Pittsfield American Defenders
| Mystic Schooners | |
|---|---|
 Team Logo |
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| League | NECBL (Southern Division) |
| Location |
Groton, CT (2011-present) Bristol, CT (2010) Pittsfield, MA (2005-2009) Hinsdale, MA (2004) Willimantic, CT (1994-2003) |
| Ballpark | Fitch Senior High School (2011-present) |
| Year founded | 1994 |
| League championships | 2 (1994, 2016) |
| Former name(s) |
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| Former league(s) |
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| Former ballparks |
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| Colors | Black, White, Blue |
| Ownership | Tom and Michelle Mara |
| Management | Dennis Long (GM) 2012 - present |
| Manager | Phil Orbe 2012 - present |
| Website | www.schoonersbaseball.org |
The Mystic Schooners is a collegiate summer baseball team that operates in the Mystic, Connecticut region. The franchise is one of the two oldest franchises in the New England Collegiate Baseball League.
Originally known as the Eastern Tides, and later the Thread City Tides, playing in Willimantic, Connecticut, the franchise was purchased by former Boston Red Sox General Manager Dan Duquette in 2004. Duquette's club was first known as the Berkshire Dukes, playing their home games at the Dan Duquette Sports Academy in Hinsdale, Massachusetts. Duquette moved the team to nearby Pittsfield in 2005 after reaching a lease agreement with the city that brought the Dukes to historic Wahconah Park. In November 2008 the team changed its name to the Pittsfield American Defenders after the ownership group that owned the American Defenders of New Hampshire, which included Duquette, bought into the team.
The team had struggled to compete in the NECBL since moving to Berkshire County, and did not enjoy a winning season or a playoff berth until 2008. The team's level of play has rebounded greatly since the disastrous summer of 2005, where the Dukes finished at a league-worst 11-31, the fourth fewest wins in NECBL history. The Defenders' fan base has continued to grow despite the team's struggles on the field, with a reported home attendance of 28,955 in 2007, the fourth-highest in the league.
In December 2009, the Defenders were sold to the Bristol Collegiate Baseball Club which moved the original franchise back to its beginning state of Connecticut.
On January 14, 2009 it was announced that the team's nickname would be the Bristol Nine, and team general manager Dan Kennedy unveiled a logo featuring "...the old looking player and the old style hat and the man with the mustache and the whole nine yards." The logo's design was credited to Bristol resident Brian Rooney. Shortly thereafter, it was revealed that the logo in question was actually the trademarked property of Top of the Third, Incorporated, owners of a minor-professional baseball team in Visalia, California. The logo, the creation of graphic designer Dan Simon, had originally been used by the California League's Mudville Nine. The Bristol Nine name was then abandoned, with team management adopting the Bristol Collegiate Baseball Club brand.
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