The game of baseball was first played in Bridgeport, Connecticut soon after the
Civil War ended. Teams that called the city home included the Victors, Soubrettes,
Orators, Crossmen, Mechanics, Hustlers, Bolts, Americans, Bees, and Bears. Bridgeport was the home of
Major Leaguer James "Orator" O'Rourke, who signed the first African-American to play for a professional baseball team in 1895. Visiting Major League and
Negro league teams often played exhibition games in the shadow of the Bridgeport's smokestacks. The last affiliated
minor league baseball team, the Bridgeport Bees, played in the
Interstate League and the
Colonial League from 1941 to 1950. Professional baseball was not played in Bridgeport for about another half-century, until the arrival of the Bluefish in 1998.
Bridgeport Bluefish The first game of the Bridgeport Bluefish was May 21, 1998. The team has been to five Atlantic League Championship Series. It won in 1999 against the
Somerset Patriots and lost to
Atlantic City in 1998,
Newark in 2002,
Lancaster in 2006, and
York in 2010. Some of the former major leaguers who have worn Bluefish jerseys include
Endy Chávez,
Shea Hillenbrand,
Alex Hinshaw,
José Offerman,
Edgardo Alfonzo,
Deivi Cruz,
Junior Spivey,
Quinton McCracken,
Antonio Alfonseca,
Willy Mo Pena,
Joey Gathright,
Adam Greenberg, and
Mariano Duncan. The Bluefish won their first league championship in 1999, led by their inaugural manager, and long time major leaguer – Willie Upshaw. The Bluefish have won the most games in Atlantic League history. The land under The Ballpark at Harbor Yard was purchased by the city of Bridgeport from
Donald Trump for $1 and with the forgiveness of back taxes owed on the property. The Jenkins Valve plant was demolished to make way for the stadium. The success of the Bluefish led to redevelopment of the South End, including construction of the
Arena at Harbor Yard and a multiuse parking garage. The founders of the Bluefish were Mickey Herbert,
Jack McGregor, Mary–Jane Foster, and the Bridgeport Waterfront Investors. Herbert anchored the team through a mayoral scandal and difficult financial circumstances. Prior to the 2006 season, the franchise was purchased by Get Hooked, LLC, a group of investors from
Fairfield County that included McGregor and Foster. However, Get Hooked dropped the Bluefish prior to the 2008 season in favor of seeking a new ballpark for the city of
Yonkers, New York. The Bluefish were purchased by Frank Boulton, who is also the owner of the Long Island Ducks and the founder of the Atlantic League. The Bluefish became the first team in
Atlantic League history to record 1,000 victories as a franchise in 2012. On June 27, 2012, the team defeated the
York Revolution 2–1 at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard to capture the victory. For one day in May 2016,
Jennie Finch was a guest manager for the Bluefish, thus becoming the first woman to manage a professional baseball team. The team played and won one game that day. On August 8, 2017, the Bluefish announced that the 2017 season would be the team's last in Bridgeport. On September 17, the Bluefish played the final game in their 20-year history at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard, losing 9–2 to the
Somerset Patriots. Despite having the best overall record in the Liberty Division, the Bluefish missed the playoffs, as they finished one game back of the Patriots in the first–half standings and two games back of their cross-sound rival
Long Island Ducks in the second half. Though it had been planned for the Bluefish to relocate to High Point, later the team ceased operations at the end of the 2017 season. High Point got an expansion franchise that is not connected to the Bluefish (the High Point Rockers). The Ballpark at Harbor Yard was converted to a
concert venue known as Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater. A groundbreaking ceremony for the replacement amphitheater was held in July 2018. The amphitheater opened July 28, 2021. ==Logos and uniforms==