Springfield Cardinals (Ohio)
The Springfield Cardinals were a minor league baseball team based in Springfield, Ohio. The Springfield Cardinals were a minor league affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals and played as a member of the Class C level Middle Atlantic League before folding with the league in 1942. Baseball Hall of Fame member Walter Alston was the player/manager for the Cardinals in 1941 and 1942.
Between 1933 and 1942, Springfield teams played as members of the Middle Atlantic League, beginning with the 1933 Springfield Chicks playing as an affiliate of the Washington Senators. In 1934 the Springfield Pirates played as an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Springfield Indians played as an affiliate of with the Cleveland Indians beginning in 1937 before the franchise became the Springfield Cardinals in 1941.
Baseball Hall of Fame member Bob Lemon began his professional career playing two seasons for the Springfield Indians in 1938 and 1939.
The Springfield Middle Atlantic League teams hosted their minor league home games at Eagles Field before moving in 1937 to Municipal Stadium, known today as Carleton Davidson Stadium.
History
Early Springfield teams
Springiled, Ohio, first hosted minor league baseball in 1877, when the "Springfield Champion City" team played the season as members of the League Alliance.The Springfield Governors teams played between 1897 and 1907 in the Interstate League and Central League. Between 1908 and 1917, the Springfield Reapers teams played in the Ohio State League and Central League, until the Central League folded following the 1917 season during World War I.
Before Springfield began its tenure of play as members of the Middle Atlantic League, the Springfield Buckeyes franchise played from 1928 to 1930 as members of the Class B level Central League, hosting home games at Eagles Field. The Central League folded following the 1930 season. After not hosting a team for over a decade, Springfield native Joe Dunn was instrumental in bringing minor league baseball back to Springfield in 1928, forming the "Springfield Baseball Club Inc." with two of his siblings, Charles and Katherine. The franchise secured rent at Eagles Field in Springfield for $3,000 per season, with the ballpark concession rights contracted to Jacobs Brothers of Buffalo, New York for $3,000. As owner of the Springfield franchise during the Great Depression, Joe Dunn was left with debt from the team, but was able to repay his creditors over time.
1933 & 1934: Middle Atlantic League
After a two-season hiatus from minor league play following the folding of the Central League, the 1933 Springfield "Chicks" team was formed and resumed hosting home games at Eagles Field in Springfield. The Springfield Chicks began play as members of the Class C level Middle Atlantic League.Playing as a Washington Senators minor league affiliate, Springfield joined the eight-team Middle Atlantic League for its ninth season of play. The league was first formed in 1925, founded by Elmer Daly. The Chicks joined the Beckley Black Knights, Charleston Senators, Dayton Ducks, Huntington Boosters, Johnstown Johnnies, Wheeling Stogies and Zanesville Grays teams in forming the 1933 league. The opening day of the Middle Atlantic League schedule was May 4, 1933.
Jake Pitler was hired as the Springfield Chicks player/manager in 1933. A second baseman as a player, Pitler had been a player/manager in the New York–Pennsylvania League the previous four seasons, first with the Elmira Colonels then with the Hazleton Mountaineers. Pitler had played in the major leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1917 and 1918, appearing in 111 total games and batting.232. At age 39, Pitler played second base for the Springfield Chicks and batted.262 with 3 home runs in 98 games. Pitler later served as a bench coach for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1947 to 1957 and continued serving the Dodgers as a scout after the franchise moved to Los Angeles. As a Dodgers coach he worked under managers Leo Durocher, Burt Shotton, Charlie Dressen, and Walter Alston. On August 25, 1956, the Brooklyn Dodgers honored him holding, "Jake Pitler Night" at Ebbets Field.
In their first season of Middle Atlantic play, the Chicks ended their first season in the league with a final regular season record of 67–64 record to end the season fourth place under player/manager Pitler. Springfield finished 10.0 games behind the first place Wheeling Stogies and did not qualify for the playoff where Wheeling was defeated by the Zanesville Grays 4 games to 1 to win the championship.
Springfield shortstop Mickey Noonan hit 26 home runs to lead the Middle Atlantic League, while also batting.349 at age 28. Eddie Wilson of Springfield led the league in runs scored with 112. Springfield right-handed pitcher Rex McDonald won 19 games on the season, tops among Middle Atlantic League pitchers.
An outfielder, Eddie Wilson he hit.337 with 10 home runs and 25 stolen bases playing in 112 games for Springfield in 1933. He later played in the major leagues with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1936 and 1937, batting.317 and.404 OBP with 4 home runs for the Dodgers across 88 games in his only two major league seasons. After playing his final professional baseball season in 1941 at age 31, Wilson voluntarily entered military service. Wilson served in the Merchant Marines during World War II. He later became a school teacher.
