Early Springfield teams Springiled, Ohio, first hosted minor league baseball in 1877, when the "Springfield Champion City" team played the season as members of the
League Alliance. The
Springfield Governors teams played between 1897 and 1907 in the
Interstate League and Central League. Between 1908 and 1917, the
Springfield Reapers teams played in the
Ohio State League and
Central League, until the Central League folded following the 1917 season during
World War I. Before Springfield began its tenure of play as members of the Middle Atlantic League, the
Springfield Buckeyes franchise played from 1928 to 1930 as members of the
Class B level
Central League, hosting home games at Eagles Field. The Central League folded following the 1930 season. As owner of the Springfield franchise during the
Great Depression, Joe Dunn was left with debt from the team, but was able to repay his creditors over time. Playing as a
Washington Senators minor league affiliate, Springfield joined the eight-team Middle Atlantic League for its ninth season of play. The league was first formed in 1925, founded by Elmer Daly. The Chicks joined the
Beckley Black Knights,
Charleston Senators,
Dayton Ducks (
Brooklyn Dodgers affiliate),
Huntington Boosters (
Detroit Tigers),
Johnstown Johnnies,
Wheeling Stogies (
New York Yankees) and
Zanesville Grays (
Cleveland Indians) teams in forming the 1933 league. The opening day of the Middle Atlantic League schedule was May 4, 1933.
Jake Pitler was hired as the Springfield Chicks player/manager in 1933. A second baseman as a player, Pitler had been a player/manager in the
New York–Pennsylvania League the previous four seasons, first with the
Elmira Colonels then with the
Hazleton Mountaineers. Pitler had played in the major leagues with the
Pittsburgh Pirates in 1917 and 1918, appearing in 111 total games and batting .232. At age 39, Pitler played second base for the Springfield Chicks and batted .262 with 3 home runs in 98 games. In their first season of Middle Atlantic play, the Chicks ended their first season in the league with a final regular season record of 67–64 record to end the season fourth place under player/manager Pitler.
Eddie Wilson of Springfield led the league in runs scored with 112. Springfield right-handed pitcher Rex McDonald won 19 games on the season, tops among Middle Atlantic League pitchers. He later played in the major leagues with the
Brooklyn Dodgers in 1936 and 1937, batting .317 and .404 OBP with 4 home runs for the Dodgers across 88 games in his only two major league seasons. After playing his final professional baseball season in 1941 at age 31, Wilson voluntarily entered military service. Wilson served in the Merchant Marines during
World War II. He later became a school teacher. Pitching in 19 games for Springfield at age 47,
Elmer Knetzer compiled a 7-7 record in 1933, his final season as a player and 16 years following his last major league appearance. Ketzler had pitched in the major leagues from 1909 to 1917. He compiled a 69-69 record pitching for the
Brooklyn Dodgers (1909–1912),
Pittsburgh Rebels (1914–1915),
Boston Braves (1916) and
Cincinnati Reds (1916–1917). Right-handed pitcher
Ed Edelen played for Springfield in 1933 after having played briefly for the Washington Senators, appearing in two games at the end of the 1932 season. Edelen's season with Springfield was his final season as a player, as he compiled a 0-1 record in 4 games for the Chicks before pursuing a career as a physician. Edelen attended the
Georgetown University School of Medicine and graduated in 1937, beginning a lengthy career as a
Medical doctor. From 1938 until his death in 1982, Edelen practiced medicine in
Charles County, Maryland as a general practitioner. He served a tenure as president of Physicians Memorial Hospital (today's
University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center). After playing briefly for Springfield in 1933,
Arthur Mansfield went on the become the long-time baseball coach of the Wisconsin Badgers from 1940 to 1970, leading the Badgers to a fourth-place finish in the
1950 College World Series, two
Big Ten Conference championships and winning 441 career collegiate games. Aside from coaching, Mansfield also taught at the University of Wisconsin for 37 years. ,
Cincinnati Reds. Bressler managed the 1934 Springfield Pirates. In his 19-season major league career, Bressler was moved from pitching to being a position player. He is a member of the
Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame. The Springfield team continued play in the 1934 Middle Atlantic League. Springfield became known as the Springfield "Pirates" for the 1934 season, as the team became a minor league affiliate of the
Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates ended the season in sixth place in the eight-team league with a 57–65 record. The team was managed by
Al DeVormer and
Rube Bressler during the season. Springfield finished 14½ games behind the first place Zanesville Grays in the final regular season standings. Zanesville won their third consecutive league championship in beating the Dayton Ducks 4 games to 3 in the league final. Bressler was first a left-handed
pitcher in the major leagues before being converted to an
