Franchise Awards
1950-1959 NORTH CAMBRIDGE A.A.
The North Cambridge Athletic Association was the dominant team when the ICL was born in 1950. Although records from the league’s first decade are somewhat scarce, North Cambridge won eight championships from 1950-1959 under the guidance of Hall of Fame inductees Harry “Red” Butland and Jimmy Quinn.
Outstanding players on the team included fellow Hall of Fame inductee Dick Rigazio, along with Bob Daley, Ed Landry, Bob Nadeau, Mickey McBride, Dick O’Brien, Frank Carney, Bob Glebus, Al Pepitas, Gerry Marolda, Teddy Martin, Bob Carr, Johnny Powers, Fran Connelly and Lenny Girouard.
The team played its home games at Rindge Field in Cambridge and was, by a wide margin, the superior amateur baseball team in the Eastern Massachusetts area.
1960-1969 NORTH CAMBRIDGE A.A.
The North Cambridge Athletic Association’s superiority in the then-named “Carling Intercity League” continued from the 1950s into the first half of the 1960s. The team won five more league championships in 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963 and 1965 behind the legendary Jimmy Quinn.
The only interruption to North Cambridge’s remarkable streak came in 1964, when the team was upset and dethroned by the Wakefield Merchants. Their amazing run finally came to an end in 1965, after North Cambridge had won an incredible ten titles in an eleven-year span.
1960-1969 HOSMER CHIEFS (Special Recognition)
The Hosmer Chiefs of the 1960s receive a “Special Recognition” induction after winning seven league championships during the decade. They played in the Suburban Twi-League until re-entering the ICL in 1968. The team won five straight Suburban titles in 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1965, then captured two more championships in 1968 and 1969, their first two years back in the ICL. During the decade, the Chiefs were named the top amateur baseball team in America.
The Chiefs were managed by Ernie Ardolino in 1960 and Lenny Dempsey from 1961-1967. Joe O’Donnell took over in 1968 and led the Chiefs to two straight pennants and titles as the decade came to a close.
In the early and middle part of the decade, the pitching mainstays were Fred Knox, Eddie McCarty, Roger Ueltzen, Tommy Mandile and Jackie French. Regulars Dempsey, Paul Stagliano, Richie and Eddie DiGiacomo, Gordie Lewis, Sonny Lane, Charlie Pagliarulo Sr., Arthur Brophy, Tom Cangiano, Fran DeAngelis and Bob D’Agostino were the leading hitters.
In the O’Donnell era, which began in 1968, Jackie Armstrong, Sammy Greenwood, John Aquino, John Emery, Pancho Webb, Ricky Shannon, Eddie Rideout and O’Donnell led the way offensively, while Knox, Ronnie Corbett, McCarty and Dave Katz led the pitching staff.
1970-1979 HOSMER CHIEFS
Joe O’Donnell’s Chiefs continued their dominance, winning five more pennants in succession from 1970-1974, giving them seven straight beginning in 1968. They also captured another regular-season pennant in 1978. During the decade, the Chiefs won the playoff championship six more times in 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 and 1978.
Knox and Corbett continued their mound mastery in the early part of the decade before Jim McLaughlin, Jeff Williamson, Ron Luongo, Billy Kelly, Chuck Andre, Dennis Works, Steve DiCarlo, Dale Clemens and Mark Santini made up the pitching staff in the middle and later years.
Offensively, O’Donnell, Bob DeFelice, Dave Polcari, Jim Melzar, Eddie Rideout, Fran Cronin, Vin Martelli, Terry McGann, Jack Mountain, Dave Tallent, Bob Spinney, Billy Dunn and Mike Lush were among the key contributors.
The Chiefs played .727 baseball during the ten-year stretch.
1980-1989 AUGUSTINE’S A’s (Tie)
The decade of the 1980s was a draw between Augustine’s A’s, who dominated the early part of the decade, and the Melrose Rams, who owned the later years. The A’s won four consecutive ICL Championships in 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984 under the guidance of manager and ICL Hall of Fame inductee Joe DiSarcina.
