New Jersey Cardinals
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New Jersey Cardinals 1994–2005 Augusta, New Jersey |
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| Previous | Short-Season A | ||||
| Minor league affiliations | |||||
| League | New York–Penn League | ||||
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| Minor league titles | |||||
| League titles | 1 (1994) | ||||
| Division titles | 1 (1994) | ||||
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Previous names
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Previous parks
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Skylands Park | ||||
The New Jersey Cardinals were a Short-Season A minor league baseball team affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals. They were a member of the New York–Penn League and played at Skylands Park in Augusta, New Jersey from 1994-2005.
The team's origins began in 1981 as the Erie Cardinals which were also a Cardinals' affiliate which played at Ainsworth Field in Erie, Pennsylvania from 1981-1987. The Erie Cardinals were then relocated to Hamilton, Ontario to become the Hamilton Redbirds by Albany businessman Joe Vellano. After the relocation, the team remained as a Cardinals' affiliate. The team played in Hamilton, Ontario from 1988-1992. In 1991, Vellano sold the Redbirds to a limited partnership headed by Barry Gordon and Marc Klee. Gordon and Klee planned to relocate the team to New Jersey where partner Rob Hillard was heading up management of the stadium. The Redbirds spent a lame duck season in Hamilton.
In the interim, the team relocated to Glens Falls, New York to become the Glens Falls Redbirds where former owner Jack Tracz managed the interim operation. The team played at East Field for the 1993 season only. After the 1993 season, the Glens Falls Redbirds relocated to Sussex County, NJ to become the New Jersey Cardinals, despite construction delays and apparent mismanagement by the stadium group which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy 120 days before the start of the season. The new park opened on schedule in large part due to the ownership and management of the Cardinals which was headed by Gordon and Klee's general manager Tony Torre. Torre partnered with a prominent local attorney, Kevin Kelly and the two kept the project moving along with Gordon and Klee's open checkbook. The New Jersey Cardinals put together a 43-32 regular-season mark, and then defeated the Jamestown Jammers, 2 games to 1, and the Auburn Astros, 2 games to 0, to win the league title. The achievement was culminated when Torre approached Frankford township mayor Carol Ann Kristensen to change the club's official address to "94 Championship Place". The Cardinals had one of their best player drafts the following year, and several future stars, including Matt Morris, passed through Augusta in 1995.
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