The Jamestown Giants were a minor league baseball team based in Jamestown, New York . In 1914 and 1915, Jamestown teams played exclusively as members of the Class D level Interstate League , with the Giants winning the 1914 league championship. Jamestown played as the "Rabbits" in 1915, with the team folding before the end of the season.
28-502: Minor league baseball began in Jamestown with the 1890 "Jamestown" team who won the championship in the independent New York-Pennsylvania League . The Giants were immediately preceded in minor league play by the 1906 Oil City-Jamestown Oseejays , who were members of the Class D level Interstate League . The Jamestown "Giants" rejoined the six team, Class D Interstate League, which reformed for
56-638: A Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed their amateur draft picks to professional contracts, and ended in early September. In 2019, its last season of operation, the NYPL had 14 teams from eight different states. In addition to New York and Pennsylvania , from which the league drew its name, the NYPL also had clubs in Maryland , Massachusetts , Ohio , Vermont , West Virginia , and Connecticut . The Brooklyn Cyclones were
84-714: A co-op and received 17 players from the Cleveland Indians and several from the Los Angeles Dodgers . The squad featured future MLB player Jack Fimple and finished fourth in the New York–Penn League's West Division with a 29–45 record. Auburn returned to play in the New York–Penn League in 1982 with the Auburn Astros as an affiliate of the Houston Astros . In 1991, with John H. Graham as general manager,
112-476: A contentious tie in the final league standings. On August 20, 1915, the Jamestown franchise folded. The Rabbits ended their season with a 28–42 record playing their partial season under manager Bill Webb. The Olean White Sox with a 52–30 record (.634) ended the season in a first-place statistical tie with the Wellsville Rainmakers, who finished 54–32 (.628). Wellsville had captured the second half title of
140-532: A hotel in Batavia, New York . The original teams included the Batavia Clippers , Bradford Bees , Hamilton Red Wings , Jamestown Jaguars , Niagara Falls Rainbows , and Olean Oilers ; all were based in or near Western New York . The Oilers, a Brooklyn Dodgers affiliate, won both the regular season and playoff championships. Batavia was the last remaining charter city in the league when it ceased operations after
168-584: A league champion. The Oneonta Tigers won 12 championships, the most among all teams in the league, followed by the Auburn Mets/Twins/Phillies/Doubledays (8) and Jamestown Falcons/Expos (7). Connecticut Maryland Massachusetts New Jersey New York Ohio Pennsylvania Vermont West Virginia Ontario The New York–Penn League Hall of Fame was established in 2012 to honor league players, managers, and executives for their accomplishments or contributions to
196-527: A part of the minors after restructuring for the 2021 season. As first reported in 2019, the NYPL ceased operations. The Aberdeen IronBirds , Brooklyn Cyclones , and Hudson Valley Renegades joined the new High-A East , becoming the new High-A affiliates of the Baltimore Orioles , New York Mets , and New York Yankees respectively. The Mahoning Valley Scrappers , State College Spikes , West Virginia Black Bears , and Williamsport Crosscutters moved to
224-656: The Norwich Sea Unicorns joined the FCBL in late April. The Staten Island Yankees folded, while the Lowell Spinners were left without future plans and eventually folded. League champions were determined by different means during the New York–Penn League's 82-year run from 1939 to 2020. For a few seasons in the 1960s and 1970s, no playoffs were held and the league champions were simply the regular season pennant winners. Most seasons, however, ended with playoffs to determine
252-463: The 1914 season. The Bradford Drillers , Hornell Green Sox , Olean Refiners , Warren Bingoes and Wellsville Rainmakers teams joined Jamestown in beginning league play on May 22, 1914. The Giants won the league pennant and championship in their first season of play. The Giants ended the Class D level Interstate League regular season in first place in the six–team league. With a record of 59–40, Jamestown
280-709: The 2020 season. The Hamilton Red Wings folded early in the 1956 season, and with no more teams in Ontario , the circuit became the New York–Penn League in 1957. The league crossed back into Canada with the formation of the St. Catharines Blue Jays in 1986. They were joined by the Hamilton Redbirds in 1987 and the Welland Pirates in 1989, but all three clubs had moved back to the United States by 2000. The New York–Penn circuit
308-666: The Doubledays led all of baseball in winning percentage (.757). The Doubledays finally won the NYPL title in 2007, sweeping the Brooklyn Cyclones in the league championship series. The final game featured a stellar pitching performance by Brett Cecil and a home run by J. P. Arencibia . This was the first league championship for the city of Auburn since 1973. After the cancelled 2020 minor league season, Major League Baseball took direct control of Minor League Baseball and discontinued short-season play. The Doubledays were not among
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#1732883656126336-525: The Doubledays won the Pinckney Division title for six straight years in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007, but failed to win the league championship for the first five of those years. After losing in the first round of the playoffs for the first three years of their streak, they advanced to the New York–Penn League championship series before being swept by the Staten Island Yankees . In 2003,
364-502: The Interstate League continued play without a Jamestown franchise. Jamestown next hosted minor league baseball over two decades later, when the 1939 Jamestown Jaguars , began play as members of the Class D level Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League , starting a long tenure for the Jamestown franchise in the league. The name of the Jamestown home minor league ballpark is not directly referenced. Allen Park hosted organized baseball in
392-647: The club became known as the Auburn Red Stars . The team featured future MLB player Doug Frobel . The Red Stars operated under a co-operative agreement. The Red Stars received players from seven different major league organizations, led by the Detroit Tigers , with seven players, and Cleveland Indians , with five. In 1980, the Red Stars changed their name to the Auburn Americans . The team once again operated as
