Albany Senators
- Location: Albany, NY
- League: New York State League 1885, 1890, 1894-1895; Hudson River League 1886; Eastern Association 1891; Eastern League 1892-1893, 1896; New York State League 1899-1916; Eastern League 1920-1932; International League 1932-1936; New York-Penn League 1937; Eastern League 1938-1959
- Affiliation: Cincinnati Reds 1938-1939; Pittsburgh Pirates 1940-1950; Boston Red Sox 1952-1954, 1956-1957; Kansas City A's 1958-1959
- Ballpark: Hawkins Stadium 1928-1959
The Albany Senators played in several minor leagues. Based in Albany, NY, the Senators were members of the New York State League originally and won pennants in 1901, 1902 and 1907. When the New York State League ended play in 1917, Albany was without pro baseball for a couple seasons.
In 1920 they replaced the Providence Grays in the Eastern League and continued there until that incarnation of the EL collapsed in 1932, claiming titles at least twice with flags in 1927 and 1929.
On August 6, 1932 the Reading Keystones became the International League Senators as Albany made its debut in one of the top-tier minor leagues. The club overall was 71-97 under Pants Rowland.
Albany went 80-84 in its first full season in the IL, 7th in a close 8-team league. Bill McCorry managed the club, which featured future big-league star Stan Hack at third base. Hack led Albany with 83 walks and hit .299/~.396/.419 while scoring 102 times and stealing 17 bases.
The Senators improved in 1934, winning one more game, losing 12 less and advancing to 4th place and a playoff appearance. McCorry's squad was led offensively by outfielders Fred Sington (.327/~.407/.575, 123 runs, 10 triples, 29 homers, 75 walks, a league-high 147 RBI) and Jake Powell (.361/~.408/.546, 20 homers, 25 SB). Darrell "Cy" Blanton (11-8, 3.86) led the IL with 165 strikeouts in 147 innings.
Albany did horribly the next year as an affiliate of the Washington Senators. With Al Mamaux and Johnny Evers both taking a hand at the reigns, the club was 49-104, last in the IL by 12 and a half games. Dutch Lieber was 4-19 with a 5.68 ERA and lost the most games in the circuit. Taffy Wright hit .282/~.343/.434 in the outfield.
With Mamaux in charge in 1936, Albany finished last once again, going 56-98. OF Smead Jolley gave them a bright spot when he hit .373/~.441/.583 with 109 runs and 105 RBI. Jolley led the IL in doubles (52), hits (221) and batting average. Leon Pettit (9-22, 4.92) again provided the club with the IL loss leader.
In 1937 the IL franchise became the Jersey City Giants. Albany fielded a new Senators franchise in the New York-Penn League for one year, but in 1938 that circuit was renamed the Eastern League and Albany returned to a familiar-sounding circuit.
The Senators remained in the Eastern for 22 years. They finished first in 1942, 1949 and 1952 but fell in the play-offs each time before finally taking home the championship in 1954 after a third-place finish. During the 1940s they were a Pittsburgh Pirates farm club and for most of the 1950s they worked with the Boston Red Sox. They also briefly were affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds ('38-'39) and Kansas City A's ('58-'59).
Stars to appear for the team in their second Eastern League period included Rabbit Maranville (a cup of coffee in '39), Ralph Kiner (a team-high 11 homers in 1941 and a league-best 14 a year later), Ripper Collins (with the team from 1942-1945 and Minor League Player of the Year when he hit .396 in 1944), Gus Bell (in 1949 and Orie Arntzen (82-24 over 6 seasons with the team, including a 25-2 record in 1949, a year in which he was Minor League Player of the Year). The talent pool was far emptier in the 1950s - the most recognizable names on the 1954 title-winning team are Jerry Casale and Neil Chrisley.
In 1960 the Eastern League contracted from 8 teams to 6 teams and Albany was one of the eliminated franchises. It would be 23 years until minor league baseball returned to the city in the form of the 1983 Albany A's.
Sources included Spalding Guides, TSN Baseball Guides, Pat Doyle's Professional Baseball Player Database, Mike McCann's minor leagues website, "The International League: Year-by-Year Statistics" by Marshall Wright
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