Youngstown Athletics

Last updated
Youngstown Athletics
Minor league affiliations
Previous classesClass C
League Middle Atlantic League (1939–1941, 1946–1951)
Major league affiliations
Previous teams
Team data
Previous names
  • Youngstown/Oil City Athletics (1951)
  • Youngstown Athletics (1949–1950)
  • Youngstown Colts (1947–1948)
  • Youngstown Gremlins (1946)
  • Youngstown Browns (1939–1941)
Previous parks
 Idora Park

The Youngstown Athletics, or Youngstown A's, was the final name of a baseball team in the Mid-Atlantic League that was based in Youngstown, Ohio, between 1939 and 1941 and 1946 and 1951.

Contents

Youngstown Browns: 1939–1941

The team was first established as the Youngstown Browns, an affiliate of the St. Louis Browns, in 1939. The team's overall performance was uneven, but it peaked during its second season. [1]

In 1939, the Browns ranked seventh in the eight-team league, but the team rebounded the following year. In 1940, the Browns were poised to take the championship but lost to the Akron Yankees. [1] The Browns disbanded when the Mid-Atlantic League suspended operations at the outset of America's entry into World War II. [1] The team is best remembered for its role in launching the career of major league player Floyd Baker, who married a Youngstown native and made the city his honorary hometown. [2]

Youngstown Gremlins and Colts: 1946–1948

After the war, Youngstown fielded a new team for the Middle Atlantic League, the Youngstown Gremlins. [3] The club made its debut in 1946, the sixth consecutive season in which the National Amateur Baseball Federation tournament was held in Youngstown, Ohio. [4] The team was owned by the Pittsburgh sportsmen Bill Koval and Nick Andolina, who "bankrolled" the reorganization of the Mid-Atlantic League in 1946. [5] The team went 67-62, good for third place in the six-team league. They were defeated in the first round of the playoffs, three games to one, to the Erie Sailors. The owners acknowledged that the team had been a losing venture at the close of the 1946 season but indicated to Frank Ward, sports editor of The Youngstown Daily Vindicator , that they would continue to sponsor the club in 1947. [6]

Youngstown's star performer was Johnny Kucab, who eventually moved on to the major leagues. As a pitcher for the Gremlins, Kucab posted a 13-1 record, followed up by 12-4. [5] He had the best winning percentage and pitched four shutouts in his 15 starts, tying him for second in the Mid-Atlantic League in whitewashes. Kucab was brought up by the Philadelphia Athletics in 1951. [5]

The team was renamed as the Youngstown Colts in 1947. [5] The Gremlins' brief run coincided with the 33rd NABF sandlot "world series", which won recognition for Youngstown among national observers. [7] A local newspaper editorial stated: "If any other city has comparable equipment, it is not generally known. Baseball Commissioner Chandler exclaimed in surprise that our sandlot fields are better than the parks of many professional teams". [4]

Youngstown Athletics: 1949–1951

In 1949 the team's name changed to Youngstown Athletics and the team enjoyed a working relationship with the Philadelphia Athletics. [5] The team posted a 74-64 record, for third-place in the league in 1949. The following year the team posted a 51-61 record, for fourth-place. However the 1951 season, would be the team's last as the club relocated to Oil City, Pennsylvania on June 2, 1951. The Oil City club then disbanded 2 months later on August 6. That year also turned out to be the last for the Mid-Atlantic League, as the organization soon folded. Minor league baseball would not return to the Mahoning Valley until 1999, when nearby Niles, Ohio became the home for the Cleveland Indians’ affiliate in the New York–Penn League, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. [8]

Related Research Articles

New York–Penn League American sports league in minor league baseball

The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league which operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major league teams signed their amateur draft picks to professional contracts, and ended in early September.

Youngstown, Ohio City in Ohio

Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. According to the 2020 United States Census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. The Youngstown-Warren metropolitan area, with a population of 541,243 is the 107th-largest metropolitan area in the United States.

Billy Evans American baseball umpire

William George Evans, nicknamed "The Boy Umpire", was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League from 1906 to 1927. He became, at age 22, the youngest umpire in major league history, and later became the youngest to officiate in the World Series at age 25.

Mahoning Valley Scrappers Minor League Baseball team

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Niles, Ohio, a city in the valley of the Mahoning River, and play their home games at Eastwood Field. From 1999 to 2020, they were a Minor League Baseball team that played as members of the New York–Penn League. The club was the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Cleveland Indians from its inception until Major League Baseball's reorganization of the minors following the 2020 season.

Eastwood Field

Eastwood Field is a minor league baseball stadium located in Niles, Ohio, United States. It is currently the home of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League.

Frank McCormick American baseball player

Frank Andrew McCormick was an American baseball first baseman who played fifteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "Buck" in honor of Frank Buck, he played for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Braves from 1934 to 1948. He batted and threw right-handed and was listed at 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) and 205 pounds (93 kg).

