The Hagerstown Owls were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland , United States . The team played in the Inter-State League (1941–1952) and the Piedmont League (1953–1955). Their home games were played in Municipal Stadium .
86-710: After the departure of the Hagerstown Hubs in 1931, there was no professional baseball in Hagerstown. The Inter-State League began play in 1939 as a class C league with teams in Trenton, New Jersey and Sunbury, Hazleton and Allentown , Pennsylvania. The league grew to class B status with the addition of four additional teams from Wilmington, Delaware and Reading , Harrisburg and York , Pennsylvania. Professional baseball returned to Hagerstown in 1941 when Oren E. Sterling moved his Sunbury Indians franchise to town and became
172-636: A Detroit Tigers affiliate. The team was named the Owls for Oren, Win, Luck and Sterling. The Owls did well in their first year, posting a record of 75-48 and finishing 5.5 games behind the first place Harrisburg Senators in 1941. Emil Brinsky tied for the league runs batted in (RBI) title with 104. Brinsky also led the team with 7 home runs . Batters with a .300 plus batting average for Hagerstown were Brinsky (.318), future major leaguer Turkey Tyson (.316), Roy Kennedy (.315) and future major leaguer Ferrell Anderson (.304). The dominant pitcher for Hagerstown
258-735: A Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland , United States. The team played predominantly in the Blue Ridge League (1915–1930) and briefly in the Middle Atlantic League (1931). Their home games were in Willow Lane Park from 1915 to 1929 and Municipal Stadium during the 1930 and 1931 seasons. A semiprofessional league, the Tri-City League, had teams in Hagerstown, Frederick and Martinsburg in 1914. In 1915,
344-745: A Minor League Baseball team who play in the Eastern League , and are the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals . The team is based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania , and play their home games at FNB Field on City Island , which opened in 1987 and has a seating capacity of 6,187. The "Senators" nickname refers to the host city being the state's capital and thus home of the Pennsylvania legislature. The team colors are red, navy blue, gold, and white,
430-407: A .325 batting average and 12 home runs. Several former and future major leaguers were on the roster this season. In addition to player-managers Rambert, Crumling and Culp, the other players were Boots Poffenberger , Cal Ermer , Hal Keller , Barney Schultz and Babe Birrer . The nadir of this era of Hagerstown minor league baseball came in 1949. The Detroit Tigers ended their affiliation with
516-464: A .338 batting average, leading the team in both categories. Davidson was selected as the Owls' Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1955, repeating from the previous year. Davidson was the only player to have repeated as team MVP. Bobby Lee Brown's 15 wins led the team, as did his 192 innings pitched and 3.33 ERA. Hagerstown finished in sixth place, 16 games behind the first place Newport News Dodgers. Even though he hit only .256 in 1955, another notable player
602-522: A 23-inning marathon against the York White Roses, losing by a 3-2 score. The game stands as the longest in Inter-State League history as well as the longest at Municipal Stadium . The game was originally part of a scheduled double header; for obvious reasons the second game was postponed. The 1950 season brought many changes. Gene Raney purchased the team from Oren Sterling. Raney affiliated
688-537: A 3.69 ERA, while Stratton had a 14-7 record with a 3.62 ERA. The Owls qualified for the playoffs, playing in the best of seven game format that had been adopted by the Inter-State League in 1944. In a close series, Wilmington defeated Hagerstown 4 games to 3. For the 1947 season, the Hubs re-affiliated with the Detroit Tigers. Third baseman Richard Dresser's .317 batting average and overall play were good enough to earn him
774-525: A 60-39 record, in a tie with the Blue Sox. However, the Blue Sox's 59-38 record resulted in a slightly higher winning percentage (.608) as compared to Hagerstown's .606 percentage, so Martinsburg was declared the league champion. Strickler hit 12 home runs and had a .347 batting average, while George Thomas hit 12 home runs with a .348 batting average. Brown led the staff with 14 wins. Hagerstown returned to championship form in 1925. Pitcher Joe Zubris tied for
860-431: A 65-73 record, finishing 11.5 games behind the leader Allentown Cardinals . For the first time since the club's inception, the Owls did not reach the postseason. Hank Nowak led the team with 10 home runs, while having a .341 batting average. Joe Slotter won 14 games, but set the Inter-State League record with 19 wild pitches during the season. Duke Brett 's 2.94 ERA was the only one below 4.00. The Owls affiliated with