Along with DiSarcina, and later Fred Campatelli, who took over as manager in 1984 and is also an ICL Hall of Fame inductee, Kevin Giannino, Andy Brickley, catcher Billy Ryan, Joe Barresi, Mike Romano, John Brickley and Wally Polhe were the offensive standouts.
A strong pitching staff made up of stars such as Dave Caiazzo, Dick Newton, John Wood and Mark Ricker led the Malden-based club on the mound.
The A’s were sponsored by the popular Augustine’s Restaurant on Route One in Saugus and were led off the field by General Manager Ed Larson.
1980-1989 MELROSE RAMS
The Rams, named after the initials of manager and owner Dr. Richard A. Morelli, burst onto the ICL scene in 1985 and went on to win four straight championships in 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989 to close out the decade.
Their home field was the brand-new Morelli Field in Melrose, which was constructed for the Rams by Dr. Morelli. Mike Kalfopulos, Larry Blauvelt, Bob Merlina, Rick Foresteire, Mike Turilli, John Spencer, Frank Morelli, Bob Lessard, Brian Kelleher and Chip Forrest were among the Rams’ top hitters.
The Rams also featured outstanding pitching, with Steve Capozzi, Butch Martell, Dennis Livingston, Steve Donovan, Sean Gorman, John MacDonald, Matt Schulman and Dan Farrell leading the way during the championship years.
1990-1999 ANDRE CHIEFS
The Chiefs’ return to ICL dominance began in 1990, when they upset the Rams in the semifinals and went on to beat the A’s in the championship. During the decade, the Chiefs won four ICL championships in 1990, 1992, 1995 and 1997, made ten straight postseason appearances and reached the finals six times.
They enjoyed three of the best regular-season records in ICL history, going 28-3-4 in 1992, 26-4-3 in 1995 and 28-2-3 in 1997. The Chiefs began both the 1995 and 1997 seasons by going undefeated through their first 18 games.
The core of the team stayed together for the entire decade, with Hall of Fame inductee Dave Clivio, Mike Langston, Warren Olson, Alex Masel, Mike Romano, Hank Landers, Mike Barnes, Joe Rizzo, Rob (Zeytoonian) Zorian, Steve Daley, Eddie Carnes, Justin Crisafulli and Matt Vecchio forming a tough group to beat at the plate.
The pitching staff was solid from top to bottom, starting with 120-game career winner Dave Marsters. Joining Marsters on the staff were Ari Koufos, Jon Drew, Joey Santagate, Colin Young, Jay Dillon, Steve McCormick, Ron Laham and Steve Silvio, just to name a few. This group was bolstered by the addition of fireballing right-hander Mike Carista from 1995-1998.
Chuck Andre’s Chiefs won an amazing 276 games over the ten-year stretch.
2000-2009 LEXINGTON BLUE SOX
Rick DeAngelis’ team began and ended the first decade of the new century as the dominant team in the Intercity League, winning six championships in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009. The Blue Sox reached the playoffs all ten years and made seven trips to the finals.
Early in the decade, Shanan Knox, the Tobin brothers (Mike, Kevin and Shawn), Rich Cordani, future Cincinnati Reds catcher Ryan Hanigan and Zenith Marimon led the way at the plate. The pitching duties were handled by Peter Frend, Mike Kotarski, Peter Ferrari, Sam Steed, Jim Clarke and Chris Barton.
As the decade progressed, Dan Graham, Sean McElroy, Peter Frates, Jake Dillard, Tom Haugh, Eric Poling, Ryan Duff, Tim Bryant, Ross Curley and Matt McEvoy became the offensive nucleus, while outstanding pitchers such as Bill Cooke, Matt Karis, Marc Hewett, Ben Simon, Steve Bodnar and Barry Foster led the Blue Sox staff.
Lexington enjoyed its best regular-season record, and one of the best in ICL history, going 24-3-2 in 2008. After winning three straight titles to close the decade in 2009, the Blue Sox added a fourth consecutive championship the following summer.