Erie Sailors

The Erie Sailors was the name of several minor league baseball teams that played in Erie, Pennsylvania between 1906 and 1994.

Pre-1930s

Several unrelated teams used the Erie Sailors name in the Interstate League (1906-1907, 1913, 1916), the Ohio-Pennsylvania League (1908-1911), and the Central League (1912, 1915, 1928-30, 1932).

1938-1963

During these years, the Erie Sailors played in the Middle Atlantic League from 1938-1939, 1941-1942, and 1946-1951; the PONY League from 1944-1945 and 1954-1956; and the PONY's successor New York - Penn League from 1957-1963. Several times during this period, the team was also called the Senators, after its major league affiliate, the Washington Senators. The Sailors won league championships in 1951 and 1957.

From 1948 onward, this team (and all subsequent Sailors) played at Ainsworth Field.

New York-Penn League - 1990s

In 1990, after the Baltimore Orioles ended their affiliation with the team (then known as the Erie Orioles), they reclaimed the Sailors name and operated as an unaffiliated minor league team for 2 years before becoming the Florida Marlins' first farm team in 1992 and a Texas Rangers affiliate in 1993. Because of the deteriorating condition of Ainsworth Field, the team moved after the 1993 season to Fishkill, New York and then became the Hudson Valley Renegades.

Frontier League

In 1994, the Sailors were a team in the independent Frontier League, winning the league championship in their only year of existence. In 1995, the Erie Seawolves moved to town, displacing the Sailors, forcing the franchise to move to Johnstown, Pennsylvania as the Johnstown Steal/Johnnies and then to Florence, Kentucky as the Florence Freedom.

External links

* [http://mysite.verizon.net/charliesballparks/stadiums/erieain.htm Ainsworth Field]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Erie%2C_PA Baseball Reference]