Norfolk Tides
The Norfolk Tides are a professional minor league baseball team in the Triple-A International League. They play at Harbor Park in Virginia. Since 2007 they have been a farm team of the Baltimore Orioles; the franchise began its history in the South Atlantic League in 1961 as the Portsmouth-Norfolk Tides, playing at Lawrence Stadium in Portsmouth. The main newspaper of South Hampton Roads, The Virginian-Pilot, ran a contest to determine the team name. Although the chosen name was "Mariners", the Pilot′s editor overruled the contest, deciding he liked the alliteration of "Tidewater Tides." The Tides spent their first year as an "independent" team with no direct major-league affiliation, but became a St. Louis Cardinals affiliate the following season. However, the South Atlantic League decided to pull out of Virginia in 1963, threatening the future of minor-league baseball in the Hampton Roads area. A local group was able to convince the Carolina League to expand by two teams, one of them being the Tides.
In 1969, the New York Mets moved their Triple-A International League affiliate known as the Jacksonville Suns, from Jacksonville, Florida to Portsmouth. The team took up the Tides name and the previous owners continued to run the team under the Mets' ownership, their first year in Triple-A ended with a pennant. At the same time, the Mets and the city of Norfolk cooperated to build the team's next home, Met Park; the Tides won the Governors' Cup, the International League championship, in 1972, 1975, 1982, 1983, 1985. They had the league's best regular-season record in 1987 but lost in the playoffs. In 1983, they won the Triple-A World Series. In 1992, ground was broken on the club's current home of Harbor Park, the Tides moved into the new facility in 1993; this period was a time of change in several other ways. First, in 1992, the Mets sold the franchise to a group led by Tampa businessman Ken Young. At the time the Tides moved into Harbor Park, the team replaced the "Tidewater" in its name with that of Norfolk for marketing reasons and for political considerations, as the city of Norfolk had facilitated the financing and building of Harbor Park.
In 1993, The Tides introduced their mascot Rip Tide. The Mets and Tides ended their affiliation after the 2006 season. At the time, their 38-year association was the second longest in Triple-A, behind the Atlanta–Richmond partnership, which dated to 1966; the Baltimore Orioles signed a Player Development Contract with the Tides on September 25, 2006. Maryland Baseball Holding LLC, which owns the Tides owns two other Orioles-affiliated minor-league clubs, the Bowie Baysox and the Frederick Keys; the Tides have won the Governors' Cup, the championship of the International League, 5 times, played in the championship series 9 times. 1971 – Lost to Rochester 1972 – Defeated Louisville 1975 – Defeated Syracuse 1982 – Defeated Rochester 1983 – Defeated Richmond 1985 – Defeated Columbus 1987 – Lost to Columbus 1988 – Lost to Rochester 1995 – Lost to OttawaIn 1983, the Tides won the Triple-A World Series. Marty Brennaman, Cincinnati Reds, 1974–present, The Baseball Network, 1994–95 Pete Van Wieren, Atlanta Braves, 1977–2008, The Baseball Network, 1994–95 Charlie Slowes, New York Mets, 1988, 1991, Baltimore Orioles 1989–90, MLB on CBS Radio 1988–90, Tampa Bay Rays, 1998–2004, Washington Nationals, 2005–present Ken Levine, Baltimore Orioles, 1991, Seattle Mariners, 1992–94, 2011–12, San Diego Padres, 1995–1997, Los Angeles Dodgers, 2008–2010 Todd Kalas, New York Mets, 1992, Philadelphia Phillies, 1994–96, Tampa Bay Rays, 1998–present David Glass, San Francisco Giants, 1981–85 Bob Rathbun, Detroit Tigers, 1992–94, Atlanta Braves, 1998–2006 Bob Socci, New England Patriots, 2013-current Official website
Kirk Rueter
Kirk Wesley Rueter is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, has the second most wins by a left-handed pitcher for the Giants in the San Francisco Era. Rueter played for the Montreal Expos and the Giants and made most of his career appearances as a starter. Rueter played for Murray State University, he is nicknamed "Woody" after his resemblance to a character in the animated movie Toy Story, although during his time in Montreal he was referred to as "Captain Kirk". Rueter was born in Centralia, grew up in Hoyleton and graduated from Nashville Community High School District 99 in Nashville, Illinois in 1988. Drafted by the Montreal Expos in 1991, Rueter broke into the majors in 1993 and posted an 8-0 record in 14 games, his years with the Expos were uneven after his breakout year, with a reasonable 1994 performance followed by a solid 1995 and a mediocre 1996. That year, the San Francisco Giants traded Mark Leiter the organization's most prominent starting pitcher, to the Expos for Rueter and Tim Scott.
