The Erie Sailors was the primary name of several minor league baseball teams that played in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

between 1906 and 1994.

Pre-1930s

Several unrelated teams used the Erie Sailors name in the

Interstate League The Interstate League was the name of five different American minor baseball leagues that played intermittently from 1896 through 1952. Early leagues Earlier versions of the Interstate League, with years active: *1896–1901: an unclassified ...

(1906–1907, 1913, 1916), the

Ohio–Pennsylvania League The Ohio–Pennsylvania League (1905–1912) was a Class C (baseball), Class C and Class D (baseball), Class D level minor league baseball league that featured franchises based in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The league was founded b ...

(1908–1911), and the

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...

(1912, 1915, 1928–30, 1932).

1938–1963

During these years, the Erie Sailors played in the

Middle Atlantic League The Middle Atlantic League (or Mid-Atlantic League) was a lower-level circuit in American minor league baseball that played during the second quarter of the 20th century. History The Middle Atlantic League played from 1925 through 1951, with t ...

from 1938–1939, 1941–1942, and 1946–1951; the Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League (PONY League) from 1944–1945 and 1954–1956; and the PONY's successor New York – Penn League from 1957–1963. Several times during this period, the team was also called the Erie Senators, after its major league affiliate, the Washington Senators. The Sailors won league championship in 1957. The Sailors won the regular season by nine games in 1951. They then lost the league championship series to the Niagara Falls Citizens, four games to two. From 1948 onward, this team (and all subsequent Sailors teams) played at

Ainsworth Field Ainsworth Field is a 3,000 seat baseball stadium located in Erie, Pennsylvania. It hosted the Erie Sailors and other Erie-based minor league teams between 1928 and 1994. In 1995, it was made obsolete for professional use by the opening of UPMC ...

New York–Penn League – 1990s

In 1990, after the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

ended their affiliation with the team (then known as the Erie Orioles), they reclaimed the Sailors name and operated as an unaffiliated minor league team for two years before becoming the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

' first farm team in 1992 and a Texas Rangers affiliate in 1993. Because of the deteriorating condition of Ainsworth Field, the team moved after the 1993 season to

Fishkill, New York Fishkill is a village within the town of Fishkill in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The village is in the eastern part of the town of Fishkill on U.S. Route 9. It is north of Interstate 84. NY 52 is the main street. It is part of the ...

and then became the

Hudson Valley Renegades Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson ...

Frontier League

In 1994, the Sailors were a team in the independent

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

, winning the league championship in their only year of existence as a member of the Frontier League. In 1995, the

Erie SeaWolves The Erie SeaWolves are an United States, American professional baseball team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They compete in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a member of the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League's Southwest Division, serving ...

moved to town, displacing the Sailors, forcing the franchise to move to

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, Johnstown is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropol ...

as the Johnstown Steal/Johnnies and then to

Florence, Kentucky Florence is a home rule-class city in Boone County, Kentucky, United States. Florence is the second largest city located in Northern Kentucky, after Covington, and part of the Greater Cincinnati Metropolitan Area. The population was 31,946 at ...

as the

Florence Y'alls The Florence Y'alls are a professional baseball team based within the Greater Cincinnati region in the city of Florence, Kentucky. The Y'alls are a member of the West Division of the Frontier League, an independent baseball league. Since 2004, ...

Notable alumni

Hall of Fame Alumni

Chief Bender Charles Albert "Chief" Bender (May 5, 1884There is uncertainty about Bender's birth-date. He was voted the SABR "Centennial Celebrity" of 1983, as the best baseball player or figure born in 1883. However, the SABR ''Baseball Research Journal'' fo ...

(1932) Inducted, 1953

Other notable alumni

Vic Aldridge Victor Aldridge (October 25, 1893 – April 17, 1973), nicknamed the "Hoosier Schoolmaster", was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Giants, and was known to be ...

(1915) *

Luis Alicea Luis René Alicea de Jesús (born July 29, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman and coach. Alicea played for the Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, Anaheim Angels, St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox. He played college ba ...

(1986) *

Pete Appleton Peter William Appleton (May 20, 1904 – January 18, 1974), born Peter Jablonowski and sometimes known as "Jabby" and the "Polish Wizard,"("Jabby") was an American baseball player, scout, and manager. Appleton played college baseball for the Univ ...