Pitching in 19 games for Springfield at age 47, Elmer Knetzer compiled a 7-7 record in 1933, his final season as a player and 16 years following his last major league appearance. Ketzler had pitched in the major leagues from 1909 to 1917. He compiled a 69-69 record pitching for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Pittsburgh Rebels, Boston Braves and Cincinnati Reds.
Right-handed pitcher Ed Edelen played for Springfield in 1933 after having played briefly for the Washington Senators, appearing in two games at the end of the 1932 season. Edelen's season with Springfield was his final season as a player, as he compiled a 0-1 record in 4 games for the Chicks before pursuing a career as a physician. Edelen attended the Georgetown University School of Medicine and graduated in 1937, beginning a lengthy career as a Medical doctor. From 1938 until his death in 1982, Edelen practiced medicine in Charles County, Maryland as a general practitioner. He served a tenure as president of Physicians Memorial Hospital.
After playing briefly for Springfield in 1933, Arthur Mansfield went on the become the long-time baseball coach of the Wisconsin Badgers from 1940 to 1970, leading the Badgers to a fourth-place finish in the 1950 College World Series, two Big Ten Conference championships and winning 441 career collegiate games. Aside from coaching, Mansfield also taught at the University of Wisconsin for 37 years.
File:Rube Bressler.jpeg|thumb|left| Rube Bressler, Cincinnati Reds. Bressler managed the 1934 Springfield Pirates. In his 19-season major league career, Bressler was moved from pitching to being a position player. He is a member of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.
The Springfield team continued play in the 1934 Middle Atlantic League. Springfield became known as the Springfield "Pirates" for the 1934 season, as the team became a minor league affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates ended the season in sixth place in the eight-team league with a 57–65 record. The team was managed by Al DeVormer and Rube Bressler during the season. Springfield finished 14½ games behind the first place Zanesville Grays in the final regular season standings. Zanesville won their third consecutive league championship in beating the Dayton Ducks 4 games to 3 in the league final. Springfield infielder Mickey Noonan again lead the league in home runs, tying with Dayton's Johnny McCarthy with 17. Playing third base, Mickey Noonon returned to the team and batted.312 for the Pirates, while hitting his league 17 home runs.
Springfield manager Rube Bressler had a lengthy major league career that had recently concluded when he managed and played for the Pirates in 1934. At age 39, he had 4 pinch hitting appearances for Springfield in his final professional play. Bressler was first a left-handed pitcher in the major leagues before being converted to an outfielder and first baseman. He played for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1914 to 1916 and Cincinnati Reds from 1917 to 1920, before being converted to an outfielder and first baseman while playing for Cincinnati through 1927, He then played for the Brooklyn Robins and the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals to conclude his major league career. He played in the 1919 World Series for the Cincinnati Reds won against the Black Sox Scandal implicated Chicago White Sox team. Bressler batted.301 with a.378 OBP and 32 home runs in his major league career, playing in 19 seasons, 11 with Cincinnati. As a pitcher in the majors he compiled a 26-32 career record with a 3.40 ERA. Bressler did not pitch after the 1920 season and played his last major league game in 1932. Since 1900, including Bressler, few players have started their careers as pitchers and ended up as position players. Among them are: Babe Ruth, Smoky Joe Wood, Johnny Cooney, Reb Russell, and Rick Ankiel.
File:Eddie Miller 1940 Play Ball card.jpeg|thumb| Eddie Miller, Boston Braves. Miller played shortstop for Springfield in 1934 at age 17. He became a seven-time major league All-star.
At age 17, shortstop Eddie Miller made his professional debut with Springfield in 1934, batting.286 with three home runs in 122 games for the Pirates. Miller made his major league debut in 1936 and went on to become a seven-time All-star. Miller played in the major leagues with the Cincinnati Reds, Boston Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals in his major league career, batting.238 with 97 career home runs in 1,510 games over fourteen seasons. Miller was considered to be the best fielding shortstop in the National League. Having been signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of South Hills High School in Pennsylvania, Miller was sold to the Cincinnati Reds for $1,000 following his season with Springfield.
The Springfield Pirates did not return to the league for the 1935 or 1936 Middle Atlantic League seasons, with the Springfield franchise replaced by the Portsmouth Pirates in the eight-team league, as the Pittsburgh Pirates affiliation moved to the new Portsmouth team. The Huntington Red Birds and Zanesville Greys won the league championships in the two seasons without Springfield as a league member.