Scott posted an 8.24 ERA with the Giants, but Rueter blossomed into one of the Giants' most dependable starters. The following season, Rueter pitched in his first full season and to great success, going 13-6 with a 3.45 ERA in 32 starts with a career high 115 K's. In 1998, despite achieving a career high 16 victories, Rueter's ERA rose from the previous season, finishing with a 4.36 in 187+ innings. In 1999, backed with a lot of run support, Rueter reached 15 wins despite posting an ERA of 5.41, while serving 28 home runs. In 2000, Rueter was the first pitcher to start a major league game at Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco. By the end of the season, Rueter bounced back to post an ERA of 3.96, while collecting 11 wins. For many fans, Rueter's defining moment as a Giant was his gutsy bullpen performance in Game 2 of the 2000 NLDS, where he relieved starter Shawn Estes after Estes sprained his ankle on a baserunning play. 2002, the year of a Giants' World Series appearance, was statistically Rueter's best year.
He went 14-8 with a 3.23 ERA. Rueter was the pitcher in Game 4 of the 2002 World Series. Rueter pitched shutout ball in relief of Liván Hernández in Game 7 of the 2002 Series, but the Giants failed to score enough runs to come back. In 2003, despite posting a record of 10-5 in 27 starts, Rueter had an ERA of 4.53 and went through control problems throughout the season, recording 47 walks while striking out just 41. He began to struggle in 2004 with a 9-12 record and a 4.73 ERA, while continuing with his control issues from the previous season. Despite starting 33 games for the Giants, Rueter issued 66 walks while striking out 56. In 2005, after posting a 2-7 record and 5.95 ERA, the Giants designated him for assignment. His nine-year tenure in San Francisco ended with some controversy, as Rueter complained about having to pitch out of the bullpen and only pitching three times in his last 41 days as a Giant. Rueter's trademarks were his large ears. Rueter resides in Nashville, with his wife and two daughters and his home is famous for its "Shed", a large recreational facility filled with games and sports memorabilia.
Rueter resided at the Shed during the off-seasons of his playing career. When the Giants made trips to St. Louis during the baseball season, Rueter invited the team to relax at his Shed. On March 6, 2006, Rueter announced his retirement from the game after 13 seasons, he retired as the Giants franchise record holder for career wins by a left-handed pitcher in the San Francisco Era, with 105 of his 130 career wins in a Giants uniform. Rueter has the 20th most wins all-time in Giants franchise history, he is the third all-time in wins during the San Francisco Era. He made. Only Juan Marichal and Gaylord Perry wins; the Giants honored Rueter's career during pregame ceremonies on "Kirk Rueter Day" at SBC Park on August 19, 2006, by giving Rueter a lifesize bobblehead of his likeness and giving him and his family a trip to Hawaii. Throughout his career, Rueter was a control and changeup pitcher, his fastball hit 90 mph. He threw changeups, sinkers, cut fastballs, sliders, he was an exceptional fielder, ranking in defensive metrics throughout his career.
