Berkshire Black Bears

The Berkshire Black Bears were a minor league baseball team in the independent Northeast League.

Originally known as the Pittsfield Electrics (1913–14) and later, the Pittsfield Hillies (1919–30), they would move to the Canadian American League, becoming the Pittsfield Electrics (1941–48), Pittsfield Indians (1949–50), and Pittsfield Phillies (1951). Later they became Eastern league and turned into the Pittsfield Red Sox (1965–69), Pittsfield Senators (1970–71), Pittsfield Rangers (1972–75), Berkshire Brewers (1976), Pittsfield Cubs (1985–88), Pittsfield Mets (1989–2000) and Pittsfield Astros (2001). Soon after, they became the Berkshire Black Bears in 2002. At the end of the 2003 season, the Berkshire Black Bears did not renew their lease.

Then franchise was purchased by former Boston Red Sox General Manager Dan Duquette in 2004. Duquette's first team was named the Berkshire Dukes, playing their home games at the Dan Duquette Sports Academy in Hinsdale, Massachusetts. Duquette moved the team to nearby Pittsfield, Massachusetts in 2005 after reaching a lease agreement with the city that brought the Dukes to historic Wahconah Park.