Standish Town Baseball Club, commonly referred to as Standish Town, is a professional baseball team based in the city of Standish, Novainsula. The club was officially founded on April 21, 1909, and was a founding member of the Elite 14, in the year 1917. The club and its fans are commonly known as the ‘Yellows‘ or the ‘Flyers‘.
History
The club was established in 1909, born from the camaraderie and shared passion for sports as a way to keep fit, among the local bridge workers who built multiple bridges throughout city during the time. These workers spent their days laboring on the city’s numerous bridges and their evenings discussing exercises and practicing the sport of baseball and association football. On April 21, 1909, after a particularly grueling workday, the idea to formalize their pastime into a competitive team was proposed. “We are not just building bridges between lands, but also between people through the love of baseball,” remarked Michael Anderson, one of the founding members, during the formation of the club.
The club’s inaugural baseball game, a momentous event in Standish’s local sports history, took place on July 15, 1909. Standish Town, then known as Standish Sports Club faced off against the town’s rock-fishing community, known as Standish Fishing & Recreation Club. The game was hosted at the makeshift ground near the central bridge. Despite the makeshift conditions, the game concluded with Standish Sports Club clinching a narrow victory with a score of 5-4.
In the years leading up to 1917, Standish Sports Club rebranded to steadily gained recognition and support as a baseball powerhouse, not just within the city of Standish, but across Novainsula. The transformation of the club from a collective of bridge workers with a shared passion to a renowned team celebrated for its tenacity and communal ethos reached a pinnacle with its admission into the esteemed Elite 14 league in 1917.
Stadium
Limingmon Field has been the home stadium of Standish Town Baseball Club since its purchase by the club in 1916. Originally serving as a playground for a primary school, the field is uniquely located near the coastline where the Droitwich River meets the ocean, offering distinct geographic features to the stadium such as caves below the playing surface. Following its acquisition, the field underwent significant renovations to transform it into a baseball-friendly venue, while retaining its original charm and scenic backdrop.
The stadium is known for its 9-foot high outfield walls, with the right field being notably shallower compared to left and center fields. This configuration lends Limingmon Field a reputation for being slightly pitcher friendly, as the depth in the gaps make hitting triples an uncommon occurrence. However, this same configuration provides a distinct advantage to left-handed pull hitters, who tend to record a higher average in home runs, making games at Limingmon Field strategically intriguing and often unpredictable.