New Haven, Connecticut has a rich history of sports and athletics at the amateur, collegiate, and professional levels. Below is a history of some of the teams the city has hosted, as well as significant sporting events that have taken place in New Haven.
New Haven had been known for its blue collar fans who favor rough play, especially the "Crazies" who sat in "The Jungle" — Section 14 at the Coliseum, behind and adjacent to the opposing team's bench. These fans were renowned for being extremely tough on opposing teams, relentlessly screaming obscenities and taunts at opposing players (and sometimes at hometown players), making New Haven an intimidating place to play even though outright physical violence in the stands was rare. Section 14ers maintain a website called "Section 14 Online" which can be found at Section14.com. [1]
New Haven's first professional baseball team was the New Haven Elm Citys of the National Association, which played for one season in 1875 at the Howard Avenue Grounds. Although the National Association's status as a major league is disputed (particularly by Major League Baseball and the Baseball Hall of Fame), some historians and statisticians consider the NA a major league, making the Elm Citys New Haven's only major league baseball franchise. [2] [3]
New Haven has hosted 29 minor league baseball teams, dating back to the 19th century [4] (A complete list of New Haven base ball teams can be found here). Greater New Haven's first minor league baseball team in modern times were the West Haven Yankees of the Class AA Eastern League, which played at both Quigley Stadium and Yale Field in neighboring West Haven from 1972 to 1979. Many future New York Yankees made their way through the West Haven team, including Ron Guidry. [5] The West Haven Yankees finished first five times in their eight years, winning the Eastern League championship four times (in '72, '76, '78, and '79).
Minor league baseball returned to New Haven in 1994 with the arrival of the New Haven Ravens, an Eastern League AA affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. Like the preceding minor league teams, the Ravens played in neighboring West Haven at Yale Field, just across the town line. The team was very successful in its first few seasons before losing support. New Haven and the Ravens hosted the Double-A All-Star game in 1998. [6] The Ravens won the Eastern League championship in 2000, giving New Haven proper its first professional championship since the New Haven Blades' championship in 1956. The Ravens moved to Manchester, New Hampshire in 2003, becoming the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
In 1974, a little league team from New Haven placed sixth in the Little League World Series. [7]
With a capacity of 64,269, Yale Bowl is the second-largest stadium in New England (after Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts). [8]
New Haven has hosted a couple of minor league basketball teams. The city briefly was the home of an American Basketball League team named the New Haven Jewels in 1937, before the team moved to New York. New Haven gained an Eastern Professional Basketball League (the forerunner to the Continental Basketball Association) team in 1965, named the New Haven Elms, which played in New Haven Arena. In 1967, the Elms left New Haven, and split their season in Bridgeport and Binghamton, as the "Flyers." For the 1968-69 season, the team returned to New Haven, again calling itself the Elms. However, under the sponsorship of the Bic Pen Corporation of Milford, CT, the team moved north to Hamden the following season, now calling itself the Hamden Bics. The Bics played in the gym of Hamden High School for two seasons, before folding in 1971. [9] [10] [11]
Greater New Haven's oldest professional soccer team was the Ansonia F.C. which is believed to have begun play in 1887 before dissolving in the 1920s. [12] Founded in 2017, the city has the Elm City Express of the NPSL. The team plays at Jess Dow Field at Southern Connecticut State University. The city is also host to many university soccer teams including Yale University.
The New Haven Road Race has hosted the USATF 20K Championship every year since its inception in 1978. [13] The race, which featured 1,200 runners in its inaugural year, has grown to include as many as 7,000 participants. [14] Other annual road races which take place in New Haven include the WPLR ShamRock & Roll 5K, held close to Saint Patrick's Day every March, [15] and The Christopher Martins Christmas Run for Children 5K, held every December. [16]
New Haven was home to the New England Pilgrims who began play in the 1978 American Professional Slo-Pitch League (APSPL) season. The team changed venues once during its existence, starting initially in 1978 at Blake Field in New Haven, where the Pilgrims remained through the 1980 (APSPL) season before moving to the Oakdale Sports Complex in Montville, Connecticut in their final season in the United Professional Softball League (UPSL). [17] The team was owned by Carlo Grande, a sports broadcaster and owner-operator of radio stations, who sold stations in New Haven and Westerly, Rhode Island to fund the purchase of the team. [18] [19] New England began their 1981 and final season at Blake Field but were denied a permit by New Haven Mayor Biagio DiLieto due to complaints by local residents about noise from the Pilgrim games. [20] The team was granted a 6-game last-minute extension and would finish the season at the Oakdale Sports Complex in Montville, over 51 miles from New Haven. The team disbanded at the end of the season. [21]
New Haven is home to both rugby union and rugby league teams, the New Haven Old Black RFC and the New Haven Warriors, respectively. Both teams play at 'The Boulevard" on Route 34. The rugby union team won the US DII National title in 2002. The last few years they have regularly qualified for the Sweet 16 in DI national championships. The rugby league team plays in the top level championship of the USA. They are the reigning 2008 champions.
New Haven has a very large cycling community, represented by the advocacy and community group ElmCityCycling. [22] Group rides are held several times per week.
There are two golf courses open to the public located within New Haven proper: The Course at Yale and Alling Memorial Golf Course. Dozens more are located in Greater New Haven and the New Haven metropolitan area; a list can be seen here.
The Connecticut Tennis Center hosts the Pilot Pen International, a professional men's and women's tennis event, every August. Recent winners have included the likes of tennis stars Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams, and Steffi Graf. The 15,000-seat Tennis Center Stadium at the Connecticut Tennis Center is tied as the fourth largest tennis venue in the world by capacity. [23]
From July 1–9, 1995, New Haven hosted the 1995 Special Olympics World Summer Games. Then-President Bill Clinton spoke at the Opening Ceremonies at Yale Bowl. [24]
New Haven is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Connecticut after Bridgeport and Stamford, the largest city in the South Central Connecticut Planning Region, and the principal municipality of Greater New Haven, which had a total population of 864,835 in 2020. Prior to 1960, it was the county seat of New Haven County until the county governments were abolished that year.
