Senator Farley Views New Plans For Amsterdam Mohawk's Stadium At Shuttleworth Park

On Feb. 27th, new owner of the Amsterdam Mohawks baseball team David Dittman and Brian Spagnola, general manager of the Mohawk Baseball Club, visited Senator Hugh T. Farley (R,C - Schenectady) in Albany and showed the Senator the new plans future plans for the stadium located at Shuttleworth Park, Amsterdam, and the ball club's entry in the New York Collegiate Baseball League.

Over the past few years, Senator Farley has been able to secure several legislative grants for improvements to Shuttleworth Park and athletic fields. The most recent one was for $25,000 that was obtained last fall. According to baseball historian and Amsterdam native David Pietrusza, Shuttleworth Park was originally opened in 1914 as Crescent Park, then became Jolly Land, and then Mohawk Mills Park when it was acquired by the Mohawk Carpet Mills. In 1942 and 1949, the New York Yankees, including such Hall of Famers as Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Casey Stengel, and Bill Dickey, visited and took on the Amsterdam Rugmakers in this upstate field. Over the years, the park deteriorated, with no night games being played there from 1955 to 1980.

In 2004 the City of Amsterdam, in cooperation with the Amsterdam Industrial Development Agency (AIDA) initiated the current round of renovations at Shuttleworth Park. The Amsterdam Mohawks have played at Shuttleworth Park since 2003, capturing the NYCL championship in both 2003 and 2004.

According to Spagnola, the Mohawks will host ParkFest at the stadium July 6th, 7th, and 8th. The event will include sporting events such as the NYCBL All-Star Game, live entertainment, rides and more.

For more information, visit the Mohawks website by clicking here.