Hagerstown Blues

• Location: Hagerstown, MD
• League: Blue Ridge League 1915
• Affiliation:
• Ballpark: Willow Lane Park

                       Actually 1896 Cumberland Valley club was first in Hagerstown.

Professional baseball first appeared in Hagerstown, MD in 1915, when the Class D, Blue Ridge League was established by Hagerstown, MD businessman and theatre owner, Charles W. Boyer.

Boyer, who had helped establish the original South Atlantic League in 1903, and was its league president during the early 1900's, had moved to Hagerstown to own and operate a theatre business.

In 1914, Boyer was involved with Hagerstown's entry in the semi-pro Tri-City League, which also featured teams from Martinsburg, West Virginia and Frederick, Maryland. Having experience working with the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, Boyer was a driving force in bring Minor League Baseball to the region as a Class D league.

Boyer, who owned the Hagerstown franchise at the time, was also named the Blue Ridge League's first president. After organizing and securing the six original clubs to play in the Blue Ridge League, Boyer was set to have his Hagerstown club play at the Hagerstown fairgrounds. However, negotitations with the fairgrounds board failed, after Boyer refused to pay a $350 annual fee to use their facility, and with less than a month before opening day, Hagerstown was without a field to play. Fortunately, through the help of the Bester family, he was able to obtain a former amusement park field, located off Potomac Street. Called Willow Lane Park, the field was prepared and grandstands were installed in time for Hagerstown to play their first game on May 27, 1915. The field was in use through the 1929 baseball season, until Municipal Stadium was built in 1930. Willow Lane Park is now on the site of Bester Elementary School.

Through a local newspaper contest, the first Hagerstown team named the Blues, and was managed by former catcher, Joe Laughlin.

Laughlin did not last through the season, and was replaced by umpire Eugene Hanks, who finished the season at the helm.

Among some of the players on Hagerstown's first entry were pitchers Abe Welcher, Chalkey McCleary, and Jake Heavener, catchers Crozier "Doc" Milliman and Bill Doeppe, infielders Johnny Troy, Mike Fuhrey, Sammy Freeny, and Katsey Dean, and outfielders Joe "Buck" Hooker, Monk Walter and Jimmie Cook. Hagerstown (34-42) finished fourth in the six team league, 19 games behind the league champion, Frederick (MD) Hustlers.

In 1916, Hagerstown was re-christened the Hagerstown Terriers.

Due to a conflict of interest, Boyer resigned as league president in May of 1916, and Hagerstown businessman, James Vincent Jamison, Jr. was elected to replace him. Jamison held the post as league president through the remainder of the league's history, until it disbanded prior to the 1931 season.

For more information contact Mark C. Zeigler at www.blueridgeleague.org or "Boys of the Blue Ridge - The Early Years."

Year-by-Year Record

Year	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs
1915	34-42	4th	Joe Laughlin / Gene Hanks	none