Defunct Minor League Baseball Teams Magnets
Description: The Hawaii Islanders were a minor league baseball team based in Honolulu, Hawaii, that played in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League for 27 seasons from 1961 through 1987. Originally an affiliate of the Kansas City Athletics, the Islanders played their home games at Honolulu Stadium, Aloha Stadium and Les Murakami Stadium. After being one of the most successful minor league teams, the Islanders faltered and ultimately moved to the mainland as the Colorado Springs Sky Sox in 1988.
Description: The Miami Beach Flamingos were a professional minor league baseball team based in Miami Beach, Florida periodically from 1940 until 1954. The team played its home games at Flamingo Field and was a member of the Class D Florida East Coast League as the Miami Beach Tigers in 1940. The following season they changed their nickname to the Flamingos and won the league's championship. The FECL the then folded in May 1942 due to World War II. After the War, the Flamingos joined the new Class C Florida International League in 1946. The league became Class-B in 1949. The Flamingos played the 1952 season, sat-out 1953, and rejoined in 1954 only to move across Biscayne Bay and relocate to Miami as the Miami Beach Flamingos/Greater Miami Flamingos.
Description: The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The current edition of the Barons was previously located in Montgomery, Alabama, and known as the Montgomery Rebels.
Description: There have been three Minor League Baseball clubs named Alacranes de Durango (Durango Scorpions) in Mexican Baseball History. In all its incarnations, the Alacranes have represented the city of Durango, the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Durango. Since classification of the minor leagues began, they have been labeled as classes C, A and AAA in a span of 12 seasons from 1956 to 1979. The name is traditional for all sports teams from Durango, as its association football club is also called the Alacranes. Besides, Durango is known nationally and even internationally as the Land of the Scorpions (Tierra de los Alacranes), due to abundant species of scorpions on its territory, especially in the colonial areas.
Description: The Steubenville Stubs was the predominant name of a minor league baseball team that sparsely played in Steubenville, Ohio between 1887 and 1913. The team was first formed in 1887 as a member of the Ohio State League, before disbanding on June 29 of that year. The third incarnation of the Stubs began in 1905 as the city fielded a team for the Ohio–Pennsylvania League, named the Steubenville Factory Men. A year later the club moved to the Pennsylvania–Ohio–Maryland League and took up the Stubs moniker.
Description: The Jacksonville Tomato Pickers were a minor league baseball team based in Jacksonville, Texas, United States that played in the East Texas League in 1916. It was the first known professional baseball team to be based in Jacksonville, and would be the last until the Jacksonville Jax of the West Dixie League were formed in 1934. The team was managed by Arthur Wicks.
Description: The Washington Senators baseball team was one of the American League's eight charter franchises. Now known as the Minnesota Twins, the club was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1901 as the Washington Senators. The team was officially named the "Senators" during 1901–1904, the Nationals during 1905–1955 and the Senators again during 1956–1960, but nonetheless was commonly referred to as the Senators throughout its history (and unofficially as the "Grifs" during Clark Griffith's tenure as manager during 1912–1920).
Description: The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in Athletic Park and later Nicollet Park.
Description: The Waycross Moguls were a minor league baseball team, based in Waycross, Georgia as a representative of the Florida–Alabama–Georgia League in 1915. However the team originated in 1906 as the Waycross Machinists of the Georgia State League for one season. Waycross' minor league baseball team was then revived in 1913 as the Waycross Blowhards of the Empire State League. In 1914 they were known as the Waycross Grasshoppers before changing their name to the Moguls during the season.
Description: The Bell Witch or Bell Witch Haunting is a legend from Southern United States folklore, centered on the 19th-century Bell family of northwest Robertson County, Tennessee. Farmer John Bell Sr. resided with his family along the Red River in an area currently near the town of Adams. According to legend, from 1817 to 1821, his family and the local area came under attack by a mostly invisible entity that was able to speak, affect the physical environment, and shapeshift. Some accounts record the spirit also to have been clairvoyant and capable of crossing long distances with superhuman speed (and/or of being in more than one place at a time).
