Summer League Shorts
Description: Joliet first hosted minor league baseball in 1890. The Joliet Convicts became members of the Independent level Illinois-Iowa League. In their first season of play, the Joliet Convicts placed 6th with a record of 56–59 in the eight–team Illinois-Iowa League. W.E. Buckley and Ed Culberson served as the Joliet managers as the Convicts finished 14.0 games behind the 1st place Ottumwa Coal Palace Kings in the final standings. The Joliet use of the "Convicts" moniker was in reference to local industry, with Joliet, Illinois being home to the Joliet Correctional Center beginning in 1858.
Description: The Lizards faced off against the Albuquerque Dons at Municipal Park on July 23, 1932. Although the final score was 9-6, the game did go 13 innings with “excellent defensive play by the Tucsonans.” “Fine fielding by Joe Silva and Vincent DeMaggio” made them standouts in the losing Lizard cause. The Lizards and Dons were members of the Arizona-Texas League. But trouble was looming at the league’s door. A short item, following the game story, said the Dons were in financial trouble. Team members had not been paid since June 1st.
Description: The Clear Lake Fish Eaters were a minor league baseball team based in Clear Lake, Iowa. Clear Lake teams played as members of the Independent level Iowa State League in 1912 and the Class D level Central Association in 1917, with the 1917 team playing a brief season as the "Rabbits.". Both teams hosted home minor league games at the Clear Lake City Ball Park.
Description: The Brownsville Charros were a minor league baseball team, based in Brownsville, Texas. The team played as the Brownsville Brownies from 1910-1911 in the Southwest Texas League before shutting down. They were revived in 1928 and then became the Charros in 1938 in the Texas Valley League. The team returned again in 1939 as part of the Rio Grande Valley League and moved to the Gulf Coast League in 1951. A new team by the same name began in 2014 as part of the United League Baseball. The team finished its season on August 15, 2014 with its last game on the road against the Fort Worth Cats. The team was managed by former Major League Baseball player Ozzie Canseco.
Description: Early Corpus Christi teams played in various leagues under differing monikers. The first minor league team based in Corpus Christi was the 1910 Corpus Christi Pelicans, who played as charter members of the Southwest Texas League in 1910 and 1911. The Corpus Christi Seahawks were members of the Gulf Coast League in 1926, Texas Valley League in 1927 and 1928 and Rio Grande Valley League in 1931. The Corpus Christi Spudders played in the 1938 Texas Valley League.
Description: Bristol, Connecticut hosted the Class AA farm club of the Boston Red Sox in the Eastern League for ten seasons from 1973 to 1982. It was a Golden Age for the Red Sox farm system and a parade of future Major League stars came through ancient Muzzy Field on their way to Fenway Park, including eventual Hall-of-Famers Jim Rice (1973) and Wade Boggs (1978 and 1979).
Description: A number of different minor league baseball teams have played in San Francisco, California from 1878 through the arrival of the Major League San Francisco Giants in 1958. The most notable team was the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League but prior to their formation in 1903 a number of teams operated primarily in the California League and its various predecessors and offshoots, including multiple teams in the same league at various times.
Description: Bull Durham is a 1988 American romantic comedy sports film. It is partly based upon the minor-league baseball experiences of writer/director Ron Shelton and depicts the players and fans of the Durham Bulls, a minor-league baseball team in Durham, North Carolina. The film stars Kevin Costner as "Crash" Davis, a veteran catcher from the AAA Richmond Braves, brought in to teach rookie pitcher Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) about the game in preparation for reaching the major leagues. Baseball groupie Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon) romances Nuke but finds herself increasingly attracted to Crash. Also featured are Robert Wuhl and Trey Wilson, as well as popular baseball "clown" Max Patkin.
Description: Step up to the plate with this vintage-style Rockford Peaches baseball logo, inspired by the iconic women's league of the 1940s! Featuring a bold script "Peaches" and a charming cartoon player in a classic pink uniform and red cap, this design hits a home run for fans of history, sports, and empowering throwback style. Perfect for baseball lovers, nostalgic souls, and A League of Their Own fans alike. Swing for the fences with this timeless tribute!
Description: Des Moines had first fielded a Western League team in 1900, playing under several monikers before being called the "Boosters." At the time, the league was a Class A league, the highest level of minor league play. The teams that directly preceded the Des Moines Boosters in Western League play were the Des Moines Hawkeyes (1900–1901), Des Moines Midgets (1902), Des Moines Undertakers (1903), Des Moines Prohibitionists (1904), Des Moines Underwriters (1905), Des Moines Champions (1906) and Des Moines Champs (1907) before becoming the Des Moines Boosters (1908–1924). Des Moines won Western league Championships in 1905 and 1906, leading to the championship reference monikers.
Description: The Montpelier Goldfish, a minor league baseball team, played in the Quebec-Ontario-Vermont League between 1924 and 1924. Montpelier briefly hosted the 1924 Montpelier Goldfish of the Class B level Ontario–Quebec–Vermont League. The team folded on July 16, 1924, finishing with a 16–37 record under manager Bill McCorry. Barre, Vermont has not hosted another minor league team.
Description: The Raleigh Capitals was a name used by various minor league baseball teams that were based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Most of these teams played at Devereaux Meadow. There have been minor league baseball teams in the past that played in Raleigh using the name Capitals. Some of these Raleigh teams also used names such as Senators, Red Birds, Nats, Mets, Cardinals, and Pirates. The last Raleigh franchise existed from 1958–1967 and played in Carolina League. This team merged into the Durham, North Carolina based Durham Bulls in 1968 who also played in the Carolina League (now playing in the International League).
Description: The Jackson Railroaders were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Class D Kentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League in 1903. They were located in Jackson, Tennessee, and were named for the city's association with the railroad industry, which was an important part of the city's economy; Jackson was also the home of locomotive engineer Casey Jones. The Railroaders played their home games at Lakeview Ball Park.
Description: The Bridgeport Bluefish were enjoyed a 20-year run in the Atlantic League, the top independent pro baseball league in the United States, between 1998 and 2017. The arrival of the Bluefish in 1998 and the concurrent opening of the $19 million Ballpark at Harbor Yard on an abandoned industrial brownfield was a center piece of public/private efforts to revitalize downtown Bridgeport in the late 1990’s.
Description: The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball team, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL, until the last iteration ended playing in 2010. Many baseball teams have been known as the Portland Beavers; the most recent club, which began operating in 2001, recognized the history of all previous incarnations as its own, stating it was established in 1903, the same year the Pacific Coast League was established. The "Beavers" originated in 1906 following a newspaper contest to rename the existing Portland team that had been created in 1901 when a group of Portland businessmen founded the Portland Baseball Club.
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 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. A later team named the Toros played in the independent Golden Baseball League.
Description: A bold and playful summer baseball design featuring a cool banana slugger swinging for the fences with tropical energy. Packed with bright colors, fun fruit vibes, and sporty humor, this graphic is perfect for baseball fans, banana lovers, tropical style enthusiasts, and anyone who loves quirky summer-themed apparel. A fun choice for game day, vacations, casual wear, and standout gift ideas.
Description: The Topeka Owls was the primary name of the minor league baseball franchise based in Topeka, Kansas from 1939–1942 and again from 1946–1954. The Topeka minor league team, starting in the 1860s, had other names over the years as well, including the Capitals, Hawks, Senators, Jayhawks, Kaws, and Populists.
