– the unofficial guide

Sport

People in Bristol love sports as they bring them together now and then. There are various kinds of sports in the city ranging from baseball to football and everyone gets to cheer on the game they love the most.

bristol's sport events

Baseball

This sport receives a lot of support from residents in the city who flock to the games to watch players compete for the titles.

Bristol Blues

They are a summer collegiate baseball team who base their activities in Bristol. They belong to the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL), which is a wood bat league. The FCBL has fifty six games in its regular season and has six franchises in Massachusetts. They also have two in Connecticut and two in New Hampshire.

Bristol Blues are loved in this town and they hold their games at the Muzzy Field.

Ownership
This team came to be in 2015, thanks to Elliot Scheiner, David Lindland and Steve Lindland. These entrepreneurs came together and put up a team that continues to make the residents of Bristol proud.

History of the Team
This team has performed well during its games and has attracted a hoard of fans as a result. In its first season, they took everyone by surprise by clinching the west division in the FCBL. People had not expected such a performance from newly formed team and a lot of praise was heaped on the team.

During the playoffs, they managed to walk away as the winners of the quarterfinals as well as the semifinals, enabling them to make it to the championship series. They played against the Worcester Bravehearts who were the then defending champions.

Tensions were high as the two teams battled for the win. They split the first two games and come to the third game, they tied after nine innings. In the top of the tenth, the defending champions managed to score two runs and walked away with the title. The highly heated game enabled the Blues to clinch more fans and though they lost, people left feeling that the team had done all that they could.

As from 2015, the team held a Hartford Whalers Appreciation Night, where they honored Hartford Whalers who are the state’s sole big league franchise.

Muzzy Field

bristol's sport stadium
The Bristol Blues play their games in this field. It lies in Bristol and serves as a stadium for both football and baseball games. People began using it in 1912 and in 1939, a stand was made to allow people be comfortable as they watched games. The stand can hold four thousand nine hundred people at a go.

The stand is made of brick and there are pine trees growing around the field to provide shade to the spectators.

High schools hold their competitions in this field. Some of the Bristol schools that make use of this facility include but are not limited to Bristol Central High School, Saint Paul Catholic High School and Bristol Eastern High School.

During the summer, people use the field for baseball games.

Many renovations have taken place in the field such as the installation of roof extensions, electronic signs and rooftop press boxes. These developments aim at making the field more suitable for competitions.

Boys’ teams in Bristol

Men participate in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, wrestling, track and field sports. High school teams compete against each other and thousands of spectators show up to cheer them on. Sports are valued in Bristol and as such, students are encouraged to excel both in class and in extra-curricular activities. There are many awards for the winners which serve as incentives to get more students interested in sporting activities.

Girls’ sports

Women take part in basketball, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, volleyball and track and field.

History of women’s sports

The Bristol hall of fame recently held a talk to discuss the advancements in women’s sports. They had a panel which comprised of coaches and players in public schools. Women such as Joann Galati spoke up on their early experiences in the world of sports. As children, they would participate in games such as basketball and baseball where they would engage boys and play together on a daily basis. On getting older, they decided to get into organized sports where they got turned away.

There was a belief that sports were for men only and girls were unable to get into competitive sports at the time. Both the boys and the girls could not understand why some of them had to be left out of the games and they were devastated.

Gail Ericson credits her achievement in sports to the Bristol Park Department. They allowed her to take part in the swimming competitions at the time and she was able to start her career, thanks to their willingness to include her.

In 1972, Richard Nixon came up with the Anti-Discrimination bill which allowed women to participate in sports. Joan Galati then started softball and basketball teams for girls, becoming the pioneer for women sports. Though it took a long while, women now have an equal opportunity to play sports in Bristol.