Description: The Tucson Toros were a professional baseball team based in Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. The original Toros were a Triple-A minor league baseball team in the Pacific Coast League from 1969 to 1997, where they won the PCL Championship in 1991 and 1993. They were affiliated with several Major League Baseball teams over the years, most notably with the Houston Astros.
Description: The Colt .45s started their inaugural season on April 10, 1962, against the Chicago Cubs with Harry Craft as the Colt .45s' manager. Bob Aspromonte scored the first run for the Colt .45s on an Al Spangler triple in the first inning. They started the season with a three-game sweep of the Cubs but eventually finished eighth among the National League's ten teams. The team's best pitcher, Richard "Turk" Farrell, lost 20 games despite an ERA of 3.02. A starter for the Colt .45s, Farrell was primarily a relief pitcher prior to playing for Houston. He was selected to both All-Star Games in 1962.
Description: The Class A Columbia Reds of 1960-1961 marked a brief return to South Carolina’s capital city by the Cincinnati Reds, who previously sponsored a South Atlantic League farm club in Columbia from 1938 to 1955. The Cincinnati Reds owned the Columbia ball club directly. The Columbia Reds won the 1960 South Atlantic League pennant, topping the 8-team loop with an 83-56 record.
Description: The Pottstown Legionaires were a short lived minor league baseball team based in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. In 1932, the Legionaires played as members of the six–team, Class D level Interstate League. The Interstate League folded during the 1932 season, with Pottstown in second place.
Description: The original Bakersfield Dodgers were a Class A farm club of the L.A. Dodgers from 1968 to 1975. The Dodgers replaced the Bakersfield Bears (1957-1967) in the California League membership in 1968. At the end of the 1975 season Los Angeles withdrew their support of Bakersfield and moved their California League operation to Lodi. The Dodgers returned in 1984 and the new version of the Bakersfield Dodgers played 11 seasons from 1984 to 1994.
Description: The Joplin Miners was the primary name of the minor league baseball team in Joplin, Missouri that played for 49 seasons between 1901 and 1954. Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees Mickey Mantle and Whitey Herzog played for Joplin. Professional baseball returned to Joplin and Joe Becker Stadium when the Joplin Blasters began play in 2015.
Description: The Cairo Egyptians were a minor league baseball team from Cairo, Illinois, that played in the Kentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League (KITTY League) on and off from 1903 to 1950 and in the Central League in 1897. On February 7, 1897, the Cairo Egyptians, based in Cairo, Illinois, were formed as a charter member of the Class C Central League. Joining the Egyptions in the six-team league were the Evansville Brewers, Nashville Centennials, Paducah Little Colonels, Terre Haute Hottentots, and Washington Browns.Cairo's uniforms were gray and black. Severe financial problems throughout the circuit forced the league to disband on July 20. As of July 19, the final day of play, the Egyptians were in sixth place with a 30–39 record.
Description: The San Francisco Seals were a minor league baseball team in San Francisco, California, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 until 1957 before transferring to Phoenix, Arizona. The organization was named for the abundant California sea lion and harbor seal populations in the Bay Area. The 1909, 1922, 1925, and 1928 Seals were recognized as being among the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time.
Description: The Idaho Falls Spuds were the first minor league baseball team based in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Playing from 1926 to 1928, the Spuds played as members of the Class C level Utah-Idaho League, winning league championships in 1926 and 1927 and hosting home games at Highland Park. The Idaho Falls Spuds were followed by the Idaho Falls Russets, who joined the Pioneer League in 1940. Today, the Idaho Falls Chukars franchise continues play in the Pioneer League.
Description: The Elgin Watch Makers were a minor league baseball team based in Elgin, Illinois in 1915. Elgin teams played as members of the Class D level Northern Association in 1910 and Bi-State League in 1915, winning the 1910 league championship. Elgin played as the Elgin "Kittens" in 1910 in a shortened season, with the nickname being a tribute to manager Mal Kittridge. The Elgin minor league teams hosted home games at Trout Park.
