Ardmore, Oklahoma minor league baseball history

Minor league professional baseball began in Ardmore during the 1904 season. On August 5, 1904, the Texas League member franchise Paris Red Ravens relocated from Paris, Texas to Ardmore and became the Ardmore Territorians to finish the 1904 season. The team finished with a 26–75 overall record. The 1911 Ardmore Blues resumed minor league play. The Blues placed fifth as a founding member of the 1911 Texas-Oklahoma League, with a record of 49–58. along with the Hugo Scouts. The Texas-Oklahoma League folded after the 1914 season. The Producers were 49–60, setting in fourth place, when the Texas-Oklahoma League season ended on August 6, 1922, due to a railroad strike. The league did not return in 1923. The team finished 82–60 and defeating the Okmulgee Drillers 4–0 in the league finals to capture the 1923 Western Association Championship. Baseball Hall of Fame member Carl Hubbell pitched for the 1924 Ardmore Bearcats. At age 21, Hubbell was 1–0 with an 8.31 ERA in 13 innings, pitching in his second professional season and the first for which statistics are available. Remaining in the Western Association, the 1925 Ardmore Boomers took their name from the 1920s oil boom that positively affected Ardmore. The 1925 Ardmore Boomers finished 86–64 and defeated the Muskogee Athletics 4–1 in the league finals to capture the 1925 Western Association Championship. The "Indians" moniker came from Ardmore being an affiliate of the Cleveland Indians in 1947 and 1948. In their first season, the Indians made the 1947 league finals, but were defeated by the McAlester rockets 4 games to 1. Finishing 75–65 in 1950, the Indians reached the league finals, where they were defeated 4–2 by McAlester. The Indians dropped to 49–91 in 1952, last in the league. Remaining in the Sooner State League in 1953, Ardmore became an affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals (1953–1957). The Ardmore Cardinals (1953–1957) finished with the league's best record in 1953 (91–46) and 1956 (83–56) and made playoffs in four of five seasons. Ardmore lost to the Lawton Braves 4–0 in the 1954 finals and the Seminole Oilers 4–3 in the 1956 finals. The Sooner State League folded after the 1957 season. In 1962, the Victoria/Ardmore franchise was replaced in the Texas League by the El Paso Sun Kings. Ardmore, Oklahoma has not hosted another minor league team. ==The ballparks==

From 1911 to 1914, Ardmore teams played minor league home games primarily at Washington Street Park. Washington Street Park was located on the west side of South Washington Street, between 4th Avenue SW & 5th Avenue SW, Ardmore, Oklahoma. Sunday games during 1911 and 1912 were played at Lorena Park, which was not subject to Ardmore blue laws because it was outside the city limits. Lorena Park was located along what is now Mount Washington Road, southeast of the present-day Dornick Hills Golf Club. In 1917, Ardmore home games were played at Putnam Park. The ballpark was located on the north side of what is now 14th Street N.W., near the intersection with Wolverton Street, adjacent to what was then the Ardmore Street Railway Co. car barn. The grandstand for Putnam Park was moved to this site from Lorena Park. The ballpark took its name from I.M. Putnam, the Oklahoma City-based real estate developer who served as general manager of the Street Railway Company that donated the land and other materials for the park. In 1921 and 1922, Ardmore teams played at Texas-Oklahoma League Park, the name of which was often shortened to "T-O League Park." The ballpark was located along A Street S.W. between 4th Avenue SW & 5th Avenue SW, in the same former cotton yard that had previously served as the site of Washington Street Park. In 1923, the home field was called Snapper Park, while the Ardmore teams in the next several years played at Ardmore Baseball Park. From 1948 to 1955, Ardmore teams played home games at Tribe Park, also named Cardinal Park. This ballpark was located at 1441 North Washington Street, where Will Rogers Elementary School was subsequently built. Tribe Park/Cardinal Park had a capacity of 2,000 (1948), 1,500 (1950), and 2,500 (1954), with dimensions of (Left, Center, Right): 312–358–312. In 1956, a new Cardinal Park was opened. Ardmore teams played in this ballpark in 1956, 1957, and 1961. The new Cardinal Park held 4,000 (1961). It had dimensions of (Left, Center, Right): 305–371–315 (1961). The park is still in use today, located at 1002 East Main, Ardmore, Oklahoma. ==Media==

Ardmore minor league baseball is the subject of two books by author Peter G. Pierce: • Territorians to Boomers: Professional Baseball in Ardmore 1904-1926 • Indians, Cardinals and Rosebuds: Professional Baseball in Ardmore 1947-1961 ==Notable alumni==

• Carl Hubbell (1924) Inducted Baseball Hall of Fame, 1947 • Walter Blair (1904) • Jackie Brandt (1953) 2x MLB All-Star • Lloyd Brown (1925) • Chris Cannizzaro (1957) MLB All-Star • Gene Green (1954) • Smead Jolley (1924) • Gus Ketchum (1922) • Jack Krol (1954–1955) • Marty Kutyna (1953) • Dave McNally (1961) 3x MLB All-Star; Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame • Frank Mancuso (1954-1955, MGR) • Pepper Martin (1923) 4x MLB All-Star; St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame • Alex Metzler (1925) • Wilcy Moore (1923) MLB ERA Title • Gene Oliver (1956) • Red Snapp (1923, MGR) • Cotton Tierney (1914) • Pete Ward (1961) • Bennie Warren (1950–1951, 1953–1954 MGR) • Ardmore Bearcats players • Ardmore Boomers players • Ardmore Cardinals players • Ardmore Indians players • Ardmore Producers players • Ardmore Rosebuds players • Ardmore Snappers players • Ardmore Territorians players ==References==