? ? ?When listening to Joanne Gerace tell baseball stories that she expeerienced while working for the Utica Blue Jays and Blue Sox, it is difficult to pick a favorite. ?The lady has a book to write.
? ? ?When remembering being at Blue Jays games during the team's first two seasons in operation, I must have come in contact with Joanne. ?She had her hands in a little bit of everything working out of the trailer set up near the entrance of Murnane Field. ?During the 1977 & '78 seasons, Gerace ran the concessions stands, sold group sales tickets, and other duties. ?" Baseball ( Blue Jays ) was the hottest thing in the area", Gerace remembers. ?"The field was horrible. ?It reminded me of something Fred Flintstone would play on". ?
? ? ?I could remember attending several Saturday evening games when the Blue Jays were hosting the Oneonta Yankees and all bleachers were filled to capacity. ?What a site that was. ?The same season Utica entered the New York-Penn League, 1977 saw the Little Falls Mets ( Class A affiliate of the New York Mets ) welcomed into the same division. ?The rivalry grew ?as fans attended road games at both ballparks , given that both cities are located 30 minutes ?apart. ?"The main reason there are no professional sports here ( Utica ) is a lack of a facility for minor league baseball", Gerace said. ?"What we have today has limited seating. ?You have to bring fans into the stands. ?The major stumbling block is a stadium that meets what minor league baseball expects these days".
? ? ?It was while working for the Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate in Alexandria,Virginia ?that word reached Gerace that pro baseball was returning to Utica. She jumped at the opportunity to further her career. ?A few seasons later, Joanne met Miles Wolf, who in 1981 purchased the Utica franchise. ?Once being promoted to general manager in 1983, when the Blue Sox were indepedently operated, which included famed sports writer Roger Kahn in ownership, the club won the New York - Penn League championship. ?" I have my championship ring locked up. ?It's pretty. ?I haven't looked at it in probably 10 years", says Gerace.
? ? ?As the 'outlaw' independant team, not warmly welcomed by some of the other affiliates in the league, all with major league affiliations, Gerace recalls her dealings with then New York Mets Director of Minor League Operations Streve Schryver ( 1982-'88 ) as contentious. ?Personally, Gerace remembers having a strong relationship with the late Vince McNamara, who served as the as the New York-Penn League president for 37 years. ?" It was us ( Blue Sox ) against the world", as Joanne remembers her days in baseball leadership. ?"Schrvyer, and many other farm directors didn't want us to win. ?We were determined to win".
? ? ?Joanne is also involved with the Utica Professional Hockey Alumni Association ( UPHAA ). ?Along with former trainer for many of the local pro teams that played at the Utica Auditorium Bob Bill, last June, with the assistance of others, put on a wonderful weekend of events. ? Bill had contacted Gerace about wanting to do a reunion, and from there 'the guys' were being contacted. ?"Many of the former players that came back to Utica ?hadn't seen each other for many years. ?We sat and watched the Stanley Cup playoffs together, there was an awards banquet, golf tournament - it was a good event", Gerace explains.
? ? ?From being hired by Miles Wolf ?in 1982 as Blue Sox assistant general manager, then being promoted the following season as GM, to all the seasons before and after, there's no separating Utica professional baseball and Joanne Gerace. ?They are synonymous with the good old days of any number of reasons to be at Murnane Field from late June to the first of September. ?How about a Gerace plaque ?to be placed at the field honoring ?her years of service?
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