On today’s episode of Minor League History, we highlight a 19th century league that lasted only one season before morphing into another league: the Naugatuck Valley League.
The Naugatuck Valley League was a non-signatory league, meaning it did not sign the National Convention of 1883 and was therefore an independent league. The league lasted through the 1896 season before morphing into the Connecticut League in 1897. The Naugatuck Valley is located in the watershed of the Naugatuck River which flows from Stillwater Pond near Torrington to its confluence with the Housatonic River in Derby, CT.
The league consisted of six teams exclusively from the state of Connecticut.
Cities represented:
Ansonia, CT: Ansonia welcomes
Bridgeport, CT: Bridgeport Victors
Derby, CT: Derby Angels
New Haven, CT: New Haven Edgewoods
Torrington, CT: Torrington tornadoes
Winsted, CT: Winston Blues
The league was founded by Hall of Famer Jim O’ Rourke, who was owner/player/manager of the Bridgeport Victors. O’ Rourke guided the club to first place with a 25-15 record. He led the league with a .437 batting average and was still playing catcher at age 46.
The chairman of the league was DW Porter. Another Hall of Famer, Candy Cummings, managed the Torrington Tornados to a second-place finish with a 24-16 record.
During that one season in 1896, the Naugatuck Valley League proved to be a stable league. All teams starting the season played the 40-game schedule.
| Team ranking | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgeport victors | 25 | 15 | .625 | – | Jim O’Rourke |
| Torrington tornadoes | 24 | 16 | .600 | 1 | TM Burns / Candy Cummings |
| Derby Angels | 22 | 18 | .550 | 3 | William Callahan / Joseph Veitch |
| Edgewoods in New Haven | 22 | 18 | .550 | 3 | TR Greist |
| Winston welcomes you | 15 | 25 | .375 | 10 | Eugene McCarthy W. A. ​​Parsons / James Eaton |
| Ansonia Blues | 12 | 28 | .300 | 13 | Thomas Houlihan |
What happened after the 1896 season is not entirely clear. Some sources say the league folded after that one season and the Bridgeport, Derby, Torrington and Winstead teams continued to play in the Connecticut (State) League. But other sources say the Naugatuck Valley League was renamed the Connecticut League. A Wikipedia page on the Connecticut League noted that the 1896 edition was also known as the Naugatuck Valley League. This would mean that the NVL was nothing more than a continuation of the Connecticut State League before it was renamed the Connecticut State League. In my own post about the Connecticut League, the league was renamed from the Connecticut State League in 1901.
An Internet page dedicated to former MLB player and Hall of Famer Jim O’ Rourke states that he was the founder of the Naugatuck Valley League and left the league after one season with his team, the Bridport Victors, to join the Connecticut State League.
The New Haven Edgewoods were that city’s fourth professional baseball team, as they were preceded by the New Haven Elm Citys in 1875, followed by the New Haven Blues in 1887 and the New Haven Nutmegs in the early 1890s.
All teams from the late 19th century called Hamilton Park their home. This was a multi-purpose facility that also catered for horse racing. It was also home to Yale University’s sports teams until Yale Field was constructed in the 1890s.
The Torrington Tornados was the first professional ball club in Torrington. The club is named after local weather patterns. There have been approximately fifty recorded tornadoes in Torrington, CT. After finishing second in the standings in 1896, the club moved to the Connecticut League (or Connecticut State League) and played as the Torrington Demons. After the 1987 Connecticut (State) League season, professional baseball left Torrington, returning in 1950.
The Winsted Blues only lasted one season. After the 1896 season the club was dissolved.
But it wouldn’t be the last time pro ball would call Winsted home. In 1978, the Winsted Whalers of the Tri-State League would call the city their home.
Ansonia was home to a professional ball team in the 1896 season of the Naugatuck Valley League. The Ansonia Welcomes were preceded by the Ansonia Big Gorhams, a Negro League team that called Ansonia home in 1891. After 1896, Ansonia was passed over by minor league/professional baseball.
Today, a local athletic league of 16 high schools (not just baseball) has adopted the name Naugatuck Valley League.
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