The Buffalo Blues were a professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

club that played in the short-lived

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 e ...

, which was a minor league in 1913 and a full-fledged outlaw major league the next two years. It was the last

major league baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

team to be based in the city of Buffalo. In 1913 and 1914, as was the standard for Federal League teams, the franchise did not have an official name, instead going by the generic BufFeds. The Buffalo team played at

International Fair Association Grounds International Fair Association Grounds was a fairgrounds and later a short-lived baseball and football ground located in Buffalo, New York. The ballpark, built on a portion of the former fairgrounds, was home to the Buffalo Buffeds/Blues of the Fe ...

. Due to delays in construction of their new ballpark, the team did not play their first home game until a month after the Federal League season had started. Buffalo sold shares of stock of the team to the public through a series of newspaper ads. Preferred shares were sold for $10 each. In the 1914 season, the team posted an 80–71 record (.530) and finished in fourth place, seven games behind the league champion

Indianapolis Hoosiers Indianapolis Hoosiers was the name of three major league and at least three minor league baseball clubs based in Indianapolis. * Indianapolis Hoosiers (American Association), which played in 1884 * Indianapolis Hoosiers (National League), which pla ...

. In the league's second and final season, the team, then known as the Buffalo Blues, ended in sixth place with a 74–78 mark (.487), 12 games behind the

Chicago Whales The Chicago Whales were a professional baseball team based in Chicago. They played in the Federal League, a short-lived "third Major League", in 1914 and 1915. They originally lacked a formal nickname, and were known simply as the "Chicago Feder ...

. An unusual player who played for the Blues in 1914 was

Ed Porray Edmund Joseph Porray (December 5, 1888 – July 13, 1954) was a major league pitcher. A right-handed pitcher, he had a brief Major League career in which he pitched in 3 games for the Buffalo Buffeds of the Federal League, compiling a 0–1 rec ...

; the only major leaguer whose birthplace is not a place, but rather noted as "on a ship somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean," on December 5, 1888. Between the Buffalo players who had experience in the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

and/or

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

leagues were

Hugh Bedient Hugh Carpenter Bedient (October 23, 1889 – July 21, 1965) was a starting pitcher who played in the American League for the Boston Red Sox (1912–1914) and with the Buffalo Blues of the Federal League (1915). Bedient batted and threw right-hand ...

, Walter Blair,

Hal Chase Harold Homer Chase (February 13, 1883 – May 18, 1947), nicknamed "Prince Hal", was an American professional baseball first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball, widely viewed as the best fielder at his position. During his career, he pl ...

Tom Downey Thomas Edward Downey (January 1, 1884 – August 3, 1961) was a major league baseball player. Born in Lewiston, Maine, Downey played on several baseball teams after his first professional appearance at age 25 on May 7, 1909. Downey played for t ...

Howard Ehmke Howard John Ehmke (April 24, 1894 – March 17, 1959) was an American baseball pitcher. He played professional baseball for 16 years from 1914 to 1930, including 15 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Buffalo Blues (1915), Detroit Tigers (19 ...

Ed Lafitte Edward Francis Lafitte (April 7, 1886April 12, 1971) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played with the Detroit Tigers (1909–12), Brooklyn Tip-Tops (1914–15), and Buffalo Blues (1915). Born in New Orleans, Louisiana at his family's hom ...

Harry Lord Harry Donald Lord (March 8, 1882 – August 9, 1948) was an American professional baseball player who played for the Boston Americans/Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and Buffalo Blues from 1907 to 1915. Early life and education Harry Lord was ...

and

Russ Ford Russell William Ford (April 25, 1883 – January 24, 1960) was a Canadian-American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the New York Highlanders / Yankees of the American League from 1909 to 1913 and for the B ...

Baseball in Buffalo

(Baldy Louden, Buffalo Federal League (baseball)) (LOC)

Buffalo has had three attempts at major league baseball. Prior to the Buffeds, were the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

, from which the current minor league team derives its name and history. They entered the NL in 1879 and came in third place only 10 games out from first place. They had two notable players; Hall of Famers

Pud Galvin James Francis "Pud" Galvin (December 25, 1856 – March 7, 1902) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher in the 19th century. He was MLB's first 300-game winner and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1965. Baseball career Galv ...

and

Dan Brouthers Dennis Joseph "Dan" Brouthers (; May 8, 1858 – August 2, 1932) was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball whose career spanned the period from to , with a brief return in . Nicknamed "Big Dan" for his size, he was and weighed , wh ...

. The Bisons team was dropped from the NL in 1885. In 1890, another Buffalo baseball team emerged coincidentally called the Bisons. This team, a member of the upstart

Players League The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League (PL), was a short-lived but star-studded professional American baseball league of the 19th century. The PL was formed by the Brotherhood of Prof ...

, has notably one of the worst season records to date. The Buffalo Blues were the last of the three major league teams Buffalo had between 1879 and 1915. A proposed

Continental League The Continental League of Professional Baseball Clubs (known as the Continental League or CL) was a proposed third major league for baseball in the United States and Canada. The league was announced in 1959 and scheduled to begin play in the 19 ...

team (to be owned by future

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

owner

Robert O. Swados Robert Orville Swados (February 27, 1919 – November 23, 2012) was an attorney and businessman from Buffalo, New York, best known for his involvement as an attorney for the US/Canadian National Hockey League and being one of the founders of the Bu ...

) was slated for Buffalo in 1961, but the league folded before playing any games. The closest that any major league baseball team has come to Buffalo since then is Toronto ( away

as the crow flies __NOTOC__ The expression ''as the crow flies'' is an idiom for the most direct path between two points, rather similar to "in a beeline". This meaning is attested from the early 19th century, and appeared in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel '' Oliv ...

), where the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

have played since 1977. Due to border travel restrictions stemming from the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the Blue Jays played their home games at Buffalo's

Sahlen Field Sahlen Field is a baseball park in Buffalo, New York, United States. Originally known as Pilot Field, the venue has since been named Downtown Ballpark, North AmeriCare Park, Dunn Tire Park, and Coca-Cola Field. Home to the Buffalo Bisons of the ...

(a facility designed to be easily upgraded to MLB standards) for the

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

and part of the

2021 Major League Baseball season The 2021 Major League Baseball season began on April 1, while the regular season ended on October 3. The postseason began on October 5. The World Series then began on October 26 and ended on November 2 with the Atlanta Braves defeating the Houston ...

, marking the first major league games played in Buffalo in 104 years.

References

External links

Baseball Hall of FameBaseball ReferenceBison's History: The 1910sBuffalo Baseball
at mopupduty.com {{Federal League Baseball teams established in 1914 Baseball teams disestablished in 1915 Federal League teams Buffalo Buffeds Sports in Buffalo, New York History of Buffalo, New York 1914 establishments in New York (state) 1915 disestablishments in New York (state) Defunct baseball teams in New York (state)

Baseball in Buffalo

See also

References

External links