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36-520: The Greys hosted minor league home games exclusively Mark Greys Athletic Park, before the Cubs moved home games to newly constructed Gant Park Municipal Stadium in 1941. From 1993 to 1996, the "Greys" nickname was revived by the Zanesville franchise of the independent Frontier League . After minor league baseball in Zanesville began with the 1887 Zanesville Kickapoos, who played the season as charter members of

72-449: A salary cap . As of the 2023 season, clubs had a maximum spend of US$ 365,000 on player compensation, with a minimum salary of $ 13,800 per player. Veterans could earn up to $ 22,800, and each team's highest-paid player could make as much as $ 27,300. For players aged 23 and younger on standard contracts, only 50% of their salary counts towards the cap. There is also a separate salary cap for coaches and technical staff. On February 24, 2022,

108-747: A decade. The first league champions were the Zanesville Greys . Eight teams have won more than one championship: Springfield in 1996 and 1998; Johnstown in 1995 (as the Steal ) and in 2000 (as the Johnnies ), Richmond Roosters in 2001 and 2002, Windy City in 2007 and 2008, the Joliet Slammers in 2011 and 2018, and the Evansville Otters in 2006 and 2016. With four titles, the Schaumburg Boomers have won

144-753: A semi-pro Grays team in 1925. In 1933 the Zanesville "Greys" resumed minor league play, becoming members of the Class C level Middle Atlantic League, as the league expanded from six teams to eight teams, adding Zanesville and Dayton to the league as the expansion teams. Zanesville was a minor league affiliate of the Cleveland Indians , beginning a four year partnership. The Beckley Black Knights , Charleston Senators , Dayton Ducks , Huntington Boosters , Johnstown Johnnies , Springfield Chicks and Wheeling Stogies teams joined Zanesville in beginning league play on May 4, 1933. In their first season of play Zanesville won

180-574: Is the longest tenured team in the league, while the Schaumburg Boomers have won the most championships. The FL's regular season is typically held from May to September, with each team playing 96 games. Following the conclusion of the regular season, 8 teams advance to the playoffs, a three tournament that runs approximately two weeks to determine the league champion. The Frontier League was founded in 1993. It initially struggled to retain franchises, with four of its eight founding teams folding within three seasons, though steadily grew to twelve teams within

216-573: The New York area ( New Jersey Jackals , Sussex County Miners , and New York Boulders ), and St. Louis ( Gateway Grizzlies ), Cleveland ( Lake Erie Crushers ), Cincinnati ( Florence Y'alls ) and Pittsburgh ( Washington Wild Things ) each have one. The Wild Things, in particular, have been able to market themselves as a successful alternative to the Pittsburgh Pirates due to the latter franchise's long stretch of losing seasons, which lasted from

252-721: The Ohio State League , the 1933 Zanesville Grays were immediately preceded in minor league play by the 1913 Zanesville Flood Sufferers of the Class B level Interstate League . The "Greys" nickname originated in 1918 with a semi-professional team of employees from the Mark Manufacturing Company. The Greys name reportedly derived from the Cleveland Greys of the Ohio National Guard. Reportedly, Olympic champion, major league and NFL player Jim Thorpe played for

288-554: The Pittsburgh Crawfords , the defending champions of the Negro National League . The Crawfords won both games of the doubleheader by scores of 14-4 and 7-0. Baseball Hall of Fame members Josh Gibson , Oscar Charleston and Judy Johnson hit home runs and Satchel Page pitched the second game. Paige pitched a 7-inning no-hitter in the game, held at Mark Park. Continuing play in the eight-team Middle Atlantic League,

324-633: The Wilkes-Barre team ( Eastern ) in the 1937 rule V draft . He debuted with Philadelphia in 1938, then was purchased by the Boston Bees during the midseason. In eight appearances, he posted a 0–1 record with six strikeouts and a 12.27 ERA in 11 innings . During World War II, Reis served with the US Army in the European Theatre of Operations . At the time of his death, Reis was recognized as one of

360-519: The 1933 Middle Atlantic League championship. The Greys ended the Middle Atlantic League regular season with a record of 76–59, finishing 3.0 games behind the first place Wheeling Stogies, as Johnny Walker and Buzz Wetzel served as manages. Zanesville and Wheeling met in the two-team playoff, with Zanesville winning the title in beating the Stogies 4 games to 1. Pitcher Al Milnar of Zanesville led

396-412: The 1936 Greys won the league pennant and their third league championship in their final season as a Cleveland Indians affiliate. With Earl Wolgamot continuing as manager, Zanesville ended the 1936 regular season with a record of 81–48, finishing 10.0 games ahead of the second place Charleston Senators . In the split season, Zanesville had won the first half season and tied with Dayton in the second half. In

