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29-788: Ogden next hosted the 1939 Ogden Reds of the Pioneer League . Today, the Ogden Raptors play as members of the Pioneer League. Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Ernie Lombardi played for the 1927 Ogden Gunners. Ogden first had a minor league baseball team with the Ogden Lobsters of the Utah-Idaho Intermountain League in 1900. The Lobsters won the 1900 Utah-Idaho Intermountain League Championship, finishing with

58-562: A minor league baseball team in the western United States, based in Ogden, Utah . They played in the Pioneer League for a total of 14 seasons between 1939 and 1955. They were affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB), and played at the Class C level. The team's home field was John Affleck Park. The Reds were one of the six original teams of the Pioneer League when it

87-526: A 46–65 record in 1926, the Ogden Gunners finished with a 58–45 record to place 2nd in 1927, playing under manager Del Baker. Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Ernie Lombardi played for the 1927 Ogden Gunners at age 19, hitting .398. In 1928, Ogden placed 4th at 57–59, with Del Baker again managing the team, as the Salt Lake City Bees won the championship. The six–team Utah–Idaho League disbanded after

116-517: A league-leading .342 with 19 home runs, drove in 95 runs, and won the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player Award . Lombardi became one of the Reds' most productive and popular players. He was the catcher for left-hander Johnny Vander Meer 's back-to-back no-hitters , accomplished on June 11 and June 15, 1938. He was again an All-Star the next two seasons, and his hitting skills and leadership helped

145-663: A no-hitter. After his successful start, Davenport was then released by Ogden, with pressure from the Northern Utah League owners, for being too good to pitch in the Northern Utah League. The Ogden Gunners joined the Utah–Idaho League in 1926 and were charter members, along with the Idaho Falls Spuds , Logan Collegians , Pocatello Bannocks , Twin Falls Bruins and Salt Lake City Bees . After finishing last with

174-486: A perfect game against Tremonton in 4–0 Ogden victory. Ogden finished with an 11–5 record in 1921, placing 2nd in the six–team Northern Utah League regular season standings, 1.0 games behind the champion Tremonton team. A "league report" stated Ogden tied with Tremonton for the second half title with 15-5 records, before losing to Tremonton in a three–game playoff series. Tremonton pitcher Franklin Coray reportedly defeated Ogden in

203-550: A pitcher. Instead, he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds shortly before the start of spring training for the 1932 season. Lombardi flourished in his first year for Cincinnati, batting .303 with 11 home runs and 68 runs batted in . In 1935, he hit .343, but was not selected as an All-Star until 1936, when he hit .333 that season. In 1937, he hit .334 and made the All-Star team. In 1938, he was selected as an All-Star again, and hit

232-422: A record of 31–10 to capture the 1901 Inter-Mountain League Championship, playing under returning manager Dad Gimlin to finish 5.0 games ahead of the 2nd place Salt Lake City White Wings. The league folded after the 1901 season. Ogden continued play as members of the four–team Independent level Utah State League in 1902 under manager Frank "Dad" Gimlin. League standings are unknown. The Ogden Lobsters played in

261-612: A record of 32–13 under manager Dad Gimlin to finish 8.0 games ahead of 2nd place Rio Grande Rios in the four-team Independent league. They finished ahead of the 3rd place Pocatello Indians and 4th place Short Line Shorts in the final league standings. The Ogden Lobsters joined the Inter-Mountain League in 1901, playing in the newly created four-team league, along with the Park City Miners , Railway Ducks / Lagoon Farmers and Salt Lake City White Wings . Ogden finished with

290-675: A record of 49–74. The Union Association folded on August 5, 1914, however Ogden and the Salt Lake City Skyscrapers played 16 games against each other to complete their seasons. Ogden won 10 of the 16 games to finish 54–32, 2.0 games ahead of Salt Lake. In the Finals, Ogden defeated Salt Lake 4 games to 2 and captured the 1914 Union Association Championship. Ogden fielded a team in the Independent, newly formed, 1921 Northern Utah League . On July 3, 1921, Ogden pitcher Dave Davenport pitched

319-532: Is listed at 6'3" and 230 lbs, but he probably approached 300 lbs towards the end of his career. He was also known as a gentle giant, and this made him hugely popular among Cincinnati fans. Lombardi was born and raised in Oakland, California . He attended McClymonds High School , the same school from which baseball star Frank Robinson and basketball star Bill Russell later graduated. Lombardi started his professional baseball career for his hometown Oakland Oaks of

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348-519: The AL batting title in 2006. As of 2017, Lombardi remains only one of three NL catchers to win a batting title (the others are Cincinnati Reds catcher Bubbles Hargrove in 1926 and SF Giants catcher Buster Posey in 2012). His final All-Star selection was during the 1943 season (MLB cancelled the 1945 All-Star Game and no All-Stars were named that season ), before Boston traded him to the New York Giants before

377-899: The Candlestick Park press office and later as a gas station attendant in Oakland, California. Lombardi was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1958. He died in 1977 and was buried at the Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland. Lombardi was posthumously inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1982 and the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986. In 1981, Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig included him in their book The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time . In 2004, The Cincinnati Reds dedicated

406-580: The Pacific Coast League . He hit over .350 with power in 1929 and 1930 and had a strong arm. His talents were soon noticed by the Brooklyn Robins , who purchased his contract for $ 50,000. Lombardi played his rookie season for the Robins in 1931 and hit .297. However, Brooklyn had too many quality catchers at the time and Robins' manager Wilbert Robinson contemplated using the strong-armed Lombardi as

435-530: The 1905 Pacific National League , alongside the Boise Infants, Salt Lake City Fruit Pickers and Spokane Indians . Ogden placed 2nd in the league with a 20–17 record. The Pacific National League disbanded on June 20, 1905 and did not reform. The Ogden Canners played in the Class D Union Association from 1912 to 1914. Ogden finished 4th in 1912 with a 71–68 record. The Canners finished and 6th (last) in 1913, with