Description: The Giants began as the second baseball club founded by millionaire tobacconist John B. Day and veteran amateur baseball player Jim Mutrie. The Gothams, as the Giants were originally known, entered the National League seven years after its 1876 formation, in 1883, while their other club, the Metropolitans played in the rival American Association. Nearly half of the original Gothams players were members of the disbanded Troy Trojans in upstate New York, whose place in the National League the Gothams inherited. While the Metropolitans were initially the more successful club, after they won the 1884 AA championship, Day and Mutrie began moving star players to the NL Gothams, whose fortunes improved while the Metropolitans' afterwards slumped.
Description: The Americus Pallbearers became a founding member of the original Georgia State League in 1906. The Pallbearers finished dead-last in the six-team league, with a record of 13–32, a full 22 games behind the first place Waycross Machinists. The league folded at the end of the season, and Americus was without a professional team in 1907.
Description: The Montreal Expos were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (NL) East division from 1969 until 2004. Following the 2004 season, the franchise relocated to Washington, D.C., and became the Washington Nationals.
Description: The Peoria Distillers were a minor league baseball team that existed on-and-off from 1894 to 1917. They played in the Western Association from 1894 to 1896; the Central League in 1900, 1904 and 1917; the Western League from 1902 to 1903; and the Three-I League from 1905 to 1917. Under managers David Drohan and Charley Stis, they won their first League Championship in 1911. In 1916, they won their second and final League Championship under the guidance of William Jackson.
Description: The Wheeling Stogies was a minor league baseball team based in Wheeling, West Virginia, that played under several different names at various times between 1877 and 1934. They played mostly in the Central League and the Middle Atlantic League, as well as in several various other area-based leagues. The Stogies can be traced back to 1877 and the city's first professional team known as Wheeling Standard, which featured Jack Glasscock and Chappy Lane. Then in 1887 the city once again fielded a new team known simply in the record books as Wheeling. However, the following season, Wheeling came to be called the "Nail City" for its nail industry, creating the Wheeling Nailers, a team name which even today is used for the city's professional ice hoc
Description: The Shenandoah Huns were a minor league baseball club, based in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania in 1894 and 1895. The team was formed when the Scranton Miners jumped from the Pennsylvania State League to the Eastern League on July 26, 1894. A week later the Huns were formed to replace Scranton in the league on August 2. The team continued to play in the Pennsylvania State League the following year, but disbanded during the season on May 20, 1895.
Description: The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they played for 52 years as the St. Louis Browns. After the 1953 season, the team moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where it became the Baltimore Orioles. As of April 2023, there are only three living former St. Louis Browns players: Billy Hunter, Ed Mickelson, and Frank Saucier.
Description: The Fort Pierce Bombers were a professional minor league baseball team based in Fort Pierce, Florida from 1940 until 1942. The clubs played in the Class-D Florida East Coast League. The league and the team both shut their doors, along with many other minor leagues, a few months after the United States entered World War II, and, despite the postwar baseball boom, they were not revived.
Description: The Metropolitan Club (New York Metropolitans or the Mets) was a 19th-century professional baseball team that played in New York City from 1880 to 1887. (The New York Metropolitan Baseball Club was the name chosen in 1961 for the New York Mets, who began play in 1962.) A Manhattan-based yachting team known as Metropolitan Club was in existence and covered by The New York Times in the 1850s, yet it remains very murky whether or not such a commonplace name as “Metropolitan” can really draw a 40-year link between two radically different sports & contexts.
Description: The Jersey City Skeeters were a minor league baseball team which operated in Jersey City, New Jersey. The club started in the 1860s and by 1870 joined the National Association of Base Ball Players. By 1885, Jersey City had joined the Eastern League, but they dropped out before the end of the season. The team rejoined the league the following year, finishing in second place. In 1887, a Jersey City Skeeters team was playing in the International League, but in 1888, they were in the Central League, a much lower league, competition-wise.
Description: The Dallas–Fort Worth Spurs were an American minor league baseball team in the Texas League from 1965–1971. The team played in Turnpike Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Spurs were created when the Triple-A Dallas Rangers moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1965. With the opening of Turnpike Stadium, the Double-A Texas League's Fort Worth Cats, an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, moved into the new venue and adopted the regional Dallas-Fort Worth designation and the Spurs nickname. The Spurs were affiliated with the Cubs (1965–1967), Houston Astros (1968) and Baltimore Orioles (1969–1971).
