The Worcester Panthers were an Eastern League baseball team based in Worcester, Massachusetts . They existed from 1923 to 1925.
48-880: The Worcester Panthers were succeeded by the 1933 Worcester Chiefs of the New England League and the Worcester Rosebuds , won the pennant in the 1934 Northeastern League . The Panthers were preceded by Worcester , Massachusetts State Association (1884); Worcester Grays , New England League (1888); Worcester, Atlantic Association (1889-1890); Worcester, New England League (1891, 1894, 1898); Worcester Farmers , Eastern League (1899-1900); Worcester Quakers , Eastern League (1901); Worcester Hustlers , Eastern League (1902); Worcester Riddlers , Eastern League (1903); Worcester Reds , Connecticut League (1904); Worcester Busters , New England League (1906-1915); Worcester Busters, Eastern League (1916-1917) and
96-662: A Class C level league based in Southern New England . In April, Alexander Bannwart drew notice by acquiring Big Jeff Pfeffer to manage the team in Pawtucket, Rhode Island , and by May, it was suspected that Bannwart was working as an agent of the Federal League, which Bannwart denied. Upon these news reports, some of the founding members of the Colonial League resigned, fearing banishment by
144-640: A baseball team in Massachusetts is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . New England League The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played intermittently in five of the six New England states ( Vermont excepted) between 1886 and 1949. After 1901 , it existed in the shadow of two Major League Baseball clubs in Boston and alongside stronger, higher-classification leagues. In 1946 ,
192-614: A major league organization. Four of the six 1945 teams made the crossover: the Pawtucket Slaters (Boston Braves), Lynn Red Sox (Boston Red Sox), Cranston Chiefs (independent) and Lawrence Millionaires (independent). They were joined by the Manchester Giants (New York Giants), Nashua Dodgers (Brooklyn Dodgers) and two other independent teams: the Portland Gulls and Fall River Indians . Its most notable member,
240-642: A new league with teams in Chicago , Cleveland , Pittsburgh , Indianapolis , St. Louis , and Covington, Kentucky . He named the organization the Federal League, and served as its first president. Because it did not abide by the National Agreement on player payment in place in organized baseball , the Federal League was called an "outlaw league" by its competitors. The Federal League's outlaw status allowed it to recruit players from established clubs, and it attracted many current and former players from
288-522: A virtual tie for first. But since the Whales (86-66) played two fewer games than the St. Louis Terriers (87-67), they were awarded the pennant based on their slightly better winning percentage (.566 to .565). Pittsburgh, with one game unplayed, ended up at 86-67 (.562). During the 1914–15 offseason, Federal League owners brought an antitrust lawsuit against the American and National Leagues. The lawsuit ended up in
336-601: The Buffalo Bisons and Indianapolis Indians , respectively. Newark had a team, the Bears , in the independent Can-Am League , which folded after the 2012 season. There is at least one achievement of note that happened in Federal League play. Eddie Plank , pitching for the St. Louis Terriers , won his milestone 300th game on September 11, 1915, at St. Louis' Handlan's Park , becoming the first 300-game winning left-hander in
384-720: The Cincinnati Reds , and the Fall River Indians had the same arrangement with the Chicago White Sox . The still independent Lawrence Millionaires cancelled their home game against Pawtucket on July 14 and became the Lowell "Stars" the following day playing in Pawtucket, wearing the uniforms of a popular semi-pro team of the same name. A name-the-team contest never panned out, and the press began calling
432-551: The Fall River Casscades , Lowell Ladies Men , Lynn Live Oaks , Manchester Reds and Rhode Islands as members. The New England League was next called the Eastern New England League beginning play in 1885 with five teams in Massachusetts and Maine . The five teams, playing an 80 game season were, Lawrence, Haverhill, Biddleford /Newburyport, Portland and Brockton, with Lawrence winning
480-540: The Nashua Dodgers , was a Brooklyn farm club where, in 1946, African-American players and future Dodger greats Don Newcombe and Roy Campanella made their debuts as part of the handful of men who broke the baseball color line . The players succeeded on the field and were very complimentary in remarks about their Nashua experience in later years. In 1947 the Cranston Chiefs had a working agreement with
528-754: The National Baseball Commission . At the April 1915 league meeting, Coppen was re-elected as president and Bannwart was elected secretary. Walter S. Ward, the treasurer of the Brooklyn Tip-Tops of the Federal League and George S. Ward's son, was elected as the league's treasurer. The Colonial League reorganized itself as a farm system for the Federal League and voluntarily withdrew itself from organized baseball. The Federal League had close pennant races both years. In 1914, Indianapolis beat out Chicago by 1½ games. 1915 witnessed
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#1732797553474576-674: The Philadelphia Phillies , Boston Braves , New York Black Yankees , and in other years teams such as the Havana All-Stars, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees , Boston Colored Giants, House of David and the Brooklyn Dodgers . In 1946 with the postwar baseball boom, the New England League was restored to an "affiliated" eight–team Class B level circuit, but only half the teams had ties to
