The Greens rookie ball squad, the New Boston Clamdiggers are named for the industry that thrived in this town at the start of the last century. Clamshells from the Mississippi River were used to make buttons which were in turn shipped to clothing manufacturers all over the country. Mercer Remembers: A History of Mercer County (1985) reports that at its height, the New Boston Button Factory kept "24 men employed year round." Clamshells were also used to pave the streets of New Boston where once there was only "ankle deep" sand.

A long-time member of the Big River Alliance, the New Boston team was known as the River Rats until this year, when a contest for a new name generated a couple nominations, from which the Clamdiggers was chosen. The New Boston team enjoys a strong local fan base and also attracts tourists travelling up the river to gamble in the Quad Cities and Dubuque. Plans for establishing riverboat gambling at the New Boston Lock and Dam are under discussion. A hundred years ago the Dewey Stave Factory and the Seastone Wagone Company produced barrels and wagons for folks all over the country, but beyond tourism and some fishing, no other industry survives in New Boston today. Which makes the New Boston baseball franchise paricularly treasured.