Brantford Red Sox
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Brantford Red Sox are an Intercounty Baseball League team based in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. They currently play at Arnold Anderson Stadium, located in West Brant on Sherwood Drive.
The team's history can be traced back to 1911 when they joined the Canadian Baseball League.. The Brantford Red Sox continued until 1915 when World War I put an end to the league but the Red Sox continued in the Michigan-Ontario League from 1919 to 1922.
In 1930 the Red Sox played in the short-lived Ontario League which collapsed with the onset of the Great Depression. However, they had a resurgence as an intermediate "A" team known as the Red Sox, winning both the league and the Ontario championships in 1931 and 1933.
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[edit] Red Sox join the Intercounty Baseball League
The Brantford Red Sox joined the ranks of the Intercounty Baseball League in 1934. The Brantford Red Sox played in the league continuously from the 1934 season until 1941, and in 1936 the Red Sox team was the runner-up in the championship series. There were no winners during the World War II years from 1942 to 1945.
The Brantford Red Sox have won the Intercounty Baseball League championship in 1949, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1981 and 2006. Several Brantford players captured numerous titles as Intercounty Iron Men, in the categories of batting, pitching, fielding and base-running.
London, Ontario-born left-handed pitcher, Ron Stead, for example, led Brantford to six league titles (1959-1963, 1965) and was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame on June 24, 2006, in St. Marys, Ontario. Stead also won an Intercounty title with the Guelph C-Joys in 1970.
A legend of the Intercounty loop, Stead is first in all-time wins (104), strikeouts (1,231), shutouts (25), most appearances (198(, most innings pitched (1,365) and complete games (116). Stead was a 10-time All-Star and four-time MVP (1960, 1963, 1965 and 1967). He was also the starting pitcher for Team Canada at the 1967 Pan-Am Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
[edit] 2006 Red Sox win Intercounty title
On August 25, 2006, the Brantford Red Sox won the Intercounty title for the first time since 1981 by defeating the London Majors 7-3 in Brantford before 2,000 fans at Arnold Anderson Stadium in Cockshutt Park.
Brantford, which finished third in the standings during regular season play, came on strong during the second half of the regular season and the playoffs. In the championship series, the Red Sox defeated the London Majors four games to one.
The 2006 IBL championship team includes: Jason Gotwalt, Lee Delfino, Adam Clarke, Al Stephens, Dave Parsons, Hyung Cho, Ryan Brickman, Chris Baker, Adam Vella, Wayne Forman, Raul Borjas, Brad Hogeterp, Mike Anderson, Mark Ferguson, Josh McCurdy, Steve Murray, Tyler Moe, Stefan Strecker, John Ogiltree, Aaron Boag, Tyler Burnell, Adrian Kerr, John Axford, John Mariotti, Min Soo Kim and manager/ vice-president of baseball operations Rick Johnston.
The Sox front office includes president Paul Aucoin, general manager Alf Payne, assistant general manager Len Hannam, equipment manager/trainer Leigh Smith and trainer Amanda Fisher.
