Eastern Dutchess Fans of the Inter-State League

©2000 Joe Poillucci and John Quinn

“In 1931, the Depression was getting worse but baseball kept getting more popular.  Times were tough but the fans still loved the game and would usually scrape up enough money to go to a game and cheer for their favorite player and teams.”  Later, in 1950, Pollucci added, “The fans of eastern Dutchess loved their baseball and continued to support the league by turning out in good numbers for the Sunday afternoon games.”  The teams from New York were Amenia, Millerton, Millbrook and Pine Plains and those from Connecticut were Canaan, Oakville , Sharon and Lakeville. Attendance at an Inter-State game could be anywhere from 700-800 fans and for special games that number could go up to 2000.  And in a really great quote about fans from an undated article by Bob Palmer Jr. of the Waterbury Republican writing about the Tri-State League (which followed the Inter-State League after 1967), Palmer said of the fans from the more rural towns, “The fans are a special breed, but then again most country folk are.”