The Eastern League (EL) is a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) sports league that has operated under that name since 1938, with the exception of the 2021 season, during which the league operated under the moniker Double-A Northeast. The league has played at the Double-A level since 1963, and consists primarily of teams located in the Northeastern United States.
Hamden is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town's nickname is "The Land of the Sleeping Giant". The town is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 61,169 at the 2020 census.
The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays major league club.
The Yale Bowl Stadium is a college football stadium in the northeast United States, located in New Haven, Connecticut, on the border of West Haven, about 1½ miles west of the main campus of Yale University. The home of the American football Yale Bulldogs team of the Ivy League, it opened in 1914 with 70,896 seats; renovations have reduced its current capacity to 61,446, still making it the second largest FCS stadium, behind Tennessee State's Nissan Stadium.
Hamilton Park, also known as Brewster Park and Howard Avenue Grounds, was a sports venue in New Haven, Connecticut, located at the intersection of Whalley Avenue and West Park Avenue.
New Britain Stadium is a baseball venue in New Britain, Connecticut, United States. It is the home of the New Britain Bees of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League. Opened in 1996, the stadium seats 6,146 spectators.
George H.W. Bush Field is a stadium in West Haven, Connecticut, just across the city line with New Haven, Connecticut. It is primarily used for the Yale University baseball team, the Bulldogs, and, until 2007 was also the home field of the New Haven County Cutters Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball minor league baseball team. Yale's baseball team has played continuously at the same site since 1885 while the field was constructed and opened in April 1928.
Scott David Burrell is an American basketball coach and former player who is currently the men's basketball head coach at Southern Connecticut State University. He has played internationally and was also a professional baseball player. In 1990, Burrell was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays of MLB. He played in Minor League Baseball during the 1990 and 1991 seasons. After ending his baseball career, he was drafted in 1993 by the Charlotte Hornets of the NBA. He was later traded to the Golden State Warriors and then the Chicago Bulls, where he won a championship ring. He next played with the New Jersey Nets and then finished his NBA career with the Hornets in 2000–01. He played in other professional basketball leagues through the 2005–06 season.
The Elm City baseball club, or New Haven Elm Citys in modern nomenclature, were a professional baseball team based in New Haven, Connecticut. They existed for one season, in the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players in 1875. The Elm Citys played 47 games during their existence, and had a win–loss record of 7–40. They played their home games at the Howard Avenue Grounds. It is considered a major league team by those who count the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players as a major league.
William Lucas Lush was an American baseball player and college athletics coach and administrator. He played seven seasons of Major League Baseball from 1895 to 1904, including three with the Washington Senators. He later worked as a college athletics coach at Yale University, Columbia University, Fordham University, the United States Naval Academy, St. John's University, the University of Baltimore and Trinity College, Hartford. He also held athletic director positions at Fordham and the Naval Academy. In the 1930s, he coached athletic teams at Sing Sing prison in Ossining, New York.
The Hartford Colonials, originally the New York Sentinels, were a professional American football team that played in the United Football League in its 2009 and 2010 seasons. A charter member of the UFL, the Sentinels began play in 2009 nominally representing New York City but playing its home games in three stadiums, none of which were in the city proper: Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut; Shuart Stadium in Hempstead, New York ; and the now-demolished Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. As the Colonials, the team played all of its home games at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, representing the adjacent city of Hartford. League-wide financial problems and the high rate of rent at Rentschler Field led to the league suspending the Colonials' operations in August 2011, a month before it would have begun play in its third season. The league had stated that the Colonials could be brought back for the 2012 UFL season, if it were to be played, but the announcement of the 2012 season removed Hartford's logo from the UFL Web site and did not include the team in the league's 2012 schedule.
James Hillhouse High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in New Haven, Connecticut. It serves grades 9–12. Formerly New Haven High School, it is the oldest public high school in New Haven, and is part of the New Haven Public Schools.
The 2010 Yale Bulldogs football team represented Yale University in the 2010 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bulldogs were led by second-year head coach Tom Williams and played their home games at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut. They completed the season at 7–3 overall, 5–2 in Ivy League play to finish in a tie for second place.
There have been numerous professional baseball teams in Connecticut since the late 1800s. Most have been minor league teams, however, some early major league teams played in Connecticut. The last major league team was the Hartford Dark Blues, which played its final season in Hartford as a charter member of the newly-established modern National League in 1876.
The Hartford Yard Goats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The Yard Goats, which play in the Eastern League, are the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. The team was founded in 2016 when the New Britain Rock Cats relocated to Hartford. The Yard Goats' home stadium is Dunkin' Park.
Hartford City FC is an American soccer team based in West Hartford, Connecticut. The team plays in the National Premier Soccer League Northeast Region, North Atlantic Conference. The team played its first game during the 2017 season. The Colts play their games at Trinity Health Stadium in Hartford, Connecticut.
Hartford Athletic is an American professional soccer team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The club was founded in 2018 and started play in the USL Championship in 2019. It is the only pro soccer team in Connecticut as of 2024.
The New England Pilgrims were a professional softball team in Connecticut that played in two different men's professional softball leagues between 1977 and 1981.
The New Haven Blues were an early minor league baseball team based in New Haven, Connecticut. The New Haven "Blues" teams played as members of the Connecticut State League from 1899 to 1908, winning league championships in 1899 and 1902.
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