- Zanesville Infants
The Zanesville Infants (1908-1909) was a short-lived baseball franchise located in
Zanesville, Ohio , and affiliated with the regional Central League. The organization's name was intended to highlight that they were a new minor league club.cite book
last = Filchia
first = Peter
title = Professional Baseball Franchises: From the Abbeville Athletics to the Zanesville Indians
year = 1993
publisher = Facts on File
location = New York
pages = p. 259] The Infants proved tough competitors and were runner-ups in the league championship in 1909.Fact|date=September 2008A ball club featuring many players who later formed the core of the Infants was established in Zanesville in 1907, when local investors purchased the
Youngstown Ohio Works .cite news
title = Franchise, Team and Marty Hogan are Coming Here
publisher = The Zanesville Signal
page = 1
date =February 18 ,1907 ] The investors also offered a contract to theYoungstown, Ohio , club's ex-manager,Marty Hogan , a former major league outfielder. Although the Zanesville team failed in its bid to join theOhio-Pennsylvania League , it secured a spot in the less prestigiousPennsylvania-Ohio-Maryland League . The Zanesville team disbanded along with the P-O-M League at the close of the 1907 season.Hogan managed the Infants in the 1908 season but moved on to
Lancaster, Pennsylvania , the following year, leading that team to its first championship in theTri-State League . ["Spalding's Official Athletic Library Baseball Guide" (New York: American Sports Publishing Co., 1910), p. 181.] Meanwhile, the Zanesville team competed fiercely with the Wheeling Stogies, who took the Central League Championship with a 88-50 record. The Infants were runner-ups in the contest, closing the season with a 75-58 record.Fact|date=September 2008 In July 1909, the Zanesville Infants earned a spot in baseball history when the team participated in the first electrifiednight game inGrand Rapids, Michigan . The event was made possible by inventor George Cahill, who provided his new portable lighting.cite web | url = http://timelines.ws/20thcent/1908_1909.HTML | title = Baseball Timeline 1908-1909 | publisher = Timelines | accessdate = 2007-03-14]References
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