946-509: A 65-74 record, missing the playoffs by 5 games. The last season for the Packets and the Piedmont League came in 1955. In response to declining attendance, the Packets offered 1955 season tickets to 70 home games for ten dollars plus one dollar tax. Miff Davidson led the Piedmont League in its final season with 103 runs scored and 164 hits. Davidson also pounded 30 home runs while accumulating
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#17328443390631032-461: A batting average of .271 and scored a league leading 71 runs for Hagerstown. The pitching staff was led by Chalkey McCleary, who led the Blue Ridge League with a .667 winning percentage . On June 28, Wick Winslow threw a no-hitter against the Chambersburg Maroons , with Hagerstown winning by a 4-0 score. Winslow's name was actually Walter Warwick; however, he changed his name to skirt
1118-592: A batting average of .408 and 178 hits. Later in the year he made his debut with the Washington Senators . The Hubs team name lives in the North Hagerstown High School athletic teams. North Hagerstown High School has existed since 1956. Municipal Stadium became the home field of the Hagerstown Owls when Oren Sterling relocated his Sunbury Indians to Hagerstown in 1941. This team played in
1204-401: A full 30 games behind the leading team Wilmington. Attendance suffered as a result, with only 49,238 fans coming through the gate. There were three different player-managers during this season: Pep Rambert , Gene Crumling and Benny Culp . Bill Stratton's 13-11 record led the pitching staff, but he had a horrendous 5.03 ERA. Left-handed batter George D'addario was the offensive leader with
1290-440: A great deal of much needed revenue for both leagues. Pitching carried Hagerstown to high levels again in 1926. Harry Fishbaugh topped the league with 17 wins. Phil Dolan's .833 winning percentage placed him at the top of the league list as well. One of the few blemishes in the season was a no-hitter thrown against Hagerstown by Chuck Warden of Waynesboro on August 3, with Waynesboro winning 3-0. In order to encourage attendance,
1376-467: A high for all of professional baseball in 1943. Maier also led the club with a .363 batting average. Maier would go on to be the starting third baseman for the World Series champion Detroit Tigers in 1945. Thomas Davis provided power with 16 home runs. Pitcher Charles Miller tied for the league lead with 20 wins and set the league record for innings pitched (260). Norman Shope, who split time between
1462-521: A noteworthy year as a pitcher, winning 15 games with an ERA of 3.21. Both Levan and Bennett were selected to the Inter-State League End of Season All-Star Team for 1950. History was made on June 24 in Hagerstown with the first minor league appearance of future Hall of Famer Willie Mays , who was playing for the Trenton Giants . Appearing in the post-season for the first time since 1946,
1548-584: A record of 27-22, Cambria moved the team to Parkersburg, West Virginia on June 28, becoming the Parkersburg Parkers . While in Parkersburg, the team posted a record of 9-5 before moving once again on July 12 to Youngstown, Ohio to become the Youngstown Tubers . Despite the change in location and classification, Babe Phelps had another spectacular season, leading the 1932 Middle Atlantic League with
1634-441: A sport on the 1947 Inter-State League end of season All-Star team. George D'addario hit 16 home runs. Bill Stratton posted another good year with a 13-9 record. Eddie Owcar had a 13-12 record, while Edward Burnstead led the staff with a 3.82 ERA. Although the Owls did not make the post-season, 65,177 fans attended the Owls home games . The Owls' fortunes did not improve in 1948, with the Owls again finishing in next to last place,
1720-548: A stock certificate issued on March 1, 1884). According to another source, in 1901, the first baseball club in Harrisburg was created. In 1912, Harrisburg won the first of three Tri-State Association championships in a row. In 1915, an affiliated International League team moved from Newark, New Jersey , to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The club lasted one year before moving to the New York State League and disbanding. This left
1806-408: A team in 1915 because of the lack of a playing field. Local businessman Henry E. Bester offered land near downtown for construction of a facility (the site is where Bester Elementary School is now located). Once play began Monk Walter posted a .269 batting average while leading the team with 74 hits. Former major leaguer Buck Hooker had a .280 batting average. The leader in innings pitched for
