Wausau Timbers

Last updated
Wausau Timbers
WausauTimbers90.jpg
Minor league affiliations
ClassClass A
DivisionNorth
Previous leagues
Midwest League
Major league affiliations
Previous teams
Minor league titles
League titles 1981
Team data
Previous names
Wausau Mets (1975–1978)
ColorsRoyal blue, gold, white
    (1981-1989)
Orange, black, white
    (1990)
Previous parks
Athletic Park
Owner(s)/
Operator(s)
Timbers Baseball, Inc.

The Wausau Timbers were a minor league baseball team, located in Wausau, Wisconsin. The Timbers were members of the Class A Midwest League from 1975 to 1990. The franchise was sold in 1991 and moved to Geneva, Illinois, where it became the Kane County Cougars.

Contents

History

The franchise first played 1975 in Wausau as the Wausau Mets. The club maintained an affiliation with the New York Mets through 1978. Without an affiliation the team changed its name to the Timbers and played two years as a co-op with players mainly from the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, and Seattle Mariners. In 1981 the club signed a player development contract with the Mariners. [1] The affiliation with the Mariners lasted nine seasons. In 1990 the club signed on with the Baltimore Orioles and played their final season in Wausau.

The Ballpark

The Timbers played at Athletic Park, 324 E. Wausau Ave. Wausau, Wisconsin [2] Built in 1936, [3] Athletic Park was home to the Timbers of the Class-A Midwest League (1975–1990) and previous minor league teams: the Wausau Lumberjacks (1936–1942, 1946–1949, 1956–57) and the Wausau Timberjacks (1950–1953).

The ballpark has hosted the Wisconsin Woodchucks of the summer collegiate Northwoods League, beginning in 1994. [4]

Notable alumni

Baseball Hall of Fame alumni

Notable alumni

Record

YearRecordFinishManagerPlayoffs
197551-778th Owen Friend
197656-738th (t) Bill Monbouquette
197755-837th Tom Egan
197855-816th Dan Monzon
197969-614th Tom Robson Lost in 1st round
198057-828th Marty Martínez
198184-481st Bill Plummer League Champs
198255-8412th R. J. Harrison
198355-8311th R. J. Harrison
198470-665th Greg Mahlberg
198552-8511th Greg Mahlberg
198673-665th Bobby Cuellar
198757-8311th Bobby Cuellar
198852-8811th Rick Sweet
198966-688th Tommy Jones
199049-8714th Mike Young

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midwest League</span> American Minor League baseball league

The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quad Cities River Bandits</span> American Minor League baseball team

The Quad Cities River Bandits are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Their home games are played at Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport, Iowa, one of the Quad Cities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beloit Sky Carp</span> American Minor League baseball team

The Beloit Sky Carp are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Beloit, Wisconsin, and play their home games at ABC Supply Stadium. They previously played at Harry C. Pohlman Field from its opening in 1982 until moving into their current ballpark in August 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burlington Bees</span> American Minor League baseball team

The Burlington Bees are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Burlington, Iowa, and have played their home games at Community Field since 1947. Founded in 1889, the Bees played in Minor League Baseball's Midwest League from 1962 to 2020. With Major League Baseball's reorganization of the minor leagues after the 2020 season, Burlington was not selected to continue in affiliated baseball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clinton LumberKings</span> American Minor League baseball team

The Clinton LumberKings are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Clinton, Iowa, and play their home games at NelsonCorp Field. From 1956 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Midwest League. With Major League Baseball's reorganization of the minor leagues after the 2020 season, Clinton was not selected to continue in affiliated baseball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kane County Cougars</span> American baseball team

The Kane County Cougars are a professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois, and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play their home games at Northwestern Medicine Field. From 1991 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Midwest League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peoria Chiefs</span> American Minor League baseball team

The Peoria Chiefs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The team was established in 1983 as the Peoria Suns. They are located in Peoria, Illinois, and are named for the Peoria Indian tribe for which the city was named. In 2005, the team replaced the indigenous imagery associated with the Chiefs name and moved to a logo of a dalmatian depicted as a fire chief. The Chiefs play their home games at Dozer Park, which opened in 2002. They previously played at Vonachen Stadium near Bradley University from 1983 through 2001. The Chiefs have made the playoffs a total of 12 times, through seven wild-card berths, three first-half titles, and two second-half titles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wisconsin Timber Rattlers</span> American Minor League baseball team