Some credited the effects of the QuesTec umpiring system to his decline, because Rueter's success came from being able to "paint the corners" of the strike zone and the system took that ability away from him because it encouraged umpires to call a tighter strike zone. Rueter was never a strikeout pitcher. Former teammate Rich Aurilia said, "He was very capable of winning with his stuff because he had confidence in what he could do, he always pitched to what his strengths were." Although Rueter never attended the University of North Carolina, he is an avid fan of Tar Heels basketball. Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
Rondell White
Rondell Bernard White is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as designated hitter; as well as being a solid defensive player, White had a batting average of.300 or higher for four consecutive seasons from 1998 to 2001. White is a 1990 graduate of Jones County High School in Gray, where he played baseball and basketball, he was the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Player of the Year in 1990 and was selected to the USA Today and Collegiate Baseball All-America squads that year. White was drafted by the Montreal Expos as the 24th overall pick in the first round of 1990 Major League Baseball draft and, played in their minor league system for four years from 1990 to 1994. In 1993, White posted an impressive.380 batting average in 42 games for the Ottawa Lynx of the International League, earning him a promotion to the Expos. He made his major league debut on September 1, 1993 at the age of 22. On June 11, 1995, White had the best game of his career when he hit for the cycle and had 6 hits in 7 at bats during a thirteen-inning game against the San Francisco Giants.
He became the fourth Expos player in team history to hit for the cycle. He had two singles, two doubles, an extra-inning triple, a home run. In 1997, White hit a career-high 28 home runs for the Expos, he led the National League center fielders with 379 putouts and 3 double plays and, finished the 1997 season ranked second in the league with a 2.7 Defensive Wins Above Replacement. On July 31, 2000, the Expos traded White to the Chicago Cubs for Scott Downs. After playing two seasons for the Cubs, he signed a two-year deal with the New York Yankees on December 17, 2001. On March 19, 2003 he was traded from the Yankees to the San Diego Padres for Bubba Trammell and Mark Phillips; that year he was named as a reserve player for the National League team in the 2003 All-Star Game. On August 26, 2003 he was traded to the Kansas City Royals for Brian Sanches, he ended the 2003 season with a career-high 87 runs batted in between the two teams. After the season, he signed with the Detroit Tigers. After two seasons with the Tigers, he signed with the Minnesota Twins on December 22, 2005.
White played in his final major league game on September 30, 2007 at the age of 35. In a fifteen-year major league career, White played in 1,474 games, accumulating 1,519 hits in 5,357 at bats for a.284 career batting average along with 198 home runs, 768 runs batted in and an on-base percentage of.336. He led the league in putouts in 1997, twice led the league in fielding percentage as an outfielder and, retired with a.990 fielding percentage as a center fielder and, a.986 fielding percentage as a left fielder. On December 13, 2007, White was mentioned in the Mitchell Report in connection to steroids. List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle List of Major League Baseball single-game hits leaders List of Major League Baseball players named in the Mitchell Report Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
Minor League Baseball
Minor League Baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development and a way to prepare for the major leagues. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses. Most are members of the umbrella organization known as Minor League Baseball, which operates under the Commissioner of Baseball within the scope of organized baseball. Several leagues, known as independent baseball leagues, do not have any official links to Major League Baseball. Except for the Mexican League, teams in the organized minor leagues are independently owned and operated but are directly affiliated with one major league team through a standardized Player Development Contract; these leagues go by the nicknames the "farm system", "farm club", or "farm team" because of a joke passed around by major league players in the 1930s when St. Louis Cardinals general manager Branch Rickey formalized the system, teams in small towns were "growing players down on the farm like corn".
Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball teams may enter into a PDC for a two- or four-year term. At the expiration of a PDC term, teams may renew their affiliation, or sign new PDCs with different clubs, though many relationships are renewed and endure for extended time periods. For example, the Omaha Storm Chasers have been the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals since the Royals joined the American League in 1969, but the Columbus Clippers changed affiliations, after being associated with the New York Yankees from 1979, to the Washington Nationals in 2007, have been affiliated with the Cleveland Indians since 2009. A few minor league teams are directly owned by their major league parent club, such as the Springfield Cardinals, owned by the St. Louis Cardinals, all of the Atlanta Braves' affiliates except the Florida Fire Frogs. Minor League teams that are owned directly by the major league club do not have PDCs with the parent club and are not part of the reaffiliation shuffles that occur each year.