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#17328443390631892-432: A tradition by recognizing great players from their history in a unique way, The One & Only World-Famous, Life Size Bobblehead Hall of Fame. These enshrined Senators' legends will each receive their own life-size bobblehead. The life-size bobbleheads will be on permanent display at FNB Field with each bobblehead holding a commemorative plaque. The Senators plan to enshrine players yearly. Every Harrisburg Senators ballgame
1978-500: Is aired on 1460 the Ticket (AM 1460 WTKT – Clear Channel). Terry Byrom has been the voice of the Senators since 2005. The games are also streamed on the team's website. Some games are also aired on the local TV station, Comcast Network , and occasionally has games aired on MASN . The first radio play-by-play broadcaster for the Senators was Dan Kamal, who did the broadcasts from 1987 until
2064-711: The Carolina League , winning the league championship in its inaugural season. The affiliation between a Washington major league franchise and a Hagerstown minor league franchise that ended in 1955 with the Packets' dissolution was re-established in 2007 when the Hagerstown Suns began an affiliation with the Washington Nationals . Hagerstown players from this era who were major leaguers are listed below. Players in bold were Major League All Stars. Hagerstown holds several Interstate League season individual season records. Hagerstown Hubs The Hagerstown Hubs were
2150-608: The Chicago Cubs in 1945. An even worse year was had by the Owls as they finished last, 25.5 games behind Lancaster. William Baskin was the leader of the pitching staff, with a 12-12 record and a 4.38 ERA. Frederick Danek it 7 home runs to lead the team. Charles Fitzgerald hit .370 in 63 games, while Tony Mattarazzo hit .315 in 133 games. Hank Nowak returned to the Owls with a league record-tying 22 game hitting streak. The Hubs returned to winning form in 1946, finishing in 3rd place 10.5 games behind league leader Wilmington. The end of
2236-787: The Cleveland Indians was created, but was not as successful. The Interstate League disbanded this Harrisburg team in 1952, and any form of professional baseball was not played in the city for the next 35 years. The modern Harrisburg Senators originated in the New England states. First established in 1976 as an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers , the Berkshire Brewers played one season in Pittsfield, Massachusetts . After that season, they moved to Holyoke, Massachusetts , where they took
2322-484: The Washington Senators and named themselves the Packets for the 1954 season. The name was a reference to the Fairchild C-82 Packet military transport aircraft built in Hagerstown during the 1940s. Al Bennett had an outstanding season, leading the Piedmont League with an ERA of 2.35 and 162 strikeouts. Bennett was selected to the 1954 Piedmont League End of Season All-Star Team. Antonio Garcia tied Bennett for
2408-525: The "H" and streaking baseball logo, with the "H" in the same script as the Nationals' pretzel-shaped "W." The white home jerseys include red and navy blue trim around the collar and sleeves with the "Senators" wordmark in red with metallic gold bevels and navy blue outline. The grey away jersey has navy blue and red trim around the collar and sleeves, with the "Harrisburg" wordmark in navy blue with metallic gold bevels and red outline. Both wordmarks are identical to
2494-652: The 1952 Inter-State League End of Season All-Star Team. The Braves owned a 6-game lead over the Allentown Cardinals at the end of the regular season. Hagerstown swept the York White Roses 4 games to 0 in the first round of the playoffs. In the championship series, Hagerstown triumphed over the Lancaster Red Roses 4 games to 2. After the collapse of the Inter-State League, the Hagerstown Braves and
2580-627: The 1953 Piedmont League End of Season All-Star Team. 1953 would be the last season that Dutch Dorman would be involved in managing the team. During each of his six seasons with the team, Hagerstown qualified for the playoffs. The Braves finished the regular season in second place 2.5 games behind the Norfolk Tars . In the first round of the playoffs, the Newport News Dodgers swept the Braves 4 games to none. Hagerstown re-affiliated themselves with
2666-497: The Blue Ridge League standings. The Hagerstown teams would finish last in the next two years as well. The only player with more than 100 hits in 1921 was John Layne, who had a .302 batting average in 95 games. Wagner led the team with 11 home runs. Earl Berry led the team with 15 wins and 232.2 innings pitched. D. Lee Staley became the president of the club in 1922. The team returned to its previous Terrier nickname, but its fortunes did not change. The team finished 26 games behind
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2752-423: The Blue Ridge League switched to a split season format in 1926, where the winner of the first half of the season would play the winner of the second half of the season. The Hubs almost became a spoiler to this format. The Hubs won the first half of the season with an impressive 38-13 record. The Hubs narrowly missed winning the second half as well, finishing only 0.5 games behind second half winner Frederick . In
