Scranton Miners (baseball)

Minor league baseball team

Scranton Miners

* (1886-1888, 1892-1900, 1907-1917, 1923-1937, 1939-1953)
* Scranton, Pennsylvania

Minor league affiliations
Previous classes|

* Class A (1895–1899, 1933–1953)
* Class B (1892, 1904–1932)

Previous leagues

* Eastern League (aka New York Penn League before 1937) (1923–1953)[1][2]
* New York State League (1904–1917)
* Atlantic League (1899–1900)
* Eastern League (1887, 1894–1897)
* Pennsylvania State League (1886–1887, 1892–1894)
* Central League (1888)

Major league affiliations
Previous teams|

* Washington Senators (1953)
* St. Louis Browns (1952)
* Boston Red Sox (1939–1951)
* Boston Braves (1937)
* Pittsburgh Pirates (1936)

Minor league titles
League titles (9)|

* 1906
* 1908
* 1927
* 1936
* 1939
* 1942
* 1946
* 1948
* 1951

Team data

Previous names

* Scranton Red Sox (1939–1951)
* Scranton Coal Heavers (1895)
* Scranton Indians (1886–1887, 1892–1894)

Previous parks

1894-1939 - Brooks Athletic Field aka Sweeney's Field (1935)[1]

1932-1939 - Crystal Gardens Stadium @ Dickson City *Sundays Only [1][3] 1940-1954 - Scranton Dunmore Stadium [1]

The Scranton Miners was the name of several minor league baseball clubs that existed in Scranton, Pennsylvania, between 1886 and 1953.

The first Scranton Miners played in 1886 as the Scranton Indians a member of the Pennsylvania State League. The team played as the Miners in 1887, before jumping to the International League and playing as the Indians for the remainder of the season. In 1892, the name was revived again by a team in the Pennsylvania State League and until 1894. In 1895, the team played as the Scranton Coal Heavers. The third Scranton Miners team played in the Eastern League in 1896 and 1897. The Miners name was used again from 1899–1900 in the Atlantic League. The final incarnation of the Scranton team used the Miners' moniker from 1904–1953. The only exceptions were the years 1939–1943 and 1946–1951, when the team was known as the Scranton Red Sox. The 1946 Red Sox were recognized as one of the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time.[4]

## Season-by-season

[edit]