464-634: The 1928 season. Ogden remained without a team until the Ogden Reds began play as founding members of the Pioneer League in 1939. Ogden still plays in the Pioneer League today, as the Ogden Raptors . From 1912 to 1914, the Ogden Canners were noted to have played home minor league games at Glenwood Park . The ballpark opened in April 1912. It was located on 27th Street, between Washington Avenue and Grant Avenue, Ogden, Utah. The Ogden Gunners (1926–1928) and later

493-470: The 1944 season began. He enjoyed three productive if unspectacular seasons with the Giants before seeing his playing time diminish over the next two seasons. Lombardi retired after the 1947 season, having compiled a .306 career batting average, 1,792 hits, 277 doubles, 27 triples, 190 home runs, 990 RBI, 601 runs and 430 walks . The six foot, three inch, 230-pound Lombardi was legendarily slow-footed, and during

522-465: The Iron Mask", and "Lom". He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986. Baseball writer Bill James called Lombardi "the slowest man to ever play major league baseball well." Lombardi was an All-Star for seven seasons, he hit over .300 for ten seasons and finished his major league career with a .306 batting average despite infields playing very deep for the sloth-like baserunner. He

551-577: The Ogden Reds (1939) were referenced to have played home games at Lorin Farr Park . With a capacity of 2,600 (1926) and 2,500 (1939), the park had dimensions (left, center, right) of 325-377-325 (1939). Lorin Farr Park is still in use as a public park with a swimming pool complex. The address is 1691 Gramercy Avenue, Ogden, Utah. Ogden Canners players Ogden Gunners players Ogden (minor league baseball) players Ogden Reds The Ogden Reds were

580-659: The Reds to the National League pennant in 1939 and 1940, and the World Series title in 1940. While Lombardi played for the Reds as the starting catcher, three-year teammate and backup catcher Willard Hershberger became the only major league player to commit suicide during a season. Hershberger, who thought he had been having difficulties playing as a replacement for an injured Lombardi for a few games in 1940, told manager Bill McKechnie in private that "my father killed himself, and I'm going to do it, too!" After failing to appear at

609-533: The Yankees were already ahead three games to none and that DiMaggio's run merely made the final score 7–4 instead of 6–4. In 1953, Lombardi had been battling depression and agreed to go to a sanatorium. While on his way to the facility, Lombardi slit his throat from ear to ear with a razor. He received blood transfusions and was initially listed in critical condition, but within a couple of days newspaper reports said that he would survive. Lombardi worked as an attendant in

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638-406: The ball. Yankees right fielder Charlie Keller , well known for his sturdy physique, beat the throw to catcher Lombardi and inadvertently hit "The Schnozz" in his groin. Unfortunately for the Reds and Lombardi, he had failed to wear his protective cup and Lombardi was in pain and dazed. DiMaggio raced around the bases and scored while the ball was just a few feet away from the dazed Lombardi. The press

667-688: The city would not have another minor league team until the Ogden Dodgers arrived in 1966. Ernie Lombardi Ernesto Natali Lombardi (April 6, 1908 – September 26, 1977) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher for the Brooklyn Robins , Cincinnati Reds , Boston Braves , and New York Giants during a career that spanned 17 years, from 1931 through 1947. He had several nicknames, including "Schnozz", "Lumbago", "Bocci", "the Cyrano of

696-486: The course of his major league career he grounded into 261 double plays. Aside from being the leader in grounding into double plays during four seasons, he also holds the MLB record for grounding into a double play once in every 25.3 plate appearances. An opposing manager once jokingly said that Lombardi was so slow, he ran like he was carrying a piano — and the man who was tuning it. Defenses would often position all four infielders in

725-460: The first game, throwing a no–hitter in a 2–0 victory. The Northern Utah League permanently folded after playing only the 1921 season. In 1921, Ogden pitcher Dave Davenport, a former major league pitcher, was still the property of the St. Louis Browns and under suspension after failing to report to the team in 1920. Davenport began the 1921 season with a 7–0 record pitching for Ogden at age 31, which included

754-619: The outfield when Lombardi came to the plate. Despite this, he became an outstanding catcher on the basis of his strong, accurate arm and his ability to "call" a game. Lombardi began the 1948 season with the Sacramento Solons . In May 1948, Sacramento sold Lombardi back to the Oakland Oaks. During the fourth game of the 1939 World Series , in the 10th inning, with the score tied and runners on first and third, Joe DiMaggio singled. One run scored, then Reds outfielder Ival Goodman fumbled

783-524: The stadium the next day, the Reds checked Hershberger's room at the hotel on August 3 to find that he had slit his throat and wrist. In 1942, the Boston Braves (NL team) purchased Lombardi's contract, and he became an All-Star and led the NL and Braves that season with a .330 batting average (albeit, in only 309 at-bats); the next batting title to be won by a catcher came more than 60 years later when Joe Mauer won

812-470: Was formed in 1939. The Reds were league champions in 1940 and 1941, finishing in fourth place and second place, respectively, during the regular season before winning the postseason playoffs. The team competed through the 1955 season, except for three years during World War II when the league did not operate. Hall of Fame inductee Frank Robinson played for the Reds in 1953. After the Reds' final season in Ogden,

841-531: Was hugely critical of the sensitive catcher because of this and it came to be known as "Lombardi's Big Snooze". Bill James , in his Historical Baseball Abstract , says that "Lombardi was now the Bill Buckner of the 1930s, even more innocent than Buckner, and Buckner has plenty of people who should be holding up their hands to share his disgrace." James called Lombardi's selection as the Series goat "absurd." James noted

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