2838-522: The Blue Ridge League was dissolved because of financial problems. Cambria was able to affiliate the Hubs with the class C Middle Atlantic League. In this league were the Cumberland Colts, who had previously participated in the Blue Ridge League, as well as the Charleroi Governors who had played Hagerstown in the 1929 Tri-State series. The Hubs' days in Hagerstown were numbered. After posting
2924-425: The Braves finished the regular season in first place. Two Hagerstown hitters led the league in batting average (Billy Smith, .373) and RBIs (Pete Perini, 91). Perini's 14 home runs was topped by Louis Tufano's 17. Anderson Bush returned to Hagerstown in 1951 after a decade's absence and had another spectacular season. With a record of 22-3, he set the league record of an .880 winning percentage. Even though Bush had
3010-607: The Braves won the first round of the playoffs, defeating the Giants 3 games to 1. In the championship series the Braves were defeated by the Wilmington Blue Rocks 4 games to 1. Attendance at all minor league games began to drop in as major league baseball was televised coast to coast and in color for the first time in 1951. Also, the Korean War began to impact Americans' lives. The Braves' attendance fell to 67,452, even though
3096-455: The Champs. The team also had a new leader, Richard Hartle, who took over as club president for the 1920 season and turned a $ 6,000 profit for the season. Activities on the field were just as profitable as Hagerstown won its second Blue Ridge League title. Two dominant pitchers led the way: Charles Dye and Alan Clarke. Dye led the league in wins (18) and winning percentage (.720), while Clarke led
3182-568: The Inter-State League and Piedmont League through the 1955 season. In 1981, Lou Eliopulos purchased the Rocky Mount Pines team and moved them to Hagerstown to become the Hagerstown Suns . Municipal Stadium is still the Suns home field. The Middle Atlantic League suspended operations after the 1931 season. The Youngstown Tubers moved to the class B Central League for the 1932 season and became
3268-409: The Inter-State League shrinking to 6 teams. Tyson led the team with a .291 batting average. Earl Rapp had a team leading 8 home runs. Pitcher Walter Wilson had a record of 16-8 and an ERA of 2.32 to lead the Owls. The most interesting game of the season occurred on August 24. Trenton Packers pitcher Jack Casey pitched a no-hitter against Hagerstown, but lost the game 3-2. Hagerstown finished
3354-476: The Nationals brand. In 2007, the Senators added a unique logo to their brand, incorporating the prevalent and much reviled mayfly into the "H." Because of FNB Field's location on City Island in the Susquehanna River , thousands of mayflies are attracted to the ballpark's bright lights, obscuring their view. The city of Harrisburg paid $ 6.7 million in 1995 to acquire the team from the previous owners of
3440-538: The Orioles. FNB Field received a $ 32 million renovation ($ 19.1 million in state funding) in two stages. Originally the renovation was to begin in 2005; however, delays in state funding for the project were postponed until 2008, meaning the improvements were not implemented for Senators fans until the 2009 season, and the second stage was completed before the 2010 season. In 2016, the Harrisburg Senators started
3526-429: The Owls and the York White Roses , led the league with a 2.65 ERA. Even though Hagerstown won more games in 1943 than 1942, they missed repeating as the regular season leader in 1943, finishing 1 game behind the Lancaster Red Roses . The Owls still qualified for the postseason but were eliminated in the first round by York 3 games to 1. The Owls slumped to fifth place in the six team league in 1944. They finished with
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3612-593: The Pittsburgh Pirates to the Montreal Expos , an affiliation continuing through that team's move to Washington, D.C., where they continued as the Washington Nationals . The first several years of affiliation with Montreal brought consecutive championships from 1996 to 1998. In 1999, the Senators played the Norwich Navigators for a shot at their record-setting fourth consecutive Eastern League championship. In
3698-569: The Senators were organized into the Double-A Northeast. In 2022, the Double-A Northeast became known as the Eastern League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization. The official colors of the Harrisburg Senators are red, navy blue, metallic gold, and white. The home and away uniforms resemble those of the Washington Nationals , with a red cap for home games and navy blue for away. Both caps include