Today, there are 14 MLB-affiliated minor leagues with a total of 160 revenue-generating teams, located in large and small cities and suburbs across the United States and Canada, there are three MLB-affiliated rookie leagues with a total of 80 teams, located in Arizona and the Dominican Republic, though these teams do not generate revenue. The Mexican League, with 16 teams, is independent but tied with MLB. Several more independent leagues operate in the United States and Canada; the earliest professional baseball league, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players of 1871 to 1875, comprised all professional teams. This system proved unworkable, however, as there was no way to ensure competitive balance, financially unsound clubs failed in midseason; this problem was solved in 1876 with the formation of the National League, with a limited membership which excluded less competitive and financially weaker teams. Professional clubs outside the NL responded by forming regional associations of their own.
There was a series of ad hoc groupings, such as the New England Association of 1877 and the Eastern Championship Association of 1881. These were loose groups of independent clubs which agreed to play a series of games over the course of one season for a championship pennant; the first true minor league is traditionally considered to be the Northwestern League of 1883 to 1884. Unlike the earlier minor associations, it was conceived as a permanent organization, it along with the NL and the American Association, was a party to the National Agreement of 1883. Included in this was the agreement to respect the reserve lists of clubs in each league. Teams in the NL and the AA could only reserve players, paid at least $1000. Northwest League teams could reserve players paid $750, implicitly establishing the division into major and minor leagues. Over the next two decades, more minor leagues signed various versions of the National Agreement; the minor leagues joined together to negotiate jointly. In the late 1890s, the Western League run by Ban Johnson decided to challenge the NL's position.
In 1900, he changed the name of the league to the American League and vowed to make deals to sign contracts with players who were dissatisfied with the pay and terms of their deals with the NL. This led to a nasty turf war that heated up in 1901 enough to concern Patrick T. Powers, president of the Eastern League, many other minor league owners about the conflict affecting their organizations. Representatives of the different minor leagues met at the Leland Hotel in Chicago on September 5, 1901. In response to the NL–AL battle, they agreed to form the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, called the NAPBL, or NA for short; the purpose of the NAPBL at the time was to maintain the independence of the leagues involved. Several continued to work independently. Powers was made the first president of the NAPBL, whose offices were established in Auburn, New York. In 1903, the conflict between the AL and NL ended in the National Agreement of 1903; the NAPBL became involved in the stages of the negotiations to develop rules for the acquisition of players from their leagues by the NL and the AL.
The 1903 agreement ensured that teams would be compensated for the players that they had taken the time and effort to scout and develop, no NA team was required to sell their players, although most did because the cash was an important source of revenue for most teams. The NA leagues were still fiercely
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a Minor League Baseball league operating in the Western and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, one grade below Major League Baseball, it is named the Pacific Coast League of Professional Baseball Clubs, Inc. Its headquarters are in Texas. Upon its founding in 1903, the Pacific Coast League fielded six teams from the Pacific States of California and Washington. Today, the league is composed of 16 teams across 12 states stretching from Sacramento, California, to Nashville and from Tacoma, Washington, to New Orleans, Louisiana; the PCL was one of the premier regional baseball leagues in the first half of the 20th century. Although it was never recognized as a true major league, to which it aspired, its quality of play was considered high. A number of top stars of the era, including Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams, were products of the league. In 1958, with the arrival of major league teams on the west coast and the availability of televised major league games, the PCL's modern era began with each team signing Player Development Contracts to become farm teams of major league clubs.
A league champion is determined at the end of every season. The San Francisco Seals won 14 Pacific Coast League titles, the most in the league's history, followed by the Los Angeles Angels and the Albuquerque Dukes and Portland Beavers. After the season, the PCL champion plays in the Triple-A National Championship Game against the International League champion to determine an overall champion of Triple-A baseball; the Omaha Storm Chasers and Sacramento River Cats have each won two national championships, more than any other PCL teams. The Pacific Coast League was formed on December 29, 1902, when officials from the California State League met in San Francisco for the purpose of expanding the league beyond California. Six franchises were granted; these were the Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Oaks, Portland Beavers, Sacramento Senators, San Francisco Seals, Seattle Indians. A dispute over territories owned by the Pacific Northwest League, in which the PCL had placed franchises, the PCL's allowing blacklisted players to compete led to the National Association labeling the PCL as an outlaw league.