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432-462: The Frontier League an MLB Partner League . This enables collaboration with MLB to jointly discuss marketing and promotional initiatives to grow, expand, and enhance the game of baseball. For the 2021 season, the Frontier League announced it would be adding two new teams. The first announcement came around the same time as the announcement of the partnership with Major League Baseball, as Ottawa

468-588: The Frontier League announced that all games for the 2022 season would be available through the streaming platform FloSports. Tommy Reis Thomas Edward Reis (August 6, 1914 – November 6, 2009) was a relief pitcher who played in Major League Baseball in the 1938 season. He batted and threw right-handed. Born in Newport, Kentucky , Reis was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies from

504-437: The Frontier League must recruit and sign their own players, who usually are undrafted college players or one-time prospects who have been released by their teams. Frontier League rules limit teams to three "veterans" (Players older than 29 years as of October 1), while a minimum of ten of the 24-man roster are required to be rookies. Typically, teams play a 96-game regular season from May to September. The Frontier League uses

540-653: The Frontier League's founding in 1993 until 2013 when the Pirates finished with a record of 94–68. On October 16, 2019, it was announced that the Frontier League would be merging with the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball , absorbing five of its teams to form the largest independent professional baseball league. This added the New Jersey Jackals , New York Boulders , Quebec Capitales , Sussex County Miners , and Trois-Rivieres Aigles to

576-585: The Zanesville franchise returning to the league after a three-season absence. With the franchise becoming an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs , Zanesville adopted the "Cubs" nickname. The Cubs were joined in league play by the Akron Yankees , Portsmouth A's , Canton Terriers , Charleston Senators, Erie Sailors, Dayton Ducks, Springfield Cardinals and Youngstown Browns teams in beginning league play on May 1, 1941. The 1941 Zanesville Cubs finished in last place in

612-669: The deep south, with the previous southernmost team being the Evansville Otters . Commissioner Steven Tahsler announced a new scheduling format for the 2025 season. Instead of a two division model, the league will revert to the 2021 setup; 2 conferences with 4 divisions. Mississippi will be playing in the West Division of the Midwest Conference while Down East will be in the East Division of the Atlantic Conference. Teams in

648-702: The departure of the Atlanta Braves Double-A affiliate the Mississippi Braves . The Down East Bird Dawgs, a new team in Kinston, North Carolina , will play in Grainger Stadium , which was formerly home of the Texas Rangers affiliated Down East Wood Ducks . The two new franchises bring the league to 18 teams, the largest total in its history. The expansion also marks the league's first expansion into

684-629: The eight-team Middle Atlantic League. The Cubs ended the regular season with record of 43–73, playing under manager Jack Warner . Zanesville finished 29.5 games behind the first place Akron Yankees in the regular season final standings. Zanesville did not qualify for the playoffs, won by the Erie Sailors. In their final season, the 1942 Zanesville Cubs finished in last place in the six-team Middle Atlantic League. The Cubs ended their final regular season with record of 46–84, playing under manager returning Jack Warner. Zanesville finished 31.0 games behind of

720-451: The first place Charleston Senators in the regular season final standings. Zanesville did not qualify for the four-team playoffs, again won by the Erie Sailors. The Middle Atlantic League did not return to play in 1943 as a result of World War II . The league returned to play in 1945. After a one season hiatus during World War II , Zanesville resumed minor league baseball play in 1944 in a new league. The Zanesville Dodgers became members of

756-758: The five former Can-Am League teams and Washington in the Can-Am Division; to even the divisions at seven teams, Lake Erie was moved to the Midwestern Division. In April 2021, the league announced that the Québec Capitales , the Trois-Rivières Aigles , and the Ottawa Titans would not compete in the 2021 season due to the prolonged closure of the Canada–United States border as a result of

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792-531: The league announced a new team, the New England Knockouts , were to play at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton, Massachusetts, beginning with the 2024 season. This brought the total number of permanent members of the league to sixteen teams. In September 2024, the league announced an expansion to Mississippi and North Carolina. An as yet unnamed expansion franchise was awarded to Pearl, Mississippi , following

828-415: The league with 194 strikeouts. The Greys won consecutive league championships, by winning the title in the 1934 Middle State League, while also capturing the league pennant. With a record of 72–51, Zanesville placed first in the eight–team league regular season, playing the season under managers Bert Grimm, Harry Lane and Earl Wolgamot . The Grays finished 2.0 games ahead of the second place Dayton Ducks. In

864-538: The league; the Ottawa Champions , the last remaining Can-Am League team, was not invited to participate. The divisions were renamed, with the easternmost teams playing in the Can-Am Division and the westernmost in the Midwestern Division. The league had a partnership agreement with the California Winter League for player development. On September 24, 2020, Major League Baseball announced that it named