3784-538: The South Atlantic League but had resigned to pursue his business interests in Hagerstown. Boyer owned a string of theater houses in the region which gave him an understanding of how to provide a comfortable, inviting experience for his patrons. When the Blue Ridge league formed, Boyer not only owned the Hagerstown entry, but became president of the Blue Ridge League as well. However, Hagerstown almost did not have
3870-469: The Tri-City League organizers added the cities of Chambersburg , Hanover and Gettysburg and petitioned the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, the governing body of Minor League Baseball , for permission to establish a class D (lowest level) professional league, the Blue Ridge League. The Hagerstown Blues were owned by Charles W. Boyer. Boyer was previously the president of
3956-678: The York White Roses joined the Piedmont League for the 1953 season (two other former Inter-State League teams, the Lancaster Red Roses and the Sunbury Redlegs, would join the Piedmont League in 1954 and 1955, respectively). James Zinn and Joe Blake collected 119 and 117 hits respectively to lead the team, while Theodore Laguna collected 9 home runs. Thomas Horton had the lowest ERA at 2.12, while Jack Larson won 13 games. Third baseman Blake, catcher Laguna and pitcher Horton were named to
4042-710: The Youngstown Buckeyes. Babe Phelps led the Central League during the 1932 season in the categories of batting average (.372), hits (199) and home runs (26). The Central League also suspended operations after the 1932 season, along with the Youngstown team. Hagerstown players from this era who were major leaguers are listed below. A player in bold was a Major League Baseball All-Star. Hagerstown holds several Blue Ridge League individual season records. Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are
4128-444: The bottom of the ninth inning of game 5, the Senators trailed by 3 runs, but with 2 outs, the bases loaded, and a full count Milton Bradley hit a walk-off grand slam to right center field to win the fourth-straight championship for the Senators, an Eastern League first. In 2003, Sueng Song pitched the first no-hitter in modern Senators history. In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021,
4214-479: The champion Blue Sox, whose exploits were powered by George Rawlings and future Hall of Fame member Hack Wilson . Larry Steinbach led the Terriers with a .332 batting average and 6 home runs. Holmes Diehl returned with a noteworthy season of 6 home runs and a .323 batting average. Billy Russell led all Terriers with 8 home runs. 1924 was a turnaround year for the newly named Hagerstown Hubs. The team finished with
4300-517: The city without professional baseball for seven years. In 1924, an incarnation of the Senators joined the newly formed New York–Penn League which was eventually renamed the Eastern League . Initially, the Senators and most of the other New York–Penn League teams were not affiliated with a Major League Baseball team. In 1927, the Senators started a five-year campaign with three Eastern league championships , winning titles in 1927, 1928, and 1931. The Senators' reign ended in 1936, when flood waters from
4386-459: The entire Blue Ridge League with a .385 batting average and 125 hits. In this dead-ball era , no player hit more than one home run during the season. The pitching staff was led by Earl Howard. Howard's 25 wins set a league mark, and his .714 winning percentage was a high for league in 1917, as was his 163 strikeouts . World War I took its toll on the Terriers and the Blue Ridge League in 1918. The league disbanded on June 16. H.L. Hickey led
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#17328443390634472-425: The first place team Martinsburg Blue Sox. Tom Day had a .299 batting average in 90 games and 301 at bats for the team. Holmes Diehl led the team in home runs with 7. Ewing Mahan was the best pitcher with a 10-14 record in 183 innings pitched. The Terriers won 11 more games in 1923 as compared to 1922, but it did nothing to improve their place in the standings. The Terriers finished even further behind (27 games)
4558-535: The franchise, who were planning to move the team to a new taxpayer-financed ballpark in Springfield, Massachusetts . Instead of appeasing the desires of the ownership group with a new stadium, Harrisburg Mayor Stephen Reed led the city of Harrisburg to purchase the team instead. The previous owners had bought the team only six months earlier for just $ 4.1 million. Citing the ballpark as the major link in his downtown revitalization project, when asked how he could afford
