| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1915 |
| Inaugural season | 1915 |
| Ceased | 9 February 1931 |
| No. of teams | 6 (1915–1917) (1920–1929) 4 (1918, 1930) |
| Country |  United States |
| Last champion(s) | Chambersburg Young Yanks |
| Most titles | Hagerstown (5) |
| Official website | blueridgeleague.org |
The Blue Ridge League was the name of two minor league baseball organizations that operated in the first half of the twentieth century in the United States.
The first league operated for the better part of sixteen years, from 1915 through 1918, and 1920 to 1930. It was a Class D level league in the old classification system that ran from Class D up to Class Double-A, and had teams from Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
The league was founded by Charles W. Boyer in 1915, as part of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues. Boyer, former president of the original South Atlantic League, served as the league president in the Blue Ridge League's inaugural season. Due to internal problems, Boyer resigned as president the first week of the 1916 season, being replaced by James Vincent Jamison Jr. Jamison was at the forefront of the league until it ceased its operations shortly before the beginning of the 1931 season. [1]
Blue Ridge League play officially began in 1915 with six teams from Chambersburg, Frederick, Gettysburg, Hagerstown, Hanover and Martinsburg. The team to win the most games during the regular season was declared the pennant winner. Through the 1917 midseason, Chambersburg replaced Cumberland when this team refused to pay its annual forfeit fee. The league shrank from six teams to four in 1918, with teams representing Cumberland, Hagerstown, Martinsburg and Piedmont, and ultimately disbanded after three weeks of play due to the lack of players during World War I.
Due to the aftermath of the war and the 1918 flu pandemic, the Blue Ridge League did not resume operations until 1920, with Chambersburg, Frederick, Hagerstown, Hanover and Martinsburg rejoining the action, as well as the addition of the Waynesboro franchise to bring again the six-team format. Since 1928, the two teams with the best records competed in a series of play-off games to determine the League Champion. Gradually, six Major League Baseball franchises started their affiliation with the league, among others Cleveland Indians (Frederick), Detroit Tigers (Hanover), New York Yankees (Chambersburg), St. Louis Cardinals (Waynesboro) and Philadelphia Athletics (Martinsburg), Washington Senators (Hagerstown). But after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, Detroit and St. Louis dropped their affiliations due to heavy financial losses. Only the teams of Chambersburg, Frederick, Hagerstown and Waynesboro returned in 1930, the Blue Ridge League's last season.
| Cities represented | Teams | Year(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Chambersburg, Pennsylvania | Chambersburg Maroons | 1915–1917, 1920–1928 |
| Chambersburg Young Yanks | 1929–1930 | |
| Cumberland, Maryland | Cumberland Colts | 1917–1918 |
| Frederick, Maryland | Frederick Hustlers | 1915, 1917; 1920–1928 |
| Frederick Champs | 1916 | |
| Frederick Warriors | 1929–1930 | |
| Gettysburg, Pennsylvania | Gettysburg Patriots Gettysburg Ponies | 1915 1916–1917 |
| Hagerstown, Maryland | Hagerstown Blues | 1915 |
| Hagerstown Terriers | 1916–1918, 1922–1923 | |
| Hagerstown Champs | 1920–1921 | |
| Hagerstown Hubs | 1924–1930 | |
| Hanover, Pennsylvania | Hanover Hornets | 1915 |
| Hanover Raiders | 1916–1917, 1920–1929 | |
| Martinsburg, West Virginia | Martinsburg Champs | 1915 |
| Martinsburg Blue Sox | 1916–1917, 1922–1929 | |
| Martinsburg Mountaineers | 1920–1921 | |
| Piedmont, West Virginia Westernport, Maryland | Piedmont-Westernport Drybugs | 1918 |
| Waynesboro, Pennsylvania | Waynesboro Red Birds | 1920, 1928–1930 |
| Waynesboro Villagers | 1921–1927 |
| Year | Date | Pitcher | Team | Opposition | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1915 | August 3 | Edward Stricker | Chambersburg | Gettysburg | 1-0 |
| 1916 | June 28 | Wick Winslow | Hagerstown | Chambersburg | 4-0 |
| 1916 | August 25 | Earl Howard | Hagerstown | Gettysburg | 4-0 |
| 1924 | July 5 | Walt Halas | Hanover | Chambersburg | 5-1 |
| 1926 | August 3 | Chuck Warden | Waynesboro | Hagerstown | 3-0 |
Another Blue Ridge League operated between 1946 and 1950. It was located in North Carolina and Virginia and was rated as a D-level league. The Presidents in the history of the league were Joe Ryan (1946), Stanley F. Radke (1947-'48), Judge E. C. Bivins (1948-'49) and John B. Spiers (1950). In 1946, the team with the best winning record was declared the pennant winner. From 1947 through 1950, the two teams with the best records faced in a series of play-off games to determine the League Champion.
| Cities represented | Teams | Year(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Abingdon, Virginia | Abingdon Triplets | 1948 |
| Bassett, Virginia | Bassett Statesmen | 1950 |
| Elkin, North Carolina | Elkin Blanketeers | 1949–1950 |
| Galax, Virginia | Galax Leafs | 1946–1950 |
| Leaksville, Draper, Spray, North Carolina | Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets | 1948 |
| Lenoir, North Carolina | Lenoir Red Sox | 1946–1947 |
| Mount Airy, North Carolina | Mount Airy Graniteers | 1946–1950 |
| North Wilkesboro, North Carolina | North Wilkesboro Flashers | 1948–1950 |
| Radford, Virginia | Radford Rockets | 1946–1950 |
| Salem, Virginia | Salem Friends | 1946 |
| Wytheville, Virginia | Wytheville Pioneers | 1948 |
| Wytheville Statesmen | 1949–1950 |
The Frederick Keys are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. The Keys are based in Frederick, Maryland. The franchise is named for "Star-Spangled Banner" writer Francis Scott Key, a native of Frederick County. A new team mascot "Frank Key", short for Francis Scott Key, joined the current mascot, a coyote named Keyote, at the beginning of the 2011 baseball season. The Keys were purchased from Maryland Baseball Holding, LLC by Attain Sports and Entertainment in January 2022. Home games are played at Harry Grove Stadium.
