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24-802: The 1890, the "Olean" team first played minor league baseball as members of the New York-Pennsylvania League . The Refiners were immediately preceded in minor league play by the 1898 "Olean" team, who played the season as members of the Iron and Oil League . In 1905, Olean resumed hosting minor league play, when the Olean "Refiners" became members of the reformed six–team Class D level Interstate League . The Bradford Drillers, Coudersport Giants , Erie Fishermen , Jamestown Hill Climbers and Kane Mountaineers teams joined Olean in beginning league play on April 25, 1905. Interstate League teams, Olean included, had

48-466: A contentious tie in the league final standings. The White Sox ended the season with a 52–30 record (.634) and in a statistical tie with the Wellsville Rainmakers, who finished 54–32 (.628). Wellsville had captured the second half title of the split season schedule and Olean had captured the first half title. Bill Colligan of Olean led the league in hitting, batting .322. Following the conclusion of

72-500: A salary cap of $ 750 per team per month. The league required the home team to pay the visiting team $ 50.00 per game for weekday games, with a rain guarantee of $ 25.00. On Saturdays and holidays, the gate receipts were divided equally by between teams. The "Refiners" nickname corresponds to the Oil industry in the Olean area. Oil was first discovered 1627, 12 miles north of Olean. From 1865 to 1930, Olean and its surrounding oil fields claimed to be

96-642: Is a memoir by renowned baseball writer Roger Kahn , published in 1985. The book chronicles Kahn's experience as 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

120-446: 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 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

144-581: The Franklin Millionaires and Hornell Pigmies as expansion teams. Finishing with a record of 50–62, the Refiners were managed by John Ziegler and John Dailey. In the final standings, Olean finished 18.0 games behind the first place Erie Fisherman. The 1907 Olean Refiners folded before completing the Interstate League season. On July 18, 1907, the Olean franchise folded. After beginning 1907 play in

168-573: 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 a league champion. The Oneonta Tigers won 12 championships,

192-621: The Welland Pirates in 1989, but all three clubs had moved back to the United States by 2000. The New York–Penn circuit 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

216-465: The northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as 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,

240-560: The 1916 Olean White Sox folded during the season. On July 12, 1916, the White Sox had a record of 16–25 when the franchise folded. Gus Dondon had returned as the Olean manager. The Interstate League did not return to play in 1917. Olean next hosted minor league baseball with the 1939 Olean Oilers , who began play as members of the Class D level Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League . The Olean teams hosted home Interstate League minor league games at

264-540: The Athletic Grounds. The ballpark was located at Higgins Avenue & Main Street in Olean. The ballpark was called "Interstate League Park" in the minor league era. Today, the site location is commercial property Olean Refiners players Olean Candidates players Olean White Sox players New York-Pennsylvania League The New York–Penn League ( NYPL ) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in

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288-475: The Coudersport Giants (59–38) finished 1.0 game ahead of the second place Erie Fisherman (58–39), followed by The Olean Refiners (54–50), Bradford Drillers (46–54), Kane Mountaineers (40–56) and Jamestown Hill Climbers/ DuBois Miners (40–60). The Olean Refiners continued Class D level Interstate League play in 1906. The Refiners ended the season in seventh place in the eight–team league, as the league added

312-630: The Interstate League folded. With a record of 16–2, playing under manager Percy Stetler, Olean finished 5.5 games ahead of the second place Warren Bingoes (11–8). Olean's Jake Weimer won the league batting title, hitting .461 and also led the league with 3 home runs. Pitcher Tom Fleming of Olean led the Interstate League with 6 wins. The Olean "Refiners" rejoined the six team, Class D Interstate League, which reformed in 1914. The Bradford Drillers, Hornell Green Sox , Jamestown Giants, Warren Bingoes and Wellsville Rainmakers joined Olean in beginning league play on May 22, 1914. In returning to league play,

336-570: The NYPL also had clubs in Maryland , Massachusetts , Ohio , Vermont , West Virginia , and Connecticut . The Brooklyn Cyclones were 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

360-436: The Olean "Candidates" won the league championship as the Interstate League resumed play but folded during the season. The "Candidates" nickmame corresponds to Olean being home to Frank W. Higgins , who served as the 35th Governor of New York and operated a family business in the city before his political career. Higgins died in Olean on February 12, 1907. The Higgins residence was at 128 South Street in Olean. On June 5, 1908,

384-456: The Refiners ended the Class D level Interstate League season in fourth place in the six–team league. With a record of 43–53, Olean was managed by Harry Giles and Joe Reynolds. In the final standings, the Refiners finished 14.5 games behind the first place Jamestown Giants. The Refiners did not qualify for the playoff, which was won by Jamestown, defeating Bradford. In 1915, the Olean "White Sox" continued Class D level Interstate League play and had

408-421: The eight–team league, the Refiners ended the season with a record of 12–35 as Joe Flynn served as manager. Olean and their partner teams of the Interstate League were plagued by bad weather the resulting financial situation in 1907, as Erie was the only league franchise not in debt. Erie, Bradford, Franklin and Oil City continued play as a four-team league, with Erie ending the season with the best record. In 1908,

432-788: 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 the Norwich Sea Unicorns joined the FCBL in late April. The Staten Island Yankees folded, while

456-415: The largest producer of oil in the world, before production greatly diminished in subsequent years. In their first season of play, the Refiners placed third in the 1905 Interstate League standings. Completing the season with an overall record of 54–50, the Refiners finished 8.5 games behind the first place Coudersport Giants, with Al Lawson and Eddie Foster serving as managers. In the final league standings,

480-440: 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

504-477: 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 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

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528-399: The regular season, Olean refused to engage in a playoff with Wellsville. Olean's claim was that Jamestown's second half games played should have been thrown out for failing to complete the schedule and Olean should have won both halves of the split season schedule. The Olean claim was denied by the league and the title was awarded to Wellsville. In their final season of Interstate League play,

552-637: Was founded in 1939 as the Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League , generally shortened to PONY League , in 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

576-554: Was the last remaining charter city in the league when it ceased operations after 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

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