The Newark Bears were an American independent league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. The Bears played their home games at Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium. The team folded after the 2013 season.
Newark is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 311,549. Newark is a principal city of the Greater New York metropolitan area.
The Orange Tornadoes and Newark Tornadoes were two manifestations of a long-lived professional American football franchise that existed in some form from 1887 to 1941 and from 1958 to 1970, having played in the American Amateur Football Union from 1888 to 1895, the National Football League from 1929 to 1930, the American Association from 1936 to 1941, the Atlantic Coast Football League from 1963 to 1964 and 1970, and the Continental Football League from 1965 to 1969. The team was based for most of its history in Orange, New Jersey, with many of its later years in Newark. Its last five seasons of existence were as the Orlando Panthers, when the team was based in Orlando, Florida. The NFL franchise was sold back to the league in October 1930. The team had four head coaches in its two years in the NFL – Jack Depler in Orange, and Jack Fish, Al McGall and Andy Salata in Newark.
Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium, originally simply Riverfront Stadium, was a 6,200-seat baseball park in Newark, New Jersey built in 1999. It was the home field of the Newark Bears, who played in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent minor baseball league. The Bears played in the stadium from 1999 until 2013 when they announced a move to the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball, but the team was folded shortly thereafter.
Roosevelt Stadium was a baseball stadium at Droyer's Point in Jersey City, New Jersey. It opened in April 1937 and hosted high-minor league baseball, 15 major league baseball games, plus championship boxing matches, top-name musical acts, an annual championship drum and bugle corps competition known as "The Dream" (1946–1983), important regional high school football and even soccer matches. It was demolished in 1985.
Carson Park is a historic park located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It is located on a 134-acre (54.2 ha) peninsula created on an oxbow lake, Half Moon Lake, which was part of the former course of the Chippewa River. The park contains baseball, football, and softball venues, as well as the Chippewa Valley Museum.
Throughout the years, a number of teams in the National Football League (NFL) have either moved or merged.
Ruppert Stadium was a baseball stadium in Newark, New Jersey, in the area now known as the Ironbound.
Malcolm X Shabazz High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in Newark in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, as part of the Newark Public Schools. Founded as South Side High School in 1912, the school was renamed in 1972 in memory of Malcolm X. The school is a candidate for accreditation by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools.
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are the athletic teams that represent Rutgers University's New Brunswick campus. In sports, Rutgers is famously known for being the "Birthplace of College Football", hosting the first ever intercollegiate football game on November 6, 1869, in which Rutgers defeated a team from the College of New Jersey with a score of 6 runs to 4.
Weequahic High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in the Weequahic section of Newark in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school is operated by the Newark Public Schools and is located at 279 Chancellor Avenue. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1935.
East Side High School is a four-year public high school in Newark in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as part of the Newark Public Schools. The school serves the city's Ironbound neighborhood. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1929 and is accredited until January 2026.
Jersey Express was an American soccer team based in Springfield, New Jersey. Founded in 2007, the team played in the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Mid Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Prior to the 2011 season the team was known as Newark Ironbound Express. The team's colors were white, Emerald and Gold.
The Newark Bears were an American Minor League Baseball team that played in the top-level International League from 1917 through the 1949 season, with the exception of the 1920 campaign and part of 1925. The Bears succeeded the Newark Indians, originally the Sailors, who played in the same circuit from 1902. During the Bears' lifetime, the International League was graded one step below the Major League Baseball level, Class AA through 1945 and Triple-A starting in 1946. The franchise played its home games at Ruppert Stadium in what is now known as the Ironbound section of Newark, New Jersey; the stadium was demolished in 1967. The 1932, 1937, 1938, and 1941 Bears were recognized as being among the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time.
Hasson Arbubakrr is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) and the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the ninth round of the 1983 NFL Draft. He used to be known as "Tic Tic Boom" while on the Minnesota Vikings. He played a single season with the Vikings and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1983–1984) before playing four years in the CFL with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1985–1987) and the Ottawa Rough Riders.
Henry Marvin "Heinie" Benkert was a professional American football running back who starred collegiately at Rutgers University, where he won the unofficial collegiate scoring crown as a senior, and played for four non-consecutive seasons in the National Football League (NFL), for the New York Giants, the Pottsville Maroons and the Orange/Newark Tornadoes.
Sports in Newark, New Jersey, the second largest city in New York metropolitan area, are part of the regional professional sports and media markets. The city has hosted many teams and events, though much of its history is without an MLB, NBA, NHL, or NFL team in the city proper. Two venues in the northeastern New Jersey metro region, Prudential Center and Riverfront Stadium (closed), are in Downtown Newark. Red Bull Arena is just across the Passaic River in Harrison. The Meadowlands Sports Complex is less than 10 miles away from Downtown and reached with the Meadowlands Rail Line via Newark Penn Station or Broad Street Station.
As of 2023, New Jersey has five teams from major professional sports leagues playing in the state, with only one team identifying themselves as solely being from the state. The other remaining teams identify themselves as being from the New York metropolitan area with the National Women's Soccer League team having a team name that includes both New Jersey and New York. The National Hockey League and National Basketball Association teams representing Philadelphia have their training facilities in South Jersey.
