Harrisburg Senators (1893–1952)

Last updated
Harrisburg Senators
Minor league affiliations
Previous classes
  • Class B (1895, 1907–1914, 1916–1917, 1924–1932, 1940–1952)
  • Class A (1933–1935)
  • Class AA (1915)
  • Class D (1901)
Previous leagues
Major league affiliations
Previous teams
Minor league titles
League titles (7)
  • 1912
  • 1914
  • 1927
  • 1928
  • 1931
  • 1941
  • 1946
Team data
Previous names
  • Harrisburg Senators (1907–1915, 1924–1925, 1940–1952)
  • Harrisburg Islanders (1916–1917)
  • Harrisburg Ponies (1911)
  • Harrisburg (1900)
  • Harrisburg Senators (1894–1895)
  • Harrisburg Hustlers (1893)
Previous parks
Island Park

The Harrisburg Senators was originally a name given to several minor league baseball clubs between 1893 and 1952. The name is also currently used by the modern-day team in the Double-A Eastern League, since 1987.

Contents

History

Early teams

The first Senators teams can be traced to the Pennsylvania State League, where the team played as the Harrisburg Hustlers, before taking on the Senators name the following year. In 1900, the city fielded a team in the Atlantic League for one season. In 1911, the team was called the Harrisburg Ponies. In 1912, Harrisburg won the first of three Tri-State League championships. In 1915, the Newark Indians of the International League team moved to Harrisburg. The club lasted one year before moving to the New York State League and playing as the Harrisburg Islanders before disbanding in 1917. This left the city without professional baseball for seven years.

First incarnation

In 1924, the first incarnation of the Senators joined the newly formed New York–Penn League which was eventually renamed the Eastern League. Initially, the Senators and most of the other New York–Penn League teams were not affiliated with a Major League Baseball team. In 1925, Joe Munson hit a .400 batting average, a record which stands to this day in Senators history, and 33 home runs, a Senators record that was not broken until 1999. In 1927, the Senators started a five-year campaign with three Eastern league championships, winning titles in 1927, 1928, and 1931. The year 1932 brought the Senators an affiliation with the Boston Braves. The original Harrisburg Senators' reign ended in 1936, when flood waters from the surrounding Susquehanna River ruined their home ballpark, Island Field. The flood effectively ended Eastern League participation for the next 51 years.

Second and third incarnations

Another Senators team, representing Harrisburg and affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates, formed four years later in the smaller Interstate League. Like the Senators before it, the team gained success quickly, winning the league title one year later with stars Billy Cox and Dennis Taylor. The success, however, was short lived, as the team moved to nearby York, Pennsylvania to become an incarnation of the York White Roses in 1943. Another team affiliated with the Cleveland Indians was created, but was not as successful. The Interstate League disbanded this Harrisburg team in 1952, and any form of professional baseball was not played in the city for the next 35 years. [1] [2]

Season-by-season

YearRecordFinishManagerPlayoffs
189349-525thFelix Marks / Jack Huston
189456-452ndJack HustonLost disputed title game
( vs. Pottsville Colts)
189519-16--Frank SeissTeam disbanded on June 14
190458-513rdPeter Agnew
190576-514th Billy Hamilton
190652-745thBilly Hamilton
190779-472ndGeorge Heckertno playoffs
190880-472ndGeorge Heckertno playoffs
190949-656thGeorge Heckertno playoffs
191052-596thAl Selbachno playoffs
191147-617thAl Selbach
191275-371st George Cockill League Champs
No playoffs
191359-522nd (t) George Cockill no playoffs
191478-321st George Cockill League Champs
No playoffs
191561-766thHarry Smith Newark Indians moved to Harrisburg July 2
191648-478th Louis Wachter / George Cockill /
Walter Blair
192470-604th Steve Yerkes (19–16) / Mickey LaLonge (6–3) /
Glenn Killinger (40–34) / Nig Clarke (5–7)
No playoffs
192561-696th Rankin Johnson, Sr.
192647-848thRankin Johnson, Sr. (35–49) / Lee Dempsey (0–1) /
Joe Lightner (12–34)
No playoffs
192787-511st Win Clark League Champs
No playoffs
192882-541stGlenn KillingerLeague Champs
No playoffs
192975-623rd Johnny Tillman No playoffs
193070-694thJohnny TillmanNo playoffs
193183-561st Joe Cobb (6–8) / Eddie Onslow (77–48)League Champs
No playoffs
193274-662ndEddie OnslowNo playoffs
193360-767thEddie OnslowNo playoffs
193460-758th Leslie Mann
193559-776thArt Shires
194060-625th Les Bell
194181-431stLes BellLeague Champs
(vs. Trenton Senators, 4 games to 3)
Won in first round
(vs. Reading Brooks, 3 games to 1)
194269-683rd Danny Taylor Lost in 1st round
(vs. Hagerstown Owls, 3 games to 1)
194676-642ndLes BellLeague Champs
(vs. Wilmington Blue Rocks, 4 games to 1)
Won in first round
(vs. Allentown Cardinals, 4 games to 1)
194771-694thLes BellLost in 1st round
(vs. Wilmington Blue Rocks, 4 games to 1)
194864-766thLes Bell
194974-643rdLes BellLost League Finals
(vs. Trenton Giants 4 games to 3)
Won in first round
(vs. Allentown Cardinals, 4 games to 2)
195077-623rdLes BellLost in 1st round
(vs. Wilmington Blue Rocks, 4 games to 3)
195155-846thLes Bell / Harold Cox
195246-948th Buck Etchison / Woody Wheaton

