League Eastern League Years active 1971–1977 | Location Trois-Rivières, Canada | |
Les Aigles de Trois-Rivières (English: Three Rivers Eagles) was the name of a Canadian minor league baseball franchise representing Trois-Rivières, Quebec, in the Double-A Eastern League between 1971 and 1977. The Eagles were an affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds and played at le Stade Municipal de Trois-Rivières.
Farm team for 'The Big Red Machine'
The Eastern League expanded from six to eight clubs following the 1970 season, adding two teams in Quebec. One, the Québec Carnavals, affiliated with the newly minted Montreal Expos, then entering their third season in Major League Baseball. The other, the Eagles, joined the Cincinnati organization, which moved its Double-A affiliate from the Asheville Tourists in the Southern League. While the Carnavals had the advantage of an affiliation with the province's big league baseball team, the Eagles during their history were supplied with multiple future Major Leaguers by the Reds, then one of the premier powers in baseball as the "Big Red Machine".
The Eagles' first club, managed by Jim Snyder, won a division title before falling to the Elmira Royals in the playoffs and drew over 109,000 fans to lead the league. The Eastern League's Quebec expansion was so successful that the Waterbury Pirates transferred to Sherbrooke in 1972. That season, Quebec City and Trois-Rivières finished one-two in league attendance, with the Eagles again winning their division but falling in the postseason, this time to the West Haven Yankees.
But losing teams from 1973–75 and the wearing off of the novelty of minor league baseball took their toll. The Eagles recovered to win division titles in both 1976 and 1977, but attendance fell to 52,000 in the latter year. In 1978, the Eastern League shed both the Eagles and the renamed Québec Métros and shrunk back to six teams. The Reds and Expos moved their farm clubs back to the Southern League, hooking up with the Nashville Sounds and the Memphis Chicks, respectively.
A summer amateur-league team known as les Aigles de Trois-Rivières currently plays in the Ligue de Baseball Élite du Québec. In addition, the Trois-Rivières Royals represented the city in organized baseball during the first half of the 20th century in the Provincial League and the Canadian–American League.