BlueClaws Celebrate 20th Anniversary Of First Home Game

April 11, 2021

JERSEY SHORE, NJ - April 11, 2001 was a day that will live in Jersey Shore history - the day of the first BlueClaws home game. This year, the BlueClaws will celebrate their 20th anniversary season, but it really all traces to April 11th and what turned into a rain-shortened

Below, find comments from a few individuals that were there that day, plus some pictures of the festivities surrounding a game that was several years in the making. (All pictures were taken by BlueClaws photographer Dave Schofield).

[Dignitaries lined up on the field before the game to throw out ceremonial first pitches. On the far left is BlueClaws catcher and future Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz. Phillies president David Montgomery is sixth from the left in the olive green jacket, dark red tie.]

Parking lots opened at 4:30 and on-field festivities began at 5:30 pm. Included were remarks from State Senator Robert Singer and Ray Coles from the Lakewood Development Corporation (presently the Mayor of Lakewood). Included in the pre-game festivities was the "Ceremonial First Pour" from the Coors Light RAT Trap in centerfield with representatives of Shore Point Distributing and 95.9 WRAT.

Both teams lined up for the traditional, Opening Day full team introductions.

In the photo above, BlueClaws manager Greg Legg shakes hands with Crawdads manager Pete Macakanin. The two would later be re-united within in the Phillies organization.

"I've seen him over the years as you run across people in baseball," said Mackanin said of Legg. "Certainly every time I do see him I bring up that picture."

Mackanin recalled coming into Lakewood with the Crawdads to open the Jersey Shore's new ballpark. "I remember seeing a beautiful minor league facility. It was really fun to have a game there. It was beautiful. One thing that was lacking was a urinal in the visitor's dugout. If someone had to go to the bathroom they had to go through the stands to get to the clubhouse [the tunnel was not ready for the first homestand]. You always look forward to playing somewhere you've never been before. It's fun to see something like Lakewood."

Longtime South Atlantic League President John Henry Moss was on hand and poses in the above photo with the game's umpires.

Tina Kaye sang the National Anthem at 6:24 pm with both teams lined up on the baselines behind her. Doves were released and there was a scheduled flyover from the New Jersey Air Guard from McGuire Air Force Base.

Just after 6:35 pm, Ryan Carter, a left-hander from UCLA, threw the first pitch in GPU Energy Park (later FirstEnergy Park) history.

Geoff Brown was the BlueClaws General Manager from November of 1999 through January of 2013 and in a summer interview recalled the build-up to Opening Night and the various ups and downs leading into the big day.

"A month or so out, we realized in the concessions stands there weren't any pass through windows. You have your prep area in the back and the service area in the front but there was only one door. There were supposed to be three or four pass through windows so we had to go back in and knock holes in the walls," he said.

"I remember the night before, late, we were putting together those standing tables in the picnic area. They had just arrived and we were putting those together around midnight," he said. "The other thing I remember, and I recommended this because it went so well, we did a stadium flush. We brought in the morning DJ of 94.3 the Point and he came in with a bunch of listeners. We had a listener at every single toilet and flush at the same time. We wanted to make sure the plumbing would work with a full ballpark. I don't know what would have happened if it didn't!"

Members of the press as well as the ballpark construction team recalled the first game as well.

Kevin Williams, WOBM / Townsquare Media - "Anyone who was anyone at the jersey Shore was there that night. Every elected official, it was really a big deal. You would have hoped for a nicer night but you know what the weather could be like. If it wasn't the home opener, it never would have been played...I had four tickets behind home plate in the first row. My kids were young at the time and they were all pepped up to go to the BlueClaws. My daughter, who was 10, she would come and sit, ask me for money and I'd see herein the seventh inning. I'd like to think that for a lot of those special moments, especially in the early years, I was there." (You can listen to our interview with Kevin here.)

Dan Cichalski, Asbury Park Press - "I know it was a crowded press box. In addition to me, we had a columnist or two and a news reporter. I don’t know how early I got there but it must have been so early. You never would have expected a crowd like that for 50 degrees and drizzly. But 7,500 people weren’t going to let the people miss the first game in BlueClaws history."

Thomas DeBartolo, Monmouth Ocean County Building Trades - "We all went to the game, seeing the first game there. My family came and pointed out all the stuff that we worked on and had done. Normally you build a building and walk away from it and never go back. Every time I go back, I tell my wife ad nauseum that I put that up and I hung that. You keep coming back to the facility and seeing the stuff I worked on brings back good memories...I have fond memories of the job because we had good guys working on it. It went very smoothly. I thought at the time it was a little crazy to put a baseball stadium in Lakewood, and didn’t think it would catch on. But they’re always doing something over there. On my end, I’m very proud that I worked on the job and enjoy going back every year."

Bill Morros, Epic Management - "I remember roaming around and hanging out with Ray Coles and working our way through the luxury boxes and drinking a beer at every stop! I was lucky that the project got assigned to me. I’m a big baseball fan and it was satisfying to be able to be involved working on something that you enjoy watching as a fan."

The first game didn't last as long as people hoped. Play was halted at 8:14 pm due to rain and the game was called at 9:07. A League of Their Own was playing on the video board when the game was called and everyone was sent home. The BlueClaws were leading 3-2 when the game was called in the top of the fifth inning. The game was finished the next day and then the teams played a seven-inning, regularly scheduled game. It was that game that would go down in BlueClaws history.

Geoff Brown recalled the night:

I actually remember the second night even more because we threw a no-hitter on the second night. We had a no-hitter in the ballpark before we hit a home run. We might be the only ballpark where that's ever happened.

The second night, the Phillies brought a bus or two bus loads of people. It was an off-day for the Phillies and they brought about 100 employees. The second game starts and you can tell they are kind of itching to get out of there. It's an hour and 15 minutes back to Philly plus wherever they live. David Montgomery was with them, and I love David Montgomery. He would never leave games early, and I mean ever. But people were getting to him, and David was leaning towards letting the buses go, but [BlueClaws pitcher Keith] Bucktrot hadn't given up a hit. He (Montgomery) said "You cannot leave, our pitcher is throwing a no-hitter." They stayed and Bucktrot finished off the no-hitter.

Carlos Ruiz, who would later be the Phillies starting catcher on their 2008 World Series winning team, caught Bucktrot's no-hitter and went 2-4 in the game, driving in three runs. Pete Mackanin would later coach him with the Phillies.

"I scouted him and had him as a solid backup catcher. He was certainly a productive hitter in his own right, not to mention his catching skills, which were bar none as good as anyone in the major leagues," Mackanin recalled. "He was a super guy, always up-beat. He never took his at bats on to the field. He certainly made his mark."

You can watch some of our Catching Up interviews on the BlueClaws Facebook Page or the BlueClaws Backstage Blog.

What was your first or favorite BlueClaws memory? Help us remember 20 years of BlueClaws through our 20 Seasons of Memories program. Click here to fill out our form and you could be featured in the ballpark this year, in the game program, on the video board, or on our social media pages!

The team added a boardwalk game area and Mini Golf Course to the ballpark prior to the 2018 season. Then in October, the team re-branded to the Jersey Shore BlueClaws. The all-new Jersey Shore BlueClaws will make their debut on May 4th as the BlueClaws welcome in the Hudson Valley Renegades (Yankees). Single-game tickets for Opening Night and all 2021 BlueClaws home games are currently on sale.

-Jersey Shore BlueClaws-