in the same class with [Walter] Johnson, [Christopher "Christy"] Mathewson, [Charles "Chief"] Bender and other stars of the game." Reporter Frank G. Menke described Wickware as "one of the greatest pitchers the game ever has produced" and decried the color line that barred him from joining the major leagues. Menke described Wickware's style of pitching as having "marvelous speed, a weird set of curves and wonderful control. And he has a trick that has made him feared among batters. He throws what seems to be a 'bean ball' but his control is so perfect that he never yet has hit a batter in the head. But when the batters see the ball, propelled with mighty force, come for their heads, they jump away — and the ball, taking its proper and well-timed curve, arches over the plate for a strike."

Wickware shone during the Mohawk Giants' 1913 season. "The Mohawk Giants were a good baseball team," wrote local baseball historian Frank Keetz, "but with Frank Wickware pitching, they were a great baseball team." Wickware was often pitted against the Giants' toughest competitors. He was responsible for defeating four State League teams, and had a personal record of 24 wins, 5 losses, 2 ties, and 2 saves. He pitched 9 shutouts and assisted in 2 other shutouts that season. When the Chicago Cubs came to the area for an exhibition game against a Rutland, Vermont team, Wickware was picked to pitch for the Rutland team as a ringer. However, the Cubs refused to face Wickware, citing the $1,000 fine that major league teams faced if they played against an African-American player.

The Johnson-Wickware game was to be played at Island Park, on Van Slyck Island (later Iroquois Island) in the Mohawk River. Baseball games had been regularly played at Island Park since the turn of the century. Fans paid their admission at the foot of Water Street in Schenectady, then crossed a pontoon bridge on foot to the stands. The construction of the new Western Gateway Bridge during the 1970s would later prompt the filling in of the Binnekill, transforming the area into one large piece of land from the rear of the Schenectady County Community College down to the Mohawk River.

On the day of the game, roughly 7,000 fans flooded into Island Park, with overflow from the packed stands covering much of the outfield. After both teams held their pre-game practice, the Mohawk Giants players suddenly ran off the field and across the pontoon bridge to the ticket booth. The players claimed that the team's manager, Bill Wernecke, had not paid them for the past six weeks. Since this was the last game of the season, they feared they would not be paid, and they demanded to be paid immediately. Seeing the players at the gate and sensing that the game would not go on, fans streamed to the ticket booth and demanded refunds. The scene of anger, fear, and confusion, according to an article in the New York Times, "came near developing into a full-fledged riot." The Union-Star described the behavior of the players as "disgusting" and "disgraceful," particularly noting that "Wickware, in an ugly mood, used his tongue too freely as he strode about the crowd, swinging a bat dangerously near the spectators and muttering threats against Wernecke." Police soon arrived and calmed the crowd. Alfred Nicolaus, a local restaurant owner and silent partner in the Mohawk Giants team, rushed part of the funds to the striking players. The game finally began a hour and a half after the scheduled 3:00 p.m start time. After another brief interruption -- the agent who had brought Johnson to Schenectady demanded his payment, as well! -- the game went on.

The crowd was excited to see an out-of-town star, and Johnson met their expectations. He struck out the Mohawk Giants in the third and fifth innings, and only gave up two hits during the entire game. He also hit two doubles in his two appearances at bat. In comparison to Johnson's pitching, Wickware "struggled a little," according to Frank Keetz. Over the course of the game, Wickware gave up five hits, walked three, and hit one batter with a wild pitch. During the fourth inning, the Mohawk Giants scored one run -- the sole run of the game. After five and a half innings, the game was called on account of darkness. Fans were likely disappointed that that the game was cut short, but the crowd left, according to the Schenectady Gazette, "perfectly satisfied that they had seen the world's best twirler perform."

You can learn more about Wickware and other members of the Mohawk Giants on Saturday, February 23, when local baseball historian Frank Keetz will trace the history of the team. This lecture will be featured in conjunction with the exhibit The Mohawk Colored Giants, which will be on display at our museum through May 2013. Details about the talk are featured below.

Lecture: "Black Baseball Players, White Crowds: The Mohawk Colored Giants of Schenectady"

Speaker: Frank Keetz

Date: Saturday, February 23, 2013

Time: 2:00 p.m.

Location: Schenectady County Historical Society, 32 Washington Avenue, Schenectady, NY 12305

Cost: $5.00 admission – Free for SCHS members            

Description:
Local baseball historian and author Frank Keetz will trace the history of the Mohawk Colored Giants, an all-African-American professional baseball team in Schenectady, and discuss the team’s impact and legacy in the area. Keetz has written several publications about sports in the Schenectady area, including The Mohawk Colored Giants of Schenectady, Class ‘C’ Baseball: A Case Study of the Schenectady Blue Jays in the Canadian-American League 1946-1950, and They, Too, Were ‘Boys of Summer:’ A Case Study of the Schenectady Blue Jays in the Eastern League 1951-1957.

