One Last Look at Historic McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket

Photograph by Jason Allard

On Nov. 3, 1940, mayor Thomas P. McCoy laid the cornerstone of what would soon be known as McCoy Stadium. Far from the beloved ballpark it would become, the stadium played host to a rotating cast of minor league teams until the Pawtucket Red Sox made it their home in 1970. It was Ben Mondor, who purchased the bankrupt team in 1977, who brought the PawSox and their stadium to prominence — that, and a thirty-three-inning game in 1981 that still stands as professional baseball’s longest. Beginning next month, the stadium will be demolished to make way for a different kind of legacy — a new high school for Pawtucket students, some of whom will receive scholarships courtesy of Mondor’s wife, Madeleine. Contractors also plan to reuse portions of the former stadium as concrete fill at the site. For those who fear they’ll never stop mourning the team’s loss, take heart: Even the late owner himself was prone to bouts of nostalgia, and told Rhode Island Monthly in a 2001 interview he often reminisced on old times. “When it’s quiet here, I walk around the park alone,” he said. “I stand in center field and I remember all the players who’ve gone through here — from Carlton Fisk and Jim Rice to Mo Vaughn and Nomar Garciaparra. I tend to relive the past. And what a past it was.”