The Camden Riversharks were an American professional baseball team based in Camden, New Jersey, from 2001 to 2015. They were a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not at that time affiliated with

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), ...

. The Riversharks played their home games at

Campbell's Field Campbell's Field was a 6,425-seat baseball park in Camden, New Jersey, United States that hosted its first regular season baseball game on May 11, 2001. The ballpark was home to the Rutgers–Camden college baseball team, and until 2015 was h ...

, which was situated at the base of the

Benjamin Franklin Bridge The Benjamin Franklin Bridge, originally named the Delaware River Bridge and known locally as the Ben Franklin Bridge, is a suspension bridge across the Delaware River connecting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey. Owned and ...

. Due to its location on the Delaware River, the ballpark offered a clear view of the

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

skyline. The "Riversharks" name referred to the location of Camden on the Delaware River, and the primary logo incorporated the Benjamin Franklin Bridge that links Camden to Philadelphia. On October 21, 2015, the Camden Riversharks announced they would cease operations immediately due to the inability to reach an agreement on lease terms with the owner of Campbell's Field, the Camden County Improvement Authority (the authority had purchased Campbell's Field from Rutgers University two months prior). The Riversharks were replaced by the

New Britain Bees The New Britain Bees are an American collegiate summer baseball team based in New Britain, Connecticut. They are a member of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL), a wood-bat league with teams in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connectic ...

, a separate franchise for the 2016 season.

History of Camden baseball

Riversharks Game as PATCO Train Passes by on Bridge

The Riversharks were not the first baseball team to call Camden home. The Camden Merritt, named for former state senator Albert Merritt, of the Interstate Association played there in 1883, and disbanded the same year. Another team from the Tri-State League played in Camden in 1904, and they too disbanded, during the season. The inception of the Riversharks in 2001 was the first professional baseball team in Camden since the 1904 season.

Logos and uniforms

Camden Riversharks for June 12, 2009 Game

The team colors of the Camden Riversharks were navy blue, Columbia blue, and white. The Riversharks' last logo, introduced in 2005 with a new ownership group, consisted of a shark biting a baseball bat superimposed over a stylized depiction of the

. The Riversharks' former logo, used from 2001 to 2005, consisted of a navy blue ring with a shark centered above the wordmark superimposed over it. The Riversharks' primary caps were navy blue with a Columbia blue visor and the "shark-fin" cap logo centered on the front. The home jerseys were white with navy blue piping and feature the "Sharks" wordmark across the front in white with navy blue and Columbia blue outline. The away jerseys were gray with the "Camden" wordmark centered across the jersey in navy blue with Columbia blue outline.

Season-by-season records

Retired numbers

; 42 ( Jackie Robinson): Second baseman, Retired throughout professional baseball on April 15, 1997 ; 16 (Brad Strauss): 1B / 3B / OF / DH, Retired by the Riversharks on August 12, 2007

Notable alumni

* Kim Batiste *

Danny Bautista Daniel Bautista Alcántara (born May 24, 1972) is a Dominican former Major League Baseball outfielder. Bautista was signed by the Detroit Tigers in 1989. In 1993, he joined the major leagues with the Tigers. Although he hit for an average of . ...

* Alberto Castillo *

Mike Costanzo Michael A. Costanzo (born September 9, 1983) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds. Amateur career Costanzo played college baseball for Coastal Carolina Univers ...

* Ben Davis *

Stephen Drew Stephen Oris Drew (born March 16, 1983) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Washington Na ...

Pedro Feliz Pedro Julio Feliz (born April 27, 1975), is a Dominican former professional baseball third baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, and St. Louis Cardinals. Feliz hi ...

Brian Lawrence Brian Michael Lawrence (born May 14, 1976) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres and New York Mets. He is currently the pitching coach of the South Bend Cu ...

José Lima José Desiderio Rodriguez Lima (September 30, 1972 – May 23, 2010) was a Dominican right-handed pitcher who spent 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Detroit Tigers (1994–1996, 2001–2002), Houston Astros (1997–2001), Kan ...

Blaine Neal Blaine Neal (born April 6, 1978) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. Neal played with the Florida Marlins (–), San Diego Padres (), Boston Red Sox (), and Colorado Rockies (2005) of Major League Baseball (MLB). He bats l ...

Valentino Pascucci Valentino Martin Pascucci (born November 17, 1978) is an American former professional baseball player. He played parts of two major league seasons with the Montreal Expos and New York Mets. He batted and threw right-handed. In 2014, he transitione ...

* René Rivera * Félix Rodríguez * Ted Silva *

Josh Towers Joshua Eric Towers (born February 26, 1977) is a former right-handed professional baseball pitcher. Towers stands at 6 ft 1 in tall, and weighs 188 lb. Professional career Baltimore Orioles Towers was drafted by the Baltimore Orio ...

Wilson Valdez Wilson Antonio Valdez (born May 20, 1978) is a Dominican former professional baseball infielder. Playing career Early career Valdez was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Montreal Expos on February 4, 1997. He played on the Expos' Dominica ...

Jered Weaver Jered David Weaver (born October 4, 1982) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels and San Diego Padres. Weaver was drafted in the first round (12th overal ...

Delwyn Young Delwyn Rudy Young (born June 30, 1982) is an American former professional baseball utility player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates. He is currently the manager of the State College Spike ...

References

External links

Camden Riversharks
official website {{Defunct Philadelphia sports teams Sports in Camden, New Jersey Defunct Atlantic League of Professional Baseball teams Defunct baseball teams in New Jersey Opening Day Partners Professional baseball teams in New Jersey Baseball teams established in 2001 Baseball teams disestablished in 2015 Sports in Philadelphia 2001 establishments in New Jersey 2015 disestablishments in New Jersey