- Springfield Cubs
The Springfield Cubs, based in
Springfield, Massachusetts , was an Americanminor league baseball franchise that served as a farm club of theChicago Cubs ofMajor League Baseball from 1948-53. It was a member of the Class BNew England League in 1948-49, and the Class AAAInternational League from 1950-53, and played at Pynchon Park.Although the NEL Springfield franchise had medicore won-loss records in 1948-49, the team finished second in attendance in 1948 and led the New England League in its final season of operation (1949), drawing over 102,000 fans. After the NEL folded in the autumn of 1949, Springfield received a franchise in the International League when the
Newark Bears transferred there for 1950. However, the Bears' parent team, theNew York Yankees , did not follow, and Springfield retained its Cubs affiliation. It became Chicago's second Class AAA team, along with the Los Angeles Angels, the Cubbies' longtime franchise in thePacific Coast League . Springfield's first AAA manager was Chicago favorite Smilin' Stan Hack.The AAA Springfield franchise drew over 200,000 fans in its maiden season, and just missed the playoffs, finishing fifth in the eight-team International League. Future MLB
third baseman Randy Jackson won rookie of the year honors. But that first season could not be duplicated, on or off the field. The Cubs did not have enough depth to field two strong AAA clubs, and the 1951-53 Springfield Cubs placed last in the IL and last, or next to last, in attendance. The franchise folded and was replaced by theHavana Sugar Kings in the 1954 IL lineup.ee also
*
Springfield Cubs (Western Association) -- Simultaneously with the existence of the Massachusetts-based Springfield Cubs, a club based inSpringfield, Missouri , with the same name (and parent team) played in the Class CWestern Association from July 21, 1948, through the end of the by|1948 season, and for the entire by|1950 campaign.References
* Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, eds., "The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball" 3d edition. Durham, N.C.:
Baseball America , 2007.
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