The mild climate of the West Coast California, allowed the league to play longer seasons, sometimes starting in late February and ending as late as the beginning of December. During the 1905 season the San Francisco Seals set the all-time PCL record by playing 230 games. Teams played between 170 and 200 games in a season until the late 1950s; this allowed players, who were career minor leaguers, to hone their skills, earn an extra month or two of pay, reduce the need to find off-season work. These longer seasons gave owners the opportunity to generate more revenue. Another outcome was that a number of the all-time minor league records for season statistical totals are held by players from the PCL; the inaugural 1903 season, which consisted of over 200 scheduled games for each team, began on March 26. The Los Angeles Angels finished the season in first place with a 133–78 record, making them the first league champions. In 1904, National Association President Patrick T. Powers brokered terms with the PCL, clearing it of its outlaw status and designating it as a Class A league.
In 1909, the league classification was raised to Double-A. In 1919, with the earlier addition of the Salt Lake Bees and Vernon Tigers, league membership reached eight teams for the first time. While the league had experienced little commercial success up to this point, the 1920s were a turning point which saw increased attendance and teams fielding star players; the Great Depression of the 1930s resulted in a lower quality of play due to the league's salary reduction. Still, a number of top stars, including Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, Ox Eckhardt, competed on PCL teams that decade. Helping attendance was the introduction of night games. At Sacramento's Moreing Field, the Sacramento Solons and the Oakland Oaks played the first night baseball game, five years before any major league night game, on June 10, 1930; the Hollywood Stars and San Diego Padres were added to the league in the 1930s as well. During the first half of the 20th century, the Pacific Coast League developed into one of the premier regional baseball leagues.
The cities enfranchised by the other two high-minor leagues, the International League and the American Association, were coordinated geographically with the major leagues, but such was not the case with the PCL. With no major league baseball team existing west of St. Louis, the PCL was unrivaled for American west coast baseball. Although it was never recognized as a true major league, its quality of play was considered high. Drawing from a strong pool of talent in the area, the PCL produced many outstanding players, including such future major-league Hall of Famers as Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Tony Lazzeri, Paul Waner, Earl Averill, Bobby Doerr, Joe Gordon, Ernie Lombardi. Amid success experienced after World War II, league President Pants Rowland began to envision the PCL as a third major league. During 1945 the league voted to become a major league. However, the American League and National League were uninterested in allowing it to join their ranks. While many PCL players went on to play in the major leagues, teams in the league were successful enough that they could offer competitive salaries to avoid being outbid for their players' services.
Some players made a career out of the minor leagues. One of the better known was Frank Shellenback, whose major league pitching career was brief, but
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown is a city located in Lehigh County, United States. It is the 231st largest city in the United States; as of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is the fastest growing city in all of Pennsylvania. It is the largest city in the metropolitan area known as the Lehigh Valley, which had a population of 821,623 residents as of 2010. Allentown constitutes a portion of the New York City Combined Statistical Area and is the county seat of Lehigh County. In 2012, the city celebrated the 250th anniversary of its founding in 1762. Located on the Lehigh River, Allentown is the largest of three adjacent cities, in Northampton and Lehigh counties, that make up a region of eastern Pennsylvania known as the Lehigh Valley, the other two cities being Bethlehem and Easton, Pennsylvania. Allentown is 50 miles north-northwest of Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the United States, 90 miles east-northeast of Harrisburg, the state capital, 90 miles west of New York City, the nation's largest city.
