War Memorial Stadium is a stadium in Hampton, Virginia. It is primarily used for baseball and has been the home of the various incarnations of the Peninsula Pilots, including the current Coastal Plain League incarnation. It is also the home for the Apprentice School Builders college baseball team. The ballpark has a capacity of 3,750 people and opened in June, 1948.
Peninsula War Memorial Stadium was designed by the legendary Branch Rickey as an affiliate for his Brooklyn Dodgers. The Newport News Dodgers won 3 Piedmont League Championships before Brooklyn moved to Los Angeles and the Dodgers were no more in 1958. In 1963 the Carolina League's Peninsula franchise (1963-1992) began play in the Stadium as the Top Class "A" club of the Washington Senators. The Peninsula Grays were born. The Cincinnati Reds followed with Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench playing in the Stadium in 1965. The 1965 team also won the pennant for best record but lost in the playoffs. The Kansas City/Oakland "A"s followed until 1968 when the Astros came in. The following started a great era: the era of the Phillies. The name Astros was kept for 1969 when the Phillies came knocking. That's when the club adopted the nickname Peninsula Pilots, which was used 1971, 1976–1986, 1989–1992. The Phillies were Peninsula's affiliate for much of that time winning 7 Carolina League Division Championships, including 6 trips to the Carolina League Championship Series. In 1980 the club had a record of 100-40 and swept the Durham Bulls in the League Championship Series. That team had a .714 winning percentage, which was the best in Carolina League history. It still stands as one of the top 20 all-time records in professional baseball history. The Seattle Mariners were the affiliate in Peninsula's last season and won the CL Championship. Then the era of professional baseball on the peninsula that dated back to 1893 was over. The team is honored by the Peninsula Pro Baseball Alumni Association and the Peninsula Professional Baseball Hall of Fame. Inductee and chairman is longtime Peninsula executive John Graham.
War Memorial Stadium celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2008.
Satchel Paige played his last professional game on June 21, 1966, for the Peninsula Grays of the Carolina League at War Memorial Stadium.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. Established in 1883 in Brooklyn, New York, the team joined the NL in 1890 as the Brooklyn Bridegrooms and assumed several other monikers before finally settling on the name Dodgers in 1932. From the 1940s through the mid-1950s, the Dodgers developed a fierce crosstown rivalry with the New York Yankees as the two clubs faced each other in the World Series seven times, with the Dodgers losing the first five matchups before defeating them to win the franchise's first title in 1955. It was also during this period that the Dodgers made history by breaking the baseball color line in 1947 with the debut of Jackie Robinson, the first African American to play in the Major Leagues since 1884. Another major milestone was reached in 1956 when Don Newcombe became the first player ever to win both the Cy Young Award and the NL MVP in the same season.
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 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.
The Clearwater Threshers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Clearwater, Florida, and have played their home games at BayCare Ballpark since 2004. They previously played at Jack Russell Memorial Stadium from 1985 to 2003.
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 the original Falcon Park, which was built in 1927 on the same site. The team is owned and operated by Auburn Community Baseball.
The Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) is a Canadian baseball league, comprising teams of college players and former professionals from North America and beyond. The teams are located in Southern Ontario.
Roosevelt Stadium was a baseball stadium at Droyer's Point in Jersey City, New Jersey. It opened on April 23, 1937 and was the home of the Jersey City Giants of the International League, the Triple-A farm team of the New York Giants, from 1937 to 1950 and later hosted other high-minor league baseball teams. It also hosted 15 Major League Baseball home games for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1956 to 1957, plus championship boxing matches, top-name musical acts, an annual championship drum and bugle corps competition known as "The Dream" (1946–1983), professional wrestling matches, important regional high school football games, college football games, minor league football games, soccer matches and even NASCAR races. The stadium was demolished in 1985 and replaced by the Society Hill housing development.
The Shreveport–Bossier Captains were a professional baseball team based in Shreveport, Louisiana, in the United States. Following the 2011 season, the team was sold to new ownership and moved to Laredo, Texas, to continue play as the Laredo Lemurs. The Captains were a member of the South Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseball at the time. From the 2003 season to the 2011 season, the Captains played their home games at Shreveport's Fair Grounds Field.
