Colonial League (baseball)

The Colonial League was a mid-level American minor baseball league that existed from 1947 through mid-July 1950. It was graded Class B, four levels below the Major Leagues, and featured teams in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.

The Colonial was one of many minor leagues that briefly existed during the post-World War II baseball boom. It competed in the Northeastern U.S. with five Major League clubs in New York and New England, established minor leagues such as the International League, Eastern League, Canadian-American League and PONY League, and other fledgling circuits such as the postwar New England League and Border League.

As a whole, the Colonial was rarely adopted as a site for farm teams for major league clubs. Only two of its member teams (the 1948 Bridgeport Bees and Port Chester Clippers) ever affiliated with a big league parent club.

As the minors began to contract in the late 1940s, the Colonial League's days were numbered. It shut its doors on July 14, 1950, with only 80,000 fans reported to have attended games in the entire six-team circuit.

Member teams

Bridgeport Bees Bristol Owls (League champions, 1949) Kingston Colonials New Brunswick/Kingston Hubs New London Raiders Port Chester Clippers (League champions, 1948)

Poughkeepsie Chiefs Poughkeepsie Giants Stamford Bombers (League champions, 1947) Stamford Pioneers Torrington Braves Waterbury Timers

References

• Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, eds., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, N.C. Baseball America, 2007.