New York-Penn League

From BR Bullpen

NewYorkPenn.jpg

The New York-Penn League or New York-Pennsylvania League was a class A minor league. In its final seasons, the league operated as a fourteen-team circuit. It was a short-season league (i.e. the season did not begin until early June), with most of its players being first-year draftees coming out of college or second-year players who were drafted out of high school and had played in Rookie-class the year before.

In 2005 the league held its first All-Star Game.

Following the 2019 season, rumors emerged that Major League Baseball teams were looking to eliminate a large number of minor league teams, including all Short-Season Class A leagues, after the 2020 season. Then, that final season was wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic and the sad news was confirmed after the minor league season as teams began to announce in dribs and drabs that they were dropping various affiliates. Some of the NYPL teams decided to form a "draft league" that would play earlier in the season, before the amateur draft, showcasing players eligible for said draft, while others were looking to possibly join independent leagues, or simply disappear without fanfare.

The first New York-Pennsylvania League operated with six teams in 1890-1891.

Logo through 2008

The second New York-Penn league operated as a class B league from 1923-1932, before moving up to class A in 1933. The League was renamed the Eastern League for the 1938 season and that league still exists to this point. Five different cities competed in all 15 years of this version of the league, forming a stable base.

Another league that eventually took the New York-Pennsylvania name was formed in 1939 as the PONY League (for Pennsylvania, Ontario and New York), a name it kept until 1956, when it took the now-abandoned New York-Penn name.

The league's geographic extent greatly exceeded its two original states, with teams located in Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Vermont and West Virginia, in addition to New York and Pennsylvania.

League Champions[edit]

Year Champion
1939 Olean Oilers
1940 Olean Oilers
1941 Bradford Bees
1942 Jamestown Falcons
1943 Wellsville Yankees
1944 Jamestown Falcons
1945 Batavia Clippers
1946 Jamestown Falcons and Batavia Clippers
1947 Jamestown Falcons
1948 Lockport Reds
1949 Bradford Blue Wings
1950 Olean Oilers
1951 Hornell Dodgers
1952 Jamestown Falcons
1953 Jamestown Falcons
1954 Corning Red Sox
1955 Hamilton Cardinals
1956 Wellsville Braves
1957 Erie Sailors
1958 Geneva Redlegs
1959 Wellsville Braves
1960 Wellsville Braves
1961 Olean Red Sox
1962 Auburn Mets
1963 Batavia Pirates
1964 Auburn Mets
1965 Binghamton Triplets
1966 Auburn Mets
1967 Auburn Twins
1968 Oneonta Yankees
1969 Oneonta Yankees
1970 Auburn Twins
1971 Oneonta Yankees
1972 Niagara Falls Pirates
1973 Auburn Phillies
1974 Oneonta Yankees
1975 Newark Co-Pilots
1976 Elmira Pioneers
1977 Oneonta Yankees
1978 Geneva Cubs
1979 Oneonta Yankees
1980 Oneonta Yankees
1981 Oneonta Yankees
1982 Niagara Falls Sox
1983 Utica Blue Sox
1984 Little Falls Mets
1985 Oneonta Yankees
1986 St. Catharines Blue Jays
1987 Geneva Cubs
1988 Oneonta Yankees
1989 Jamestown Expos
1990 Oneonta Yankees
1991 Jamestown Expos
1992 Geneva Cubs
1993 Niagara Falls Rapids
1994 New Jersey Cardinals
1995 Watertown Indians
1996 Vermont Expos
1997 Pittsfield Mets
1998 Oneonta Yankees and Auburn Doubledays see note
1999 Hudson Valley Renegades
2000 Staten Island Yankees
2001 Brooklyn Cyclones and Williamsport Crosscutters see note
2002 Staten Island Yankees
2003 Williamsport Crosscutters
2004 Mahoning Valley Scrappers
2005 Staten Island Yankees
2006 Staten Island Yankees
2007 Auburn Doubledays
2008 Batavia Muckdogs
2009 Staten Island Yankees
2010 Tri-City ValleyCats
2011 Staten Island Yankees
2012 Hudson Valley Renegades
2013 Tri-City ValleyCats
2014 State College Spikes
2015 West Virginia Black Bears
2016 State College Spikes
2017 Hudson Valley Renegades
2018 Tri-City ValleyCats
2019 Brooklyn Cyclones
  • In 1998, co-champions were named after torrential rains in Central New York made both Auburn's and Oneonta's fields unplayable.
  • In 2001, co-champions were named in 2001, after the remainder of the championship series games was were cancelled on September 12, 2001 due to the attacks on the United States occuring on the previous day.

Cities Represented[edit]

1890-1891[edit]

1923-1937[edit]

1957-2019[edit]

Alumni[edit]

Hall of Famers[edit]

11 New York-Penn League alumni have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame and one into the Pro Football Hall of Fame:[1]

Pro Football Hall of Fame

External Links[edit]

  1. ↑ http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/New_York-Penn_League
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