The Schenectady Blue Jays

The 1947 Blue Jays celebrate in the locker room following a 7-game playoff victory over Amsterdam. Front, left to right: Hamil, Barbieri, batboy Ottaviano, manager Riley, Baker, Milians. Back, left to right: Twarkins, McConvery, Genevrino (behind McConvery), Lorenz, Graham (hands against ceiling), O'Connell (in front of Graham), Ridzik, Gregg, Speranza (partly obscured). From Frank Keetz Professional Baseball Collection.  

In anticipation of the talk about the Schenectady Blue Jays by local baseball historian and author Frank Keetz this Saturday, June 30, we'd like to share some photographs of the Blue Jays from the Frank Keetz Professional Baseball Collection. The collection includes photographs, ephemera, newspaper clippings, notes, and other information about Schenectady baseball. In addition to material pertaining to the Blue Jays, the collection also includes photographs and information about the Negro League team the Mohawk Giants and early baseball in Schenectady. If you're interested in local baseball history, Keetz's collection is a treasure. The library also has many of Keetz's books and booklets about local baseball, clipping files, and photograph files about local baseball in our holdings. Visit us, give us a call, or send an email to explore our holdings about baseball history.

Early season Schenectady Pitching Staff, 1948. Left to right: Lasorda, Baryiewski, unknown, Baker, Mayton, Markell, Oberman, Luba, and Olveson. From Frank Keetz Professional Baseball Collection.



Aerial view of McNearney Stadium (renamed Schenectady Stadium in 1952), home of the Schenectady Blue Jays. Jackson Avenue  is at the upper right hand corner of the photograph. The inset shows a view of the stadium as one entered the parking lot. The site of the stadium would later be occupied by the Stadium Golf Course. Photograph from Frank Keetz Professional Baseball Collection.

Announcement of home opener game for the new Schenectady Blue Jays team on May 9, 1946, at Central Park in Schenectady. Image from Tales of Old Schenectady, Volume 2: The Changing Scene by Larry Hart.

Blue Jays players Ped Robbins, Hank Mason, and Ed Bouchee receive watches from Eastern League President Tommy Richardson in honor of each player being selected to the league's midseason All-Star team in 1955. Mason broke the color line to become the first African-American player for the Blue Jays. From Frank Keetz Professional Baseball Collection.

1948 Schenectady Blue Jays players on the town in Quebec City prior to a night game. Left to right: Duke Markell, Ernie Woods, Tommy Lasorda, Archie Luba, Charles Lindquist. Batboy Pete Lucas at rear. From Frank Keetz Professional Baseball Collection.

Fellow players congratulate pitcher Dick Bunker (center) after the final out that clinched the pennant victory in 1956. From the Frank Keetz Professional Baseball Collection.   

Professional Baseball in Schenectady—The Frank M. Keetz Collection

Volume: 2 boxes (about 1.33 c.f.)

Creator: Frank M. Keetz

 Cover of Schenectady Baseball Club program, 1946

Biographical Note: 
A resident of Schenectady, NY, Frank M. Keetz was a social studies teacher at Shaker High School and Bethlehem High School for 38 years and has researched and written about history, economics, and baseball.  Keetz began collecting baseball memorabilia as a child, and as an adult his passion for baseball drove him to become a local authority on Schenectady baseball.  In his spare time, he spent "90 million hours" at the public library searching newspapers on microfilm to answer baseball questions for friends and acquaintances.  He compiled his extensive research into several books and monographs.

McNeary Stadium

Author of:

• Class “C” Baseball: A Case Study of the Schenectady Blue Jays in the Canadian-American League 1946-1950, 1988.

• Doff Your Caps to the Champions: A Case Study of a Minor League Baseball Franchise in 1903, 1984.

• The Mohawk Colored Giants of Schenectady, 1999.

• They, Too, Were “Boys of Summer”: A Case Study of the Schenectady Blue Jays in the Eastern League 1951-1957, 1993. 
 

Tom Lasorda, baseball card, 1948

Description of Collection:
Photographs, newspaper clippings, yearbooks, programs, a signed baseball, research files, baseball trading cards.

Further Reading:
“Baseball in Schenectady” by Frank M. Keetz.
Schenectady County Historical Society Newsletter. v 52, no. 9-10. September-October 2009.