Municipal Stadium is a stadium in Hagerstown, Maryland, United States. It is primarily used for baseball. It was built in 1930 in a short time period of six weeks. It holds 4,600 people.
The Hagerstown & Frederick Railway, now defunct, was an American railroad of central Maryland built in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The Chambersburg, Greencastle & Waynesboro Street Railway, now defunct, was an American railroad of south central Pennsylvania built in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Harry Harlan Mowrey was an American professional baseball third baseman who played in the Major Leagues from 1905 to 1917. He would play for the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Brooklyn Robins, and Pittsburgh Pirates.
The 1921 Detroit Tigers finished in sixth place in the American League, 27 games behind the Yankees, with a record of 71–82. Despite their sixth-place finish, the 1921 Tigers amassed 1,724 hits and a team batting average of .316—the highest team hit total and batting average in American League history. Detroit outfielders Harry Heilmann and Ty Cobb finished No. 1 and No. 2 in the American League batting race with batting averages of .394 and .389, and all three Detroit outfielders ranked among the league leaders in batting average and RBIs. As early proof of the baseball adage that "Good Pitching Beats Good Hitting", the downfall of the 1921 Tigers was the absence of good pitching. The team ERA was 4.40, they allowed nine or more runs 28 times, and only one pitcher had an ERA below 4.24.
John Stephenson "Jack" Perrin was an American baseball and football player. He played college baseball and football for the University of Michigan. He later played Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox in 1921 and professional football for the Hartford Blues of the National Football League in 1926.
The Chambersburg Maroons were a baseball team located in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. They called historic Henninger Field their home, and have done so since the club's creation in 1895. They played their last season in 2010, ending 116 years of existence.
Frederick Warrington Lucas [Fritz] was an outfielder in Major League Baseball who played briefly for the Philadelphia Phillies during the 1935 season. Listed at 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m), 165 lb, Lucas batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Vineland, New Jersey.
The Hagerstown Hubs were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland, United States. The team played predominantly in the Blue Ridge League (1915–1930) and briefly in the Middle Atlantic League (1931). Their home games were in Willow Lane Park from 1915 to 1929 and Municipal Stadium during the 1930 and 1931 seasons.
Karl Dickey"Koley"Kolseth was a Major League Baseball first baseman who played for the Baltimore Terrapins of the Federal League in 1915.
The Parksley Spuds were a Class D minor league baseball team based in Parksley, Virginia, which had a population of just over 600 people at the 1920 United States Census. They played in the Eastern Shore League between 1922 and 1928, the entire run of the league's initial incarnation. The Spuds won multiple league pennants during that span. The league encountered financial difficulties during the 1928 season and the owners of the teams voted to disband the league.
The Martinsburg Blue Sox were an American minor league baseball team based in Martinsburg, West Virginia. They played in the Blue Ridge League between 1915 and 1929 and were an affiliate of the Philadelphia Athletics in 1929.
The Waynesboro Red Birds was the final moniker of the minor league baseball teams based in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania from 1920 to 1930. Waynesboro teams played as exclusively as members of the Class D level Blue Ridge League.
The Hagerstown Suns Minor League Baseball team was established in Hagerstown, Maryland, in 1981. The Suns remained in the Carolina League through 1988. In 1989, team ownership purchased the Williamsport Bills franchise of the Double-A Eastern League (EL) and relocated the team to Hagerstown. The Double-A Suns carried on the history of the Class A team that preceded it. After just four seasons, the Eastern League franchise left. The Myrtle Beach Hurricanes franchise of the Class A South Atlantic League (SAL) relocated to Hagerstown for the 1993 season where they became the Suns and continued the previous Suns teams' history.
The Cumberland Colts was the primary name of the minor league baseball teams based in Cumberland, Maryland between 1906 and 1932. Cumberland teams played as members of the Pennsylvania-Ohio-Maryland League in 1906, Western Pennsylvania League in 1907, Potomac League in 1916, Blue Ridge League from 1917 to 1918 and Middle Atlantic League from 1925 to 1932.
The Carlisle Colts was the initial moniker of the minor league baseball teams based in Carlisle, Pennsylvania between 1896 and 1904. The Carlisle teams played as members of the Cumberland Valley League in 1896 and Pennsylvania League in 1904.
The Cumberland Valley League was a four–team Independent level baseball minor league that played in the 1896 season. The Cumberland League featured franchises based in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The Cumberland Valley League permanently folded after playing the 1896 season.
The Hanover Raiders was the final moniker of the minor league baseball teams based in Hanover, Pennsylvania between 1896 and 1929. Hanover teams played as members of the Cumberland Valley League in 1896 and Blue Ridge League from 1915 to 1917 and 1920 to 1929.
The Galax Leafs were a minor league baseball team based in Galax, Virginia from 1946 to 1950. The Galax Leafs played exclusively as members of the Class D level Blue Ridge League.
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