The Niagara Falls Citizens were a minor league baseball club, based in

Niagara Falls, New York Niagara Falls is a City (New York), city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city had a total population of 48,671. It is adjacent to the Niagara River, across from the city of Niagara ...

. The franchise can be traced back to 1939 when the Niagara Falls Rainbows were established and played as a charter member of the Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League. The team was affiliated with the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

in 1939. However, on July 13, 1940, the team relocated to

Jamestown, New York Jamestown is a city in southern Chautauqua County, in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 28,712 at the 2020 census. Situated between Lake Erie to the north and the Allegheny National Forest to the south, Jamestown is the largest pop ...

to become the

Jamestown Falcons Jamestown often refers to: * Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas Jamestown may also refer to Places Australia *Jamestown, South Australia Barbados * Holetown, Saint James, Barbados; sometimes called its ...

. Niagara Falls went without a team until 1946, when the Niagara Falls Frontiers were established. The team 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 ...

as an affiliate of the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

in 1946 and 1947. However the team disbanded after a first-round playoff loss in 1947. Finally, the city fielded the Niagara Falls Citizens in 1950 to continue play in the Middle Atlantic League. In 1951 the Citizens won the league's final title, before disbanding. Each of the Niagara Falls teams played their home games at

Sal Maglie Stadium Sal Maglie Stadium is a stadium in Niagara Falls, New York. It is primarily used for baseball and is currently home of the Niagara Power ( PGCBL) baseball team. The ballpark has a capacity of 4,000 people and opened in 1939. Its original name ...

Year-by-year record

Notable alumni

Sal Maglie Salvatore Anthony Maglie (April 26, 1917 – December 28, 1992) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher and later, a scout and a pitching coach. He played from 1945 to 1958 for the New York Giants, Cleveland Indians, Brooklyn Dodgers, New ...

(1940) 2 x MLB All-Star; 1950 NL ERA Leader

References

Falls&state=NY&country=US&empty=0 Baseball Reference Niagara Falls, New York
{{Middle Atlantic League , state=collapsed Baseball teams established in 1939 Sports clubs and teams disestablished in 1951 Defunct minor league baseball teams Cleveland Guardians minor league affiliates Philadelphia Athletics minor league affiliates 1939 establishments in New York (state) 1951 disestablishments in New York (state) Defunct baseball teams in New York (state) Middle Atlantic League teams Baseball teams disestablished in 1951