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toledo Mud Hens</span> Minor league baseball team

The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in Toledo for most seasons since 1896, including a 50-year history as a member of the now defunct American Association. The current franchise was established in 1965. They joined Triple-A East in 2021, but this was renamed the International League in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern League (1938–present)</span> American sports league in minor league baseball

The Eastern League (EL) is a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) sports league that has operated under that name since 1938, with the exception of the 2021 season, during which the league operated under the moniker Double-A Northeast. The league has played at the Double-A level since 1963, and consists primarily of teams located in the Northeastern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Colored League</span> Negro League Baseball

The Mutual Association of Eastern Colored Clubs, more commonly known as the Eastern Colored League (ECL), was one of the several Negro leagues, which operated during the time organized baseball was segregated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erie SeaWolves</span> Minor league baseball team

The Erie SeaWolves are an American professional baseball team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They compete in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a member of the Eastern League's Southwest Division, serving as the Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. The team was founded in 1989 and began playing in Erie for the 1995 season. The SeaWolves currently play their home games at UPMC Park in downtown Erie, next door to Erie Insurance Arena and the Warner Theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harrisburg Senators</span> Minor league baseball team

The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team who play in the Eastern League, and are the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The team is based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at FNB Field on City Island, which opened in 1987 and has a seating capacity of 6,187.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reading Fightin Phils</span> Minor league baseball team

The Reading Fightin Phils are a Minor League Baseball team based in Reading, Pennsylvania, playing in the Northeast Division of the Eastern League. The team plays their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Reading Fightin Phils were founded in 1967 as the Reading Phillies and they have been the Double-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies since 1967. This affiliation is currently tied for the longest affiliation in Minor League Baseball. The Phillies bought the team outright in 2008. Many fans still refer to the team as the Reading Phillies or R-Phils.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City Island (Pennsylvania)</span> Area of Harrisburg in Pennsylvania, United States

City Island is a mile-long island in the Susquehanna River between Harrisburg and Wormleysburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is used mainly for leisure and sports activities. Its previous names have included Turkey Island, Maclay's Island, Forster's Island and Hargast Island. The island can be reached from either side of the Susquehanna River by Market Street Bridge or, from the Harrisburg side and by pedestrians and cyclists only, by Walnut Street Bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harrisburg City Islanders</span> Defunct soccer team in Pennsylvania

Harrisburg City Islanders, known as Penn FC in their final season, were an American professional soccer team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 2003, the team most recently played in the USL Pro, the second tier of the United States soccer league system. In October 2018, the club formally announced it will not participate in the 2019 season and would have resume play in 2020 as a member of USL League One, a league in the third tier.

The Salisbury Indians were a United States minor league baseball team which played in Salisbury, Maryland. The team began operation in 1922 as a founding member of the Eastern Shore League, which operated out of cities on the Delmarva Peninsula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FNB Field</span> Baseball park in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

FNB Field is a baseball park in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on City Island in the Susquehanna River. It is the home field of the Harrisburg Senators, the Double-A Eastern League affiliate of the Washington Nationals, and was the home stadium of Penn FC of the USL. The original structure was built in 1987 and it was called Riverside Stadium until 2004. It has a capacity of 6,187. The ballpark received a $45 million renovation that began in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International League</span> US professional baseball league

The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball (MLB).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lancaster Red Roses</span> Minor league baseball team

The Lancaster Red Roses baseball team, originally known as the Maroons, changed its name at the start of the 1906 season during a bitter match with the York, Pennsylvania-based White Roses. Some sources indicate that the rival teams were named for the opposing factions in England's historic Wars of the Roses. The Lancaster Red Roses played at Stumpf Field in Manheim Township, Pennsylvania, which is still used today by local baseball and softball leagues.

The Tri-State League was the name of six different circuits in American minor league baseball.

The Interstate League was the name of five different American minor baseball leagues that played intermittently from 1896 through 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elmira Pioneers</span> Minor League Baseball team

The Elmira Pioneers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Elmira, New York. They have been affiliated with many major league teams throughout their history. The current Elmira Pioneers play as members of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL). They play their home games at Dunn Field.

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 Hazleton Mountaineers were an American minor league baseball franchise in the first half of the 20th century which represented Hazleton, Pennsylvania.

The Nashua Pirates were a minor league baseball team, based in Nashua, New Hampshire. The team started in 1983 as the Nashua Angels, an affiliate with the California Angels in the Eastern League. The club changed affiliations in 1984 to the Pittsburgh Pirates and were then renamed the Nashua Pirates. The team's home ballpark was Holman Stadium.

The Sunbury Indians were a minor league baseball team based in Sunbury, Pennsylvania. They began play in the Interstate League in 1939 as the Sunbury Senators and were renamed the Sunbury Indians in 1940. Despite the nicknames, they were unaffiliated with any major league baseball team. They played at Meredith Park. The team relocated to Hagerstown, Maryland, after the 1940 season as the Hagerstown Owls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minor League Baseball</span> Hierarchy of professional baseball leagues affiliated with Major League Baseball

Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), including teams affiliated with MLB clubs.

References

  1. Weiss, Bill; Wright, Marshall. "A History of the Harrisburg Senators". MiLB . Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  2. "Top 100 Teams: 1993 Senators". MiLB . Retrieved March 23, 2016.