WEST STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. -- An important piece of Berkshire County baseball history will be honored on Wednesday, July 6, when a plaque is dedicated at the former Keresey Field, home of the famed Depression-era Troy's Garage team.

 

Kevin Larkin, who published a book about the squad titled "Big Time Baseball in a Small Berkshire County Town," obtained the plaque and the permission of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife to install the historic marker.

 

On July 6 at 5 p.m., local dignitaries, including a member of the Keresey family, will join him for the dedication at the site currently known as the Flat Brook Wildlife Management Area.

 

At 6, the festivities will move to Crissey Farm in Great Barrington for a party with ballpark food.

 

Larkin also will have copies of his book on the team available. And a raffle to defray the cost of the event will feature prices including a boxed DVD set of Ken Burns' documentary "Baseball," a signed Norman Rockwell print and a gift pack from the Tri-City ValleyCats in Troy, N.Y.

 

Troy's Garage was a semi-professional team out of West Stockbridge that earned regional acclaim in its day.

 

"This team was thought to be one of the better baseball teams in all of Western Massachusetts and, between 1934 and 1941, this team played four Major League Baseball teams, the Philadelphia Athletics, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Braves," Larkin wrote in a letter announcing the event.

 

"They also played a number of top teams in Negro League baseball, like the New York Black Yankees, Cuban Stars and Schenectady Mohawk Giants. They also played the nationally-known House of David touring team, a religious-based team out of the Midwest."

 

The former Keresey Field is located on Route 41, just up the road from the West Stockbridge Fire Station.