By Bob Keaney
Special for the North Shore Spirit
LYNN--The Spirit was already in the air as fabled Fraser Field opened its perley gates for the first time on June 18,1940. The Spirit wasn't yet the North Shore Spirit, which will come in 2003...but rather it was good old-fashioned Baseball Spirit that dominated the diamond.
And what an historic opener it was! The first game featured, oddly, the Pittsburgh Pirates in a clash against the Lynn Fraser All-Stars. And, ironically, the manager of Lynn was a Kennedy named Pip. The new North Shore Spirit team will be managed by a Kennedy named John, lovingly known as Super Sub when he sparked many a Red Sox victory at Fenway Park in the 1970s.
Back in the 1940 Fraser opener, more than 7,000 (still a record today) filled the sparkling stadium, which cost $210,000 to build.
The Pirates featured future Hall of Famer Lloyd Waner, and they went on to beat Lynn 10-1 as Vince DiMaggio, brother of Joltin' Joe and Dom, hit the first Fraser home run.
Why the Pirates? Pip Kennedy explained it this way: "We invited the Red Sox and Boston Braves to play in the opener, but the Red Sox (with Ted Williams and Jimmy Foxx) were on the road and the Braves were too tired to play during their day off. Since the Pirates were in town to play the Braves, we asked them and they came and made a lot of money (more than $1,800) in gate receipts."
Casey Stengel, famed Yankees skipper, then of the Braves, sat in the stands to take in the show.
ROOSEVELT'S WPA ACT BUILT FRASER
Fraser was built as part of the Work Progress Act, under President Roosevelt. The WPA enabled Manning Bowl to be constructed one year earlier. A masterpiece of modern architecture, Fraser featured a cantilevered roof, a cement overhang supported at one end. With brilliant General Electric lighting, the park became the best of its type in the east coast.
Prior to Fraser, there was a wooden stadium on the site, sitting where the East Lynn Little League diamond now stands.The old "Lynn Stadium" featured schoolboy games as well as exhibitions with the Boston Braves and various Negro League teams, featuring future Hall of Famer Satchel Paige.
TEDDY BALLGAME SLAMMED 2 DOUBLES HERE
In 1942, Gene Fraser, a legendary baseball booster and sponsor of the GE teams, invited Manager Joe Cronin's Red Sox into new Fraser Field -- and with Teddy Williams, Bobby Doerr and rookie sensation Johnny Pesky, they dueled the Fraser All-Stars, a collection of Lynners, old and young, amatuer and pro. Pesky, who would later marry a pretty Lynn lass named Ruth Hickey, had this to say recently when Spirit owner Nick Lopardo introduced John Kennedy and his coaches Dick Radatz, Rich Gedman and Frank Carey (head of Spirit baseball operations) to the press: "I played in that game, and I remember pulling off a successful hidden ball trick, which would have won us the game. But Lynn manager Pip Kennedy complained that they didn't allow that kind of thing. The umpire (Routhouska of Lynn) agreed. An inning later, they scored the winning run and we lost 4-3."
Pesky's best friend, Teddy Ballgame, hit two doubles in three at-bats. He also hit a pre-game homer into Manning Bowl.That year, Ted won the Triple Crown with totals 36 homers, 120 RBI and a .356 batting average. He returned to Fraser in 1981, this time to scout a Lynn Sailors-Bristol Red Sox game, and the fans went bonkers with excitement.
LYNN RED SOX WON TRIO OF PENNANTS
In 1946, the Red Sox top minor league team moved into Fraser Field. The Lynn Red Sox immediately won three straight New England League pennants. Dick O'Connell was general manager and his ace hitter was Dale Long, who, later for the Pirates, set a Major League record with a home run in 8 straight games.
The Red Sox moved out and the Detroit Tigers farm club moved into the Eastern League here in 1949. However, fans stayed away in droves and the Tigers, with their tails between their legs, crawled quietly out of town.
TV exploded on the scene and easier access to Fenway Park attracted a lot of baseball fans, who didn't seem to care for a non-local team at Fraser Field on Western Avenue. No pro team called Lynn its home for the next 30 years. High school, American Legion, CYO, Pony League, PAL, Babe Ruth and Senior League baseball, did, however excel on the Fraser diamond during that minor league dry spell.
Then in 1980, the Seattle Mariners farm club --the Lynn Sailors--floated into town. After two super seasons, attendance began to fade, and the Sailors shipped out. The Lynn Pirates, owned by Lynner Mike Agganis, nephew of the Golden Greek Harry Agganis, sought treasure here in 1983. Rico Petrocelli also was part owner. But fans failed to respond (we counted 52 people in attendance one night) and soon Agganis took his team elsewhere, and actually became a success.
Twelve more seasons passed before another pro nine would knock on Lynn's door. This time it was the Massachusetts Mad Dogs, and they were an instant hit with Lynners Jay Murphy, Tony Nicosia Jr., and Eric Roepsch , and Salem's Mike Giardi in the potent lineup, managed by Red Sox first-sacker George Scott. After three seasons, the Dogs, too, lost their bite and soon fled The Dawg Pound. Nick Lopardo's North Shore Spirit begin the dawn of a new era and he has the talent, experience and staff on and off the field to make it work this time. He carries the torch for the great baseball city of Lynn, which had a pro team in the first Minor League system in history back at the turn of the century.
GREATS GRACED LYNN'S FIELD OF DREAMS
Fraser Field's fascinating past remains glorious and inspiring: Red Sox great Tony Conigliaro clouted many a long ball here for St. Mary's, starring along with all-star teammates Frank Carey (Spirit baseball operations boss) and golden glover Tony Nicosia.
Lynners on their way to the the Major Leagues who played at Fraser, besides Tony C., include Mike Pazik, Jim Hegan, and Bump Hadley, all of English High; Ken Hill, George Bullard, Harry Agganis and Blondy Ryan, all of Classical; Chris Howard of St. Mary's, and Billy Conigliaro of both St. Mary's and Swampscott. Jeff Juden, who pitched for Houston and the Yankees, fired a no-hitter here for Salem High.
Believe it or not, hockey's greatest Bobby Orr swung a bat here as did a Presidential candidate, former Governor Michael Dukakis.
Even The Beach Boys played here in 1984, continuing the historic Lynn tradition of giving the fabled field nothing but Good Vibrations.
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