The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played intermittently in five of the six New England states between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League Baseball clubs in Boston and alongside stronger, higher-classification leagues.
Delorimier Stadium was a 20,000-seat sports stadium in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was located at 2101 Ontario Street East, at the corner of De Lorimier Avenue in the present-day Montreal borough of Ville-Marie. The stadium was home to the Montreal Royals of the International League, as the top farm club of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1928 to 1960. The stadium was additionally home to the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1946 to 1953. The site of the former stadium is now occupied by École des Métiers des Faubourgs-de-Montréal, a trade school.
The York White Roses was the name of a minor league baseball team based in the city of York, Pennsylvania, US, that existed between 1894 and 1969.
The Newport News Dodgers were a minor league baseball affiliate of the Brooklyn Dodgers between 1944 and 1955. They played in the Piedmont League and were based in Newport News, Virginia. The teams played at Peninsula War Memorial Stadium on Pembroke Avenue in Hampton, Virginia. The stadium was built by Brooklyn Dodgers President Branch Rickey. The Dodgers played there from 1948-1955. Previously, Newport News teams played at Builders' Park on Warwick Road (1944-1947) and prior to that at a ballpark on Wickham Avenue on the East End of Newport News. The Piedmont League folded after the 1955 season, ending Newport News' franchise.
The Reno Silver Sox were a minor league baseball team that existed on and off from 1947 to 1992. The team name is derived from the nickname of Nevada, the "Silver State". There was another baseball team known as the Reno Silver Sox who played in the Golden Baseball League. From part of the 1955 season to 1992, they played their home games at Moana Stadium. The 1961 Silver Sox were recognized as one of the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time.
The Rocky Mount Pines was an American minor league baseball team located in Rocky Mount, North Carolina which competed in the Class A Carolina League for the 1980 season. They were the 42nd and final team to represent Rocky Mount in minor league baseball during the 20th century, beginning in 1909.
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays, next year in 1884 becoming a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, California, where it continues its history as the Los Angeles Dodgers. The team moved west at the same time as its longtime rival, the New York Giants, moved to San Francisco in northern California as the San Francisco Giants.
The Major League Baseball relocations of the 1950s–1960s brought several Major League Baseball franchises to the Western and Southern United States, expanding the league's geographical reach. This was in stark contrast to the early years of modern baseball, when the American League placed teams in National League cities. Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, and St. Louis had two teams; New York City had three. With no teams west of St. Louis or south of Washington, D.C., baseball was effectively confined to the Northeast and Midwest.
The Bassett Furnituremakers were a minor league baseball team based in Bassett, Virginia, USA that played from 1935 to 1940. Bassett was a member of the Bi-State League (1935–1940) and the Blue Ridge League (1950). Bassett was an affiliate of the Brooklyn Dodgers (1940), Cincinnati Reds (1939) and New York Yankees (1936–1937). Baseball Hall of Fame member Phil Rizzuto played for Bassett in 1937, his first professional season.
The Peninsula Pilots was a primary name of the Minor League Baseball franchise located in Hampton, Virginia from 1963–1992. The Pilots played in the Class A Carolina League.
The Hazleton Mountaineers were an American minor league baseball franchise in the first half of the 20th century which represented Hazleton, Pennsylvania.
Minor league baseball teams have operated in the city of Dubuque, Iowa under a variety of names in various leagues, playing in 52 seasons between 1879 and 1976. Dubuque teams were an affiliate of the Houston Astros (1975–1976), Kansas City Royals (1968), Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians (1961–1966), Pittsburgh Pirates (1959–1960) and Chicago White Sox (1954–1958).
The Rock Hill Chiefs was a primary name of the minor league baseball teams based in Rock Hill, South Carolina, USA between 1908 and 1968. Rock Hill teams played as members of the South Carolina League (1908), Tri-State League (1947–1955) and Western Carolinas League (1963–1968).