4644-769: The hangups with the agreement was that a buyer for the Double-A Senators franchise had to be found. The Ottawa franchise moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania , as the Triple-A team for the Philadelphia Phillies , renamed as the Lehigh Valley IronPigs . The Baltimore Orioles also signed a player development deal with the Norfolk Tides of the International League. The Tides became be the Triple-A affiliate of
4730-466: The hefty price tag, Mayor Reed responded by asking, "How could we not?" For a time, the Senators remained one of the only sports franchises in the United States to be completely owned by the community in which it was based. In 2006, the city put the team up for sale to combat a major budget deficit. Mayor Reed stipulated that the new owner must keep the team in Harrisburg for at least 29 years. The team
4816-660: The inaugural Blue Ridge League championship series, the Hubs defeated the Frederick Hustlers 3 games to 1. Hagerstown returned to the Five State championship to play the champion of the Eastern Shore League, the Crisfield Crabbers. Once again, the Hubs were triumphant in the inter-league series, winning 4 games to 2. The Hubs could not sustain the performance of the previous two seasons and fell to last place in
4902-519: The last for the Inter-State League . However, it was the best season for the Braves as they won the championship. Robert Jaderland led the league with 113 runs scored, while Clarence Riddle had a league-topping 93 RBIs. Riddle also led the team with 14 home runs. Pitcher Bob Giggie tied for the league lead in wins with 18, while leading the Hagerstown staff with a 2.82 ERA. First baseman Riddle, pitcher Giggie and outfielder Joseph Christian made
4988-432: The league in 1927. George Kline and Harry Fisher were the team leaders in wins with only 7 wins each. Fisher was also the team leader with 23 games pitched. In 1928, Raynor Lehr, leader of a successful vaudeville and acting troupe, purchased the Hagerstown franchise and assumed its $ 3,000 debt. The team also had three different managers during this season: George Purtell, Lester Bangs and Joel Shelton. George Thomas led
5074-402: The league in runs scored with 15 and Vic Keen led the league in strikeouts with 33 during the truncated season. Late in 1918, Colonel J.C. Roulette died during the worldwide influenza pandemic . The aftermath of the war and pandemic meant that the Blue Ridge League was incapable of operating during 1919. The Blue Ridge League returned in 1920. The Hagerstown team returned with a new name,
5160-479: The league in strikeouts (150). Player-manager and former major leaguer Mike Mowrey had a .333 batting average in 77 games. The power was provided by Tom Day, who hit 11 home runs. On May 21, Hall of Fame pitcher Lefty Grove of Martinsburg made his minor league debut against the visiting Hagerstown team, losing 4-2. On June 11, Grove won his first minor league game, also against Hagerstown. The Champs did not live up to their nickname in 1921, finishing last in
5246-529: The league lead with 20 wins. His 163 strikeouts also led the league. Other league leaders included George Scheiminant (runs scored, 93) and George Thomas (home runs, 19). As the Blue Ridge League champion, the Hubs had the opportunity to play the champion of the class D Eastern Shore League in the Five State championship, so called because there were teams from Maryland , Delaware , Pennsylvania , West Virginia and Virginia (the Blue Ridge League having teams from Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia, while
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#17328443390635332-547: The league leaders in hits , home runs and batting average. Playing for the Hubs in his last season at the age of 39, he had a .321 batting average with 11 home runs. Under Mickey Keliher , the Hubs won the first half season. The Hubs slipped badly in the second half, finishing in last place. Hagerstown recovered in the Blue Ridge League championship series, winning 4 games to 2 over Martinsburg. The Eastern Shore League had folded in 1928. However, in August of that year and agreement
5418-441: The league with 13 home runs. He also had a .341 batting average. The Hubs were only marginally better in 1928, finishing 5th in both halves of the season. In 1929, the team was again sold, this time to Baltimore businessman (and later major league baseball scout) Joe Cambria for $ 2,500. Cambria was a shrewd businessman. One of the innovations introduced by Cambria was night baseball, five years before major league baseball did
5504-486: The league's limit on players with higher level experience. Later in the season on August 25, Earl Howard threw a no-hitter against the Gettysburg Ponies , winning by an identical 4-0 score. Overall, the team also enjoyed its first winning record. Off the field, significant management changes occurred. Boyer resigned as president of the Blue Ridge League to alleviate the concerns of other owners over favoritism. He