Year  | League  | Record  | Finish  | Manager  | Playoffs

|
|
|
|
|

1886 | Penn. State League | 34-44 | 4th | Dan O'Leary / Harry Fisher |
1887 | Penn. State League | 11-10 | NA | Harry Fisher / John Fogarty | Played the remainder of season as the Scranton Indians in the Eastern League
1887 | Eastern League | 19-55 | NA | Denny Mack / Chris Meisel / Fergy Malone | Played first half of the season in the Penn. State League as the Miners
1888 | Central League | 55-51 | 4th | Sam Crane | No playoffs
1892 | Penn. State League | 2-22 | NA | Larry Ketrick |
1893 | Penn. State League | 45-57 | 7th | Martin Swift |
1894 | Penn. State League | 45-28 | 5th (tied) | Martin Swift / George Goetz | Team jumped to Eastern League and was replaced by Shenandoah Huns on August 2
1894 | Eastern League | 8-31 | 7th | Tom Cahill / Martin Swift | Team moved from Pennsylvania State League to replace the Troy Washerwomen on July 26
1895 | Eastern League | 44-72 | 6th | Billy Barnie |
1896 | Eastern League | 44-67 | 8th | Michael McDermott / Sandy Griffin |
1897 | Eastern League | 53-60 | 6th | Sandy Griffin |
1899 | Atlantic League | 25-38 | \-- | Marty Swift | Team disbanded on July 9
1900 | Atlantic League | 26-7 | 1st | Walt Burnham | League disbanded on June 12
1904 | NY. State League | 27-36 | 7th | Ben Ellis / Lou O'Neal / Tom Bannon | Team relocated from Schenectady on July 17
1905 | NY. State League | 56-67 | 6th | Jim Garry / Edward Ashenbach | No playoffs
1906 | NY. State League | 82-48 | 1st | Edward Ashenbach | League Champs
No playoffs
1907 | NY. State League | 81-54 | 2nd | Henry Ramsey | No playoffs
1908 | NY. State League | 84-51 | 1st | Malachi Kittridge | League Champs
No playoffs
1909 | NY. State League | 55-81 | 8th | August Zeimer | No playoffs
1910 | NY. State League | 72-66 | 4th | Monte Cross | No playoffs
1911 | NY. State League | 63-74 | 7th | Monte Cross | No playoffs
1912 | NY. State League | 62-69 | 5th | John Freeman | No playoffs
1913 | NY. State League | 49-91 | 8th | Richard Smith / Bob Peterson / John Kelly | No playoffs
1914 | NY. State League | 42-94 | 8th | John Kelly / Bill Coughlin | No playoffs
1915 | NY. State League | 68-55 | 4th | Bill Coughlin | No playoffs
1916 | NY. State League | 67-52 | 2nd | Bill Coughlin | No playoffs
1917 | NY. State League | 38-84 | 6th | Bill Coughlin / Jack Connors | No playoffs
1923 | NY.-Penn. League | 68-54 | 3rd | Joe Ward | No playoffs
1924 | NY.-Penn. League | 72-61 | 3rd | Jack Egan | No playoffs
1925 | NY.-Penn. League | 64-69 | 5th | Jack Egan |
1926 | NY.-Penn. League | 84-50 | 1st | Jack Egan | League Champs
No playoffs
1927 | NY.-Penn. League | 61-72 | 5th | Gus Getz | No playoffs
1928 | NY.-Penn. League | 58-77 | 7th | Gus Getz | No playoffs
1929 | NY.-Penn. League | 64-75 | 6th | Mike O'Neill | No playoffs
1930 | NY.-Penn. League | 62-76 | 8th | Buck Elliott | No playoffs
1931 | NY.-Penn. League | 69-70 | 6th | Buck Elliott / Ernie Vick | No playoffs
1932 | NY.-Penn. League | 72-68 | 4th | Bill Clymer (30-41) / Bob Shawkey (41-27) | No playoffs
1933 | NY.-Penn. League | 64-70 | 5th | Bob Shawkey | No playoffs
1934 | NY.-Penn. League | 71-67 | 4th | Jake Pitler |
1935 | NY.-Penn. League | 81-54 | 1st | Joe Shaute | Lost League Finals
1936 | NY.-Penn. League | 78-60 | 2nd | Elmer Yoter | League Champs
1937 | NY.-Penn. League | 63-75 | 6th | Bob Coleman |
1939 | Eastern League | 80-60 | 1st | Nemo Leibold | League Champs
1940 | Eastern League | 79-60 | 1st | Nemo Leibold | Lost in 1st round
1941 | Eastern League | 71-68 | 4th | Nemo Leibold | Lost in 1st round
1942 | Eastern League | 83-57 | 2nd | Nemo Leibold | League Champs
1943 | Eastern League | 87-51 | 1st | Nemo Leibold | Lost League Finals
1944 | Eastern League | 56-83 | 7th | Heinie Manush |
1945 | Eastern League | 67-69 | 5th | Elmer Yoter |
1946 | Eastern League | 96-43 | 1st | Elmer Yoter | League Champs
1947 | Eastern League | 78-62 | 4th | Eddie Popowski | Lost in 1st round
1948 | Eastern League | 89-51 | 1st | Mike Ryba | League Champs
1949 | Eastern League | 79-61 | 2nd | Mike Ryba (14-16) / Jack Burns (65-45) | Lost in 1st round
1950 | Eastern League | 54-85 | 8th | Jack Burns |
1951 | Eastern League | 77-60 | 2nd | Jack Burns | League Champs
1952 | Eastern League | 66-73 | 6th | Zack Taylor |
1953 | Eastern League | 51-100 | 8th | Smut Aderholt |

## Baseball parks

[edit]

From 1894 until 1939, the Scranton Miners played at various iterations of "Brooks Athletic Field" which also was known as "Brooks Field", "Athletic Field", and in 1935 as "Sweeney's Field" after James T. Sweeney bought the property. The ballpark was located on Providence Road in Scranton and also was utilized by the St. Thomas College of Scranton Football team.

In 1932 the team began playing their Sunday games at Crystal Gardens Stadium in Dickson City due to Blue Laws banning games from being played on the Sabbath. According to the May 17th 1932 article in the Hazleton Plain Speaker, Centerfield at the new Crystal Gardens Stadium was so large (788 feet) that anyone who could hit a home run out of the new ballpark would "inherit the new stadium". The Left Field fence was 315 feet. Right Field was 416 feet.[5]

In 1940 a baseball stadium called "Scranton Stadium" aka "Scranton Dunmore Stadium" was built for the "Scranton Red Sox" who were often interchangeable with the "Scranton Miners" with the name going back and forth between the two from 1939 until 1954. It was located at 1350 Monroe Avenue in Dunmore Pennsylvania. The stadium found a second life. It was shipped to Richmond, Virgina and remained a minor league stadium for many more decades.[5]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d "Eastern League Baseball Teams and Baseball Stadiums ( Photos of Double A Eastern League Baseball Parks )". digitalballparks.com. Archived from the original on April 8, 2002.
2. ^ "Eastern League (1938-present), New York-Pennsylvania League (1923-1937)".
3. ^ Times-Tribune Scranton, May 7, 1932
4. ^ "Top 100 Teams". MiLB.com. 2001. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
5. ^ a b "Scranton Dunmore Stadium - Scranton Pennsylvania - Scranton Miners - Scranton Red Sox - Eastern League". digitalballparks.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2010.

## External links

[edit]

* Digitalballparks.com's Photographic history of all Eastern League Ballparks Since 1923[usurped]
* Digitalballparks.com's Photographic history of Scranton Dunmore Stadium[usurped]