Breaking news out of Oneonta as the Oneonta Athletic Corporation, headed by 88 year old Sam Nader and 95 year old Sid Levine, has sold the NY-Penn League Oneonta Tigers to a New York City ownership group which already owns two AA teams.

Nader and Levine are the last two living members of the ten man corporation, who in 1966 each put up $1000 to buy the franchise (cost $7500) and start up capital to run the team. The men agreed that if anyone dropped out, they would sell their share at the original purchase price to the remaining members of the group. To put this financial arrangement in perspective, the O-Tigers were appraised at $1.8-million in 2007, and could fetch an even higher price if the team were to relocate to a bigger market and a better facility.

Terms of the sale were not disclosed, although as part of the agreement the new owners have committed to keep the team in Oneonta through at least the 2010 season.

The USRT made the visited to Damaschke Field back in 2003, and believe us when we tell you that this facility is as simple and old school as it gets. A tumbledown main entrance (pictured above), little more than wooden bleachers and a picket fence with genuine knotholes ringing the outfield. We met Sam Nader on that night, and he invited us to sit with him in his “box”, if you will, and regaled us with baseball stories and his experience as a long time owner of a baseball team. It was a special and magical experience for us.

On that night his son Bill was grilling hot dogs at the one concession stand, and other family members were tending to game night duties around the field, or in the trailer behind the third base grandstand which served as the team office.

One more unique feature about Damaschke Field - it is the only “dry” ballpark in the NAPBL - no beer served.

You can bet that the beer taps will be flowing at Damaschke come 2009.

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