Hyannis Harbor Hawks
The Hyannis Harbor Hawks, formerly the Hyannis Mets, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League and plays in the league's West Division. The Harbor Hawks play their home games at Judy Walden Scarafile Field at McKeon Park. The team is owned and operated by the non-profit Hyannis Athletic Association.
Hyannis most recently won the CCBL championship in 1991 when they defeated the Chatham A's two games to none to win the best of three championship series. The title was the third in team history, having won back-to-back league championships in 1978 and 1979. Since the club's inception, over 100 players have gone on to play in Major League Baseball.
History
Pre-modern era
Early years
Baseball in the villages of Barnstable dates back to the early days of the sport on Cape Cod. The Barnstable Cummaquids were organized in 1867 and battled the "Yarmouth Mattakeesetts" on at least three occasions that year. After splitting their first two recorded contests, the seemingly evenly-matched teams met for a highly-anticipated third game, this time as an attraction at the Barnstable County Fair. The Cummaquids took the lopsided match, 30–13, and with their victory secured the prize of a "beautiful silver mounted carved black walnut bat costing $15." The Barnstable team met up with a team from Yarmouth again in 1883 for a July 4 contest that had become an annual event. U.S. Congressman Samuel Winslow hurled for Barnstable while a student at Harvard in 1884. An 1885 poster advertising another July 4 contest, this time between Barnstable and Sandwich, was uncovered by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. Although no formal league had been established at this time, the poster became the source for the traditional dating of the Cape League's origin to 1885.From 1888 to 1892, the Hyannis town team was sponsored by "gentlemen of leisure" Charles B. Cory and Charles Richard Crane, who funded and played on the club. At Cory and Crane's expense, various well-known professional and amateur players were brought in to play alongside the Hyannis locals. In 1888, Cory and Crane outfitted the club in "suits which were of the best white flannel and red stockings," and secured the services of pitcher Dick Conway and catcher Mert Hackett, both formerly of the major league Boston Beaneaters. In 1889, Hackett was back, along with Barney Gilligan, who had played for the 1884 major league champion Providence Grays, where he was a teammate of Cape Cod native Ed Conley and batterymate of Baseball Hall of Fame hurler Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn. Hackett was back again as team captain in 1891, and in the first game of the season, Hyannis hosted a team from Boston that featured Baseball Hall of Famer George Wright at shortstop. After the season, Cory published an extended ode to the Hyannis ballclub in the style of Ernest Thayer's Casey at the Bat.
File:1897 Boston Beaneaters.jpg |thumb|left|300px|1909 Hyannis pitcher Fred Klobedanz was an ace hurler for the major league Boston Beaneaters in 1897 and 1898.
The Hyannis town team had its share of stars during the early years of the twentieth century. In 1909, former major leaguer Fred Klobedanz pitched for Hyannis. Klobedanz had pitched several seasons with the National League Boston Beaneaters, posting a 26–7 record in 1897 and a 19–10 record in the team's 1898 pennant-winning season. The 1909 Hyannis team also featured Princeton gridiron All-American Sanford White, and Brown University hurler Arthur Staff, who led the team as player-manager through much of the following decade. During this period, the Hyannis team periodically played squads from naval ships docked at or near Cape Cod. In 1909, 1,500 fans saw Hyannis turn a rare triple play in a victory over the team from the USS Missouri, and in 1911 and 1914, Hyannis played several games against the team from the USS Nebraska, billed as the "Base Ball Champions of the Atlantic Fleet."
Holy Cross star Ed Gill tossed no-hitters for Hyannis in 1916 and 1917, and in the latter did not allow a ball to be hit to the outfield. Gill went on to play in the major leagues for the Washington Senators. Cape Cod native Joel "Joe" Sherman of Yarmouth pitched for Hyannis for many seasons. As a young man, he had played for the team from 1906 to 1913. Then after a 14-year hiatus he returned to play again for Hyannis from 1927 to 1931. In between, Sherman had a brief stint in the majors with Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics in 1915. Sherman's long career with Hyannis, predating even the formation of the league itself in 1923, accounts for his being referred to by some as the "father of the league."
The early Cape League era (1923–1939)
In 1923 the Cape Cod Baseball League was formed and originally included Falmouth, Chatham, and two Barnstable teams: Osterville and Hyannis. Hyannis played home games at Hallett's Field on Main Street in downtown Hyannis, and Osterville played at West Bay Field in Osterville. After the 1930 season, the two teams merged into a combined "Barnstable" team, with home games being split between the two ballparks. Funding for town teams during this period was difficult to secure. Teams depended largely on the town itself to appropriate funds, and the impact of the Great Depression made this an especially difficult annual town decision. As a result, the Barnstable team was forced to withdraw from the Cape League for the 1938 season, but was back in 1939, though the league itself folded after that season.The town's teams had great success in the early Cape League, winning a combined seven league championships during the 17-year duration of the league. The Osterville team won the title in 1924 and 1925. Osterville and Hyannis agreed to share the title in 1926, as weather and the departure of college players for school prevented the scheduling of a decisive game. Hyannis took the title in 1927, and Osterville was back on top in 1928. The combined Barnstable team was league champion in 1934 and 1937. The Barnstable teams of this era were replete with college stars and semi-pro players, many of whom went on to major league careers.
