Defunct Baseball Teams Tapestries
Description: The Seattle Pilots were an American professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington during the 1969 Major League Baseball season. During their single-season existence, the Pilots played their home games at Sick's Stadium and were a member of the West Division of Major League Baseball's American League. On April 1, 1970, the franchise moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and became the Milwaukee Brewers.
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 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 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: Minor league baseball’s future in Asheville, North Carolina was cast into some doubt when the Chicago White Sox shifted their Class AA farm club from the mountains of Western North Carolina to Knoxville, Tennessee following the 1971 season. But Asheville’s Southern League franchise was saved when a restless attorney from Cincinnati partnered up with a group of local investors to bring the Baltimore Orioles to Asheville’s McCormick Field in 1972.
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: 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 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 Denver Zephyrs (formerly the Denver Bears) were a Minor League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They were a Triple-A team that played in the American Association from 1955 to 1962, the Pacific Coast League from 1963 to 1968, and the American Association again from 1969 to 1992. They played their home games at Mile High Stadium. The Zephyrs won the American Association championship on seven occasions: 1957, 1971, 1976, 1977, 1981, 1983, and 1991. They also won the 1957 Junior World Series and the 1991 Triple-A Classic.
Description: The Chicago Whales only existed for three years, as part of the Federal League, a renegade baseball outfit that challenged the American and National leagues from 1913 to 1915, before abruptly going broke. The team is barely a footnote in baseball history, but it played an important role in Chicago history, because it brought the game to the North Side, which is why tens of thousands of Big Ten graduates live there today. The Whales were the first team to play baseball at the corner of Clark and Addison, and the first to win a championship there, in 1915 — 101 years before the Cubs did it. Yet I could find nothing commemorating them at Wrigley Field.
Description: The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 1930. J. L. Wilkinson was the first Caucasian owner at the time of the establishment of the team. In 1930, the Monarchs became the first professional baseball team to use a portable lighting system which was transported from game to game in trucks to play games at night, five years before any major league team did. The Monarchs won ten league championships before integration, and triumphed in the first Negro League World Series in 1924.
Description: The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that also played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as the Louisville Colonels from 1885 to 1891; the latter name derived from the historic title of the Kentucky Colonel. After the AA folded in 1891, the Colonels joined the National League and played through the 1899 season. "Colonels" was also the name of several minor league baseball teams that played in Louisville, Kentucky, in the 20th century.
Description: The New York Cubans were a Negro league baseball team that played during the 1930s and from 1939 to 1950. Despite playing in the Negro leagues, the team occasionally employed white-skinned Hispanic baseball players as well, because Hispanics in general were largely ignored by the major league baseball teams before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball.
Description: The Cleveland Buckeyes were a Negro league baseball team that played from 1942 to 1950 in the Negro American League. The Buckeyes played in two Negro World Series, defeating the Washington Homestead Grays in 1945, and losing to the New York Cubans in 1947. They were based in Cincinnati for their first season and Louisville for their second-to-last season.
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: 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 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 Dunedin Blue Jays are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and are the Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball club. They are located in Dunedin, Florida, and play their home games at TD Ballpark, which opened in 1990 and seats 8,500 people. Two teams named the Blue Jays, both affiliates of Toronto, have played in Dunedin: the original incarnation, from 1978 to 1979, and the current team, established in 1987. Since their inception they have won five division championships, in 1999, 2000, 2003, 2006, and 2017. In 2017 they were named co-champions of the FSL.
Description: The Elm City baseball club, or New Haven Elm Citys in modern nomenclature, were a professional baseball team based in New Haven, Connecticut ("The Elm City"). They existed for one season, in the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players in 1875. The Elm Citys played 47 games during their existence, and had a win–loss record of 7–40. They played their home games at the Howard Avenue Grounds. It is considered a major league team by those who count the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players as a major league.
Description: The Dayton Ducks were a minor league baseball team that played in the Central League in 1932 and then the Middle Atlantic League from 1933–1942. The team took its name from their owner and field manager, former St. Louis Cardinals player Ducky Holmes. They were affiliated with the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1934–35, 1938–1942 and the Chicago White Sox in 1937. The team was briefly known as the Dayton Wings from 1939–1940, when Holmes was not involved with the club.
Description: The Dayton Ducks were a minor league baseball team that played in the Central League in 1932 and then the Middle Atlantic League from 1933–1942. The team took its name from their owner and field manager, former St. Louis Cardinals player Ducky Holmes. They were affiliated with the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1934–35, 1938–1942 and the Chicago White Sox in 1937. The team was briefly known as the Dayton Wings from 1939–1940, when Holmes was not involved with the club.
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: Charleston, West Virginia went without pro baseball for three summers after the Charleston Charlies pulled up stakes for Maine in late 1983. The Charlies were a triple-A club just one step removed from the Major Leagues. But by 1983, Charleston was the smallest Class AAA city in America by population. So it was little surprise that when pro ball returned with the formation of the Charleston Wheelers in the spring of 1987, local hardball fans had to accept a two-level demotion to the Class A South Atlantic League.
Description: The Charleston Royals are a defunct Class A farm club of the Kansas City Royals in the South Atlantic League. Charleston’s College Park hosted a Pittsburgh Pirates minor league farm club for most of the of the 1970’s. After one summer without baseball in 1979, the Royals brought pro ball back to town in the spring of 1980. Charleston developed a handful of future Major League stars during the Royals era that ran from 1980 to 1984.
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: 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 Dubois County Dragons were a southern Indiana independent professional baseball team active from 1996 through 2002. The Dragons made their home in tiny Huntingburg, which a population of just 5,598 souls in the 2000 U.S. Census. The Dragons were founding members of the Heartland League, an obscure independent loop that formed in 1996 with just four ball clubs in Illinois and Indiana. The Dragons remained in this shaky enterprise for its full three-year run until the Heartland League folded following the 1998 season. In 1999, the Dragons moved to the larger and more stable Frontier League where they would play for the next four seasons.
Description: The Boise Pilots were a minor league baseball team in the western United States, based in Boise, Idaho. They played in the Pioneer League for a total of 11 seasons between 1939 and 1954. They were unaffiliated with any major league team, and played at the Class C level. Their home venue was originally named Airway Park in 1939, and in 1952 was renamed Joe Devine Airway Park.
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 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: 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 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 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 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 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).
