Description: The Detroit Stars were an American baseball team in the Negro leagues and played at historic Mack Park. The Stars had winning seasons every year but two, but were never able to secure any championships. Among their best players was Baseball Hall of Famer Turkey Stearnes. Founded in 1919 by Tenny Blount with the help of Rube Foster, owner and manager of the Chicago American Giants, the Detroit Stars immediately established themselves as one of the most powerful teams in the West.
Description: The Natural is a 1952 novel about baseball by Bernard Malamud, and is his debut novel. The story follows Roy Hobbs, a baseball prodigy whose career is sidetracked after being shot by a woman whose motivation remains mysterious. The story mostly concerns his attempts to return to baseball later in life, when he plays for the fictional New York Knights with his self-made bat "Wonderboy".
Description: Minor league baseball began in Boise in 1904 when the Boise Fruit Pickers played as members of the Pacific National League. In 1905, the Boise Infants continued play in the Pacific National League. Boise fielded two teams in 1909, as Boise played as members of the Montana State League, and the Boise Irrigators were members of the Inter-Mountain League. The Boise Irrigators later played in the Union Association (1911, 1914) and Western Tri-State League (1912–1913).
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: Pittsburgh Allegheny was the name of the first professional baseball club to represent Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team was an unrelated forerunner to the American Association's Pittsburgh Alleghenies that were established in 1882, which continue today as the Pittsburgh Pirates. Following the American Civil War, the leading baseball clubs in Pittsburgh were the "Enterprise", "Olympic", and "Xantha" teams. They played at Union Park, was located in the city of Allegheny, before it became annexed into Pittsburgh in 1907. On February 2, 1876, Pittsburgh lost its bid for a franchise in the newly established National League. Twenty days later, several local organizers formed the Allegheny Base Ball Club.
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 Hartfords (more commonly called the Hartford Dark Blues because of their uniform color) were a 19th-century baseball team. The team was based in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1874, baseball in Hartford, CT was being played in a fever pitch. As talk of forming a national professional league was going on, Morgan Bulkeley, Gershon Hubbell and Middletown native Ben Douglas Jr. leased land from Elizabeth Colt to build a base ball field and stadium with a covered grandstand, and set about forming a team, The Hartfords.
Description: The Union Association was a Class D level Minor league baseball circuit that operated from 1911 through 1914, with franchises based in Idaho, Montana and Utah. It was unrelated to the like-named 1884 major league. Beginning play in 1914, the Union Association was classified as a Class D league, based in the Rocky Mountains of the Western United States. The 1911 charter members were the Great Falls Electrics, Salt Lake City Skyscrapers, Butte Miners, Boise Irrigators, Helena Senators and Missoula.
Description: The Mutual Base Ball Club of New York was a leading American baseball club almost throughout its 20-year history. It was established during 1857, the year of the first baseball convention, just too late to be a founding member of the National Association of Base Ball Players. It was a charter member of both the first professional league in 1871 and the National League in 1876.
Description: Established in 1860 as the Union Base Ball Club Lansingburgh, located in neighboring Lansingburgh, New York, the Haymakers participated in the first professional pennant race of 1869 and joined the first professional league, the 1871 National Association of Professional Base Ball Players. By 1868 the "Troy Haymakers" nickname for Union of Lansingburgh was common, although the team was sometimes called the Trojans.
Description: The Middletown Mansfields were an early baseball team in Middletown, Connecticut that existed from 1866 to 1872. In the summer of 1866, a ballclub was established at Middletown's Douglas Pump Company by the factory owner's son, sixteen-year-old Ben Douglas Jr. Douglas named the team after his great-uncle General Joseph Mansfield, a Middletown native and Civil War hero. That year, they lost their first match to the Lincoln club of New Britain by a score of 50-1, but steadily improved thereafter; in 1869, Mansfield put up a 8-2 record, all against other Connecticut clubs.