outfielder and
first baseman. He played for the
Philadelphia Athletics from 1914 to 1916 and
Cincinnati Reds from 1917 to 1920, before being converted to an
outfielder and
first baseman while playing for Cincinnati through 1927, He then played for the
Brooklyn Robins (1928-1931) and the
Philadelphia Phillies (1931) and
St. Louis Cardinals (1932) to conclude his major league career. He played in the
1919 World Series for the Cincinnati Reds won against the
Black Sox Scandal implicated
Chicago White Sox team. Bressler batted .301 with a .378 OBP and 32 home runs in his major league career, playing in 19 seasons, 11 with Cincinnati. As a pitcher in the majors he compiled a 26-32 career record with a 3.40 ERA. Bressler did not pitch after the 1920 season and played his last major league game in 1932. ,
Boston Braves. Miller played shortstop for Springfield in 1934 at age 17. He became a seven-time major league All-star. At age 17, shortstop
Eddie Miller made his professional debut with Springfield in 1934, batting .286 with three home runs in 122 games for the Pirates. Miller made his major league debut in 1936 and went on to become a seven-time All-star. Miller played in the major leagues with the
Cincinnati Reds (1936–1937),
Boston Braves (1939–1942), Cincinnati Reds (1943–1947),
Philadelphia Phillies (1948–1949) and
St. Louis Cardinals (1950) in his major league career, batting .238 with 97 career home runs in 1,510 games over fourteen seasons. The Springfield Pirates did not return to the league for the 1935 or 1936 Middle Atlantic League seasons, with the Springfield franchise replaced by the
Portsmouth Pirates in the eight-team league, as the Pittsburgh Pirates affiliation moved to the new Portsmouth team. The team became known as the Springfield "Indians" as they rejoined the Middle Atlantic League while becoming a minor league affiliate of the
Cleveland Indians. The league began its schedule on May 4, 1937 as Springfield joined the
Akron Yankees (
New York Yankees affiliate),
Canton Terriers (
Boston Red Sox),
Charleston Senators (
Detroit Tigers),
Dayton Ducks (
Chicago White Sox),
Johnstown Johnnies (
St. Louis Browns),
Portsmouth Red Birds (
St. Louis Cardinals) and
Zanesville Grays (
Boston Bees) in the 1937 Middle Atlantic League. The newly formed Springfield Indians opened a new ballpark, and the team began playing home games at Springfield's Municipal Stadium location in 1937. In rejoining the Middle Atlantic League,
Earl Wolgamot began a three-season tenure serving as the Springfield Indians manager. Wolgamot had been a bench coach for the major league Cleveland Indians from 1931 to 1935. In joining the Indians, Wolgamot had just led the Zanesville grays to three consecutive Middle Atlantic League championships before moving to Springfield. Zanesville had been a Cleveland Indians affiliate and Wolgamot remained with the affiliate team when Cleveland moved their affiliation to Springifled in 1937. A long-time minor league catcher, Wolgamot appeared in 22 games as a player for Springfield in 1937 at age 44, batting .164. With Earl Wolgamot managing the Indians, the team finished with an 81–47 record and Springfield ended the season in second place. In the eight-team Middle Atlantic League, Springfield finished a mere ½ game behind the first place Canton Terriers (81–46) in the final regular season standings. The Indians qualified for the league playoffs Wolgamot's former team, the Zanesville Greys finished in last place in 1937. Indians pitcher
Ken Jungels had topped the league with a 21–4 record. Pitching for Springfield at age 21, Ken Jungels ended his 1937 season in the major leagues after his strong season with Springfield. In his major league career, Jungels pitched parts of five seasons for the Cleveland Indians (1937–1938, 1940–1941) and
Pittsburgh Pirates (1942). He had a 1-0 career major league record with a 6.80 ERA in 25 games, with all of his appearances coming in relief. His career was interrupted military service by During
World War II, where served in the
United States Army. Jungels pitched three seasons in the minor leagues after his military service and never appeared again in the major leagues. A Wisconsin native, following his baseball career Jungels operated a tavern near
County Stadium in Milwaukee until his death at age 59 in 1975. Scalzi played 17 seasons in minor league baseball and also managed for 12 seasons in the minor leagues. Playing for Springfield at age 24 in his second season, Scalzi had made his professional debut playing for Earl Wolgamot and the for the Zanesville Greys in the season prior. Obtained during the season, catcher
Phil Masi played for Springfield in 1937, his first of two seasons playing with the Springfield Indians. He batted .283 in 12 games for Springfield. Masi had been playing with the
Wausau Timberjacks to begin the 1937 season before his contract was purchased by the
Milwaukee Brewers who then assigned him to play for the Springfield Indians. Baseball Commissioner
Kenesaw Mountain Landis ruled that Masi's contract with Milwaukee was a violation of baseball rules and voided the contract. Masi was then allowed him to sign a non-reserve contract with Springfield that allowed him to become a free agent following the season.