5590-402: The mid-1980s, Harrisburg Mayor Stephen Reed initiated a revitalization plan that included a ballpark for a new Minor League Baseball team in the city . The Nashua Pirates relocated to Harrisburg and was rechristened the Senators on December 9 , 1986. Like the original Senators, success was quick, winning the Eastern League championship in its first season. In 1991, affiliation shifted from
5676-1123: The mid-1990s. Kamal at the time was also the radio voice of the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League . He later was a TV analyst and studio host for the Atlanta Thrashers and then the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League . Pitchers Catchers Infielders Outfielders Manager Coaches [REDACTED] 7-day injured list * On Washington Nationals 40-man roster ~ Development list # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list § Suspended list † Temporarily inactive list Roster updated November 19, 2024 Transactions → More rosters: MiLB • Eastern League → Washington Nationals minor league players – in GB
5762-436: The most team wins with 14. Wayne Crawford had a .331 batting average in 139 games, while Crawford "Miff" Davidson slugged 23 home runs to lead the Packets. The youngest player on the team was 19-year-old pitcher Pedro Ramos . He only had a 4-2 record in 13 appearances for Hagerstown. However, he would go to the major leagues in 1955 and eventually become a major league all-star in 1959. The Packets finished in fifth place with
5848-403: The nickname the Millers . In 1981, the franchise changed affiliations, moving from the Brewers to the California Angels . After the 1982 season, the team relocated to Nashua, New Hampshire , as the Nashua Angels . After the 1983 season, the team's affiliation changed again, this time to the Pittsburgh Pirates . The team changed its name then to the Nashua Pirates . At the same time, during
5934-458: The opposing Eastern Shore League had teams from Maryland, Delaware and Virginia). The Five State championship was the idea of C. Edward Spearow, who was the sports editor of the Baltimore Sun . Negotiations began in 1921 with the first series being played in 1922. Hagerstown played the Eastern Shore League champion Cambridge Canners in the 1925 series. The Hubs won the tightly contested series 4 games to 3. The Five State Championship generated
6020-448: The regular season in first place, 0.5 games ahead of the Wilmington Blue Rocks . Hagerstown defeated the Harrisburg Senators 3 games to 1 in the first round of the playoffs. However, in the league championship series, Wilmington captured the title by defeating Hagerstown 4 games to 1. 1943 was a spectacular year for returning player Bob Maier . He set an Interstate League single season record with 52 doubles. The 52 doubles were also
6106-458: The same of the parent club, the Washington Nationals. Harrisburg has won nine Eastern League titles and is the first team in league history to win four titles in a row: 1987, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999. The 1993 Senators were recognized as one of the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time . The city of Harrisburg has a long history of professional baseball. The Harrisburg Base Ball Association existed as long ago as 1884 (according to
6192-411: The same. The first night game turned out between 2,500 and 3,000 fans. While other teams lost between $ 18,000 and $ 30,000, Cambria lost only $ 4,000 in 1929. On the field, Frank Wertman was impressive as he struck out 167 batters to lead the league. 1929 was also the year that Reggie Rawlings played for Hagerstown. Rawlings had played 1,500 games for the Blue Ridge League and he was consistently among
6278-426: The season. A bright spot in an otherwise dismal season was the performance of pitchers Eddie Ancherico and Gene Major. Anchirico had a 6-13 record with a 2.83 ERA, while Major had an even better 2.71 ERA off a 12-16 record. This marked Gene Crumling's last year with the team. The former major league player spent seven seasons with the Owls. The most interesting game of the season came on September 3. The Owls played
6364-500: The surrounding Susquehanna River ruined their home ballpark, Island Field. Another team representing Harrisburg affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates formed four years later, though in the smaller Interstate League . Like the Senators before it, the team gained success quickly, winning the league title one year later. The success, however, was short-lived, as the team moved to nearby York in 1943. Another team affiliated with
6450-406: The team and a new one-year affiliation deal was signed with the Washington Senators . The team finished in last place, losing 89 games and drawing only 34,762 fans. Hal Keller's .322 batting average was the best on the team. An indication of the poor performance of this team was the fact that Keller and two other players (James Kelly and Charlie Hiden) led the team with only 4 home runs each during