The Norfolk Southern Railway's Lehigh Line, runs through Allentown heading east across the Delaware River. The Norfolk Southern Railway's Reading Line runs through Allentown heading west to Reading, Pennsylvania. Allentown was cited as a "national success story" in April 2016 by the Urban Land Institute for its downtown redevelopment and transformation, one of only six communities in the country to have been named as such. In the early 1700s, the land now occupied by the city of Allentown and Lehigh County was a wilderness of scrub oak where neighboring tribes of Native Americans fished for trout and hunted for deer and other game. In 1736, a large area to the north of Philadelphia, embracing the present site of Allentown and what is now Lehigh County, was deeded by 23 chiefs of the five great Native American nations to John and Richard Penn, sons of William Penn; the price for this tract included shoes and buckles, shirts, scissors, needles, looking glasses and pipes. The land, to become Allentown was part of a 5,000-acre plot William Allen purchased on September 10, 1735 from his business partner Joseph Turner, assigned the warrant to the land by Thomas Penn, son of William Penn, on May 18, 1732.
The land was surveyed on November 23, 1736. A subsequent survey done in 1753 by David Schultz for a road from Easton to Reading, of which present-day Union and Jackson streets were links, shows the location of a log house owned by Allen, situated near the western bank of Jordan Creek, believed to have been built around 1740. Used as a hunting and fishing lodge, here Allen entertained prominent guests including his brother-in-law, James Hamilton, colonial Pennsylvania governor John Penn; the area, today the center of Allentown was laid out as Northampton Town in 1762 by William Allen, a wealthy shipping merchant, former mayor of the city of Philadelphia and then-Chief Justice of the Province of Pennsylvania. It is that a certain amount of rivalry with the Penns prompted Judge Allen to decide to start a town of his own in 1762. Ten years before, in 1752, Northampton and Berks counties had been formed, each with a county seat and Reading, respectively, it is recorded that, in 1763, the year after the founding of Allentown, an effort was made to have the county seat moved from Easton to the new town.
To this effort William Allen lent all his influence as Chief Justice and as the son-in-law of Andrew Hamilton. The influence of the Penns, however and Easton was retained as the county seat of all that vast area which the notorious "Walking Purchase" had opened up; the original plan for the town, now in the archives of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, comprised forty-two city blocks and consisted of 756 lots 60 feet in width and 230 feet in depth. The town was located between present-day Fourth and Tenth Streets, Union and Liberty Streets. Many streets on the original plan were named for Allen's children: Margaret, James and John. Allen Street was named for Allen himself, was the main thoroughfare. Hamilton Street was named for James Hamilton. Gordon Street was named for Sir Patrick Gordon, Deputy Governor of Colonial Pennsylvania from 1726–1736. Chew Street was named for Benjamin Chew, Turner Street was named for Allen's business partner, Joseph Turner. Allen hoped that Northampton Town would displace Easton as the seat of Northampton County and become a commercial center due to its location along the Lehigh River and its proximity to Philadelphia.
Allen gave the property to his son James in 1767. Three years in 1770, James built a summer residence, Trout Hall, in the new town, near the site of his father's former hunting lodge. On March 18, 1811, the town was formally incorporated as the borough of Northampton Town. On March 6, 1812, Lehigh County was formed from the western half of Northampton County, Northampton Town was selected as the county seat; the town was renamed "Allentown" on April 16, 1838, after years of popular usage. Allentown was formally incorporated as a city on March 12, 1867; the beginnings of the American Revolutionary War began in Northampton County on December 21, 1774 when a Committee of Observation for Northampton County was formed by American patriots. At the time, there were 54 homes in Northampton, the number of inhabitants was around 330. With the Decla
Rochester Red Wings
The Rochester Red Wings are a professional Minor League Baseball team based in Rochester, New York. The team plays in the International League and is the top minor league affiliate of the Minnesota Twins; the Red Wings play their home games in Frontier Field, located in downtown Rochester. Founded in 1899, it is the oldest continuously operating sports franchise in North America below the major league level. Since the widespread adoption of the minor league farm system in the 1920s, the Red Wings have been affiliated with only three Major League Baseball clubs, an unusually stable, 90-year history, they were a top farm team of the St. Louis Cardinals for 32 years spent 42 years as the top affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, they became the Triple-A affiliate of the Twins. The franchise played from 1929 through 1996 at Silver Stadium and moved to Frontier Field in 1997; the Red Wings, along with the Pawtucket Red Sox, hold the record for the longest professional baseball game, lasting a total of 33 innings and 8 hours, 25 minutes over the course of three different days.
