Harrisburg Senators (1893–1952)

Harrisburg Senators
(1893-1895, 1900, 1904-1915, 1924-1935, 1940-1942, 1946-1952)
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Class-level
Previous
  • Class B (1895, 1907-1914, 1916-1917, 1924-1932, 1940-1952)
  • Class A (1933-1935)
  • Class AA (1915)
  • Class D (1901)
Minor league affiliations
Previous leagues
Major league affiliations
Previous
Minor league titles
League titles (7)
  • 1912
  • 1914
  • 1927
  • 1928
  • 1931
  • 1941
  • 1946
Team data
Previous names
  • Harrisburg Senators (1907-1915, 1924-1925, 1940-1952)
  • Harrisburg Islanders (1916-1917)
  • Harrisburg Ponies (1911)
  • Harrisburg (1900)
  • Harrisburg Senators (1894-1895)
  • Harrisburg Hustlers (1893)
Previous parks
 Island Park

The Harrisburg Senators was originally a name given to several minor league baseball clubs between 1893 and 1952. The name is also currently used by the modern-day team in the Double-A Eastern League, since 1987.

History

Early teams

The first Senators teams can be traced to the Pennsylvania State League, where the team played as the Harrisburg Hustlers, before taking on the Senators name the following year. In 1900, the city fielded a team in the Atlantic League for one season. In 1911, the team was called the Harrisburg Ponies. In 1912, Harrisburg won the first of three Tri-State League championships. In 1915, the Newark Indians of the International League team moved to Harrisburg. The club lasted one year before moving to the New York State League and playing as the Harrisburg Islanders before disbanding in 1917. This left the city without professional baseball for seven years.

First incarnation

In 1924, the first incarnation of the Senators joined the newly formed New York–Penn League which was eventually renamed the Eastern League. Initially, the Senators and most of the other New York–Penn League teams were not affiliated with a Major League Baseball team. In 1925, Joe Munson hit a .400 batting average, a record which stands to this day in Senators history, and 33 home runs, a Senators record that was not broken until 1999. In 1927, the Senators started a five-year campaign with three Eastern league championships, winning titles in 1927, 1928, and 1931. The year 1932 brought the Senators an affiliation with the Boston Braves. The original Harrisburg Senators' reign ended in 1936, when flood waters from the surrounding Susquehanna River ruined their home ballpark, Island Field. The flood effectively ended Eastern League participation for the next 51 years.

Second and third incarnations

Another Senators team, representing Harrisburg and affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates, formed four years later in the smaller Interstate League. Like the Senators before it, the team gained success quickly, winning the league title one year later with stars Billy Cox and Dennis Taylor. The success, however, was short lived, as the team moved to nearby York, Pennsylvania to become an incarnation of the York White Roses in 1943. Another team affiliated with the Cleveland Indians was created, but was not as successful. The Interstate League disbanded this Harrisburg team in 1952, and any form of professional baseball was not played in the city for the next 35 years.[1][2]

Season-by-season

(from Senators' Baseball Reference Bullpen) (from Islanders' Baseball Reference Bullpen)

Year Record Finish Manager Playoffs
189349-525thFelix Marks / Jack Huston
189456-452ndJack HustonLost disputed title game
( vs. Pottsville Colts)
189519-16--Frank SeissTeam disbanded on June 14
190458-513rdPeter Agnew
190576-514thBilly Hamilton
190652-745thBilly Hamilton
190779-472ndGeorge Heckertno playoffs
190880-472ndGeorge Heckertno playoffs
190949-656thGeorge Heckertno playoffs
191052-596thAl Selbachno playoffs
191147-617thAl Selbach
191275-371stGeorge CockillLeague Champs
No playoffs
191359-522nd (t)George Cockillno playoffs
191478-321stGeorge CockillLeague Champs
No playoffs
191561-766thHarry SmithNewark Indians moved to Harrisburg July 2
191648-478th Louis Wachter / George Cockill /
Walter Blair
192470-604thSteve Yerkes (19-16) / Mickey LaLonge (6-3) /
Glenn Killinger (40-34) / Nig Clarke (5-7)		No playoffs
192561-696thRankin Johnson, Sr.
192647-848thRankin Johnson, Sr. (35-49) / Lee Dempsey (0-1) /
Joe Lightner (12-34)		No playoffs
192787-511stWin ClarkLeague Champs
No playoffs
192882-541stGlenn KillingerLeague Champs
No playoffs
192975-623rdJohnny TillmanNo playoffs
193070-694thJohnny TillmanNo playoffs
193183-561stJoe Cobb (6-8) / Eddie Onslow (77-48)League Champs
No playoffs
193274-662ndEddie OnslowNo playoffs
193360-767thEddie OnslowNo playoffs
193460-758thLeslie Mann
193559-776thArt Shires
194060-625thLes Bell
194181-431stLes BellLeague Champs
(vs. Trenton Senators, 4 games to 3)
Won in first round
(vs. Reading Brooks, 3 games to 1)
194269-683rdDanny TaylorLost in 1st round
(vs. Hagerstown Owls, 3 games to 1)
194676-642ndLes BellLeague Champs
(vs. Wilmington Blue Rocks, 4 games to 1)
Won in first round
(vs. Allentown Cardinals, 4 games to 1)
194771-694thLes BellLost in 1st round
(vs. Wilmington Blue Rocks, 4 games to 1)
194864-766thLes Bell
194974-643rdLes BellLost League Finals
(vs. Trenton Giants 4 games to 3)
Won in first round
(vs. Allentown Cardinals, 4 games to 2)
195077-623rdLes BellLost in 1st round
(vs. Wilmington Blue Rocks, 4 games to 3)
195155-846thLes Bell / Harold Cox
195246-948thBuck Etchison / Woody Wheaton

References

  1. ↑ Weiss, Bill; Wright, Marshall. "A History of the Harrisburg Senators". MiLB. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Top 100 Teams: 1993 Senators". MiLB. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
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