1938 & 1939: Middle Atlantic League / Springfield Indians The 1938 Springfield Indians continued play as members of the Class C level Middle Atlantic League and again qualified for the playoffs. The Indians ended the season finishing in third place in the eight-team league. Springfield had a 71–59 record under returning manager Earl Wolgamot. In the final Middle Atlantic League standings, Springfield finished 8½ games behind the first place Portsmouth Red Birds (79–50). In their first-round playoff series of the four-team playoff, Portsmouth defeated Springfield 3 games to 1 to end the Indians' season. The win led Portsmouth to the league finals, where they defeated the Akron Yankees in seven games to capture the league title. , Cleveland Indians. At the age of 17, just after graduating from high school,
Baseball Hall of Fame member
Bob Lemon signed with the Cleveland Indians for a salary of $100.00 per month. Lemon was a position player to begin his professional career before being shifter to pitcher after playing in the major leagues with the Cleveland Indians as a third baseman and centerfielder. Lemon did not want to pitch, but eventually realized he had more potential as a pitcher in the major leagues after being reduced to a utility role as a hitter. Lemon stepped away from baseball from 1943 to 1945 as he served in the
United States Navy during World War II and missed three seasons. Following his playing career Lemon became a longtime major league manager and managed the New York Yankees to victory in the
1978 World Series, where his Springfield teammate
Jim Hegan was one of his coaches on the Yankees staff. Lemon also managed the
Kansas City Royals and
Chicago White Sox. and compiled a 430–403 record as a manager. Lemon was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a player in 1976. Phil Mesi returned to Springfield in 1938 and played mostly as a catcher for Springfield, adding 15 games in the outfield. Masi hit .308, with 16 home runs and 97 RBIs for Springfield. He made his major league debut at the end of the 1938 season with the
Boston Braves. ,
Cleveland Indians. Hegan played for the Springfield Indians in 1938 and 1939 to begin his professional career. He played until 1960 and was a five-time All-star. Hegan was later a bench coach for the New York Yankees for 16 seasons through 1978. Catcher
Jim Hegan played his first of two seasons with Springfield in 1938, batting .292 with 5 home runs in 62 games, playing in his first professional season at age 17. A member of the
Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame, Hegan became a five-time major league All Star. He played for the Cleveland Indians (1941–1942, 1946–1957),
Detroit Tigers (1958),
Philadelphia Phillies (1958–1959),
San Francisco Giants (1959) and
Chicago Cubs (1960) in his lengthy major league career. He batted .229 in his career. During
World War II, Hegan stepped away from his baseball career for military service. Hegan served in the
U.S. Coast Guard from 1943 to 1945 before his discharge. After his playing career ended in 1960, Hegan became a major league bench coach for the Chicago Cubs beginning in 1960 and then with the New York Yankees, where he served through 1978, a total of 16 seasons with New York. The Yankees won the 1978 World Series in his final season as a coach, when New York was managed by his former teammate with Springfield and Cleveland, Bob Lemon. With the Yankees he mentored catchers
Thurman Munson cand
Rick Dempsey. Hegan was still with the Yankees, serving as a scout when he died in 1984 at age 63. In the 1939 Springfield Indians' season, the team made a run to the championship finals in the eight-team Middle Atlantic League. Springfield finished the regular season with a modest 66–64 record to finish in fourth place in their last season under manager Earl Wolgamot. With their fourth place finish, the Indians finished 11½ games behind the first place Canton Terriers and earned the last playoff spot . In the first round of the four-team playoffs, Springfield defeated the second place Charleston Senators 3 games to 1 and advanced. In the finals, Canton defeated Springfield 4 games to 1 to win the championship. Reynolds signed with the Cleveland Indians having graduated from
Oklahoma Agricultural & Mechanical College (A&M), known today as Oklahoma State University. Reynolds attended the Oklahoma A&M on a track and field scholarship while also playing for the football team. In 1937,
Henry Iba, coach of the
baseball team (and basketball team), first noticed Reynolds practicing javelin throws on a field next to the baseball field. He asked Reynolds to throw batting practice for the baseball team, to which he agreed. Reynolds was impressive in throwing batting practice and was asked to join the baseball team by Iba. Reynolds played as an outfielder and pitcher during his senior year in 1938.) set up a meeting with Hugh Alexander, a