Jimmy McAleer American baseball player (1864–1931)

James Robert "Loafer" McAleer was an American center fielder, manager, and stockholder in Major League Baseball who assisted in establishing the American League. He spent most of his 13-season playing career with the Cleveland Spiders, and went on to manage the Cleveland Blues, St. Louis Browns, and Washington Senators. Shortly before his retirement, he became a major shareholder in the Boston Red Sox.

Marty Hogan Anglo-American baseball player (1869–1923)

Martin Francis Hogan, nicknamed "The Indianapolis Ringer", was an Anglo-American right fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Cincinnati Reds (1894) and St. Louis Browns (1894–1895). After leaving the National League, Hogan moved on to the minor league Indianapolis Hoosiers. Some sources suggest he set a national baserunning record in the 1890s.

Youngstown Ohio Works US baseball team

The Youngstown Ohio Works baseball team was a minor league club that was known for winning the premier championship of the Ohio–Pennsylvania League in 1905, and for launching the professional career of pitcher Roy Castleton a year later. A training ground for several players and officials who later established careers in Major League Baseball, the team proved a formidable regional competitor and also won the 1906 league championship.

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

The Middle Atlantic League was a lower-level circuit in American minor league baseball that played during the second quarter of the 20th century.

Floyd Baker American baseball player

Floyd Wilson Baker was an American professional baseball third baseman, who played Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Browns (1943–1944), Chicago White Sox (1945–1951), Washington Senators (1952–1953), Boston Red Sox (1953–1954), and Philadelphia Phillies (1954–1955). During a 13-season career, Baker posted a .251 batting average, with one home run, and 196 RBI, in 874 games played.

Johnny Kucab American baseball player

John Albert Kucab was an American professional baseball pitcher who is best known for leading the Philadelphia Athletics to victory in Connie Mack's last game as a Major League Baseball (MLB) manager on October 1, 1950.

Youngstown Patricians Defunct sports team

The Youngstown Patricians were a semi-professional football team based in Youngstown, Ohio. In the 1910s, the team briefly held the professional football championship and established itself as a fierce rival of more experienced clubs around the country, some of which later formed the core of the National Football League. The Patricians football team motto was "With Malice to None and a Square Deal to all."

The Youngstown Hardhats were a semi-professional football team that played from 1972 to 1974 and 1976 to 1981. The team was based in Youngstown, Ohio, and competed in the Midwest Football League from 1972 to 1974 and 1976, and Mid-Atlantic Football League from 1977 to 1981.

The Youngstown Indians were a Minor League Baseball club that competed during the 1909 season in the Ohio–Pennsylvania League. The team showed great promise at the outset of the season but finished with a disappointing 46–78 record, placing last in the league. The league championship that year went to an Akron franchise, which closed the season with an 81–40 record.

The Youngstown Champs were a minor league baseball team that competed in the Ohio–Pennsylvania League in 1907 and 1908. The club won the league championship in 1907 but disbanded in the middle of the 1908 season.

The Youngstown Buckeyes were a minor league baseball team in Youngstown, Ohio that played in the Central League in 1932. In 1929, Joe Cambria purchased the Hagerstown Hubs. In 1931, Hagerstown was playing in the Class C Middle Atlantic League, and Cambria moved the team, first to Parkersburg, West Virginia, and later that summer to Youngstown, where they played as the Youngstown Tubers. In 1932, the Youngstown team joined the Class B Central League and were named the Youngstown Buckeyes.

Sports in Ohio

Ohio is home to many professional and college sports teams. The metropolitan areas of Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Columbus are home to major league professional sports teams in baseball, basketball, football, hockey, and soccer.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Youngstown's Million-Dollar Playground". Newcolonist.com. Retrieved 2007-03-07.
  2. ↑ . Landolf, Charles A. (April 1, 1977). "Youngstown Once Main Link in Minor Loop Baseball Chain". Youngstown Vindicator.
  3. ↑ Filchia, Peter (1993). Professional Baseball Franchises: From the Abbeville Athletics to the Zanesville Indians. New York: Facts on File. p. 258.
  4. 1 2 Ward, Frank B. (September 17, 1946). "Along the Sports Rialto". The Youngstown Vindicator .
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Landolf, Charles A. (April 1, 1977). "Youngstown Once Main Link In Minor Loop Baseball Chain". Youngstown Vindicator. p. 7.
  6. ↑ Ward, Frank B. (September 18, 1946). "Along the Sports Rialto". The Youngstown Vindicator.
  7. ↑ "Youngstown Selected; Picked As The Site of Amateur Baseball Event in Fall". The New York Times. February 27, 1944. p. S-3.
  8. ↑ Guerrieri, Vince. "Youngstown Baseball Has a History Dating Back to 19th Century". Did the Indians Win Last Night?.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.