Mackenzie Stadium

Mackenzie Stadium is a baseball venue located in Holyoke, Massachusetts.[2] It was home to the Holyoke Millers and today is used by both the Valley Blue Sox of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (since 2008)[2] and the Elms College Blazers of the New England Collegiate Conference (since 2005).[3] It was built in 1933 and has a capacity of 4,100 people.[4]

Mackenzie Stadium
The Mack[1]
Location500 Beech Street, Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA
Coordinates42.200487°N 72.621925°W / 42.200487; -72.621925
OwnerCity of Holyoke
OperatorValley Blue Sox Foundation, Inc.
Capacity4,100
Field size327 ft. (LF, RF) 377 ft. (CF)
SurfaceNatural grass
ScoreboardYes
Construction
Built1933
Opened1933
Tenants
Holyoke Millers (EL) (1977-1982)
Holyoke Giants (NECBL) (2004–2007)
Elms College Blazers (NECC) (2005–present)
Valley Blue Sox (NECBL) (2008-present)

Mackenzie Stadium hosted the 2009 NECBL All-Star Game on July 18, 2009. The game, attended by an All-Star Game record 4,906 fans, was won by the host West Division 6–5.[5]

Former tenants

The stadium was the home of the Holyoke Millers of the Double-A Eastern League for six seasons between 1977 and 1982.[6] The Millers were Eastern League champions in 1980.[7] Following the 1982 season, the franchise moved to Nashua, New Hampshire and became the Nashua Angels. The franchise still exists today as the Harrisburg Senators, Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals.[8]

Mackenzie was also home to the Holyoke Giants of the New England Collegiate Baseball League from 2004 to 2007 until the team moved to Lynn, Massachusetts and became the North Shore Navigators.[9]

Field dedication

The stadium is named after Medal of Honor recipient John Mackenzie. Mackenzie was given the honor for actions performed upon the USS Remlick on December 17, 1917, during World War I. The field was dedicated in his honor on September 4, 1939.[10]

NECBL attendance

The following is a list of the attendance figures of the two NECBL franchises to play at Mackenzie Stadium, the Holyoke Giants (2004–2007) and Valley Blue Sox (2008–present). In 2011, the Blue Sox led the NECBL in attendance for the first time.[11]

SeasonGame Avg.Season TotalLge. Rk.
Holyoke Giants
2004[12]54811,5148th
2005[13]47810,0499th
2006[14]3988,37110th
2007[15]47610,0119th
Holyoke/Valley Blue Sox
2008[16]1,06822,4295th
2009[17]1,15624,2844th
2010[18]1,18223,6363rd
2011[11]2,51050,2061st
2012[19]97418,4974th
2014[20]1,59030,2132nd
2015[21]1,43530,1432nd
2016[22]2,12144,5361st
2017[23]2,12142,4151st
2018[24]1,75433,3322nd
  • A stadium sign located near the left field entrance.
  • 2010 Blue Sox Outfielders Brandon Miller (left) and Nick LaCroix (right).
  • Plaque of dedication located at left field entrance.

References
  1. Holyoke Loses game One versus Mountaineers, Heads to the Mack’ for game Two at necbl.com, URL accessed August 17, 2009
  2. Holyoke Sox Info Archived 2009-09-04 at the Wayback Machine at necbl.com
  3. Game Facilities at athletics.elms.edu
  4. Mackenzie Stadium at ballparkreviews.com
  5. West Wins All-Star game in Holyoke, Hometown Hero gets MVP at necbl.com, URL accessed August 21, 2009. Archived 2009-09-07.
  6. Eastern League (AA) Encyclopedia and History at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed August 17, 2009
  7. Eastern League Champions at sports123.com, URL accessed August 17, 2009
  8. Holyoke Millers Logos at sportslogos.net, URL accessed August 17, 2009
  9. About the NECBL Archived 2009-12-17 at the Wayback Machine at necbl.com, URL accessed August 17, 2009
  10. digitalballparks.com Mackenzie Stadium Photo Gallery, Photo 1 at digitalballparks.com, URL accessed November 30, 2008
  11. "2011 NECBL Season – Attendance". NECBL.com. Archived from the original on 26 May 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-10-20. Retrieved 2008-12-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) NECBL team statistics archive, URL accessed December 22, 2008
  13. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-09-19. Retrieved 2008-12-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) NECBL team statistics archive, URL accessed December 27, 2008
  14. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-06-12. Retrieved 2008-12-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) NECBL team statistics archive, URL accessed December 27, 2008
  15. http://www.necbl.com/2007webstats/pd.htm#team.gms Archived 2008-05-14 at the Wayback Machine NECBL team statistics archive, URL accessed December 20, 2008
  16. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-06-12. Retrieved 2009-08-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) NECBL team statistics archive, URL accessed December 27, 2008
  17. Team Statistics 2009 Archived 2009-07-21 at the Wayback Machine at necbl.com, URL accessed August 1, 2009
  18. "2010 NECBL Season – Attendance". NECBL.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
  19. "2012 NECBL Season – Attendance". NECBL.com. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  20. "2014 NECBL Season – Attendance". NECBL.com. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  21. "2015 NECBL Season – Attendance". NECBL.com. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  22. "2016 NECBL Season – Attendance". NECBL.com. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  23. "2017 NECBL Season – Attendance". NECBL.com. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  24. "2018 NECBL Season – Attendance". NECBL.com. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
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