Newmarket Eh’s – 1921-1925, 1963-1972, 1997-2003
Ed Hebscher, GM
Franchise #14/15
History
Brief: Franchise #15 has been one of
the less stable franchises in TCBA history. It is one of just two
franchises that played home games in Canada; Franchise #15 moved north of
the border twice!
Franchise #15 began TCBA
play as the Hereford Highlanders until 1920, when the Eh’s were born,
operating a quality franchise from their home base in Newmarket, Canada,
under the guiding hand of Ed Hebscher, who retained control until
Prohibition restrictions forced the team to disband in 1925.
Jim
Beeman took over the orphaned Franchise #15, moving the team to Covington in 1943, where the Buccs played until
1952. Casey Lyman, flush with cash from two wars, repurchased the team and
moved it back to Portsmouth until 1962. With
assassinations, Cuba crises, protests and a growing military involvement in
Southeast Asia, attendance began to drop, forcing Lyman to sell his share
of Franchise #15 to Ed Hebscher, who immediately moved the team back to
Canada for the 1963 season. After 42 years and much history, the team had
returned back from whence it came.
But
the tumultuous 1960’s and 70’s would take its toll on Hebscher and his
Eh’s. A labor strike by Canadian postal workers drove Newmarket deep into
debt, forcing the team’s sale and move to Jim Lafargue in Norwood, MA. The
Naturals lasted just two seasons before The Founder dumped the franchise
after the 1974 season. Things were so bad in the mid-70’s that the
franchise lay fallow for the entire 1975 season.
A third iteration of the
Newmarket Eh’s formed in 1997, but once again shut down in 2003.
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