Team of Veteran Baseball People Combine Talents To Bring a Professional Franchise Back to Yale Field

Published on January 16, 2004 under Canadian American League (Can-Am)
New Haven County Cutters News Release


Professional baseball will continue at Yale Field.

With an experienced baseball management team to guide the organization plus the financial support of investors from New York City, Westchester County and Connecticut, Greater New Haven's new professional baseball team was officially launched at a media conference at Yale University's Smilow Field Center Thursday.

The yet-to-be-named team joins the Northeast League, one of the country's five established independent leagues. The team formerly known as the Berkshire Black Bears of Pittsfield, MA, will play its first four games on the road at Elmira, NY May 27-30, 2004, then open its 46-game home schedule against Allentown, PA Monday, May 31.

The eight-team league plays a 92-game schedule from late May to Labor Day. The other teams are located at Brockton and Lynn, MA, Montclair, NJ, Bangor, ME and Quebec City, Canada.

Jonathan Fleisig, who owned the Black Bears and previously had a Northeast League team in Lynn, MA, will serve as Chairman with Rick Handelman as President. Investors include New York Rangers and three-time Olympic defenseman Brian Leetch, a onetime Connecticut resident whose parents still have a home in Cheshire, CT.

They have hired Jarvis Brown, an outfielder for the 1991 World Champion Minnesota Twins and three other major league teams, as manager and revealed two other members of the front office.

"We couldn't be happier with the way this deal has come together with the cooperation of the cities of New Haven and West Haven, Yale University, the Baseball Foundation of Connecticut and the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce", said Handelman, an investment advisor with the Meyer Handelman Company in Rye Brook, NY as well as a sports investor. "We had a tight time line, and it says volumes about how much everyone wanted to make this happen that we could get it done to meet the Northeast League timetable."

Miles Wolff, who is considered the father of the 12-year-old Independent Baseball surge that has nearly 50 established teams throughout the eastern two-thirds of the United States as well as other leagues in their early stages, echoed Handelman's enthusiasm.

"This area brings continued growth and stability to the Northeast League," said Wolff, who is the league's commissioner as well as owner of the Quebec Les Capitales. "I expect this organization to get out of the gate fast, and to be one of the best given the track records of those involved.

"One of the beauties of Independent Baseball is that the team can go from zero to championship contender very quickly. Rick and his people have promised to us they will not settle for anything short of a competitive team from the very beginning while bringing the best in affordable family entertainment to the area."

Handelman and a group of investors purchased shares of the Berkshire franchise from majority owner Fleisig, a New York City commodities broker who also owns minor league hockey teams in Bakersfield, CA and Las Vegas, NV as well as an arenafootball2 league team in Bakersfield.

Handelman said the investment group would include New Haven-area condominium complex developer Alan Hadelman and at least one sports celebrity plus some business associates and friends.

"We are very pleased to have Jarvis Brown agree to be our manager," Handelman said. "While this will be his first managing job, he has had six seasons as a coach, and was widely recommended from a variety of baseball people for this position."

Brown, 36, also played for the San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves and Baltimore Orioles during his 155-game major league career which stretched from 1991-95. He has twice worn uniforms of Connecticut teams, serving as player-coach for the Waterbury Spirit of the Northeast League in 1998 and as hitting, baserunning and outfield coach for the New Britain Rock Cats in 2000.

Marie Heikkinen Webb, who is entering her ninth year in baseball, the last three of which were as Director of Marketing and Community Relations for the Triple-A Ottawa Lynx, is the club's first fulltime employee. A graduate of the distinguished Sport Management program at the University of Massachusetts, she opened the Yale Field office nearly two weeks ago.

Fleisig and Handelman also enlisted the services of public relations executive Bob Wirz of Orange, CT, who will serve as Senior Consultant. Wirz first reached the national baseball arena as chief spokesman for Baseball Commissioners Bowie Kuhn and Peter Ueberroth in the 1970s and 1980s, and he has operated his own sports public relations and marketing firm, Wirz & Associates, since that time. As president of the Waterbury Spirit, he helped guide the team to the Northeast League playoffs three times in four seasons.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Canadian American League Stories from January 16, 2004


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central