Boise Yankees

Last updated
Boise Yankees
1952 1953
Boise, Idaho
Minor league affiliations
Previous classes Class C
Previous leagues
Pioneer League (1952–1953)
Major league affiliations
Previous teams New York Yankees (1952–1953)
Team data
Previous parks
Joe Devine Airway Park (1952–1953)

The Boise Yankees were a minor league baseball team in the western United States, based in Boise, Idaho. They played in the Class C Pioneer League in 1952 and 1953 as an affiliate of the New York Yankees, and their home venue was Joe Devine Airway Park, named for the late Yankee scout Joe Devine in 1952. [1] [2]

Contents

History

The team was previously known as the unaffiliated Boise Pilots [3] from 1939 to 1951 (except for three years during World War II when the league did not operate), while the Yankees' affiliates in the Pioneer League were previously the Twin Falls Cowboys (1946–51) [4] [5] [6] and the Idaho Falls Russets (1940–41). The Yankees pulled out of the Pioneer League and the western U.S. after the 1953 season. [7] The Boise team's name reverted to Pilots for 1954, then was the Boise Braves (affiliated with the Milwaukee Braves) from 1955 to 1963.

A notable Boise Yankee was future country music star Charley Pride. [8]

Season records

Season [9] Manager(s)W–LWin %FinishPlayoffsRef
1952Wayne Tucker63–69.4775thnone [10]
1953 Ted Gullic 63–68.4816thnone [11]

Notable players

See also

Related Research Articles

Pioneer League (baseball)

The Pioneer League is an independent baseball league that operates in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States. Its teams are not directly affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB). It is designated as an MLB Partner League.

Idaho Falls Chukars Minor League Baseball team

The Idaho Falls Chukars are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and play their home games at Melaleuca Field.

The Salt Lake City Bees was a primary moniker of the minor league baseball teams, based in Salt Lake City, Utah between 1911 and 1970 under various names. After minor league baseball first began in Salt Lake City in 1900, the Bees were long-time members of both the Pacific Coast League and Pioneer League. The Salt Lake Bees played their home games at Derks Field.

The Caldwell Cubs were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Pioneer League. The Caldwell Cubs were located in the Western United States, in the town of Caldwell, Idaho, west of Boise.

Lewiston Broncs Minor League Baseball team

The Lewiston Broncs were a minor league baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Lewiston, Idaho, and played from 1952 through 1974. Locally, the team was known as "Lewis-Clark" to include the adjacent twin city of Clarkston, Washington. The team's ballpark was Bengal Field, a few blocks southeast of the high school.

Pocatello, Idaho, has been home to minor league baseball teams who competed in 35 seasons of Minor League Baseball, between 1900 and 1993.

Potter P. Howard served consecutive two-year terms as mayor of Boise, Idaho, from 1947 to 1951. An automobile dealer when elected, he was later an executive with the local natural gas company in Boise. Potter died in a Salt Lake City hotel while returning to Idaho from a business trip to Chicago.

Marion Jones Callister American judge

Marion Jones Callister was an American attorney and jurist who served as a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Idaho.

Derks Field was a minor league baseball park in the western United States, located in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was the home field of the Salt Lake Bees, Angels, and Gulls of the Pacific Coast League, Bees, Giants, and Trappers of the Pioneer Baseball League, and the Salt Lake Sting of the American Professional Soccer League.

The Utah–Idaho League was a six–team minor league baseball organization founded in 1926 as a Class C level league. Fred M. Nye served as president of the league for its duration. The Pacific Coast League used the Utah-Idaho for player development. Travel costs in the mountainous territory plagued the league and it permanently folded following the 1928 season. Baseball Hall of Fame members Lefty Gomez, 1928 Salt Lake City Bees and Ernie Lombardi, 1927 Ogden Gunners played in the Utah–Idaho League

The Twin Falls Cowboys were a Class C minor league baseball team from 1939 to 1942 and 1946 to 1951 in the Pioneer League. Their affiliation was with the Seattle Rainiers in 1939, and later the New York Yankees from 1946 to 1951. The Cowboys played at Jaycee Field in Twin Falls, Idaho, located in the northeast corner of the city's Harmon Park.

