Sports

Bulldogs Bring Intercity League Baseball Back to Reading

New team fulfills John Halsey's dream.

After a 40-year hiatus, Reading is back in the Intercity League.

The Reading Bulldogs kicked off their season on June 2 with 5-2 win over Mooney Dental, but the story of bringing Reading back into the Intercity League goes back four years ago. And it should be no surprise to Reading residents that John Halsey, who is synonymous with Reading baseball, was the driving force behind bringing an Intercity League team back to town.

Halsey said he wanted a team in Reading to "energize an already interested community." "They're interested in sports, they're interested in baseball, and I would like to energize them in this league," said Halsey.

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Halsey, whose Reading Baseball Club was key to renovating Morton Field, wanted to bring high-level amateur baseball to town. He researched other local leagues, but found the Intercity League was the one to pursue. The quality of play is high in the wooden-bat league, a number of professionals have been in Intercity and many Reading Memorial High School graduates play in the league.

"Lots of kids I knew from following Reading baseball for many years are playing all over the place [in the league]," said Halsey.

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Halsey has spent the past four years attending Intercity games and talking to league officials. He said the time at the games were as much an audition for him as it was for the league because Halsey found the league demanded well-run organizations.

Last season was a tough one for the Intercity League as three teams lost sponsorship and dropped out. This opened up a spot for Reading and Halsey was awarded a franchise late last summer.

The next few months for Halsey was full of learning the league rules and starting to build bridges to find top-notch players. He spoke to long-time RMHS baseball manager Pete Moscariello and used his own contacts to reach out to potential players.

His son, John, who is a catcher on the Bulldogs, attends Endicott College, which allows Halsey to watch some of the top college players in the area, including stars from Roger Williams, Curry, Suffolk and Brandeis.

Knowing that a winning team was a way to excite the community, Halsey wanted a high-quality team. There are many Reading residents who would love to play, but he wanted a team that could win for a long time so he needed to find the best available players.

"I didn't want to build an evening softball league on steroids. I wanted a baseball team," said Halsey.

Halsey brought another familiar name to Reading baseball onboard when he named Jeff Pierce, president of Reading Babe Ruth, as the Bulldogs' chief operating officer.

"He knew he could use a reliable hand on [organizational matters]," said Pierce. "I'm passionate like him about baseball matters. He knew I would put everything I had into the effort to get this going."

Pierce recalled watching the Reading Intercity League team play at Washington Park in the 1960s.

"Back then, it was kept up much better. That was a fun place to watch a game," said Pierce.

He recalled watching top-notch minor leaguers play for and against the Reading team.

"I grew up watching the league. Watching guys hit the ball that far as a kid was a thrill," he said.

Finding a manager

Halsey, who has spent many years coaching baseball, decided he didn't want to coach the Bulldogs, but would serve as owner/GM. Working as a general manager and overseeing the organization fits him, said Halsey.

When it came time to choose a manager, Halsey chose a familiar face. Matt Morrison has been RMHS' junior varsity baseball coach since 2006 and is a teacher in the Arlington Public Schools.

Halsey wanted a younger coach who played college ball a short time ago, but who also had coaching experience.

"He's a baseball guy. His pedigree is very strong," said Halsey.

That pedigree includes playing outfield with Rocco Baldelli at Bishop Hendricken High School, a baseball powerhouse in Rhode Island. He also played for Endicott College.

"I talked to Matt and he was very excited about the opportunity. He was ready for a program that was really his on the field," said Halsey. "He was ready for the idea of coaching older kids."

Putting together an organization

While Morrison went about choosing players, Halsey spoke to local baseball groups, bought a portable sound system for Morton Field and found a voice of the Bulldogs. He signed up Ryan Pennette, who is a communications major at Merrimack College, to be the voice of the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs hope to broadcast some of their games on their Web site.

Unlike many of the other teams in the Intercity League, Reading's home field does not have lights. This caused a dilemma for the Bulldogs. They can't start games before 6 p.m. on weeknights because many of the players have jobs, but starting a game after 6 p.m. may not allow for enough daylight hours.

The Bulldogs came up with a solution -- Sunday doubleheaders. The team will play most of their home games during Sunday double dips.

The team also needed to pick a name. Halsey wanted to stay with red and black as a color scheme, but looked to step away from the Rockets name.

The team decided to go with Bulldogs. The Georgia Bulldogs have the same color scheme and Halsey could see the many marketing avenues to take the Bulldog name. The Bulldogs now sell Nike merchandise with the Reading Bulldog logo.

"We certainly separated the Bulldogs from all other baseball in Reading. It just seemed to flow," said Halsey.

The merchandise and game-day programs will help offset what Halsey jokes is the "black hole." Halsey fronted the money to start the team, which he views as a gift to Reading. But any money raised through sponsorships, programs and merchandise will go toward next year's team.

Though baseball is a love for Halsey, the sport isn't a mere leisurely pursuit. This may be his team's inaugural season, but Halsey's roster has scrapped out a competitive record. The two powerhouses in the Intercity League are the Lexington Blue Sox and Andre Rams. Those two often battle for the title, but the league's playoff system allows the top six of the nine-team league to advance to the postseason. Halsey and the team's goal is to reach the playoffs.

"That's our big onfield goal this year. Two things: number one, get into the playoffs. Number two, get a chance to make sure everyone gets time so we can see who fits," said Halsey of his two goals for this year's Reading Bulldogs.


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