Description: The city of Mansfield, Ohio, was home to minor league baseball teams, known by various nicknames, which played periodically between 1887 and 1912, and between 1935 and 1941. The team first began play in the Ohio State League in 1887 as simply Mansfield. In 1906, the city was represented in then Ohio–Pennsylvania League with the Mansfield Giants. The club changed its name to the Mansfield Pioneers in 1907 until 1909. The team was once again renamed the Mansfield Reformers in 1910 and the Mansfield Brownies in 1911. In 1912 the club moved back to the Ohio State League for their final season of this era.
Description: The San Leandro Cherry Pickers were a minor league baseball team based in San Leandro, California. In 1910 and 1911, San Leandro teams played as members of the Class D level Central California League, with the Cherry Pickers winning the 1911 championship, as the league permanently folded during the season. The 1910 "San Leandro Grapevines" played a partial season, when the Healdsburg team relocated to San Leandro. San Leandro hosted minor league home games at San Leandro Park.
Description: The Oil City Cubs were a minor league baseball team based in Oil City, Pennsylvania. From 1906 1908, Oil City teams played as members of the Class D level Interstate League, winning the 1907 league championship. The 1906 team played as the "Oil City-Jamestown Oseejays." Oil City hosted home minor league games at the Sedwick Grounds. The 1898 and 1941 Oil City Oilers teams preceded and succeeded the Interstate League Oil City teams.
Description: Local enthusiasts in 1942 brought a professional team to Burlington. The Burlington Bees played in Burlington in 1942, and from 1945-1951. The Bees played in the Bi-State League and the Carolina League. Following the departure of the Bees, the Burlington-Graham Pirates came to the area in 1952. This team played four seasons at Graham High School, now known as Tom Zachary field. Jack McKeon was of the most famous to play for them. McKeon went on to manage several teams including the 2003 Florida Marlins who won the World Series.
Description: The Homestead Grays (also known as Washington Grays or Washington Homestead Grays) were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro leagues in the United States. The team was formed in 1912 by Cumberland Posey, and remained in continuous operation for 38 seasons. The team was originally based in Homestead, Pennsylvania, adjacent to Pittsburgh. By the 1920s, with increasing popularity in the Pittsburgh region, the team retained the name "Homestead" but crossed the Monongahela River to play all home games in Pittsburgh, at the Pittsburgh Pirates' home Forbes Field and the Pittsburgh Crawfords' home Greenlee Field.
Description: The Washington Senators baseball team was one of the American League's eight charter franchises. Now known as the Minnesota Twins, the club was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1901 as the Washington Senators. The team was officially named the "Senators" during 1901–1904, the Nationals during 1905–1955 and the Senators again during 1956–1960, but nonetheless was commonly referred to as the Senators throughout its history (and unofficially as the "Grifs" during Clark Griffith's tenure as manager during 1912–1920).
Description: Allentown Peanuts refers to two baseball teams: one that played in the Central League in 1888, and another that played in the Atlantic League from 1898 to 1900. They were based in Allentown, Pennsylvania and had no big league affiliations. In 1898, they went 55-67 under managers James McGeehan and Billy Sharsig, and in 1899 they went 37-47 under manager Sharsig.
Description: In 1903 the former Des Moines Midgets were renamed the Des Moines Undertakers. The club was just 55-76, 7th in the 8-team Western League, though Harvey Cushman led the league with 195 strikeouts. Shortstop Charley O'Leary was fourth in the circuit with a .311 batting average and had the best fielding percentage at his position. Due to the presence of the insurance industry in Des Moines, IA the club was renamed the Des Moines Prohibitionists in 1904.
Description: Minor league baseball teams were based in Leavenworth, Kansas in various seasons between 1886 and 1949. Leavenworth teams played as members of the Western League (1886–1888), Kansas State League (1895), Missouri Valley League (1903–1904) and Western Association (1905–1907, 1946–1949). Leavenworth played in the 1907 Western Association as the Leavenworth Convicts. The moniker corresponds to Leavenworth being home of the United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth, which opened in 1903. The 1907 Leavenworth Convicts finished 29–108, placing a distant eighth in the Western Association, 71.0 games out of first place. The team folded following the 1907 season.
