Brian Spagnola....President gm@AmsterdamMohawks.com
Brian Spagnola has been President of the Amsterdam Mohawks since 2003. As a lifelong Amsterdam resident, he has dedicated himself to making Shuttleworth Park into a top venue for baseball in the area. "We have had tremendous support here in Amsterdam. The local media, politicians, and community as a whole gave us a great deal of assistance in helping to achieve what we did. We have only just begun, however, in the process of updating Shuttleworth Park. It is a thrill for me to cotinue to see Shuttleworth Park completely filled with fans, enjoying a great baseball game."
Spagnola began his affiliation with college baseball coaching at then NCAA Division II power The College of Saint Rose. He has served as an assistant coach there under Bob Bellizzi from 1991 to 2003 and also was the head coach of the Schenectady Mohawks from 1991-1993. His 1991 team had on it eight players who later went on to play professional baseball. He also served as an assistant coach with the Mohawks 1990 and 1994. He is currently the second winningest coach in Mohawk history. In 2003, he stepped away from Saint Rose to become the head coach at his alma mater, Amsterdam High School, where in just a few short years he has turned the program into one of the finest in the areas. As the Mohawks continued to grow, however, Spagnola was forced to step away from AHS and focus his efforts solely on the Mohawks. He has made them a giant success, drawing regular crowds of over 1500 fans per game and winning championships three times (2003, 2004, and 2009) in seven years.
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David Dittman...Co-Owner DD@AudioBookshelf.com
David Dittman joined the Mohawks in 2007 and in one short season was instrumental in helping double attendance figures and create a more business friendly environment with the Mohawks organization. Dittmann previously owned the Newport Gulls and helped start of Vermont Mountaineers of the New England Collegiate Baseball League where he was instrumental in the success of both teams. He also owned the Peninsula Pilots of the Coastal Plains League. All three of these teams have led their respective leagus in attendance during Dittmann's tenure.
Earlier, Dittmann owned an array of minor league team baseball teams, including the New Haven Ravens AA team. He grew up around baseball as his father was the corporate attorney for the Philadelphia Phillies for years.
In January 2007, he climbed Mt. Kilamanjaro and in 2011 he plans to also climb Mt. Everest.
Dittmann resides in Newport, RI.
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Bill Terlecky...General Manager Bt@AmsterdamMohawks.com
A 32 year veteran of Minor League Baseball, Bill brings a wealth of experience to the Mohawks. He has been a General Manager at the Triple AAA, Double AA and Independent levels of Organized Baseball. He started his career in 1979 as a sales executive for the Baltimore Orioles Triple AAA International League affiliate in Rochester NY. He spent six seasons with the Red Wings and served as Co-General Manager his final three seasons.
In 1984, he was hired to lead the Philadelphia Phillies new Triple A affiliate in Scranton/ Wilkes Barre, PA. He oversaw the opening of the twenty five million dollar Lackawanna County Stadium in 1989. During his time in Northeastern PA, he was named the International League's Executive of the Year in 1991 and he coordinated the sold out 1995 Triple AAA All Star game.
His first venture into the Independent Baseball ranks came in the late 1990's when he operated the Madison Black Wolf of the Northern League.
In 2001 he was named GM of the New York Mets Double AA Eastern League affiliate in Binghamton NY. The B-Mets enjoyed a surge in attendance and community involvement as a result of his fan friendly style of management. For his success in Binghamton he was awarded the Frank Cashen Award for Minor League Excellence presented by the New York Mets following the 2002 season. Both David Wright and Jose Reyes were members of the B-Mets during Bill's tenure there.
In 2007 he returned to Independent Baseball as the General Manager of the Gary SouthShore RailCats in Gary, Indiana. Under his leadership, the RailCats recorded the two highest attendance figures in the history of the franchise. Following the 2007 season he was named the Minor League General Manager of the Year by the Chicago Pitch and Hit Club.
We have gotten to the point with the Mohawks that we really needed an industry pro to help us lead our efforts of further expanding our product and our stadium. I am proud of what we have accomplished so far with the Mohawks, but adding a person to our staff who has had experience running teams who average over 7,500 fans per night, truly professionalizes our franchise and will assist in our future growth and atmosphere. The Mohawks and the community alike will all benefit from this, said Mohawks President Brian Spagnola.
Bill was also featured in the book "Getting in the Game" written by former Cubs broadcaster (and current Texas Ranger broadcaster) Josh Lewin, who got his first opportunity in professional baseball due to Bill. The book chronicled the trials of landing a job in baseball and the lifestyle that those in the game lead.
"I am thrilled to be back in Upstate New York and look forward to building on the outstanding success that the Mohawks have had", said Terlecky. "Their reputation in this industry is growing and they have really helped put Amsterdam, NY on the map".
Bill resides in Amsterdam, NY and his 22 year old son Tyler goes to school at New Paltz.
He can reached for any information on the Mohawks at BT@AmsterdamMohawks.com or by phone at 607-222-4086.