624-506: The Sherman Antitrust Act ; MLB remains the only North American sports league with such a status, and it has not faced any competitor leagues since unlike the other pro sports leagues because of this exemption. Though significantly weakened in the 1970s, this exemption remains intact 102 years later; however, it has been eroded by subsequent court rulings and legislation regarding issues specific to Major League Baseball. Of
672-626: The Ward Baking Company . As a major circuit, the Federal League consisted of eight teams each season. Four of the teams were placed in cities with existing major league baseball teams (Chicago, St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Brooklyn). The other four teams were placed in areas without a current major league club (Baltimore, Buffalo, Indianapolis and Kansas City). In the first year, 1914, some of the teams had official nicknames and some did not, but either way, sportswriters were inclined to invent their own nicknames: "ChiFeds," "BrookFeds," etc. By
720-475: The Worcester Boosters , Eastern League (1918-1922). The Panthers were managed by Hall of Fame baseball player Jesse Burkett in 1923 and 1924. He led them to a 79-74 record in 1923, and a 70-82 record in 1924. In 1925, they were managed by Eddie Eayrs and future Hall of Fame manager Casey Stengel . The Worcester Panthers played their home games at Boulevard Park . This article about
768-606: The war , the League operated with just four teams. Pawtucket, Woonsocket and Quincy were back, joined by the Providence Frigates of Cranston. Providence, which defeated Pawtucket for the championship in 1943, changed ballparks in 1944, moving from Cranston Stadium to Municipal Stadium in Central Falls, Rhode Island . Joining them were Pawtucket, Lynn, Woonsocket and Quincy. Lynn bested Pawtucket 3 games to 2 for
816-630: The 1885 championship. The league continued play and shortened its name after the 1885 season. The newly named "New England League" played its first game in 1886 , with the same five Eastern New England League clubs in Massachusetts and Maine, plus the addition of the Boston Blues as the sixth team. The first New England League champion was the Portland club. The league was inactive in 1889–1890, then resumed play from 1891 to 1915 (with
864-510: The 1940 baseball season. The New England League was revived in May 1941 as a semi–pro league with eight franchises. Many players were in the military assigned to nearby bases, including some major league players (often playing under an assumed name). Football Hall of Famer, Major League umpire and NBA coach Hank Soar sometimes played for Pawtucket. Pawtucket's best pitcher in 1945 was once and future major league pitcher Randy Gumpert , pitching under
912-894: The 1944 championship. In 1945, Cranston returned to the fold joining Pawtucket and Lynn, the return of the Worcester Nortons and two new teams: the New London Diesels and the Lawrence, Massachusetts based Lawrence Millionaires . The Cranston Firesafes defeated Pawtucket for the championship, 4 games to 1. From 1941 to 1945 the member teams regularly played exhibition matches against teams from other leagues. Major league teams, Negro league teams, famous barnstorming teams and military teams all found their way into New England League ballparks. For example, Pawtucket, with once and future major league players such as Danny MacFayden , Bob Whitcher , Ted Olson and Ed Murphy, hosted
960-588: The Federal League included Bill McKechnie , Claude Hendrix , Jack Quinn , Russell Ford , Tom Seaton , Doc Crandall , Al Bridwell , and Hal Chase . The Federal League also recruited Big League names to manage the new teams. Joe Tinker managed the Chicago team, Mordecai Brown managed the St. Louis team and Bill Bradley managed the Brooklyn team. In 1914, the Colonial League began to operate as
1008-656: The NEL's most long-lived period of operation. The league attempted to revive in 1919 , then closed down in early August. Seven years later, the NEL returned in 1926 with eight clubs in the region's mill towns, but the Great Depression devastated the minor leagues, and the NEL was no exception: it disbanded June 22, 1930 . A 1933 revival was followed the next season by a name change to the Northeastern League – and another shutdown that would last through
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#17327975534741056-604: The NEL, the International League and the Canadian–American League – which all included farm teams of the Brooklyn Dodgers – were the first 20th century leagues (other than the Negro leagues ) to permit African-Americans to play. The following season, Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby would integrate the major leagues. In 1877 a non–classified league first called the "New England League" played with
1104-486: The National and American Leagues in their operations caused the Federal League to fold after the 1915 season. This resulted in a landmark federal lawsuit, Federal Baseball Club v. National League , in which the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately ruled that the Sherman Antitrust Act did not apply to Major League Baseball . The Federal League left its mark on baseball history in the field now known as Wrigley Field , which
1152-561: The alias "Ralph Wilson". The teams in 1941 were the New Bedford Whalers (which relocated to Cranston, Rhode Island on July 31), Pawtucket Slaters, Lynn Frasers, Worcester Nortons, Woonsocket Marquettes, Quincy Shipbuilders, Fall River , and Manchester (New Hampshire) Dexters. Pawtucket won the championship. 1942 saw seven teams take the field but one, the Fitchburg Blue Sox, dropped out early in
