Introduction to Chapter 9:

1995-1996: The Final Season(s)

Nineteen-ninety-five was billed as "The Final Season" and developments early in the year threatened to give the theme a more ominous connotation. Newly-elected New York State Governor George Pataki's budget did not include money for Frontier Field. The lack of funding not only once again put the Red Wings' future in Rochester in doubt, but also threatened to leave Rochester and Monroe County several million dollars in the hole for money that had already been spent on the Frontier Field project.

The fight was taken on by other politicians across the state who felt the exclusion to be partisan politics at its worst. But it would not be for another six months until a successful outcome was assured and work could recommence. The delay made it impossible to finish the stadium by Opening Day 1996, leaving Rochester Community Baseball to ponder whether or not to attempt a mid-season move. The organization chose not to, leaving 1996 to be "The Final Season - The Sequel."

Circumstances outside local control also affected the team on the field. The strike by major league players that wiped out the 1994 World Series stretched into 1995 before it was settled. New ownership in Baltimore dictated a different strategy, one which saw many of the long-awaited prospects dealt away, or rushed to the majors ahead of schedule. The 1995 and 1996 Red Wing teams had similar records, but were remarkably dissimilar in makeup. The '95 team featured such prospects as Curtis Goodwin, Alex Ochoa, Jimmy Haynes and Armando Benitez. The '96 squad was heavily populated by minor league veterans such as Joe Hall and Clay Bellinger, as well as several acquisitions from the Mexican League, including one Domingo Martinez, who almost single-handedly turned the Wings' season around. Both Marv Foley squads enjoyed success: the 1995 team captured a division title and their 1996 counterparts capped a late-season run for a playoff spot with a trip to the Governors' Cup finals.

Frontier Field did open on its scheduled date, with a new soccer team, the Rochester Rhinos, having the honors. The team set league records for attendance, and except for the absence of a roof, the removal of which from the stadium plans caused a mini-scandal locally, reaction from Rochesterians was universally positive.

In the end, Silver Stadium was seen as a grand old lady, as opposed to a weight dragging down the franchise. The final regular season game was ceremonially marked in front of a packed crowd of 12,756, but the post-season run added several more games, including the final, final game on Sept. 10, 1996. Then, the Red Wings' 68-year run on Norton Street ended as it began, with a shutout loss. It was a melancholy ending, but the presence of Frontier Field assured the existence of the Red Wings in Rochester for years to come.

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