Joe Devine (scout)

Joseph Vincent Devine was a baseball scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees, credited for signing Joe DiMaggio to the Yankees.

Joe Devine Airway Park

Joe Devine Airway Park was a minor league baseball stadium in the western United States, located in Boise, Idaho. Opened 82 years ago in 1939, the ballpark was the home of Boise's teams in the Class C Pioneer League, which briefly moved to Class A in 1963, the final year of the Braves and the ballpark.

The Boise Pilots were a minor league baseball team in the western United States, based in Boise, Idaho. They played in the Pioneer League for a total of 11 seasons between 1939 and 1954. They were unaffiliated with any major league team, and played at the Class C level. Their home venue was originally named Airway Park in 1939, and in 1952 was renamed Joe Devine Airway Park.

The Magic Valley Cowboys were a minor league baseball team in the Pioneer League for a total of 17 seasons between 1952 and 1971. The team was based in Twin Falls, Idaho — the largest city within the Magic Valley region — and succeeded the Twin Falls Cowboys. The team played at Jaycee Field, located in the northeast corner of the city's Harmon Park.

The Boise Braves were a minor league baseball team in the western United States, based in Boise, Idaho. They played in the Pioneer League from 1955 to 1963 as an affiliate of the Milwaukee Braves. The team played at the Class C level for all but their final year, when they played at the Class A level. Their home venue was Braves Field, which had previously been called Joe Devine Airway Park.

The 1953 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1953 college football season. The Vandals were led by third-year head coach Raymond "Babe" Curfman and were members of the Pacific Coast Conference. Home games were played on campus at Neale Stadium in Moscow, with two games in Boise at old Bronco Stadium at Boise Junior College.

The 1951 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1951 college football season. The Vandals were led by first-year head coach Raymond "Babe" Curfman and were members of the Pacific Coast Conference. Home games were played on campus at Neale Stadium in Moscow, with one game in Boise at old Bronco Stadium at Boise Junior College and another at Memorial Stadium in Spokane, Washington.

The 1950 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1950 college football season. The Vandals were led by fourth-year head coach Dixie Howell and were members of the Pacific Coast Conference. Home games were played on campus at Neale Stadium in Moscow, with one game in Boise at old Bronco Stadium at Boise Junior College, the season opener at the new venue.

The 1975–76 Weber State Wildcats men's basketball team represented Weber State College during the 1975–76 NCAA Division I basketball season. Members of the Big Sky Conference, the Wildcats were led by first-year head coach Neil McCarthy and played their home games on campus at Wildcat Gym in Ogden, Utah. They were 20–10 overall in the regular season and 9–5 in conference play.

References

  1. "Joe Devine honored". St. Petersburg Times. Florida. Associated Press. March 17, 1952. p. 15.
  2. Kling, Dwayne (November 2011). Joe Devine. Can He Play? A Look at Baseball Scouts and their Profession. pp. 41–42. ISBN   9781933599236.
  3. "Boise Yanks is the new name". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). Associated Press. January 27, 1952. p. C3.
  4. "Twin Falls needs Yankee help – not 'Trower' of strength – yet". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). United Press. April 13, 1951. p. A11.
  5. "Twin, Great Falls in Pioneer finals". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. September 14, 1951. p. 11.
  6. "Boise assumes Yankee banner". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 2, 1951. p. 2.
  7. Chipman, Dee (October 20, 1953). "Pioneer League has talent; Yankees drop Boise; Garth deserves support". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 2B.
  8. "Biography". CharleyPride.com. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  9. "Boise Yankees". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved August 16, 2017.
  10. "1952 Boise Yankees". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved August 16, 2017.
  11. "1953 Boise Yankees". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved August 16, 2017.

Coordinates: 43°36′07″N116°11′10″W / 43.602°N 116.186°W / 43.602; -116.186