1.
Binghamton, New York
–
Binghamton /ˈbɪŋəmtən/ is a city in, and the county seat of, Broome County, New York, United States. It lies in the states Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna. Binghamton is the city and cultural center of the Binghamton metropolitan area. The population of the city itself, according to the 2010 census, is 47,376. From the days of the railroad, Binghamton was a crossroads and a manufacturing center, and has been known at different times for the production of cigars, shoes. IBM was founded nearby, and the simulator was invented in the city, leading to a notable concentration of electronics-. This sustained economic prosperity earned Binghamton the moniker of the Valley of Opportunity, however, following cuts made by defense firms after the end of the Cold War, the region has lost a significant portion of its manufacturing industry. The city was named after William Bingham, a wealthy Philadelphian who bought the 10,000 acre patent for the land in 1786, then consisting of portions of the towns of Union, significant agricultural growth led to the incorporation of the village of Binghamton in 1834. The Chenango Canal, completed in 1837, connected Binghamton to the Erie Canal and this growth accelerated with the completion of the Erie Railroad between Binghamton and New York City in 1849. With the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad arriving soon after, several buildings of importance were built at this time, including the New York State Inebriate Asylum, opened in 1858 as the first center in the United States to treat alcoholism as a disease. Binghamton incorporated as a city in 1867, and due to the presence of several homes, was nicknamed the Parlor City. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many moved to the area. During the 1880s, Binghamton grew to become the second-largest manufacturer of cigars in the United States, however, by the early 1920s, the major employer of the region became Endicott Johnson, a shoe manufacturer whose development of welfare capitalism resulted in many amenities for local residents. An even larger influx of Europeans immigrated to Binghamton, and the working class prosperity resulted in the area being called the Valley of Opportunity, in 1913,31 people perished in the Binghamton Clothing Company fire, which resulted in numerous reforms to the New York fire code. Major floods in 1935 and 1936 resulted in a number of deaths, the floods were devastating, and resulted in the construction of flood walls along the length of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers. During the Second World War, growth and corporate generosity continued as IBM, along with Edwin Links invention of the flight simulator in Binghamton, IBM transitioned the region to a high-tech economy. Other major manufacturers included Ansco and General Electric, until the Cold War ended, the area never experienced an economic downfall, due in part to its defense-oriented industries. The population of the city of Binghamton peaked at around 85,000 in the mid-1950s, post-war suburban development led to a decline in the city population, as the towns of Vestal and Union experienced rapid growth
2.
New York Mets
–
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball as a club of the National League East division. The Mets are one of two Major League clubs based in New York City, the other is the New York Yankees. One of baseballs first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New Yorks departed NL teams, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants. The Mets colors are composed of the Dodgers blue and the Giants orange, during the 1962 and 1963 seasons, the Mets played their home games at the Polo Grounds. From 1964 to 2008, the Mets home ballpark was Shea Stadium, in 2009, they moved into their current ballpark, Citi Field. In their 1962 inaugural season, the Mets posted a record of 40–120, the Mets made the playoffs in 2006 when they came within one game of the World Series, losing to the eventual champion St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS. The Mets missed the playoffs with losses on the last day of the season in 2007 and 2008. The Mets made the playoffs in 2015 for the first time in nine years, the team again returned to the playoffs in 2016, this time with a wild card berth. This is the teams second playoff appearance, the first occurring during the 1999 and 2000 seasons. With the threat of a New York team joining a new third league, for the first two years of its existence, the team played its home games at the historic Polo Grounds in Upper Manhattan. In 1964, they moved into newly constructed Shea Stadium in Flushing, Queens, in 2009, the club moved into Citi Field, adjacent to the former Shea Stadium site. During their history, the Mets have won two World Series titles, five National League pennants and six National League East titles, the Mets also qualified for the postseason as the National League wild card team in 1999,2000, and 2016. The Mets have appeared in five World Series, more than any other team in MLB history. Their two championships are the most titles among expansion teams, equal to the tallies of the Toronto Blue Jays, Miami Marlins, the Mets held the New York baseball single-season attendance record for 29 years. They broke the Yankees 1948 record by drawing nearly 2.7 million spectators in 1970, the Mets broke their own record five times before the record was regained by the Yankees in 1999. The 1962 Mets posted a 40–120 record, a record for the most losses in a season since 1899, in 1966, the Mets famously bypassed future Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson in the amateur draft, instead selecting Steve Chilcott, who never played in the majors. But the following year, they acquired future Hall of Famer Tom Seaver in a lottery, in 1973, the Mets rallied from 5th place to win the division, despite a record of only 82–79
3.
Seattle Mariners
–
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball as a club of the American League West division. The team joined the AL as a team in 1977. Since July 1999, the Mariners home ballpark has been Safeco Field, the Mariners name originates from the prominence of marine culture in the city of Seattle. They are nicknamed the Ms, a featured in their primary logo from 1987 to 1992. The current team colors of Navy blue, Northwest green, and silver were adopted prior to the 1993 season after having been royal blue and their mascot is the Mariner Moose. The organization did not field a team until 1991, and any real success eluded them until 1995 when they won their first division championship. The Mariners won 116 games in 2001, which set the American League record for most wins in a single season, through the 2016 season, the franchise has finished with a losing record in 27 of 40 seasons. The Mariners are one of eight Major League Baseball teams who have never won a World Series championship, the Mariners were created as a result of a lawsuit. Confident that Major League Baseball would return to Seattle within a few years, King County built the multi-purpose Kingdome, the name Mariners was chosen by club officials in August 1976 from over 600 names submitted by 15,000 entrants in a name-the-team contest. The Mariners played their first game on April 6,1977, to a crowd of 57,762 at the Kingdome. The first home run in history was hit on April 10,1977. That year, star pitcher Diego Seguí, in his last major league season, the Mariners finished with a 64–98 record, echoing the record the 1969 Pilots once held. In 1979, Seattle hosted the 50th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, after the 1981 season, the Mariners were sold to California businessman and future U. S. Ambassador to Spain George Argyros. During the 1992–93 offseason, the Mariners hired manager Lou Piniella, Mariner fans embraced Piniella, and he would helm the team from 1993 through 2002, winning two American League Manager of the Year Awards along the way. In doing so, the broke the 1998 Yankees American League single-season record of 114 wins. On October 22,2008 the Mariners announced the hiring of Jack Zduriencik, formerly scouting director of the Milwaukee Brewers, weeks later, on November 18, the team named Oakland Athletics bench coach Don Wakamatsu as its new field manager. Wakamatsu and Zduriencik hired a new coaching staff for 2009
4.
