The Leesburg Athletics was the final name of a professional minor league baseball team, based in

Leesburg, Florida Leesburg is a city in central Florida. The population was 20,117 at the 2010 census. As of 2019, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 23,671. Leesburg is in Lake County, between Lake Harris and Lake Griffin, at the head of the ...

. The club was first formed in 1937 as the Leesburg Gondoliers, a

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

team that did not share an affiliation with a big-league club. From 1939–1941 the team became known as the Leesburg Anglers, who again were a non-affiliated minor league team. After not hosting a team from 1942–1945 the Anglers would return in 1946. From 1947–1948 the team became the Leesburg Pirates, and were a Class-D affiliate of the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. In 1949 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 ...

operated the team as the Leesburg Dodgers. They used four different managers as the Dodgers and went 37-97. 44-year-old

Luke Hamlin Luke Daniel Hamlin (July 3, 1904 – February 18, 1978) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers (1933–34), Brooklyn Dodgers (1937–41), Pittsburgh Pirates (1942), and Phila ...

, who managed for them, also pitched in eight games for them. From 1950–1952 they would again become an un-affiliated team known as the Leesburg Packers. In 1953 the team would change its name to the Leesburg Lakers but would remain independent of any affiliation. The team would go on hiatus for two seasons and would then emerge in 1956 as an affiliate of the

Milwaukee Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bost ...

, known as the Leesburg Braves. They would remain that way until the end of the 1957 season. After that, they would become the Leesburg Orioles from 1960–1961 and were affiliated with 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 ...

. Again breaking for a few years the team would re-emerge for a final time, this time as the Leesburg A's from 1965–1968, they would be an affiliate of the Kansas City/Oakland A's during this stint. The Leesburg teams won Florida State League championships in 1941 and 1966.

Notable alumni

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 ...
alumni

Rollie Fingers Roland Glen Fingers (born August 25, 1946) is an American former right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for three teams between 1968 and 1985, when his effectiveness helped to redefine the value of relievers within baseba ...

(1965) Inducted, 1992

Notable alumni

Johnny Beazley John Andrew Beazley (May 25, 1918 – April 21, 1990) was a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Braves. As a rookie in 1942, Beazley went 21–6 with a 2.13 ERA for the Cardinals, as ...

(1937) *

Darrell Evans Darrell Wayne Evans (born May 26, 1947) is a former American baseball player, coach and manager. He played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), beginning his career as a third baseman with the Atlanta Braves (1969–1976, 1989), alternatin ...

(1967) 2 x MLB All-Star *

(1949) *

Bobby Knoop Robert Frank Knoop ( ; born October 18, 1938) is an American former Major League Baseball second baseman and coach. In his nine-year MLB career, he appeared in 1,153 games as a member of the Los Angeles / California Angels (1964–69), Chicago W ...

(1956) MLB All-Star; 3 x Gold Glove *

Lee Meadows Henry Lee "Specs" Meadows (July 12, 1894 – January 29, 1963) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher over parts of 15 seasons (1915–1929) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadel ...

(1937) *

Cal Ripken, Sr. Calvin Edwin Ripken Sr. (December 17, 1935 – March 25, 1999) was an American baseball player, scout, coach and manager. who spent 36 years in the Baltimore Orioles organization. He played in the Orioles' farm system beginning in 1957, and ...

(1961) *

Gene Tenace Fury Gene Tenace (; born Fiore Gino Tenacci; October 10, 1946), better known as Gene Tenace, is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played as a catcher and first baseman in Major League Baseball from through , most notab ...

(1966-1967) MLB All-Star; 1972 World Series Most Valuable Player

Year-by-year record

References

{{Florida State League, state=collapsed Baseball teams established in 1937 Baseball teams disestablished in 1968 Defunct Florida State League teams Baltimore Orioles minor league affiliates Brooklyn Dodgers minor league affiliates Kansas City Athletics minor league affiliates Oakland Athletics minor league affiliates Milwaukee Braves minor league affiliates Pittsburgh Pirates minor league affiliates Leesburg, Florida 1968 disestablishments in Florida Defunct baseball teams in Florida 1937 establishments in Florida

Notable alumni

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 ... alumni

Notable alumni

Year-by-year record

References

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 ...
alumni