Glory Names From Baseball’s Past Will Play in Buffalo on June 20
Pilot Field, this city’s brand new $43 million baseball stadium, will bring back some baseball memories June 20 when it serves as the site of the seventh annual National Old-Timers Baseball Classic.
Thirteen Hall of Fame players, including Joe DiMaggio, Hank Aaron and Buffalo native Warren Spahn, are expected to attend.
“This game is another step in our effort to show the baseball world what Buffalo has to offer,” said Michael Billoni, general manager of the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons.
The Bisons, an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, are looking to land a major league franchise in Buffalo, possibly in 1990, when the American and National leagues are expected to expand.
“I think that when the old-timers see this stadium and experience the enthusiasm this city has for baseball, it will only help your chances,” Richard Cecil, managing director of the Old Timers game, said at an afternoon news conference.
Rocky Colavito, a former Cleveland Indians star who also played for Detroit and Kansas City in the 1950s and 1960s, said Buffalo’s new stadium was “major-league caliber.”
Colavito said the stadium needed a little history, however, such as “having DiMaggio crack a home run.”
The Old-Timers game raises money for the American Professional Baseball Players Association to help ill and indigent former players.
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