Baton Rouge, Louisiana minor league baseball history

Baton Rouge teams played as a minor league affiliate of the St. Louis Browns in 1947 and Philadelphia Phillies in 1948.

History

For the franchise, finances were of such a concern that in 1905, the team used certain games as "fundrasing games" and charged an inflated $2.00 per ticket in an attempt to increase funding to keep the team in business[6]</ref>^[7]

Visiting teams stayed at the Istrouma Hotel in Baton Rouge, which was on the corner of Third Street and Florida Street.^[8]

After a 23–season hiatus, Baton Rouge rejoined the Cotton States League when the Hattiesburg Pinetoppers relocated from

In 1933, Baton Rouge joined the reformed Dixie League.^[13] The Baton Rouge Solons continued play and retained manager Josh Billings and several players from the previous season. The Solons finished the season with a 77–47 record and captured the Dixie League Championship.^{[citation needed][14][6]}

Baton Rouge remained as the Dixie League split into two halves in 1934, with the Baton Rouge Red Sticks playing in the

In 1946, John Radulovich hit .409, playing for the Baton Rouge Red Sticks, becoming the first player in Evangeline League history to hit over .400. Radulovich had 215 hits, with 41 doubles and 31 home runs.[20]^[6]

In 1976, minor-league baseball returned when the Baton Rouge Cougars became a charter member of the reformed

After a 25–year absence of minor league baseball, the 2001 Baton Rouge Blue Marlins played as members of the independent level All-American Association and the Baton Rouge Riverbats of 2002 and 2003 played in the independent Southeastern League.^[23] The Blue Marlins captured the All-American Association Championship after also having the best regular season record of 44–28. The All-American Association folded after the 2001 season and the newly formed Southeastern League convinced the Baton Rouge Blue Marlins to join them in 2002. The renamed Riverbats finished with records of 39–29 and 38–31 in their two seasons, capturing the 2003 Southeastern League Championship. The Southeastern League folded following the 2003 season.^[24]

The ballparks

Early Baton Rouge teams, the Cajuns and Red Sticks played at Battle Park. Built in 1902, Battle Park was located four blocks south of Magnolia Cemetery. In 1903, the St. Louis Browns utilized Battle Park for their spring training.^[25][26]

When baseball returned to Baton Rouge in 1929, the teams played at Standard Park, which was owned by the

In 1934-1935 and 1946–1955, Baton Rouge played at City Park. The ballpark was located at 1055 Convention Street, where there was limited parking. City Park had a capacity of 3,500.[27]

The 1976 Baton Rouge Cougars played at Alex Box Stadium until being evicted after owner Billy Blythe disappeared and the ball club stopped making payroll and rent payments.^[22]

Baton Rouge teams played at Pete Goldsby Field (1956–1957, 1976, 2000–2003), which opened in 1956. The ballpark is named for a local businessman who had been active in youth baseball and activities. The ballpark is still in use today and is located at 1502 Foss Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It has a current capacity of 2,000, and held 3,500 in 1956. Its dimensions are: LF 325 - CF 395 - RF 345. It currently is the home of the Baton Rouge Rougaru of the summer Texas Collegiate League.^{[28][29][30][31]}

Notable alumni

See also

Baton Rouge Red Sticks players
Baton Rouge Cajuns players
Baton Rouge Cougars players
Baton Rouge Essos players
Baton Rouge Highlanders players
Baton Rouge Rebels players
Baton Rouge Senators players
Baton Rouge Solons players.

Media

Minor League baseball in Baton Rouge was a subject of the book Baseball in Baton Rouge by Michael Bielawa and Janice Bielawa, Arcadia Publishing (2007).