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Barry Rouse... On-Field Entertainment Barry@AmsterdamMohawks.com
For many years now, Bob has been announcing players during baseball, football and basketball games in the Capital District area, while providing marketing information to fans on local promotion activities. Bob joined the Amsterdam Mohawks at the beginning of the 2007 season.
Since 1984, Bob has been the public address-announcing-voice of the Amsterdam High School Varsity Running Rams basketball team. Prior to that, he announced basketball and football for Bishop Scully High. From 1987 to 1995 Bob served as Public Address Announcer for the Albany-Colonie Yankees AA level baseball club, and then the Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs professional baseball team at Heritage Park in Colonie. Each September through December during 1995 thru 2004 he was the Public Address Announcer for Union College NCAA football in Schenectady.
Bob originally started his baseball announcing "avocation" at Veterans' Field and then Shuttleworth Park, right here in Amsterdam, in the 1980's, while his sons were playing Wee Mens, Babe Ruth League and High School-level ball. For several seasons, Bob announced Section 2 and Regional High School Baseball Championship games at Bleeker Stadium, Albany and at Heritage Park.
Bob is retired now from his "day-job" of Assistant Director of Personnel at the State Labor Department and resides with his wife Betty in Perth.
Kyle Kesses will provide the play-by-play broadcasts for every Amsterdam Mohawks game, home and away, throughout the summer. He will also run the official team website and produce post-game recaps for each game this summer. Kyle serves as the team's Sports Information Director and is the official scorer for all home games.
Kyle is entering his senior year at Fordham University where he earned varsity letters in both Men's Basketball and Men's Track and Field. Kyle earned academic honorary mention in each of his first three seasons with the Rams.
In the spring of 2010 he scored at the Atlantic 10 Men's Track and Field Championship meet in the High Jump. He also competed in both the 400 and 500 meters during his time with the program.
Kyle is an English major at Fordham and works at the professional radio station located on campus in the Bronx, NY – WFUV is a 50,000-watt National Public Radio affiliate.
Kyle has served as the station's beat reporter for the New Jersey Nets and has headed radio broadcasts of Fordham Football, Basketball, Baseball, and Softball.
You can contact Kyle via email at kesses@fordham.edu
You can hear the games by clicking on the blue and white TEAMLINE link on the right side of the homepage.
Jim Hall....Stadium Sound halljr45@oneonta.edu
Jim served as the stadium sound intern in 2007 before being hired to that position in 2008. He has a great "feel" for keeping the stadium rocking and adding to every fan's fun filled experience at the ballgame.
He resides in nearby Fonda.
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Rosemary and Terry Smith...Host Family Coordinator rsmith2024@nycap.rr.com
Rosemary and Terry are the official "Mom and Dad" of the Amsterdam Mohawks. Since 2005, they served as host families and in 2007 took on the task of being Host Family Coordinators. They serve as the liason between the players and the community and arrange their travel plans, living arrangements, etc.
Rosemary and Terry reside in Amsterdam with their son Dan.
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Peri Schwabrow Mohawks Meals Coordinator
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2011 Interns
Bobby Mapes zw@amsterdammohawks.com Jon Sargalis jonsargalis@yahoo.com Keith Pefer Andrew Robertshaw Matthew Harrington Tyler Terlecky Daniel Nelli
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Bob Bellizzi (1949-2006).....Past Owner
Team President Bob Bellizzi, who passed away May 7, 2006, had been involved with college baseball for over twenty-five years and believed that Amsterdam was a perfect match for the Mohawks and the NYCBL. Before his passing he was thrilled with the success that the Mohawks had in their seasons in Amsterdam. "The combination of a sports minded city and an operator (Brian Spagnola) who was born and raised in Amsterdam, makes this a great place to play summer baseball...it was our intention to bring a quality level of collegiate baseball to Shuttleworth Park and provide entertainment and excitement throughout the season and that is what we did...the sense of cooperation and support exhibited by the community only confirmed our belief that Amsterdam was the ideal home for the Mohawk Baseball Club..."
Bellizzi, the head coach at The College of Saint Rose from 1978 until his passing, had over the past quarter century, developed the Golden Knights into a national powerhouse at the NCAA Division II level. Saint Rose had made the NCAA Northeast Division II Regionals in 1994, 1995, 1997, and 2000. His 2000 team reached their ultimate goal by advancing to the NCAA Division II World Series in Montgomery, Alabama. Prior to that, at the NAIA level, Saint Rose made regional appearances in 1990 and 1991 and went to the 1990 NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho.
Bellizzi boasted a staggering career record of 720-367-2 at Saint Rose and has enjoyed success at the club, NAIA, and NCAA levels. He had dozens of Saint Rose players continue their baseball careers at the professional level, including 1993 grad Glen Barker, who played for the Houston Astros at the major league level from 1999-2001. From 1988-1990, Bellizzi also guided the Schenectady Mohawks to a remarkable 87-37 record and won the league championship in 1988 with a 34-8 record.
No games scheduled at this time. Check back again soon!
Rosemary and Terry Smith...Host Family Coordinator
Bob Bellizzi (1949-2006).....Past Owner
