These Pennsylvania baseball teams no longer exist

Amber Charnoff
·5 min read
2

(WHTM) – Pennsylvania has a rich baseball history with the Phillies having two World Series titles and the Pirates owning five.

There is a large list of sports teams that were based in the Keystone State that no longer exist due to leagues folding or teams moving. These are the former Pennsylvania baseball teams.

Former Pennsylvania Baseball teams

Major leagues

National Association of Base Ball Players (1861-1870)

  • Athletic of Philadelphia

Also known as the Philadelphia Athletics, this team dominated the amateur level of play in Philadelphia for a while. Towards the 1860s they became professional, helping to start the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players.

National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (1871-1875)

  • Philadelphia Athletics (1871-1875)

  • Philadelphia White Stockings (1873-1875)

The White Stockings games were played at the Jefferson Street Grounds. They finished with a 102-77 record.

  • Philadelphia Centennials (1875)

The name came from when the city was prepping for the national centennial in 1876, but ironically they folded before the centennial. Their final record was 2-12.

American Association (1882-1891)

  • Philadelphia Athletics (1882-1891)

The Athletics played their games at Oakdale Park and Jefferson Street Grounds. Notable players included Hall of Famers Wilbert Robinson and Al Atkinson.

  • Pittsburgh Alleghenys (1882-1891)

The origin of the Alleghenys dates back to the independent Allegheny Base Ball club that was created when Pittsburgh was not selected to join the new National League. They became the Pirates in the National League around 1912.

Union Association (1884)

  • Altoona Mountain Citys (1884)

The Mountain Citys folded after playing only 25 games, ending with a 6-19 record. They were also known as the Ottawas after the group of Indigenous Americans who were previously in the area.

  • Philadelphia Keystones (1884)

The Keystones ended their sole season in eighth place out of 12 teams following a 21-46 record. They played at Keystone Park.

  • Pittsburgh Stogies (1884)

The Stogies came from the Chicago Browns who disbanded in August 1884. The Atogies were short-lived, only playing until Sept. 18, 1884. Most of the players from the Stogies went on to become the Baltimore Monumentals after their lone season in Pittsburgh.

Negro League (1885-1951)

This league was created because in the late 19th century African Americans were excluded from playing professional league baseball. There were many Pennsylvania teams in the Negro League including the:

  • Harrisburg Giants (1924-1929)

  • Hilldale Daisies (1910-1932)

  • Philadelphia Giants

  • Philadelphia Pythians

  • Philadelphia Stars (1934-1948)

  • Philadelphia Tigers (1928)

  • Homestead Grays (1929-1948)

  • Pittsburgh Crawfords (1931-1938)

  • Pittsburgh Keystones

Players’ League (1890)

  • Philadelphia Quakers (also known as the Philadelphia Athletics) (1890)

This team was nicknamed the “Buffinton’s Beauties” and switched to the American Association from the Players’ League after it folded in 1891. Their home field was Forepaugh Park.

  • Pittsburgh Burghers (1890)

Many of these players switched to the Pittsburgh Alleghenys, now the Pirates, once the league folded. Former Hall of Fame members of the Burghers include Pud Galvin, Ned Hanlon and Jake Beckley.

Federal League (1913-1915)

  • Pittsburgh Rebels (1913-1915)

The Rebels began as the Pittsburgh Stogies and changed their names to the Rebels in 1914. The short-lived club played at Exposition Park, which was demolished.

Minor leagues

There have been many minor league baseball teams that have come and gone from Pennsylvania.

International League (1885-current)

  • Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons (1998-2006)

They were renamed the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees in 2007. In 2013, they became the RailRiders, the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees.

Eastern League (1923-current)

  • Allentown Brooks (1935–1936)

  • Allentown Cardinals (1935–1936)

  • Allentown Chiefs (1957)

  • Allentown Red Sox (1935–1936)

  • Johnstown Johnnies (1955–1956)

  • Johnstown Red Sox (1961)

  • Lancaster Red Roses (1896–1961)

  • Philadelphia Phillies (minor league) (1892)

  • Reading Brooks (1935–1936)

  • Reading Indians (1952–1957) (Now Reading Fightin’ Phils)

  • Reading Red Sox (1933–1965) (Now Pittsfield Red Sox)

  • Scranton Red Sox

  • Wilkes-Barre Barons (1933–1972)

  • Wilkes-Barre Indians

  • Williamsport A’s

  • Williamsport Bills (1987–1991)

  • Williamsport Grays (1924–1962)

  • Williamsport Mets (1964–1967)

  • Williamsport Tigers

  • Williamsport Tomahawks

  • York Pirates (1884–1969)

  • York White Roses (1884–1969)

New York-Penn League (1939-2020)

  • Errie Cardinals

  • Erie Orioles (changed to “Sailors”) – Erie Sailors (1990-1992)

  • Erie Tigers

  • Williamsport Astros (1971-1972)

  • Williamsport Red Sox (1971-1972)

Frontier Leauge (1993-current)

  • Erie Sailors

Changed to “Johnstown Steal” in 1995 and then the “Johnstown Johnnies” in 1998. They are now the “Florence Y’alls” based in Florence, Kentucky. They are still in the Frontier League.

North Atlantic League

  • Altoona Rail Kings (1996-1997)

They played in 1996 in the North Atlantic League and 1997 in the Heartland League. When the Pirates AA affiliate was given to Altoona, they moved to Huntington, West Virginia. Although they averaged 1,200 fans per game in Altoona, they struggled with attendance in West Virginia and folded during the 1998 season.

Northern League

  • Allentown Ambassadors (1997-2003)

The Ambassadors played their home game at Bicentennial Park and made the playoffs in 1998, 1999 and 2001.

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball

  • Lehigh Valley Black Diamonds (2000-2001)

The Black Diamonds were supposed to play near Easton, Pennsylvania in a new sports complex that was set to be complete by 1999. the owner of the complex filed for bankruptcy and the stadium was never finished. They played in 2000 in a little ballpark in Quakertown and had no fan support. They changed their name to the Pennsylvania Road Warriors in 2002 and played as a travel team until 2004 with no home ballpark.

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