Trois-Rivières Aigles

	Trois-Rivières Aigles; 1971–1977; Trois-Rivières, Quebec
Minor league affiliations
Class	Double-A
League	Eastern League
Major league affiliations
Previous teams	Cincinnati Reds
Minor league titles
League titles (0)	None
Division titles (4)	1971; 1972; 1976; 1977;
Team data
Nickname	Trois-Rivières Aigles
Ballpark	Stade Municipal de Trois-Rivières

The Aigles de Trois-Rivières (English: Three Rivers Eagles) were a Canadian Minor League Baseball team of the Eastern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds from 1971 to 1977. They were located in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, and played their home games at Stade Municipal de Trois-Rivières.

History

The city of Trois-Rivières was previously represented in Minor League Baseball by the Trois-Rivières Royals in the Provincial League and the Canadian–American League off-and-on from 1939 to 1955.

The Eagles were created as an expansion team of the Double-A Eastern League in 1971, along with the Québec Carnavals, as the league grew from six teams to eight. They played their home games at Stade Municipal de Trois-Rivières.[1] The Cincinnati Reds moved their Double-A affiliation to Trois-Rivières from the Southern League's Asheville Tourists. During their seven-year partnership, the Eagles were supplied with multiple future major leaguers by the Reds, then one of the premier powers in baseball known as the "Big Red Machine".

The Eagles played their home games at Stade Municipal de Trois-Rivières.

The Eagles' first club, managed by Jim Snyder, won the 1971 National Division title with a 78–59 record before falling to the Elmira Royals, 3–1, in the playoffs.[2] Snyder was recognized as the Eastern League Manager of the Year and outfielder Gene Locklear was selected for the Eastern League Most Valuable Player Award.[3] The team led the league in attendance with 109,436 people in their inaugural season.[4] They captured a second division title in 1972 (76–60), but again fell in the postseason, this time 3–0 to the West Haven Yankees.[2] They had the second-highest attendance (119,751) behind Québec.[4]

The 1973 team finished in third place at 67–72, 9 ¹⁄₂ games out of first,[2] but still drew the second-highest attendance in the league.[4] The 1974 Eagles finished fourth (last) in the division with a 65–73 record,[2] but had the highest attendance (84,843).[4] In 1975, Ron Plaza replaced Snyder as manager during the season. The team set a franchise-low 57–80 mark, 27 games out of first.[2] Attendance suffered as well, as they dropped to fourth.[4]

New manager Roy Majtyka led the Eagles to win the 1976 Northern Division title (83–55), but they were swept 3–0 by West Haven in the playoffs.[2] Majtyka was the league's Manager of the Year.[3] Their attendance was a third-best 62,655.[4] Chuck Goggin managed the 1977 club to win the Canadian-American Division title with a 76–62 record in their final year.[2] As in the previous postseason, West Haven defeated them in the championship playoffs, 3–0.[2] First baseman Harry Spilman won the Eastern League MVP Award.[3] The Eagles' attendance had dropped to a seventh-place 52,927.[4]

In 1978, the Eastern League shed both the Eagles and the renamed Québec Métros as it shrank back to six teams. The Reds moved their Double-A affiliation back to the Southern League, partnering with the expansion Nashville Sounds.[5]

The city of Trois-Rivières was later represented by the Aigles de Trois-Rivières, a summer amateur-league team in the Ligue de Baseball Élite du Québec and the Trois-Rivières Aigles of the independent Frontier League.

Season-by-season results

Season	Division	Record	Win %	Finish	GB	Attendance[4]	Manager	Postseason	Ref.
1971	National	78–59	.569	1st	—	109,346	Jim Snyder	Won National Division title Lost Eastern League championship vs. Elmira Royals, 3–1[2]	[6]
1972	National	76–60	.559	1st	—	119,751	Jim Snyder	Won National Division title Lost Eastern League championship vs. West Haven Yankees, 3–0[2]	[7]
1973	National	67–72	.482	3rd	9 ¹⁄₂	90,565	Jim Snyder	—	[8]
1974	National	65–73	.471	4th	10	84,843	Jim Snyder	—	[9]
1975[lower-alpha 1]	—	57–80	.416	8th	27	54,436	Jim Snyder Ron Plaza	—	[10]
1976	North	83–55	.601	1st	—	62,655	Roy Majtyka	Won North Division title Lost Eastern League championship vs. West Haven Yankees, 3–0[2]	[11]
1977	Canadian-American	76–62	.551	1st	—	52,927	Chuck Goggin	Won Canadian-American Division title Lost Eastern League championship vs. West Haven Yankees, 3–0[2]	[12]

The 1975 season was split into two halves, with the winners of each half playing for the Eastern League championship. Trois-Rivières was 25–37 (.403; 8th place; 16 ¹⁄₂ GB) in the first half and 32–43 (.427; 7th place; 15 GB) in the second half.[2]

Notable alumni

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gollark: Probably just "oh no. Actual numbers behind dragon raising. Evil". And that.

gollark: Suuuure.

gollark: "Illegally"?

gollark: I wonder how the EATW people discovered the secret formula.

References

Specific

"Stade Fernand-Bédard". Digital Ballparks. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
2019 Eastern League Media Guide, p. 105–107.
"Season-Ending Awards". Eastern League. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
2019 Eastern League Media Guide, p. 93.
Weiss, Bill; Wright, Marshall (2001). "69. 1980 Nashville Sounds". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
"1971 Eastern League". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
"1972 Eastern League". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
"1973 Eastern League". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
"1974 Eastern League". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
"1975 Eastern League". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
"1976 Eastern League". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
"1977 Eastern League". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 25, 2020.

General

"2019 Eastern League Media Guide" (PDF). Eastern League. Minor League Baseball. 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2020.

External links

Statistics from Baseball-Reference

Preceded by Asheville Tourists	Cincinnati Reds Double-A affiliate 1971–1977	Succeeded by Nashville Sounds

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[10] The 1975 season was split into two halves, with the winners of each half playing for the Eastern League championship. Trois-Rivières was 25–37 (.403; 8th place; 16 ¹⁄₂ GB) in the first half and 32–43 (.427; 7th place; 15 GB) in the second half.[2]

[1] "Stade Fernand-Bédard". Digital Ballparks. Retrieved April 25, 2020.

[FOOTNOTE2019_Eastern_League_Media_Guide105–107-2] 2019 Eastern League Media Guide, p. 105–107.

[ELawards-3] "Season-Ending Awards". Eastern League. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved April 25, 2020.

[FOOTNOTE2019_Eastern_League_Media_Guide93-4] 2019 Eastern League Media Guide, p. 93.

[5] Weiss, Bill; Wright, Marshall (2001). "69. 1980 Nashville Sounds". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved May 9, 2017.

[6] "1971 Eastern League". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 25, 2020.

[7] "1972 Eastern League". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 25, 2020.

[8] "1973 Eastern League". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 25, 2020.

[9] "1974 Eastern League". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 25, 2020.

[11] "1975 Eastern League". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 25, 2020.

[12] "1976 Eastern League". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 25, 2020.

[13] "1977 Eastern League". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 25, 2020.