History of baseball in Allentown, Pennsylvania

Allentown's association with the national pastime spans nearly 125 years, from the formation of the Allentown Dukes in the late 19th century to the startup of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in the early 21st century.

Professional baseball in Allentown dates to 1884, when the Allentown Dukes completed one season in the original Eastern League. Four years later, the city fielded a Central League team, the Allentown Peanuts, which also folded after a season. The 1890s brought a series of ball clubs to the city. The Allentown Colts played in the Pennsylvania State League from 1892-93. The next year, the team became Kelly's Killers, named for its player-manager, future Hall of Fame member Mike "King" Kelly. Late in the season, Kelly moved the Eastern League's Binghamton Bingoes here as the Allentown Buffalos. Kelly, the era's most flamboyant figure, died of pneumonia that fall at age 35, and the Buffalos were dissolved. In 1895, the Allentown Goobers returned to Pennsylvania State League play to the city for one season. In 1898, yet another team was formed, re-using the name the Allentown Peanuts. The Peanuts played for three seasons in the Atlantic League, which succeeded the Pennsylvania State League in 1896. The league and the team were dissolved in 1900.

Over the next two decades, Allentown hosted only one professional team, a Tri-State League club which played from 1912-14. Then, in the 1920s, the name the Allentown Dukes was revived for a semi-professional team that played four seasons (1923–26) at Edgemont Field, a new field at Second and Susquehanna Streets. On September 7, 1923 the Allentown Dukes defeated the New York Yankees by a score of 8 to 7 at Edgemont Field. Babe Ruth struck out at bat in the ninth inning, with bases loaded. The semi-pro team led to the start of an Eastern League team under the same name in 1929. League champions the next year, the team was renamed the Allentown Buffaloes in 1931. At the end of the 1932 season, the league collapsed, and the Buffaloes folded.

In 1935, the city landed its first Major League farm team, when the Brooklyn Dodgers moved their Reading Brooks franchise here just six games into the season. The Allentown Brooks, like the Dukes and Buffaloes, played their home games at the Allentown Fairgrounds. The club, which was in the New York–Pennsylvania League (forerunner of today's Eastern League), finished out the 1936 season, but did not return the next year.

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