West Haven Sailors Baseball Still Plays 90-Years Since Creation
- Dominic Konareski
- Jun 24
- 2 min read
My Barnes & Noble exclusive book ‘Gloves, Engines & Glory’ showcases the baseball and auto racing history of Savin Rock over the course of nearly a century. One of the teams I briefly discuss and showcase in the book are the West Haven Sailors.
The West Haven Sailors were a premier barnstorming team and began playing their games at Donovan Field. The Sailors were not affiliated with Major or Minor League baseball in any form, but the team did frequently play ball against professional greats.
The Sailors were created 90-years ago to join the still very new West Haven Twilight League in 1936. Despite being 90-years old and going through relocations and many changes as the world also drastically changed around them, the team still exists today.
West Haven’s baseball history would be drastically different if it wasn’t for the creation of the Sailors. Harry Noyes famously was on the Sailors management side as he eagerly always waited for the umpire to yell “Play Ball” under the hot summer sun in what was just a mere spectacle inside the Savin Rock Amusement Park.
Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig once played a barnstorming game against the Sailors at Donovan Field in 1928, with Ruth being a frequent opposition ball player in West Haven for several years. The Sailors also played against the likes of Yogi Berra and were complete game’d by Satchel Paige. The great Willie Mays even played against West Haven before he became any kind of household name.
The West Haven Sailors were owned by Mo Quigley, and would relocate from Donovan Field to the other side of West Haven in 1947 when Mo Quigley’s Exhibition Stadium was finished being contracted. That stadium still stands today under the name of its creator, as Quigley Stadium is one of the oldest ballparks in Connecticut at 79-years-old.
Some notable names on the West Haven Sailors were Cy Block, Jackie Taylor and Whitey Piurek.
The West Haven Sailors are no longer a barnstorming team, but instead they are a Connecticut Collegiate Summer League team. In fact they play not even a mile away from the now grassy field where Donovan Field once stood. Sailors baseball plays their home games at West Haven High School and are currently in the midst of their 2026 season with a 4-3 record as the look to defend their 2025 title. Overall, the Sailors have won the 2023 and 2021 CCBL Championships as well.
Although the Sailors are in a different league and have a different ownership, and even different uniforms and logo, the name alone keeps the legacy alive and dives into the deep historical roots of the mid-20th century. The Sailors continue to keep the historic name alive, and continue to win.
Maybe there’s just something about West Haven baseball being tied to success, because the West Haven Sailors know all about it.
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