Wheeling Stogies
|
Wheeling Stogies 1877–1934 Wheeling, West Virginia |
|
| Class-level | |
|---|---|
| Previous |
|
| Minor league affiliations | |
| League | Middle Atlantic League (1925–1934) |
|
Previous leagues
|
|
| Major league affiliations | |
| Previous | New York Yankees (1933–1934) |
| Minor league titles | |
| League titles | 2 (1909, 1910) |
| Team data | |
|
Previous names
|
|
|
Previous parks
|
|
The Wheeling Stogies was a minor league baseball team based in Wheeling, West Virginia, that played under several different names at various times between 1877 and 1934. They played mostly in the Central League and the Middle Atlantic League, as well as in several various other area-based leagues.
The Stogies can be traced back to 1877 and the city's first professional team known as Wheeling Standard, which featured Jack Glasscock and Chappy Lane. Then in 1887 the city once again fielded a new team known simply in the record books as Wheeling. However, the following season, Wheeling came to be called the "Nail City" for its nail industry, creating the Wheeling Nailers, a team name which even today is used for the city's professional ice hockey team. The team was also known as the Wheeling National Citys, and in 1895 as the Wheeling Mountaineers, which consisted of future major leaguers: Tom O'Brien and Dewey McDougal. The town also had a thriving tobacco industry with Marsh Wheeling's Stogies as a leading enterprise, and later the club's name changed to the Wheeling Stogies in 1899.
In 1900 Ed Poole went 20–15 for the Wheeling Stogies. He also played in the infield and outfield when he didn't pitch and batted .257. Poole was then acquired by the Pittsburgh Pirates and made his major league debut in October of that year. He was a member of the Pirates National League pennant winning team in 1901.
Under manager Bill Phillips, the club won Central League titles in 1909 and 1910. The Stogies' 1909 season featured Hall of Fame inductee, Bill McKechnie. The 1909 season also featured several memorable exhibition games. The first was against a barnstorming team led by baseball great Cap Anson his semi-professional team, which he called "Anson's Colts". The Colts defeated the Stogies 10-4 with Anson going 1-5 and scoring a run for the Colts, while Bill McKechnie went 1-4 with a run for Wheeling. The Stogies also faced the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Athletics that season, losing 7-2 and 3-0 respectively. However, on April 8, 1909, the Stogies defeated the Athletics 5-4 in front of just 250 fans at Wheeling. The Pittsburgh Pirates purchased McKechnie from Wheeling at the end of the season. However, to close out the 1909 season, the Pirates, who had just won the 1909 World Series, and the Central League champions played against each other in an exhibition game in Wheeling. The Stogies defeated the Pirates 9-1; however, the Pittsburgh club played many back-up players in the game.
...
Wikipedia