6536-606: The team had been sold to Diamond Baseball Holdings (DBH), a sports management group owned by Silver Lake , an American private equity firm. In mid-2005, Peter Angelos , the owner of the Baltimore Orioles , gained the permission of the Double-A Eastern League and the Triple-A International League to move Baltimore's Triple-A affiliate from Ottawa, Ontario , Canada, to Harrisburg. One of
6622-471: The team with the Boston Braves and renamed the Hagerstown team the Braves. Attendance increased to 84,350. The team's on-field performance changed as well. Hagerstown welcomed back former manager Dutch Dorman . The Braves finished in second behind Wilmington during the regular season. Outfielder Jesse Levan topped the league in batting average (.334) and tied for the lead in runs (171). Al Bennett had
6708-538: The two memorable seasons at Hagerstown, he never made it to the major leagues. Outfielder Smith and pitcher Bush were selected for the 1951 Inter-State League End of Season All-Star Team. In the first round of the playoffs, the Braves were defeated by the Wilmington Blue Rocks 4 games to 1. This marked the fourth time in ten seasons that the Blue Rocks had eliminated Hagerstown. The 1952 season would prove to be
6794-412: The war meant better times for the Inter-State League as well as it expanded from six teams to its original eight with the re-entries of the Harrisburg and Sunbury franchises. Offensively, the leaders were Tom Mattazrazzo with a .327 batting average and Charles Fitzgerald with 12 home runs. The two best pitchers for 1946 were left-handers Eddie Ancherico and Bill Stratton. Ancherico had a 16-8 record and
6880-438: The year 1915 was Jake Heavener with 117. Probably the most notable performance of 1915 came from pitcher Abe Welcher. He posted a perfect 8-0 record and set the Blue Ridge League winning streak . Welcher was named to the 1915 Blue Ridge League End of Season All Star Team. The Blues finished fourth in the six team league with a 34-42-2 record. The team was renamed the Terriers for the next three seasons. Charles Dysert had
6966-530: Was Bob Allison . The two-time Major League All-Star would help found the Bob Allison Ataxia Research Center at the University of Minnesota in 1990. On February 20, 1956, the Packets and the Piedmont League went out of existence. Hagerstown was without a professional team until 1981 when Lou Eliopulos began the era of Hagerstown Suns baseball. The Baltimore Orioles affiliate competed in
7052-478: Was Anderson Bush. He led the Inter-State League in wins (20), strikeouts (170), earned run average (ERA, 1.61) and winning percentage (.833, 20-4). The Owls made the playoffs, but were eliminated in the first round by the Trenton Senators . Outfielder Brinsky and manager Dutch Dorman were selected for the 1941 Inter-State League End of Season All-Star Team. World War II was having its impact in 1942, with
7138-572: Was built in a short period of six weeks. Municipal Stadium still stands today as the home field of the Hagerstown Suns. Even with the new stadium, Hagerstown failed to qualify for the playoffs in 1930, finishing last in the first half and second in the second half. Babe Phelps dominated the offensive categories not only for the Hubs, but for the entire league as well. He set or tied the Blue Ridge League season records for at bats (466), hits (175) and extra base hits (62) while posting an equally impressive .376 batting average. On February 9, 1931,
7224-505: Was eventually bought by Senators Partners, LLC of Northbrook, Illinois , headed by Jerry Reinsdorf 's son Michael, for an Eastern League record $ 13.25 million. Mark Butler, CEO of Ollie's Bargain Outlet , became the team's majority owner in March 2015, replacing Michael Reinsdorf who was principal owner and managing partner; the purchase price was not disclosed. In April 2024, it was announced that
7310-411: Was replaced as president of the Blue Ridge League by James Vincent Jamison, Jr., who served as president throughout the rest of the league's tenure. On August 15, 1916, Boyer sold his interest in the Hagerstown club to a group headed by Colonel J. C. Roulette. 1917 proved to be a good year for the Terriers. The team had a 61-36 record, winning their first Blue Ridge League championship. Jack Hurley led
7396-597: Was struck with the class C Middle Atlantic League for a post-season inter-league series called the Tri-State Series. The Middle Atlantic League champion Charleroi Governors defeated the Hubs 4 games to 1. In 1930, the Hagerstown School Board exercised an option to build a school on the site of Willow Lane Park. Officials scurried to find a new site and came up with a new location nearby. A remarkable public fundraising campaign ensued, and Municipal Stadium
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