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, a town on the outskirts of Appleton in the Fox Cities, and are named for the timber rattlesnake, which is more commonly found in southwest Wisconsin. The team plays their home games at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium, which opened in 1995. They previously played at Goodland Field from their founding in 1958 until the end of the 1994 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wausau Woodchucks</span>

The Wausau Woodchucks are an American baseball team that plays in the Northwoods League, a collegiate summer baseball league. They play their home games at Athletic Park in Wausau, Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harold Reynolds</span> American baseball player and commentator

Harold Craig Reynolds is an American former professional baseball player and current television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as a second baseman from 1983 to 1994, most prominently as a member of the Seattle Mariners, where he was a two-time All-Star player and a three-time Gold Glove Award winner. He also played for the Baltimore Orioles and the California Angels. In 1991, Reynolds was named the recipient of the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award. After his playing career, he became a four-time Emmy Award winning television baseball analyst, working for the MLB Network and Fox Sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northwoods League</span> Collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league

The Northwoods League is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. The league is amateur, and players are not paid, so as to maintain their college eligibility. Graduated senior pitchers are also eligible to play in the Northwoods League. Each team may have four of these players at a time.

The Decatur Commodores were a professional minor league baseball team based in Decatur, Illinois that played for 64 seasons. The Commodores are the primary ancestor of today's Kane County Cougars. They played, with sporadic interruptions, from 1900 to 1974 in a variety of minor leagues, but spent the majority of their existence in the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League, later joining the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League (1952–1955) and the Midwest League (1956–1974). While they spent most of their years as an independent without formal major league baseball team affiliation, their primary affiliations were with the St. Louis Cardinals and later the San Francisco Giants, with isolated affiliations with the Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athletic Park (Wausau)</span> Baseball stadium in Wausau, Wisconsin, US

Athletic Park is a baseball stadium located in Wausau, Wisconsin. It is the home field of the Wausau Woodchucks baseball team of the summer collegiate Northwoods League. It hosted Wausau Minor League teams during 36 seasons between 1936-1990.

The Geneva Cubs was the final moniker of the minor league baseball team located in Geneva, New York. Their home stadium was at McDonough Park.

The Wisconsin Rapids Twins were a Class A Minor League Baseball team that existed from 1963 to 1983, playing in the Midwest League. Affiliated with the Washington Senators (1963) and the Minnesota Twins (1964-1983), they were located in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, United States. They played their home games at Witter Field. The franchise evolved from the Wisconsin Rapids White Sox of the Wisconsin State League. For the 1984 season, the franchise became the Kenosha Twins, moving to Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Witter Field is a baseball ballpark located at 521 Lincoln Street in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, United States. It was built in 1928. It served as the home park for multiple minor league teams: the Wisconsin Rapids White Sox, Wisconsin Rapids Senators and Wisconsin Rapids Twins. Currently, it hosts the Northwoods League's Wisconsin Rapids Rafters and youth teams.

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

The Wausau Lumberjacks were a minor league baseball team based in Wausau, Wisconsin that existed on-and-off from 1905 to 1957. The Wausau franchise then became the Wausau Timbers before relocating to become today's Kane County Cougars. The Lumberjacks played in the Wisconsin State League, Wisconsin–Illinois League, Minnesota–Wisconsin League (1909–1911) and Northern League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dubuque, Iowa minor league baseball</span> Minor league baseball team

Minor league baseball teams have operated in the city of Dubuque, Iowa under a variety of names in various leagues, playing in 52 seasons between 1879 and 1976. Dubuque teams were an affiliate of the Houston Astros (1975–1976), Kansas City Royals (1968), Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians (1961–1966), Pittsburgh Pirates (1959–1960) and Chicago White Sox (1954–1958).

References

  1. "Timbers, Seattle reach agreement". The Daily Herald. 1980. p. 17.
  2. "Ballpark - Wisconsin Woodchucks : Wisconsin Woodchucks". Northwoodsleague.com. Retrieved 2016-03-30.
  3. Brian Gardner / gardnerphotos.com (2014-08-01). "Athletic Park, Home of the Wisconsin Woodchucks #2". Mn Artists. Retrieved 2016-03-30.
  4. "Wisconsin Woodchucks - Get Ready for the Show! : Wisconsin Woodchucks". Northwoodsleague.com. Retrieved 2016-03-30.