The University of Massachusetts baseball program started in 1877 and Doc Curley was their first player to make it to the Major League level.

What are Minutemen? Why are the University of Massachusetts Amherst athletics programs using the nickname and when did they change from the Redmen to the Minutemen:

Uniquely linked with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, UMass Amherst's mascot was selected in 1972. Once known as Aggies and later Redmen, Massachusetts athletic teams became Minutemen and Minutewomen in the early 1970s. More than a mascot, the name reflects the Commonwealth’s historic role in the American Revolution when colonial militia (armed citizens) turned out to fight the British at a minute's notice.

Source: University of Massachusetts Amherst (website).

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