page_title: Springfield, Massachusetts
section_title: Sports
hierarchical_section_title: Springfield, Massachusetts / Sports
caption_attribution_description: English: John Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., speaks at a ceremony in which he signed a statement of support for the National Guard and Reserve Dec. 7. (US Air Force photo/Lt. Col. James Bishop)
context_page_description: Springfield is a city in the state of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern Mill River. As of the 2010 Census, the city's population was 153,060. As of 2019, the estimated population was 153,606, making it the third-largest city in Massachusetts, the fourth-most populous city in New England after Boston, Worcester, and Providence, and the 12th-most populous in the Northeastern United States. Metropolitan Springfield, as one of two metropolitan areas in Massachusetts, had a population of 692,942 as of 2010.
  Founded in 1636 as the first Springfield in the New World, during the American Revolution, George Washington designated it as the site of the Springfield Armory for its central location, subsequently the site of Shays' Rebellion.
context_section_description: Besides Springfield's historic connection with basketball, the city has a rich sporting history. Volleyball was invented in the adjacent city of Holyoke, and the first exhibition match was held in 1896 at the International YMCA Training School, now known as Springfield College.
  Ice hockey has been played professionally in Springfield since the 1920s, and Springfield is home to the league headquarters of the American Hockey League. The Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League (now located in Utica, New York) was the oldest minor league hockey franchise in existence. In 1994 the team relocated to Worcester and was replaced by the Springfield Falcons, who played at the MassMutual Center. The Falcons were then replaced by the Springfield Thunderbirds in 2016. For parts of two seasons (1978–80) the NHL Hartford Whalers played in Springfield while their arena was undergoing repairs after a roof collapse. On the amateur level, the Junior A Springfield Olympics played for many years at the Olympia, while American International College's Yellow Jackets compete in NCAA Division I hockey.
  Basketball remains a popular sport in Springfield's sporting landscape. Prior to the 2014–15 season, Springfield was home to the Springfield Armor of the NBA Development League, which began play in 2009 at the MassMutual Center. Beginning in the 2011–12 season, the Armor was the exclusive affiliate of the Brooklyn Nets. For many years, the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic has been the semi-official start to the college basketball season, and the NCAA Division II championships are usually held in Springfield. The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference will play its championships in Springfield from 2012 to 2014. The New England Blizzard of the ABL played its first game in Springfield, and several minor pro men's and women's teams have called the city home, including the Springfield Fame of the United States Basketball League (the league's inaugural champion in 1985) and the Springfield Hall of Famers of the Eastern Professional Basketball League.
  Springfield has had professional baseball in the past, and according to its current mayor, remains intent on pursuing it in the future. The Springfield Giants of the Single- and Double-A Eastern League played between 1957 and 1965. The team was quite successful, winning consecutive championships in 1959, 1960 and 1961, by startling coincidence the same seasons in which the Springfield Indians won three straight Calder Cup championships in hockey. The Giants played at Pynchon Park by the Connecticut River until relocating after the 1965 season. Pynchon Park's grandstands were destroyed by fire the year after in 1966. Before that time, the Springfield Cubs played in the minor league New England League from 1946 until 1949, after which the league folded; they then played in the International League until 1953. For many years before the Giants, Springfield was also a member of the Eastern League, between 1893 and 1943. In general, the team was named the Ponies, but it also carried the nicknames of "Maroons" (1895), "Green Sox" (1917), "Hampdens" (1920–21), "Rifles (1932, 1942–43) and "Nationals" (1939–41). The team located closest are the Valley Blue Sox of the New England Collegiate Baseball League who play their games in nearby Holyoke, but house their team offices at 100 Congress Street in Springfield.
  Springfield has an official roller derby team: Pair O' Dice City Roller Derby. They are a non-profit organization which uses their roller derby games as fundraisers for groups such as Dakin Animal Shelter and the Shriners.
caption: John Doleva, president of the Basketball Hall of Fame, speaks in the Hall's Center Court
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