The game was held at Pawtucket's McCoy Stadium, beginning on April 18, 1981. It was suspended just after 4 a.m. the next morning, Rochester lost, 3–2, when the game resumed on June 23. Baseball in Rochester dates back to 1877 with the "Rochesters" of the International Association, Rochester has had a franchise in the league now known as the International League as early as 1885. According to Rochester sports historian Douglas Brei, only six franchises in the history of North American professional sports have been playing in the same city and same league continuously and uninterrupted since the 19th century: the Rochester Red Wings, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals, he reports that the Red Wings and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League are the only two franchises in North American professional sports to have captured a league championship in every decade of the 20th century. The current franchise has been playing in Rochester since 1899, when the team was known as the Rochester Bronchos and won the Eastern League championship in its inaugural season.
The Red Wings became the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1929. Aside from the affiliation, the Cardinals owned the Wings and their stadium known as Red Wing Stadium; the early years of the Cardinals and Red Wings saw the Red Wings much a power house, not unlike their parent club. The team was managed by Billy Southworth, from 1929–1931, the team won the International League championship. In a true statement of how dominant a team they were, they won 103 games in 1929, 105 games in 1930, 101 games in 1931; the team would remain competitive for many years, with 1935 and 1937 being the only years that they lost more games than they won. The return of Billy Southworth in 1939 brought another league championship to Rochester. Lean times were ahead for Rochester, with the 1940s finding the Red Wings on the bottom half of the standings. Former famed pitcher Burleigh Grimes couldn't change the team's fortunes, he lasted a little more than a half when he was replaced by Benny Borgmann. The team would capture three more league championships in the Cardinals era, those coming in 1952, 1955, 1956.
In the fall of 1956, the Cardinals ceased to operate the Red Wings and put both the team and the stadium up for sale. In response, Morrie Silver, a Rochester businessman, formed Rochester Community Baseball, Inc. and spearheaded a drive to sell shares in RCB to raise money to buy the Red Wings and Red Wing Stadium to ensure that the franchise would remain in Rochester. The attempt was successful as RCB purchased both entities from the Cardinals on February 27, 1957, in an event, dubbed the "72 Day Miracle". RCB, composed of fans of the team as shareholders, continues to own and operate the club to this day, making the Red Wings one of a few current American professional sports franchises that are publicly owned; the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League are the most notable example of this distinction. In 1959, the Red Wings were involved in one of minor league baseball's most infamous games. While playing in Havana, the Red Wings' July 25 game against the Havana Sugar Kings was interrupted at midnight by gunfire and fireworks in celebration of the 26th of July Movement.
Rochester's Frank Verdi, standing in as third-base coach in place of manager Cot Deal, ejected earlier in the game, was grazed by a bullet, as was Leo Cárdenas, the Sugar Kings' shortstop. Neither player was injured, but both the game and the series were canceled; the Wings remained St. Louis' affiliate until 1960, when the Red Wings moved on to become the top farm club of the Baltimore Orioles. After two straight fourth-place finishes, early exits from the playoffs, the Red Wings dismissed Clyde King, a hold over from the Cardinals era, as manager of the team, named Darrell Johnson in his place. Johnson never managed a finish better than fourth during his tenure, however, in 1964, with an 82-72 record, Johnson's Red Wings managed to win yet another championship, he was replaced by Earl Weaver. After two seasons, Weaver was brought up to manage the Baltimore Orioles, he was replaced by Billy DeMars, who lasted one season before being replaced by Cal Ripken, Sr. After two seasons, Ripken was replaced by Joe Altobelli.
Red Wing Stadium was renamed Silver Stadium in honor of Morrie Silver on August 19, 1968. From 1971-1976, the Red Wings never missed the playoffs, capturing two more league titles in the process in
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