(1951) *

George Bamberger George Irvin Bamberger (August 1, 1923 – April 4, 2004) was an American professional baseball player, pitching coach and manager. In Major League Baseball, the right-handed pitcher appeared in ten games, nine in relief, for the 1951–52 New ...

(1946) *

Joe Boever Joseph Martin Boever (born October 4, 1960) is an American former professional baseball right-handed relief pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to for the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Houst ...

(1982) *

Billy Gilbert William Gilbert Barron (September 12, 1894 – September 23, 1971), known professionally as Billy Gilbert, was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects a ...

(1912) *

Frank Gilhooley Francis Patrick "Frank" Gilhooley Sr. (June 10, 1892 – July 11, 1959) was an outfielder in Major League Baseball, playing mostly as a right fielder from through for the St. Louis Cardinals (1911–12), New York Yankees (1913–18) and Boston ...

(1912) *

Bernard Gilkey Otis Bernard Gilkey (born September 24, 1966) is an American former professional baseball left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, and Atlanta Braves. ...

(1985) *

Fredi Gonzalez Fredi may refer to: * Fredi (Valencian pilota) (born 1957), retired Valencian pilota professional player * Fredi Bobic (born 1971), German football striker * Fredi González (born 1964), Cuban current manager of the Atlanta Braves * Fredi Walker, A ...

(1992) *

Lance Johnson Kenneth Lance Johnson (born July 6, 1963) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. Career Johnson was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. After graduating from Princeton High School, he completed his education at the University of So ...

(1984) MLB All-Star * Pat Kelly (1962) MLB All-Star *

Paul LaPalme Paul Edmore LaPalme (December 14, 1923 – February 7, 2010) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played from 1951 through 1957 for four different teams in Major League Baseball. Listed at , , he batted and threw left-handed. A nativ ...

(1942) * John Lynch (1992) NFL HOF and current 49ers GM *

Dick McAuliffe Richard John McAuliffe (November 29, 1939 – May 13, 2016) was an American professional baseball shortstop / second baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers (1960–73) and Boston Red Sox (1974–75). He was a ...

(1957) 3 x MLB All-Star *

Cliff Melton Clifford George Melton (January 3, 1912 – July 28, 1986) was an American professional baseball left-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Giants over parts of eight seasons spanning 1937–44. Listed at , ...

(1932) MLB All-Star * Jim Merritt (1962) MLB All-Star *

Tom Pagnozzi Thomas Alan Pagnozzi (born July 30, 1962) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career as a catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, from through . A three-time Gold Glove Award w ...

(1983) MLB All-Star *

Frank Quilici Francis Ralph Quilici (May 11, 1939 – May 14, 2018) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager who spent his entire Major League Baseball career with the Minnesota Twins. Quilici served the team for all or part of five year ...

(1961) *

Arthur Rhodes Arthur Lee Rhodes, Jr. (born October 24, 1969) is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed relief pitcher who is the current pitching coach for the Cleburne Railroaders of the American Association of Professional Baseball. Career R ...

(1989) MLB All-Star *

Buck Rodgers Robert Leroy "Buck" Rodgers (born August 16, 1938) is a former catcher, manager and coach in Major League Baseball. He managed three major league teams: the Milwaukee Brewers (1980–1982), Montreal Expos (1985–1991) and California Angels ( ...

(1957) 1987 NL Manager of the Year *

Dean Stone Darrah Dean Stone (September 1, 1930 – August 21, 2018) was an American professional baseball baseball player, player, a pitcher who appeared in 166 games pitched, games over all or parts of eight Major League Baseball seasons. The well-traveled ...

(1951) MLB All-Star *

Bobby Tolan Robert Tolan (born November 19, 1945) is an American former professional baseball center fielder / right fielder, and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (–), Cincinnati Reds (–), San Diego Padres (–, ...

(1988-1989) *

Todd Worrell Todd Roland Worrell (born September 28, 1959) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played all or part of eleven seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball, serving as those team ...

(1982) 3 x MLB All-Star; 1986 NL Rookie of the Year *

Todd Zeile Todd Edward Zeile (; born September 9, 1965) is an American former professional baseball third baseman, catcher, and first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played sixteen seasons, from 1989 to 2004, for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago ...

(1986)

Year-by-year record