1200-508: The bargaining potential of free agency for the first time since the war between the AL and NL. Notably, six years prior to his founding of the Federal League, John T. Powers took the field to umpire a league game in Goldfield, Nevada on 7 August 1907 with two revolvers strapped around his waist. The local sheriff showed up and disarmed him, before allowing the game to proceed. Interference by
1248-511: The best team some 10½ games above second-place Nashua. The Brooklyn Dodgers refused to allow Nashua to participate in any playoffs, wanting to pull the plug on the Nashua operation immediately, thus giving the Portland team a first-round bye in the playoffs, which saw Springfield defeat Pawtucket, 2 games to 0, then Portland taking Springfield in seven games. The league's final regular-season champ
1296-511: The court of Federal Judge (and future Commissioner of Baseball ) Kenesaw Mountain Landis , who allowed the case to languish while he urged both sides to negotiate. Swift action might have made a difference, but without the lawsuit going forward, the Federals found themselves in deepening financial straits. After the 1915 season, the owners of the American and National Leagues bought out half of
1344-544: The exception of 1900) under the presidency of Tim Murnane , the Boston Globe sportswriter. When the minor leagues were assigned classifications in 1902, the NEL was graded Class B, at that time two levels below major league status, equivalent to Class AA today. Disruption caused by the outlaw Federal League and the coming of World War I caused the loop to reorganize in 1916 as the Eastern League , ending
1392-580: The franchise to suspend operations. The unaffiliated teams in Lynn and Fall River then also announced they were suspending operations, and on July 20, 1949, the New England League closed out their "first half" with Nashua in first place, followed in order by the other surviving teams: Pawtucket, Portland and Springfield. The "second half" season of 38 games resumed with the four remaining teams and concluded with Pawtucket in first place, followed by Portland, Springfield and Nashua. Both halves combined shows Pawtucket as
1440-522: The history of major league baseball and one of only six as of 2018. However, that milestone was not acknowledged by Major League Baseball until 1968. The Federal League was the last serious attempt at creating a "third major league" outside the established structure of professional baseball in the U.S. There was one further attempt at creating a third league – the Continental League in 1959 – but its founders had hoped to find their place within
1488-549: The home of the Chicago Whales . Marc Okkonen, in his book on the Federal League, referred to Wrigley as a "silent monument" to the failed Federal League experiment. Otherwise, few visible remnants were left by the short-lived Federal League. The Baltimore entry sold their facility to the Baltimore Orioles of the International League , who renamed it Oriole Park and played there for nearly 30 years before it
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1536-956: The home of the Pittsburgh Rebels , Exposition Park , which had been the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League until they moved into Forbes Field in 1909. The other "silent monument" to the Federal League is a famous legal decision. In 1922, the Supreme Court ruled in Federal Baseball Club v. National League (brought by the Terrapins, one of the teams which had not been bought out), that Major League Baseball and its constituent leagues were primarily entertainment, not conventional interstate commerce, and thus were exempt from
1584-475: The last serious attempt to create a third major league until the abortive Continental League of 1960. In 1912, baseball promoter John T. Powers formed an independent professional league known as the Columbian League . However, the withdrawal of one of the organization's primary investors caused the league to fail before ever playing a game. Undaunted, Powers tried again the following year, creating
1632-521: The league office after the close of the regular season, and the Baltimore owners rejected the offer made to them. They had sought to buy and move an existing franchise to their city, but were rebuffed, and sued unsuccessfully. One of baseball's most famous ballparks was originally built for a Federal League team: Wrigley Field , the home of the Chicago Cubs , began its long life as Weeghman Park,
1680-651: The locations of teams in the Federal League, five currently have major league teams. Those are Baltimore, Chicago, Kansas City, Pittsburgh and St. Louis. Brooklyn has a minor league team, the Brooklyn Cyclones . (The major league Brooklyn Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1958, although the New York Mets , the Cyclones' parent club, have been located in the adjacent borough of Queens since 1964.) Buffalo and Indianapolis have International League teams,
1728-423: The major as well as minor leagues. In 1913, the Federal League played as an independent six-team minor league. In its first season Powers initially served as president, but he was soon replaced by James A. Gilmore , under whose leadership the league declared itself a major league for the 1914 season. Other financiers of the League included oil baron Harry F. Sinclair , ice magnate Phil Ball , and George S. Ward of