420-763: The club won the league championship three times: in 1962, 1964, and 1966. In 1967, the club changed its affiliation to the Minnesota Twins and became the Auburn Twins . The Twins won NYPL title in 1967 and 1970. In 1972, the team was renamed the Auburn Phillies after associating with the Philadelphia Phillies . In 1973, under manager Harry Lloyd, the team won league championship. Future major leaguers Luis Aguayo , Randy Lerch , Dickie Noles , Lonnie Smith , and Ozzie Virgil , among numerous others, played for
448-417: The era. Today, the 35-acre Allen Park is still in use as a public park with a ballfield and other amenities. It is located at 311 Hughes Street in Jamestown. Jamestown Giants players Jamestown Rabbits players New York-Pennsylvania League The New York–Penn League ( NYPL ) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as
476-556: The game of baseball . Abner wears number 96 in honor of the birth of the team in 1996. With Major League Baseball 's reorganization of the minor leagues after the 2020 season, Auburn was not selected to continue in affiliated baseball; they signed a deal to become members of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) starting in 2021. In 1958, the Auburn New York–Penn League franchise
504-486: The last NYPL champions , defeating the Lowell Spinners , two games to one, in 2019. The Oneonta Yankees/Tigers won 12 championships, the most among all teams in the league, followed by the Auburn Mets/Twins/Phillies/Doubledays (8) and Jamestown Falcons/Expos (7). The New York–Penn League was founded in 1939 as the Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League , generally shortened to PONY League , in
532-617: The league in playing or administrative roles. The Hall of Fame inducted its first class of seven men in 2012. New members were elected before the start of each season. Auburn Doubledays The Auburn Doubledays are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) that is located in Auburn, New York . From 1958 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball 's New York–Penn League (NYPL). They have played their home games at Leo Pinckney Field at Falcon Park since 1995. They previously played at
560-648: The new MLB Draft League for players wishing to showcase themselves to MLB teams in advance of the annual draft . The Tri-City ValleyCats moved to the independent Frontier League , while the Batavia Muckdogs and Auburn Doubledays joined the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League . On February 25, 2021, the Vermont Lake Monsters announced that they would join the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) under new ownership, and
588-486: The original Falcon Park, which was built in 1927 on the same site. The team is owned and operated by Auburn Community Baseball . Auburn began in the NYPL in 1958 and has since competed under various names and served as the farm team for a number of Major League Baseball teams. The Doubledays and its mascot, Abner, are named for Abner Doubleday , the Civil War general and Auburn native apocryphally credited with inventing
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#1732883656126616-727: The owner of the Utica Blue Sox during the 1983 season. Good Enough to Dream was the recipient of the Casey Award in 1985. Clubbie is a 2021 memoir by Greg Larson that recounts his experiences as a clubhouse attendant (or "clubbie") for the Aberdeen IronBirds during the 2012 and 2013 seasons. The book's depiction of players' financial struggles is widely credited with inspiring changes to long-standing minor league compensation structures. On December 9, 2020, Major League Baseball (MLB) announced its list of 120 teams invited to be
644-550: The split season schedule and Olean had captured the first half title. Following the conclusion of the regular season, Olean refused to play in a playoff with Wellsville and the title was awarded to Wellsville. Pitcher Lefty Webb , who played for Jamestown and then Hornell led the league with both 14 wins and 152 strikeouts in 1915. Following the folding of the Jamestown Rabbits in 1915, manager Billy Webb formed an independent semi-pro team called "Billy Webb's Spiders." In 1916,
672-546: The team set the all-time attendance record at Falcon Park. The team was renamed the Auburn Doubledays before the 1996 season and has operated under that name since. In 1998, the Doubledays and the Oneonta Yankees were named co-champions of the New York–Penn League after Central New York was hit with a torrential rain storm and the fields at both parks were deemed unplayable. Under the management of Dennis Holmberg ,
700-560: The team. Managers of note included Mike Compton and Ruben Amaro . In 1978, the team became the Auburn Sunsets and were co-operated by the Phillies and Houston Astros . Managed by Dick Rockwell , the team went achieved a 32–40 record, finishing third in the league's Yawkey Division. The team featured future major league players Carmelo Castillo and Alejandro Sanchez and future major league general manager Dave Littlefield . In 1979
728-626: Was founded as the Auburn Yankees , as an affiliate of the New York Yankees . The Yankees affiliation lasted until 1961. The club included future Major League Baseball All-Stars Jim Bouton , Joe Pepitone , and Mel Stottlemyre . The team then became affiliated with the New York Mets , as the Auburn Mets . With a roster that included Billy Wynne , Don Shaw , Tug McGraw , and Jerry Koosman ,
756-450: Was managed by Joe Lohr. In the final standings, the Giants finished 1.0 game ahead of the second place Bradford Drillers (59-42). The league held a playoff, which was won by Jamestown, defeating Bradford 4 games to 3 to claim the championship. In 1915, the renamed "Jamestown Rabbits" continued Class D level Interstate League play, but folded before the end of the season, which saw two teams have
784-499: Was originally a Class D league (the minors' lowest classification through 1962). It was a full-season Class A league from 1963 through 1966, and became a short-season Class A league in 1967. The start of the 2020 season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic before being cancelled on June 30. Good Enough to Dream is a memoir by renowned baseball writer Roger Kahn , published in 1985. The book chronicles Kahn's experience as
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