The Huntington Boosters were a

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 ...

(1931–1933) and

Mountain State League The Mountain State League was a minor league baseball league that played as a six–team league from 1937 to 1942. The league franchises were based in Kentucky and West Virginia. The Mountain State League was a Class D level league from 1937 to 1 ...

(1937, 1939) minor league baseball team based in

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Cabell County, and the largest city in the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area, sometimes referred to as the Tri-State Area. A h ...

. It was affiliated with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

in 1932 and 1933 and with the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

in 1939. It was the first team to be based in Huntington since the Huntington Blue Sox of the

Ohio State League The Ohio State League was a minor league baseball league that operated in numerous seasons between 1887 and 1947, predominantly as a Class D level league. League franchises were based in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. Histo ...

disbanded in 1916.

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

inductee

Walter Alston Walter Emmons Alston (December 1, 1911 – October 1, 1984), nicknamed "Smokey", was an American baseball player and manager in Major League Baseball He is best known for managing the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1954 through 1976, and sig ...

played for Huntington in 1936. From 1934 to 1936, the team was known as the Huntington Red Birds and in 1938 it was known as the Huntington Bees. That year, it was managed by

Dickey Kerr Richard Henry Kerr (July 3, 1893 – May 4, 1963) was an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball. He also served as a coach and manager in the minor leagues. Early life Kerr was born in St. Loui ...

, while

Mike Sandlock Michael Joseph Sandlock (October 17, 1915 – April 4, 2016) was an American professional baseball utility player who played in Major League Baseball from 1942 to 1953. He played for the Boston Braves (baseball), Boston Braves, Brooklyn Dodgers a ...

and

Hank LaManna Frank LaManna (August 22, 1919 – September 1, 1980) was a professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1940 to 1942 for the Boston Bees / Braves. LaManna entered professional baseball in 1938 before his MLB callup in 1 ...

played for the team. It became the Huntington Aces in 1940. As the Aces,

Sheriff Blake John Frederick "Sheriff" Blake (September 17, 1899 – October 31, 1982), was a pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1920 to 1931 and 1937. He played for the St. Louis Browns, St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, and C ...

Russ Young Russell Charles Young (September 15, 1902 – May 13, 1984) was a professional baseball catcher. He played part of one season in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Browns in 1931. He was a switch hitter and threw right-handed. He was 6 ...

Pee-Wee Wanninger Paul Louis Wanninger (December 12, 1902 – March 7, 1981) was a backup shortstop in Major League Baseball who played in and for the New York Yankees (1925), Boston Red Sox (1927) and Cincinnati Reds (1927). Listed at , 150 lb., he ba ...

and

Ezra Midkiff Ezra Millington "Salt Rock" Midkiff (November 13, 1882 – March 20, 1957) was a Major League Baseball third baseman who played in with the Cincinnati Reds and in and with the New York Highlanders (renamed the New York Yankees for the 191 ...

each managed the team at some point, despite the team lasting only two seasons under that name. Of note, Cliff Fannin and Ken Wood, who both spent over half a decade in Major League Baseball, played the team when it was known as the Jewels. Multiple major league players spent time with the team when it was called the Boosters, including 1945 All-Star second baseman

Eddie Mayo Edward Joseph Mayo (born Edward Joseph Mayoski; April 15, 1910 – November 27, 2006), nicknamed "Hotshot" and "Steady Eddie", was an American professional baseball player. He played as an infielder in the Major League Baseball from to , most no ...

. He was with the team in 1933.Eddie Mayo minor league record
/ref>

Notable alumni

alumni *

(1936) Inducted, 1983 MLB Alumni *

Rube Benton John Cleave "Rube" Benton (June 27, 1890 – December 12, 1937) was a pitcher for Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds (1910–15, 1923–25) and New York Giants (1915–21). He pitched in the minor leagues for the Minneapolis Millers of the Am ...

(1933) *

(1941) * Cliff Fannin (1942) *

Orville Jorgens Orville Edward Jorgens (June 4, 1908 – January 11, 1992) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. Jorgens played for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1935 to 1937. He batted and threw right-handed. Jorgens was the brother of fellow Major Leaguer Ar ...

(1931) *

(1938) *

Marty Marion Martin Whiteford "Mr. Shortstop" Marion (December 1, 1917 – March 15, 2011) was an American Major League Baseball shortstop and manager. Marion played for the St. Louis Cardinals and the St. Louis Browns between 1940–1953. He was a defensive s ...

(1936) 8 x MLB all-Star; 1944 NL Most Valuable Player *

(1932) MLB All-Star *

Bernie Neis Bernard Edmund Neis (September 26, 1895 – November 29, 1972) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Brooklyn Robins, Boston Braves, Cleveland Indians, and Chicago White Sox between 1920 ...

(1933) *

Johnny Stuart John Davis Stuart (April 27, 1901 – May 13, 1970), nicknamed "Stud," was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the St. Louis Cardinals from to after pitching at Ohio State University. He coached Marshall University Marshall Unive ...

(1931) * Ken Wood (1942)

References

{{Middle Atlantic League , state=collapsed Baseball teams established in 1931 Defunct minor league baseball teams Professional baseball teams in West Virginia Detroit Tigers minor league affiliates Brooklyn Dodgers minor league affiliates St. Louis Cardinals minor league affiliates St. Louis Browns minor league affiliates Mountain State League teams Middle Atlantic League teams Defunct baseball teams in West Virginia 1931 establishments in West Virginia Sports in Huntington, West Virginia 1942 disestablishments in West Virginia Baseball teams disestablished in 1942