Wilkes-Barre (minor league baseball club)

Last updated

Wilkes-Barre Barons
Minor league affiliations
Previous classes
  • Class A (1933–1955)
  • Class B (1905–1932)
  • Class D (1902)
  • Class A (1895–1899)
  • Class B (1892)
League Eastern League (1938–1955)
Previous leagues
Major league affiliations
Previous teams
Minor league titles
League titles 7 (1909, 1910, 1911, 1917, 1930, 1932, 1950)
Team data
Previous names
  • Wilkes-Barre Barons (1953–1955)
  • Wilkes-Barre Indians (1948–1951)
  • Wilkes-Barre Barons (1905–1947)
  • Wilkes-Barre/Mount Carmel (1902)
  • Wilkes-Barre Coal Barons (1893–1900)
  • Wilkes-Barre Coal Barons/Pittsburgh (1892)
  • Wilkes-Barre Barons (1888–1889)
  • Wilkes-Barre Coal Barons (1887)
  • Wilkes-Barre (1886)
Previous parks
Artillery Park

The Wilkes-Barre Barons were a minor league baseball team that existed off-and-on from 1886 to 1955. They began as an unnamed team in the Pennsylvania State Association in 1886.

Contents

The following season the team was known as the Wilkes-Barre Coal Barons and played in the Central League in 1888, but the league disbanded after that season. Two Wilkes-Barre team took the field in 1889 and 1892, with the later sharing representation with Pittsburgh, as Wilkes-Barre Coal Barons/Pittsburgh in the record books. The team then played from 1893 until 1898 in the Eastern League, and from 1898 to 1900 in the Atlantic League.

After spending the 1902 season in the Pennsylvania State League, as Wilkes-Barre/Mount Carmel. Their next incarnation came about in 1905, when they began playing in the New York State League, as the Wilkes-Barre Barons. They played in that league until 1917. From 1923 to 1937, they played in the New York–Pennsylvania League and from 1938 to 1948 they played in the Eastern League. Until 1939, they did not have any affiliations, however from 1939 to 1951 they were affiliated with the Cleveland Indians. The team was briefly named the Wilkes-Barre Indians from 1949 to 1951 and were managed by Bill Norman. They won a league championship in 1950 and made the league playoffs each year they played between 1949 and 1951.

From 1953 to 1955 the team regained the Barons name and once again played in the Eastern League, and in 1954 they were affiliated with the Chicago White Sox. In 1955, they were affiliated with the New York Giants when the franchise moved midseason to become the Johnstown Johnnies.[ citation needed ]

The ballpark

They played home games at Artillery Park some seasons.

Notable alumni

Multiple notable players spent time with the team, including:

[2]

Year-by-year record

YearRecordFinishManagerPlayoffs
188859-483rd James Donnelly / John Irwin none
190570-523rd John Sharrott none
190652-768th John Sharrott / Mike Donovan none
190769-665th Abel Lizotte none
190860-777th Abel Lizotte / Robert Drury none
190988-531st Malachi Kittridge League Champs
191085-531st Bill Clymer League Champs
191182-611st Bill Clymer League Champs
191281-572nd Bill Clymer none
191384-562nd Joe McCarthy none
191479-552nd Joe McCarthy none
191554-606th Peter Noonan none
191662-634th Joe McCarthy none
191781-371st Jack Calhoun League Champs
192347-745th Tom Downey none
192451-827th Tom Downey / Dutch Brannan / Joe Wall none
192560-717thJames Sharp / George Maisel
192656-737th George Maisel / Earl Potteiger none
192780-562nd Earl Potteiger none
192871-653rd Mike Konnick none
192950-868th Mike Konnick / Don Sykes / Punch Knoll none
193079-591st Mike McNally League Champs
193180-592nd Mike McNally none
193278-611st Mike McNally League Champs
193371-673rd Elmer Yoter none
193466-675th Elmer Yoter
193579-572nd Elmer Yoter
193662-757th Jake Pitler
193777-572nd Mike McNally Lost League Finals
193851-878th Mike McNally
193958-828th Eddie Phillips
194056-768th Earl Wolgamot
194187-511st Earl Wolgamot Lost in 1st round
194279-614th Earl Wolgamot Lost in 1st round
194377-614th Tony Lazzeri Lost in 1st round
194451-898thJack Sanford
194578-592nd Dick Porter / Mike McNally Lost League Finals
194676-623rd Dick Porter Lost in 1st round
194780-603rd Bill Norman Lost in 1st round
194848-918th Bill Norman
195354-957th Danny Litwhiler
195480-591st Danny Carnevale Lost in 1st round
195559-78 overall-- Mike McCormick Wilkes-Barre moved to Johnstown July 1

References

  1. Hendriks, Andrew. "July 4, 1948: Thomas first Canuck to break color barrier in pro ball". canadianbaseballnetwork.com. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  2. "Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com.