Description: The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Braves played from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During its 82–year stay in Massachusetts, the franchise was known by various nicknames, including the Red Stockings, Red Caps, Rustlers, Bees, and "Braves". While in Boston the team won 10 National League pennants, and a World Series championship in 1914 that came after a season in which the Braves were in last place as late as July 15—a turnaround that led to the nickname "Miracle Braves".
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 Cincinnati Stars were a Major League Baseball team that played in the National League for the 1880 season and were managed by John Clapp. The club finished their only season in 8th place with a record of 21–59. Following the 1880 campaign, the Stars were dropped from the NL after ownership refused to sign a league pledge that banned alcohol in league parks. The pledge also forbade clubs from renting their parks out on Sundays. Ownership begrudgingly did not contest the legality of their expulsion and the Stars were replaced with the Detroit Wolverines. Major League Baseball returned to Cincinnati in 1882 when the modern Reds were introduced.
Description: The Albany Rollers were a minor league baseball team based in Albany, Oregon. In 1904, the Rollers became members of the Class D level Oregon State League during the season, hosting home games at the Albany Base Ball Park. The Albany Rollers came into existence when the Vancouver Soldiers were forced to relocate to Albany after a territory dispute with the Pacific Coast League. The "Rollers" moniker corresponds to the timber industry, which was a strong local industry in the era.
Description: The Vincennes Velvets was the final moniker of the minor league baseball teams based in Vincennes, Indiana between 1903 and 1952. From 1950 to 1952, the Velvets were members of the Class D level Mississippi–Ohio Valley League, which evolved to become today's Midwest League. Previous teams in Vincennes played as members of the Kentucky-Illinois-Tennessee League (1903–1906, 1910–1911, 1913) and Eastern Illinois League (1908). The 1950 Vincennes Velvets were a minor league affiliate of the St. Louis Browns.
Description: The Lexington Reds were a minor league baseball team based in Lexington, Kentucky. From 1922 to 1924, Lexington teams played exclusively as members of the Class D level Blue Grass League. After two seasons of playing as the "Reds," the 1924 Lexington became known as the "Studebakers" after the team owner reached an agreement with a local car dealership. Lexington hosted minor league home games at Stivers Park. The minor league Lexington Reds evolved from the semi-professional "Lexington Reds," which had future Commissioner of Baseball leader Happy Chandler and Baseball Hall of Fame member Earle Combs as teammates.
Description: The Indianapolis Blues were a baseball team in the National League for one season (1878), in which they finished fifth in the six-team league with a 24–36 record. They were managed by outfielder/first baseman/catcher John Clapp, and played their home games at South Street Park. They had been brought into the League from the League Alliance following their 1877 season. Their top-hitting regular was right fielder Orator Shafer, who batted .338 with a slugging percentage of .455. Their most successful pitcher was The Only Nolan (13–22, 2.57), but had two other starters with better ERAs: Jim McCormick (5–8, 1.69) and Tom Healey (6–4, 2.22).
Description: The Brooklyn Ward's Wonders were a baseball team who played in the Players' League in 1890. The team's nickname derived from its superstar shortstop, hall of famer John Montgomery Ward. The team finished with a 76–56 record, finishing in second place. Other notable players for Brooklyn that year were Dave Orr, Lou Bierbauer, George Van Haltren, and Gus Weyhing. The team folded after the season along with the entire league. The team played its home games at Eastern 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 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: After winning the American Association league championship in 1889, the Brooklyn club (very occasionally now nicknamed the Bridegrooms or Grooms, for six players having wed during the 1888 season) moved to the competing older National League (1876) and won the 1890 NL Championship, being the only Major League team to win consecutive championships in both professional "base ball" leagues.
Description: The Acid Iron Earths were a minor league baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama. In 1886, the uniquely named "Acid Iron Earths" played as members of the independent Gulf League, winning the league championship in the league's only season of play. The team played home games at Frascati Park, which contained the first professional baseball park in Mobile. The "Acid Iron Earths" team name corresponds to the eras locally produced "Acid Iron Earth" medicinal tonic. The team was owned by Charles Mohr, who had a patent on iron tablets, who's local company manufactured the Acid Iron Earth tonic. The Acid Iron Earths are believed to be the first professional team to travel to a foreign country, playing exhibition games in Cuba.