Cleveland Indians
–
The Cleveland Indians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Indians compete in Major League Baseball as a club of the American League Central division. Since 1994, they have played at Progressive Field, the teams spring training facility is at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona. The Indians current World Series championship drought is the longest active drought, the name Indians originated from a request by club owner Charles Somers to baseball writers to choose a new name to replace Cleveland Naps following the departure of Nap Lajoie after the 1914 season. The name referenced the nickname Indians that was applied to the Cleveland Spiders baseball club during the time when Louis Sockalexis, common nicknames for the Indians include the Tribe and the Wahoos, the latter being a reference to their logo, Chief Wahoo, a controversial Native American caricature. The teams mascot is named Slider, the franchise originated in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1894 as the Grand Rapids Rustlers, a minor league team in the Western League. The team moved to Cleveland in 1900 and changed its name to the Cleveland Lake Shores, one of the American Leagues eight charter franchises, the major league incarnation of the club was founded in Cleveland in 1901. Originally called the Cleveland Bluebirds, the played in League Park until moving permanently to Cleveland Stadium in 1946. At the end of the 2016 season, they had a regular season record of 9. In 1857 baseball games were a spectacle in Clevelands Public Squares. City authorities tried to find an ordinance forbidding it, to the joy of the crowd, – Harold Seymour 1865–1868 Forest Citys of Cleveland 1869–1872 Forest Citys of Cleveland From 1865 to 1868 Forest Citys was an amateur ball club. During the 1869 season, Cleveland was among several cities which established professional baseball teams following the success of the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first fully professional team. In the newspapers before and after 1870, the team was called the Forest Citys. In 1871 the Forest Citys joined the new National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, ultimately, two of the leagues western clubs went out of business during the first season and the Chicago Fire left that citys White Stockings impoverished, unable to field a team again until 1874. Cleveland was thus the NAs westernmost outpost in 1872, the year the club folded, Cleveland played their full schedule to July 19 followed by two games versus Boston in mid-August and disbanded at the end of the season. 1879–1881 Cleveland Forest Citys 1882–1884 Cleveland Blues In 1876, the National League supplanted the NA as the professional league. Cleveland were not among its members, but by 1879 the league was looking for new entries. The Cleveland Forest Citys baseball team was then re-created, the National League required distinct colors for the 1882 season, so the Cleveland Forest Citys became the Cleveland Blues
5.
BB&T Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field
–
BB&T Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field is a minor league baseball stadium in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is home to the Williamsport Crosscutters of the New York–Penn League, opened in 1926, Bowman Field is the second-oldest ballpark in minor league baseball. It is also the field for the Wildcats of the Pennsylvania College of Technology. In 2012 Airmen Pond, an ice hockey rink, was built at Bowman Field. Williamsport has hosted minor league baseball since the late 19th century, the various teams played at differing sites in Williamsport. The earliest ballfield was near the West Branch Susquehanna River and it was long since been replaced by a levee and U. S. Route 220, U. S. Route 15 and Interstate 180. A second and more permanent facility was built in the Vallamont neighborhood, cochran Elementary School sits on the former site of the ballpark. The Williamsport Billies and later Williamsport Grays played the seasons at Williamsport High Schools athletic field on West 3rd Street and it too is long since gone, this property is currently home to the Pennsylvania College of Technology. Bowman Field was completed in 1926 to host the citys entry as a franchise in the New York–Pennsylvania League called the Williamsport Grays. The Grays were a member of the New York-Pennsylvania league which was established in 1923. Two of the most important boosters and financial backers of the team were J. Walton Bowman for whom the stadium was named and Thomas Gray, the Grays had previously been playing their home games on the athletic field of Williamsport High School. This facility proved to be too small. A larger and more permanent stadium was needed, a group of civic leaders and baseball boosters lead the drive to construct a new stadium for the Grays on the western side of Williamsport on the banks of Lycoming Creek. An agreement between the Grays and the city was reached in July,1925 to build what was known as Memorial Field. J. Walton Bowman headed an 11-member holding company that financed and managed the construction of the ballpark at a cost of $75,000, ground was broken in the fall of 1925 and the stadium opened in time for the beginning of the 1926 New York–Pennsylvania League season. The original dimensions of Bowman Field were quite large compared to the dimensions of modern baseball fields, Bowman Field measured 367 feet to the right field foul pole,450 feet to dead center field and 400 feet to the left field foul pole. Another unusual feature of the stadium was a terrace that was located on left field near the fence, the first game to be played at Bowman Field took place on April 22,1926 when the Grays hosted the team of nearby Bucknell University in an exhibition. The first professional opponent to appear at Bowman Field was the Harrisburg Colored Giants, the Grays lost two games to the Giants on April 27 and 29
6.
United States
–
Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
