- Eastern League (baseball, 1916-32)
The Eastern League of 1916 through the mid-season of 1932 was an American minor baseball league and the third of four circuits to use the "Eastern League" name since the 19th century. The successor to an early 20th century edition of the
New England League , it is not related to the current Eastern League, which formed in 1938 from the former New York-Pennsylvania League, or the currentInternational League , which was known as the Eastern League from 1892 through 1911.The Eastern League of 1916-32 was a mid- to higher classification league, beginning in 1916 as a Class B circuit and upgraded to Class A in 1919. Its president,
Tim Murnane , a former sportswriter, and many of its original member clubs were inherited from the New England League, which ceased operation in 1915. While most of its teams were centered inNew England and upstateNew York , in its later years the Eastern League admitted teams fromPennsylvania andVirginia . The league consisted of eight teams annually during its existence. The New Haven franchise, owned and operated by George Weiss from 1919-29, won four of its 17 championships — though under multiple nicknames. Weiss would go on to aBaseball Hall of Fame career as a top executive with theNew York Yankees .This edition of the Eastern League collapsed during the nadir of the
Great Depression onJuly 17 ,1932 .Member teams
*
Albany Empires
*Albany Senators (Champions, 1927, 29)
*Allentown Buffaloes
*Allentown Dukes (Champions, 1930)
*Bridgeport Americans
*Bridgeport Bears
*Bridgeport Hustlers
*Fitchburg Foxes
*Fitchburg-Worcester Boosters
*Hartford Senators (Champions, 1923, 31)
*Haverhill Orphans
*Lawrence Barristers
*Lewiston Red Sox
*Lewiston-Auburn Twins
*Lowell Grays
*Lynn Pipers
*New Haven Bulldogs
*New Haven Indians (Champions, 1922)
*New Haven Merlins (Champions, 1917)
*New Haven Profs (Champions, 1928)
*New Haven Weissmen (Champions, 1920)
*New London Planters (Champions, 1916, 18)
*Norfolk Tars
*Pittsfield Hillies (Champions, 1919, 21)
*Portland Blue Sox
*Portland Duffs
*Portland Paramounts
*Providence Grays
*Providence Rubes (Champions, 1926)
*Richmond Byrds
*Richmond Colts
*Springfield Green Sox
*Springfield Ponies
*Springfield Rifles (Champions, 1932)
*Waterbury Brasscos (Champions, 1924-25)
*Waterbury Nattatucks
*Worcester Boosters
*Worcester Coal Heavers
*Worcester Panthers References
* Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., "The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball," third edition. Durham, N.C.:
Baseball America , 2007.
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