The Quonset Point Naval Air Station Baseball Experience – Who They Played And How They Did

For the past few weeks, I have been researching the baseball experiences of the Quonset Naval Air Station pre-1974. 1974 was the year the base was deactivated essentially ending operations there in terms of the United States Military. Through the assistance of the Providence College Archives and Special Collections group and the North Kingstown Town Library, I have been able to fast track my research into the baseball worlds on the Quonset Base via the Quonset Scout and some amazing aerial photos. Here are some more interesting articles and photos I have found that depict how baseball was played, viewed, and photographed pre-1974.

Interesting to look at the Quonset Flyers Baseball team schedule. In their rotation of games, you will notice military base opponents like Otis and Camp Endicott, college and university teams like Brown and Yale, and professional baseball teams like the Philadelphia A’s. From reading the “Meet the Flyers” segments in The Quonset Scout, many players on the Quonset Flyers baseball team had played high school, some college, some semi-pro, some pro ball – so they were really, really good ball players.

Quonset Scout, 1963 – Quonset Airbees Team Photo

Quonset Scout, 1957 – Player of the Year, John Currenton

Quonset Scout, 1954 – Flyers clinch NEISAC Title

I just love reading through the Quonset Scout and checking out box scores and seeing team photos and absorbing all this great baseball history. This paper reported on more than just baseball of course. For example, The Scout reports on the upcoming Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals in their very early stages of planning. And the advertisements for cars and services rendered (plumbers, electricians, oil) and base events are just priceless pieces of history. And it contains articles on naval base operations, personnel moves, movie night, WAVES news, and so much more. If you are interested in looking through it yourself, here is the website link, courtesy of the Providence College Archives and Special Collections group – The Quonset Scout.

One last tidbit, here is my high school baseball field around 1997. It is no longer there, as my high school redesigned its campus shortly after in the early 2000s.