1776-490: The owners (Pittsburgh, Newark, Buffalo, and Brooklyn) of the Federal League teams. Two Federal League owners were allowed to buy struggling franchises in the established leagues: Phil Ball, owner of the St. Louis Terriers , was allowed to buy the St. Louis Browns of the AL, and Charles Weeghman , owner of the Chicago Whales , bought the Chicago Cubs . Both owners merged their teams into the established ones. The Kansas City franchise had been declared bankrupt and taken over by
1824-526: The purview of organized baseball . The Continental League disbanded in 1960 without ever playing a game, making the Federal League the last such league to ever take to the field. The Federal League features prominently in Ring Lardner 's sports humor book You Know Me Al (1916), in which the protagonist pitches for the Chicago White Sox and repeatedly threatens to jump to the Federal League whenever he feels underappreciated or underpaid. Players in
1872-701: The season. Pawtucket, Lynn, Manchester, Worcester, Quincy and Woonsocket all returned and Pawtucket again won the championship in October when the best-of-7 series against Manchester was halted after five games due to poor weather. In the middle of the championship series the Slaters hosted a game against the Boston Red Sox in front of over 9,000 fans. Pawtucket played their first game at the new Pawtucket Stadium (present-day McCoy Stadium ) on July 5 against Lynn with over 6,000 fans in attendance. By 1943, with
1920-531: The second season, most of the teams had "official" nicknames, although many writers still called many of the teams "-Feds." In order for the Federal League to succeed, it needed Big League players. Walter Johnson signed a three-year contract with the Chicago team, but the Senators' Clark Griffith went personally to Johnson's home in Kansas and made a successful counter-offer. Major League players that jumped to
1968-604: The team the Lowell Orphans; after August 18 they became a "road" team. Following the 1947 season the franchise was moved to Springfield as a farm team of the Chicago Cubs , and the Springfield Cubs became the only New England League team to survive the 1949 season, as one of the Cubs' two Class AAA team from 1950–1953. Dewacasino168 the most trusted england league match join us now before it's too late. Nashua
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2016-510: The tightest pennant race in Major League history, as three teams (Chicago, St. Louis and Pittsburgh) fought into the last weekend of the season. On the season's final day, Sunday, October 3, Chicago split a doubleheader with Pittsburgh, winning the darkness-shortened seven-inning nightcap, 3-0; this combined with St. Louis' 6-2 win over Kansas City, knocked Pittsburgh back to third (albeit just a half-game behind), with Chicago and St. Louis in
2064-508: The work of John T. Powers, and immediately challenged the operations of organized baseball as a minor league playing outside of the National Agreement. After James A. Gilmore succeeded Powers as league president, the league declared itself to be a major league. Playing in what detractors called the "outlaw" league allowed players to avoid the restrictions of the organized leagues' reserve clause . The competition of another, better paying league caused players' salaries to skyrocket, demonstrating
2112-480: Was destroyed by fire. The Newark ballpark was also used for minor league ball for a short time. Washington Park III in Brooklyn, completed after the 1915 season was underway, resembled Chicago's Weeghman Park. It was used for various sports until the end of 1917 and then for storage until Brooklyn Edison Electric bought the property in 1925 and shortly thereafter tore it down. One wall still stands. The other Federal League ballparks were demolished quickly, including
2160-512: Was originally built for the Chicago Whales Federal League team. The league itself and many sports writers considered it a major league during its existence; organized baseball recognized its major league status in 1968. Not including certain periods of the Negro leagues , it would be the last independent major league outside the established structure of professional baseball to make it to the playing field, and would be
2208-556: Was replaced by Portsmouth July 20; Lynn disbanded July 20; Salem disbanded August 3. Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs , known simply as the Federal League , was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league ", in competition with the established National and American Leagues , from 1914 to 1915 . The Federal League came together in early 1913 through
2256-962: Was the Pawtucket Slaters , a farm club of the Boston Braves , but the Portland Pilots, a Phillies affiliate, won the playoffs, thus bookending the championship earned by the Maine city's entry in the NEL's maiden season 63 years earlier. 1886 New England League - schedule President: Jacob C. Morse Newburyport (35-34) moved to Lynn August 14. 1887 New England League - schedule President: Jacob C. Morse Salem disbanded July 9; Haverhill disbanded July 11; Boston (35-18) moved to Haverhill July 11; Lawrence (29-34) moved to Salem July 26. 1888 New England League - schedule President: Edward Chesney Portland disbanded June 9 and
2304-410: Was the most successful member of the postwar league, winning three consecutive playoff championships from 1946-48. But by the middle of 1949 , it became clear that the New England League was not viable. The league began the season with eight teams, but the Providence Grays dropped out on June 20. In mid-July the New York Yankees announced they were withdrawing their support of the Manchester team, forcing
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