scout for the
Cleveland Indians and Reynolds. The Indians scouted and signed Reynolds and he received a $1,000 signing bonus. A six-time major league All-star, Reynolds pitched for the Cleveland Indians (1942–1946) and
New York Yankees (1947–1954). He retired with a 182–107 record, 48 saves and 3.30 ERA. He won six world series championships while making six All-Star teams. Reynolds had a 7–2 record with a 2.79 ERA over 77 innings in the
World Series. Aside from his starts, he made six relief appearances in the World Series, and had a win or save in each, including the clinching games of the
1950,
1952 and
1953 World Series. Reynolds' baseball career ended prematurely. He retired as the result of a significant back injury that resulted from an accident. Reynolds was injured when the Yankees' team charter bus crashed into an
overpass in Philadelphia during the 1953 season. He pitched in pain against doctors' orders and retired after the 1954 season as a result of the injury. A plaque in Reynolds' honor, was dedicated in
Monument Park at
Yankee Stadium on August 26, 1989. Returning to Springfield to begin the 1939 season, Bob Lemon played in 80 games with Springfield and hit .293. He was then assigned to the
New Orleans Pelicans of the Southern Association, where he batted .309 to conclude his season. Catcher Jim Hegan batted .243 in 109 games with 13 home runs in his second season for the Springfield Indians. The Akron Yankees won the 1940 league title and
Walter Alston led the league in home runs while playing for the last place Portsmouth Red Birds. Bob Lemon joined Wolgamot in moving to the Barons in 1940 and the two remained in Wilkes-Barre for the 1941 season before Lemon made his major league debut with the Cleveland Indians at the end of the season. With a new manager and a new affiliate team, Springfield returned to play in 1941, as the Middle Atlantic League expanded to eight teams, while remaining a Class C level league. The Middle Atlantic League dropped the Portsmouth Red Birds while adding three former league members in the
Zanesville Cubs, Erie Sailors and Springfield teams back into the league. member
Walter Alston, manager of the
Los Angeles Dodgers from 1954 to 1976. In 1941 and 1942, Alston was the player/manager for the Springfield Cardinals. Future Baseball Hall of Fame member Walter Alston became the player/manager for the Springfield Cardinals in 1941. Alston had briefly played for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1936, appearing in one game. Alston went on to manage the
Brooklyn Dodgers and
Los Angeles Dodgers from 1954 to 1976, leading the Dodgers to victories in the
1955 World Series,
1959 World Series and
1965 World Series, while managing such players as
Jackie Robinson,
Sandy Koufax,
Don Drysdale,
Gil Hodges,
Roy Campanella and
Don Sutton. The Cardinals were dominant in a 1941 regular season doubleheader against the Youngstown Browns at Youngstown's Idora Park. In the first game, Walter Alston hit 3 home runs in leading Springfield to a victory. In the second game Springfield won by the score of 18-0 aided by seven Youngstown errors as Gilbert Dobbs threw a no hitter for the Cardinals. The Springfield Cardinals qualified for the playoffs following the 1941 season, as the Middle Atlantic League resumed a four-team playoff system when the league returned to an eight-team league. Led by Walter Alston, the Cardinals ended the regular season with a 69–57 record and in fourth place, securing the last playoff qualifying position. With Walter Alston returning for a second season as player/manager, the Cardinals finished in fifth place in final standings with a record of 59–71. Springfield finished 18.0 games behind the first place Charleston Senators and did not qualify for the four-team playoffs won by the Erie Sailors. When Springfield and the Middle Atlantic League did not return to play in 1943, Walter Alston joined the
Rochester Red Wings as a player in 1943. He then joined the
Trenton Packers, where he was a player-manager in 1944 and 1945. Alston later said that he did not give much consideration to racial issues and that he had simply thought about how much they would benefit the team. Alston led the
Pueblo Dodgers to the
Western League title the next season. He appeared as a player in two games, which were his final professional playing appearances. With World War II affecting minor league baseball, Springfield was without a team in 1943 following the Middle Atlantic League's folding. However, in 1944, baseball resumed in Springfield, when the
Springfield Giants became as members of the
Class D level
Ohio State League. ==The ballparks==