There were four teams playing in front of small crowds in this new creature called the Futures Collegiate Baseball League back in 2011, 11 years ago.

Nashua, Seacoast (Rocherster), Martha’s Vineyard and Torrington, Conn.were the teams in the inaugural season.

Hey, you have to start somewhere, right?

Of the four, the Nashua Silver Knights had the strongest fan base. They won the championship, a best two-out-of three series vs.Torrington, in a place called Fuessenich Park, a place where former major league hurler from the 1970s, Steve Blass (Pirates) once called home. Friends and family were in attendance. OK, maybe a few more, but you get the picture.

Nashua swept, 2-0, and the bus returned to a throng of season ticket holders in front of Holman Stadium late that night.

Fast forward to this past Friday, Aug. 12, 2022. The Silver Knights won another championship – their sixth – – but this time the diminutive status of the Futures League was a thing of the past. There were 2,937 – we even thought more – up in the hills of Vermont, in Burlington at the University of Vermont’s Centennial Field. If you lived in that area, it was the place to be this past Friday.

And what a show the two teams put on. It was a classic, classic championship game, as the Silver Knights were vast underdogs against the 44-win (regular season) and defending champion Lake Monsters. Former Nashua Pride owner Chris English has built a trademark franchise, and it was two outs away from its second straight crown before Jack McDermott doubled and Kyle Wolff homered to produce a 6-5 Nashua victory – but not before Will Andrews had to pitch out of a bases loaded, one-out jam in the bottom of the ninth.

Great stuff, but it just shows how unpredictable baseball can be, especially at this level. And how far the Futures League has come in 12 years.

“That’s what makes summer collegiate ball so special, though,” Silver Knights owner John Creedon, Jr. said. “You can’t script it. You can make it what you want, and whatever the team chemistry can come up with. This was a special game to watch, this was one for the ages.”

You have to remember, college kids in New England, especially, don’t normally play in front of crowds like Friday’s, or many of the other games across the league, during their spring seasons. Summer ball is usually a relaxed atmosphere, lawn chair, Cape Cod League type deal. But the FCBL is a for profit league, and the teams are not just teams, but franchises looking to make a profit.

So it’s a thrill for a lot of these players, and it obviously brings out the best in them.

“I’m sitting there, on the edge of my seat, I’m thinking I’m maybe a 19, 20-year-old kid on the mound, and I’ve got a crowd of 3,000 people yelling at me, trying to distract me,” Creedon said. “But I’m throwing a strike. I’m throwing the batter off. These batters’ composure is really something.”

Three hours or so away from Nashua was one of the top local sporting events of the year. A full fan bus brought somewhere between 60-70 fans up to Centennial from Holman. It capped off quite a summer.

“This league is stronger than it’s ever been,” Creedon said. “It’s what, it’s 11th, 12th year (the latter). It’s stronger than it’s ever been, but the best is yet to come for the Futures League.”

“It’s a great league,” Vermont manager Pete Wilk said, while lamenting the result. “And I hope it continues to grow.”

The Silver Knights were the big winners on Friday. But so was the Futures League, as well as it’s fans, it’s players, staffers, all the way on down.

That’s the way championship games are supposed to be.

Tom King can be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on twitter @Telegraph _TomK.

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