Description: The Ada Herefords was a minor league baseball team based in Ada, Oklahoma. From 1947 to 1954, the Herefords played exclusively as a member of the Class D level Sooner State League, winning the league pennant in 1950. The Herefords were a minor league affiliate of the St. Louis Browns from 1947 to 1953 and remained an affiliate when St. Louis relocated to become the Baltimore Orioles in 1954. Ada Hosted minor league home games at Hereford Park.
Description: The Shawnee Hawks were a minor league baseball team that played in the Sooner State League. The team began as an unaffiliated team based in Duncan, Oklahoma in 1947. The original team was named the Duncan Cementers. After two seasons, the team name was changed to the Duncan Uttmen in 1949 and then in 1950 the team moved to Shawnee, Oklahoma and became the Hawks. They continued to operate until the Sooner State League folded after the 1957 season. The Hawks were affiliated with the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1953–1957.
Description: The Shawnee Hawks were a minor league baseball team that played in the Sooner State League. The team began as an unaffiliated team based in Duncan, Oklahoma in 1947. The original team was named the Duncan Cementers. After two seasons, the team name was changed to the Duncan Uttmen in 1949 and then in 1950 the team moved to Shawnee, Oklahoma and became the Hawks. They continued to operate until the Sooner State League folded after the 1957 season. The Hawks were affiliated with the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1953–1957.
Description: The Wilmington Quicksteps (also known as the Quickstep Club of Wilmington) were an 1884 late-season replacement baseball team in the Union Association. They finished with a 2–16 record and were managed by Joe Simmons. The team played their home games in Union Street Park in Wilmington, Delaware. The ballpark was located on the southwest corner of Union Street and Front Street (now Lancaster Avenue), which at the time was just outside the city limits. The ballpark's life extended well beyond 1884, hosting minor league games until the 1910s.
Description: Minor league baseball began in Vancouver, Washington with the 1904 Vancouver Soldiers, who began play as charter members of the four–team Class D level Oregon State League, before the franchise was forced to relocate during the season. The Oregon State League began play, with Vancouver joining the teams from Eugene, Oregon (Eugene Blues), Roseburg, Oregon (Roseburg Shamrocks) and Salem, Oregon (Salem Raglans) in the four–team league. Some sources erroneously have the Vancouver Soldiers franchise based in Vancouver, Canada.
Description: The Camden Ouachitas were a minor league baseball team based in Camden, Arkansas in 1906. Preceded by the 1894 Camden Yellow Hammers, the Camden teams played as members of the Class D level Arkansas State League in 1894 and Arkansas-Texas League in 1906. Camden hosted home minor league games at Recreation Park.
Description: The El Centro Imperials was an independent professional baseball team based out of El Centro, California. The team started play in 1947 in the Sunset League and was folded in 1952. Another team, the Imperial Valley Brahmas played in El Centro in 1995 as part of the Golden State League and the Imperials were revived on April 3, 2009, as one of the four charter members of the new Arizona Summer League, an instructional summer professional baseball league affiliated with the Golden Baseball League. That version of the team was managed by former Los Angeles Dodgers player Mike Marshall, but lasted just the one season.
Description: The Lincoln Links were an American minor league baseball franchise that represented Lincoln, Nebraska, for 18 seasons over a 23-year period (1917–39) during the 20th century. Lincoln was first represented in organized baseball in 1886 as the Tree Planters in the reorganized original Western League. Lincoln's 19th-century teams played in various leagues between 1886 and 1895. In 1906, Lincoln joined the Class A Western League as the Ducklings (1906), Treeplanters (1907), Railsplitters (1908–13) and Tigers (1914–16).
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.
