Little Falls Baseball History
by Matt Cavaretta

Veterans Memorial Park in Little Falls, N.Y., has been home to various professional and collegiate baseball teams throughout its history. The stadium opened in 1949 with a seating capacity of 2,000. In 1977, Veterans Park was home to a franchise in the New York-Penn League (Single-A, short season), the Little Falls Mets. The Mets played in Little Falls from 1977 to 1988 before moving to Pittsfield, Mass.

Despite winning the 1984 New York-Penn League championship, the Mets never finished in first place in the NY-Penn League. During the 1984 championship season, the club finished second. In their final year in Little Falls, the Mets finished 4 games above .500, good for sixth place.

After the Mets left, a brief stint with the New York Collegiate Baseball League produced a powerhouse in Little Falls. The Little Falls Diamonds won the NYCBL championship in 1990, 1992 and 1993, before closing shop after the 1994 season.

In 1995, the Northeast League of professional baseball placed a franchise in Little Falls, the Mohawk Valley Landsharks. The Landsharks finished the season 47-23, 5 games out of first place. After the 1995 season, the Landsharks relocated to Newburgh, N.Y. Veterans Park was left empty till 1999. The New York Collegiate Baseball League called on Veterans Park yet again with the Mohawk Valley Redlegs, who eventually relocated to Utica, NY the following year. In 2006, the Little Falls Diamond Miners were established as an expansion franchise of the league. After the season, management dropped the “Diamond” from the original team name and the team is now called the Little Falls Miners. During the 2007 season, the Miners finished in fourth place in the Eastern Division and earned a playoff berth. Two players, 1B Tom Edwards and C/DH Joe Witkowski, were named to the league's all-star teams.

Little Falls Mets

Notable players: Wally Backman, Manuel Lee, Lloyd McClendon, Rick Aguilera, Rick Anderson,
Kevin Elster, Dwight Gooden, Eric Hillman, Todd Hundley, Jeff Innis, Anthony Young, Bud Harrelson

Mohawk Valley Landsharks

Little Falls Miners (Diamond Miners in 2006)