Thunder Over West Haven: The Barnstorming Game That Wasn't

The barnstorming era of baseball will always be one of the best eras that we will ever see with any sport. You have pro baseball teams going to both bustling and rural areas to play the children’s game. 

When Exhibition Stadium (now known as Quigley Stadium) finished construction and opened in 1947, the West Haven Sailors called Exhibition home. The Sailors were one of the best semi-pro teams, attracting multiple barnstorming teams and even hall of fame greats such as Babe Ruth to buy a general admission ticket.

From my past articles / mini documentaries, we all know about 17-year-old Willie Mays playing in West Haven, along with Satchel Paige pitching a complete game with the Monarchs in 1947 - Or even Mickey Mantle’s 1972 failure of a home run derby before a Yankees game. 

Now you can add the time a Major League baseball team traveled to West Haven to face the Sailors, just for the game to be postponed and never rescheduled.

On Tuesday, May 14th, 1951, the semi-pro West Haven Sailors were supposed to play an exhibition game against the St. Louis Browns (modern-day Baltimore Orioles). The Browns had an off day on the 14th, after splitting a double header vs. Detroit the day before. 

The game would end up being postponed due to rain all over the east coast, which affected the Yankees double header against the Athletics, ending the game an inning early.

The Browns stayed close to the area over the next week, due to them playing a three-game set vs the Yanks’. Despite being close, both West Haven and St. Louis sides were not able to fit in time for an exhibition game. 

Moe Quigley, who was owner of Exhibition Stadium and co-owner of the Sailors said an attempt will be made to reschedule the game the next time St. Louis comes back East. The Browns did come back close to the Connecticut line multiple times throughout the rest of ‘51, but no records show a game played against the Sailors. The Browns did have multiple off days before and after traveling to New York and Boston throughout the remainder of 1951.

At this point in the early 50s, the Browns were struggling to fill the grandstands and to win games, eventually ending the 1951 season with a 52-102 record and ranking last in the American League for attendance. 

There is a chance a rescheduling could’ve been made, but the Browns declined it due to them struggling and not wanting to risk losing against a semi-pro team.

St. Louis would then relocate post-1953, becoming the Baltimore Orioles in 1954.

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