Hyannis boasted a "parade of sluggers" that included Georgetown University football star Tony Plansky, who went on to play for the NFL's New York Giants. In 1999, Plansky was ranked by Sports Illustrated as the #25 all-time greatest sports figure from Massachusetts. He was inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame in 2001. Other Hyannis sluggers included NYU's Ken Strong, another collegiate football star who went on to a long NFL career and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Brockton, Massachusetts native and Boston College shortstop Freddie Moncewicz played for Hyannis between 1923 and 1927, winning the league title as player-manager in 1926 and 1927, then played for the Boston Red Sox in 1928, and returned to his post as Hyannis player-manager in 1929. Newburyport, Massachusetts native Paddy Creeden joined Hyannis while still a student at Brockton High School in 1924. He played for Hyannis again from 1926 to 1930, and was described as a "very smart ball player, especially fast on his feet and one of the league's leading base stealers." After a brief stint with the Boston Red Sox early in 1931, Creeden returned to play with Barnstable for the remainder of that season. During this era, Hyannis played periodic exhibitions against well-known barnstorming teams such as the House of David, who defeated Hyannis in a 1927 contest, the Lizzie Murphy All-Stars, whom Hyannis defeated in 1930, and the Philadelphia Giants, who played Hyannis in 1926, 1928 and 1929, and featured the celebrated battery of Will "Cannonball" Jackman and Burlin White. In 1929, Hyannisport summer resident and ex-Boston mayor John F. "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald performed his well-known rendition of Sweet Adeline at a benefit concert for the Hyannis baseball team.
File:J. F. Fitzgerald.jpg |thumb|left|210px|JFK granddad "Honey Fitz" sang Sweet Adeline at a 1929 benefit concert for the Hyannis ballclub.
Osterville's 1924 pennant winners featured Shanty Hogan and Danny "Deacon" MacFayden, a Cape Cod native from Truro. The pair had been teammates at Somerville High School, and led Osterville to the 1924 Cape League title. Hogan batted.385 on the season, was named team MVP, and reportedly smashed the "longest home run ever seen" at West Bay Field. He went on to enjoy a 13-year major league career, much of it with the hometown Boston Braves. MacFayden began his major league career in 1926 with the Boston Red Sox, and pitched for a total of 17 years in the major leagues, winning a World Series title with the New York Yankees in 1932. MacFayden was inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame in 2012. The 1925 CCBL champion Osterville squad featured CCBL Hall of Famer Pat Sorenti, Boston College center fielder Tony Comerford, and second baseman Art Merewether, who had played briefly for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 1929 Osterville team featured Lynn, Massachusetts native John "Blondy" Ryan, who went on to play for the World Series-winning 1933 New York Giants, Vito Tamulis, who went on to play for the Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers, and former Dartmouth College football and ice hockey standout Myles Lane. Lane had just completed his rookie season in the National Hockey League, a defenseman for the 1929 Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins, and played for Osterville through 1931. He went on to a career in law, becoming a New York Supreme Court justice.
When the Hyannis and Osterville teams combined in 1931, the new team was led by player-manager Danny Silva, who had filled the same role for Osterville the previous season. Silva had played briefly for the Washington Senators in 1919, and after his playing days became a longtime umpire in the CCBL. In the early 1960s when a knowledgeable and universally respected figure was needed to unify the newly-reorganized Cape League, Silva was chosen and served as the first commissioner of the league's modern era, a position he held from 1962 to 1968. Silva was inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class of 2000.
From 1933 to 1937, Barnstable was led by player-manager Ed "Pete" Herman, a pitcher from Boston College who had played previously in the league for Chatham. Herman began the 1933 season with an 18-game hitting streak, and later that season proved himself the team's iron man by pitching both halves of a doubleheader. Herman led the club to league championships in 1934 and 1937, and in 1938 it was reported that, "When it comes to picking an All-Cape, All-Time, Cape Cod League manager, 'Pete' will win the nomination hands down."
File:Artie Gore.jpg |thumb|right|200px|Artie Gore was a flashy infielder for Barnstable in 1934, and went on to a ten-year umpiring career in the National League.
Herman had brought several players with him from the Chatham team, including infielder Artie Gore and catcher George Colbert. Gore was a crowd favorite, known for his "chatter, pepper, and flashy fielding," he went on to enjoy a ten-year umpiring career in the National League. Colbert, a popular power-hitter, had been Herman's batterymate at Boston College. Described as "loud and humorous", Colbert kept the team loose with entertaining antics such as catching slow pitchers barehanded.
Herman's clubs also featured several future major leaguers. Boston College pitcher Ed Gallagher twirled for Barnstable in 1931, then played for the Boston Red Sox in 1932, and returned to play for Barnstable again in 1933. Another 1933 Barnstable hurler, Emil "Bud" Roy, went on to play briefly for the Philadelphia Athletics. Quincy, Massachusetts native Ted Olson was a dominant pitcher for Barnstable in 1934 and 1935, and went on to play for the Boston Red Sox. CCBL Hall of Famer Lennie Merullo also played for Barnstable in 1935, and went on to play seven seasons with the Chicago Cubs.
Barnstable's 1937 league title was won in exciting fashion as ace pitcher Norman Merrill tossed a no-hitter to beat Bourne, 5–0, on the final day of the season to clinch the league title. The win capped a stellar season for Merrill, who won 13 games for Barnstable while batting.394. The powerful team had seven players who batted over.300, and also featured burly slugger John Spirida, who went on to play pro football for the Washington Redskins in 1939. In 1939, the final year of the early Cape League, night baseball was introduced for the first time. Portable lights were staged for Barnstable's game against Falmouth at Falmouth Heights, and the following night the lights were transported to Hyannis for the second game of the home-and-home series between the two clubs.
File:1975 John Aylmer senator Massachusetts.jpg |thumb|left|140px|Massachusetts State Senator and CCBL Hall of Famer Jack Aylmer played in the league for the Barnstable Barons in the 1950s, and brought an expansion franchise to Hyannis in 1976