NEYSA METRO-LEAGUE SOFTBALL: History
The idea for the Metro-League began in 1989 with Chicopee (16-U), West Side (16-U)
and Southampton Express (18-U) playing each other a couple of times at Nonotuck Park in Easthampton. Ed Pariseau, manager of the Express, invited Bob Charpentier's Chelmsford Wings (18-U) to participate in a mini-tournament.
The league was actually formed in 1990 with 5 teams: Chicopee, West Side,Southampton Express, Wilbraham and East Longmeadow. Southampton won the regular season title and Wilbraham won a double-elimination tournament among the remaining four teams.
In 1991 Ludlow and South Hadley were added to the league. Northampton also tried to
enter the league but folded and dropped out after the first two weeks. Southampton won the regular season and E. Longmeadow won the tournament.
In 1992 Granby became the eighth team in the league. E. Longmeadow and Southampton tied for the regular season title. E. Longmeadow won the tournament.
In 1993 Greenfield, Longmeadow and Express II made it an eleven team field.
E. Longmeadow defeated Southampton to capture the M-L championship.
The first dropouts from the league came in 1994. Wilbraham, Express II and Granby all left but were replaced by four others: Agawam, Easthampton, Southwick and Westfield.
Southampton finished first in the North Division and E. Longmeadow was tops the South. Greenfield won the tournament.
The league went interstate in 1995 by adding Enfield, CT and Fast Pitch-1 also based in Enfield. Belchertown, Berkshire County (Pittsfield) and Northampton were also added and the departures of Longmeadow, South Hadley and Southwick left 14 teams to compete in the 1995 season. E. Longmeadow captured the league title just one point ahead of the tournament winning Easthampton squad.
The 1996 season saw the return of Longmeadow, South Hadley and Southwick along
with the addition of Amherst and Wilshire A.A. of Springfield. The departure of
Agawam left the league with 18 teams. Finishing first in the three Divisions were:
Southampton - North, Westfield - Central and E. Longmeadow - South. East Longmeadow
capped off a perfect season by winning the tournament for the league title. Easthampton won the "B" bracket playoff.
The 1997 season saw the loss of Easthampton and Ludlow, but the return of Agawam
plus the addition of St. Mary's of Ludlow to the league. The Belchertown team combined with Ludlow and relocated to form the Palmer team and the South Hadley team was renamed Granby/South Hadley. This left the league with 18 teams again (marking the first time that the league didn't grow in size). The three divisional winners were: Southampton - North, Palmer & Westfield (tie) - Central and E. Longmeadow - South. Westfield captured the league title by winning the tournament. Southampton finished runner-up. Greenfield won the "B" bracket playoff.
The 1998 season saw a growth to 20 teams. Enfield was suspended from the league for
failure to pay a forfeit fee from 1997. Holy Name A.A. of greater Springfield, Granville and Wilbraham were the new entrees for that year. The league utilized a different format for the season. 10 teams competed in the "A" bracket and 10 in the "B". The regular season was only 5 weeks long instead of 7. A double-elimination playoff tournament was held the final 2 weeks of the season. There was no 1-day single-elimination tournament at the end of the season. There were
co-champions in all 4 divisions: "A"-North: Pittsfield & Southampton, "A"-South: East Longmeadow & Westfield, "B"-West: Granville & West Side, "B"-East: Holy Name &
South Hadley. Pittsfield defeated Greenfield to win the "A" bracket championship and South Hadley beat out Holy Name for the "B".
1999 marked the 10th anniversary of the Metro-League. The league saw its first decrease in size as the loss of Greenfield and Longmeadow dropped the total number of entries back down to 18. The divisional champions were: Southampton - North, Palmer -Central and Westfield - South. A 2-day double-elimination playoff tournament was used to determine league championships. It took Holy Name 8 innings to capture the "A" bracket title over top-seeded Palmer. Wilshire defeated Agawam to garner the "B" championship.
The league returned to 20 teams in 2000. The Granville and Northampton teams dropped out but teams from Belchertown/Granby, Chicopee H.S., Holyoke and Longmeadow were added. Divisional winners were: Pittsfield -North, Palmer - South, Holyoke - West & St.Mary's-Ludlow - East. Pittsfield won the double-elimination tournament over Southampton in the "A" bracket, while Longmeadow took the "B" by defeating Agawam.
The 2001 season saw the suspension of the Chicopee H.S. team but a return of Easthampton to keep the league at 20 teams.
The four divisional winners were:
"A" North - Pittsfield
"A" South - Palmer
"B" East - Wilbraham
"B" West - Easthampton
In a 2-day double-elimination tournament, Holy Name defeated Southampton to win the "A" bracket championship and top-seeded Easthampton beat Longmeadow to claim the "B" championship.
Over 30 different organizations have played in the league. The league has tried many different formats, divisions, age brackets, 9-inning games, substitution rules, etc. The schedule of Sunday double-headers and single games on Tuesdays still seems to work best.
Our Founding Fathers:
Ed Pariseau ~ Southampton Express
Larry Nault ~ Southampton Express
Bruce Whitehead ~ West Side
Tom Flynn ~ West Side
Kent Lefebvre ~ West Side
Chuck Lelas ~ East Longmeadow
Ken Roj ~ Wilbraham
Norm Burgess ~ Chicopee
League Directors: (team)
1990 - Tom Flynn (West Side)
1991-92 - Denis Joyal (West Side)
1993 - Ed Rigny (Wilbraham)
1994-2005 - Larry Nault (Southampton/Midway Express)
2006 - NEYSA Board of Directors - Harvey Glazer - Metro Division Coordinator