900-505: The level of play is comparable to the High-A level. The league is headquartered in Sauget, Illinois . 25 distinct franchises had competed in the league. Its largest period of growth followed in 2020–21, when six teams from the ceased Can-Am and New York–Penn leagues joined alongside an expansion franchise. The Evansville Otters , the only one of the original eight franchises still playing today,

936-449: The location of today's War Veteran's Park. Later, the 1941 Zanesville Cubs began play at Gant Park Municipal Stadium, which was called "Municipal Stadium" in the era. The Zanesville Dodgers continued play at the ballpark. Located on West Main Street, Gant Stadium is still in use today and received a State Historic Designation in 2021. The stadium was originally constructed in 1939. The facility

972-709: The most league championships. On June 20, 2000, Brian Tollberg debuted with the San Diego Padres , becoming the first player from the Frontier League to make it to the Majors. A week later, Morgan Burkhart made his debut with the Boston Red Sox . Although the league does not have any teams located in the same city as Major League teams, it does nonetheless have teams located within the markets of Major League teams. The Chicago area has three teams ( Joliet Slammers , Schaumburg Boomers and Windy City ThunderBolts ), as does

1008-910: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic . The Titans, the Aigles and the Capitales later joined forces to form a new team that competed as a member of the Atlantic Division. Known as Équipe Québec , they began the season as a traveling team , and starting on July 30, 2021, started sharing home games between Québec City and Trois-Rivières following a loosening in border restrictions. 10 games were played in Québec City and 11 in Trois-Rivières. They did not play in Ottawa due to COVID-19 restrictions in Ontario . On October 6, 2021,

1044-683: The owners of the Southern Illinois Miners , Jayne and John Simmons, announced they would be retiring from professional baseball to spend more time with family and the Miners would be ceasing operations and dropping out of the Frontier League. As a result, the league formed the Empire State Greys , to compete as a traveling team with a roster of players from the Empire Professional Baseball League . In September 2023,

1080-445: The playoff, Zanesville defeated Dayton in a full seven game series. The Greys won the league pennant in 1935, finishing the regular season with the league's best record. However, with the league adopting a split season schedule, Zanesville did not qualify for the league playoff, Greys did not win either half. Zanesville had an overall record of 70–54 to place first in the Middle Atlantic League regular season, finishing 1.0 games ahead of

1116-571: The playoff, the Grays defeated the Dayton two games to one to win the championship. Zanesville pitcher Tommy Reis led the league with both 21 wins and a 21-9 record. Jeff Heath had 187 RBI to lead the league, while teammate Oscar Grimes scored 150 runs. In 1937, the Greys finished in last place in the Middle Atlantic League, as the franchise became a minor league affiliate of the Boston Bees . Zanesville finished

Zanesville Greys - Misplaced Pages Continue

1152-471: The regular season with a record of 33-88, playing the season under manager Possum Whitted . Zanesville finished 45.0 games behind the first place Canton Terriers in the final regular season standings. The Zanesville franchise did not return to play in the 1938 Middle Atlantic League, replaced by the Erie Sailors in league play. In 1941, the Middle Atlantic League expanded from six teams to eight teams with

1188-470: The second place Dayton Ducks. Earl Wolgamot again managed Zanesville. In the playoff, Dayton defeated Huntington for the league title. Jimmy Wasdell of Zanesville won the league batting title, hitting .357. Teammate Milt McIntyre led the league with both 24 home runs and 110 RBI. On Sunday, May 3, 1936, just before the start of the regular season, the Zanesville Grays hosted two exhibition games against

1224-430: The six–team Class D level Ohio State League , which resumed play following World War II . The Zanesville Grays hosted home minor league home games at "Mark Park" or Mark Greys Athletic Park for their duration. The ballpark had field dimensions of (Left, Center, Right): 304-386-265 with a seating capacity of 2,000. The park was located at Putnam Avenue & Ontario Street in Zanesville, Ohio. The location corresponds to

1260-579: Was granted an expansion franchise in the league. The team, as chosen by fans in a contest, was named the Titans and will play at RCGT Park . Then, on January 8, 2021, after the reorganization of Minor League Baseball, the league added the Tri-City ValleyCats , which were one of several teams that were orphaned or disbanded when the New York-Penn League was folded. The Titans and ValleyCats joined

1296-581: Was named for Nelson T. Gant who was the former owner of the property before donating it. Frontier League The Frontier League ( FL ; French : Ligue Frontière, LF ) is a professional baseball league in North America consisting of 18 teams – 15 in the United States and 3 in Canada. The FL is one of the four independent baseball leagues that is considered to be an MLB Partner League , and

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