History of baseball in Allentown, Pennsylvania
The history of professional baseball in
History
19th century
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/1898_-_Allentown_Peanuts_Baseball_Club.jpg/220px-1898_-_Allentown_Peanuts_Baseball_Club.jpg)
Professional baseball premiered in Allentown in 1884, when the Allentown Dukes completed one season in the original Eastern League. Four years later, the city fielded a Central League team, the Allentown Peanuts, which also folded after a season.[citation needed]
In the 1890s, a series of baseball clubs emerged in the city. The Allentown Colts played in the Pennsylvania State League from 1892–93. The next year, the team became Kelly's Killers, named for its player-manager, future Hall of Fame member King Kelly. Late in the season, Kelly moved the Eastern League's Binghamton Bingoes here as the Allentown Buffalos. Kelly, the era's most flamboyant figure, died of pneumonia that fall at age 35, and the Buffalos were dissolved.
In 1895, the Allentown Goobers returned to Pennsylvania State League play for one season. In 1898, yet another team was formed, re-using the name the Allentown Peanuts. The Peanuts played for three seasons in the Atlantic League, which succeeded the Pennsylvania State League in 1896. The league and the team were dissolved in 1900.[1][2]
20th century
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Hess-stadum-1960.jpg/220px-Hess-stadum-1960.jpg)
Over the next two decades, the city saw limited play. In 1908, Allentown hosted a team in the Pennsylvania-New Jersey League, and a Tri-State League club played here from 1912 to 1914. Then, in the 1920s, the name the Allentown Dukes was revived for a semi-professional team that played four seasons (1923–26) at Edgemont Field, a new ballfield at Second and Susquehanna Streets. On September 7, 1923 the Dukes played an exhibition game with the New York Yankees at Edgemont Field. The Dukes tied the score at 7–7 in the eighth inning. In the ninth, Babe Ruth struck out with the bases loaded, and the Dukes scored in the bottom of the inning to win 8–7.[3][4] The semi-pro team led to the start of an Eastern League team under the same name in 1929.[5] League champions the next year, the team was renamed the Allentown Buffaloes in 1931. At the end of the 1932 season, the league collapsed, and the Buffaloes folded.[6]
In 1935, the city landed its first
In 1939, the
The demise of the Interstate League at the end of the 1952 season resulted in a one-year lull for the franchise. In 1954, the Allentown Cardinals returned as a member of the Class A
In 1997, professional baseball returned to the city with the startup of the Allentown Ambassadors, an independent team that played in the Northeast and Northern leagues. The club, which had its last full season in 2003, was based at Bicentennial Park in South Allentown.
The city unveiled Coca-Cola Park, a $48.4 million, 8,500-seat stadium, in 2008.[10] The stadium was constructed on Allentown's east side to serve as the home field for the Philadelphia Phillies' AAA-level Minor League baseball team, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. The IronPigs, a member of the International League, are the first Major League-affiliated club to play in the city since 1960.[11]
21st century
During Summer 2008, the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum introduced an exhibit, "Play Ball! Baseball in America and the Lehigh Valley," celebrating the history of baseball in Allentown and the surrounding region.[12]
References
- ^ a b Schuler, Jeff. "Baseball has been down, but not out". Morning Call, March 30, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
- ^ "League Histories". Ballpark Digest website. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
- ^ Whelan, Frank (Summer 2008). "Ask Frank". Lehigh Valley Chronicles. 2 (2): 8.
- ^ Burian, Evan (September 3, 2013), "When 'The Babe' paid Allentown a visit", The Morning Call, retrieved March 6, 2020
- ^ Pawlush, George. "Duke Blazed the Trail for Allentown Baseball" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-04-09. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
- ^ "Baseball Digest: League Histories". Archived from the original on 2008-04-04. Retrieved 2008-03-23.
- ^ "Philadelphia Phillies, 1941". Retrieved 2008-03-27.
- ^ "Baseball at Breadon Field 60 years ago was once place to be". WFMZ.com. April 10, 2012.
- ^ "Archives: Past Editorials on baseball's departure from the Lehigh Valley". Morning Call, March 30, 2008 (originally published Dec. 5, 1960). Retrieved 2008-03-30.
- ^ "Coca-Cola Park Info, IronPigs Baseball Official Website". Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
- ^ "Minor league park was a major hit". Morning Call, March 30, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
- ^ "Baseball Exhibit To Open". Lehigh Valley Chronicles. 2 (2): 1. Summer 2008.