The Northeastern League was a minor league baseball league that last played in the 1934 season as an eight–team Class B level league. The 1934 league franchises were based in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

and

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. An earlier Northeastern League played as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

league in 1887 and 1895 to 1896, with teams based in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

History

The "Northeastern League" first played as a minor league in the 1887 season, beginning play on July 6, 1887, with the season concluding on September 5, 1887. The 1887 league was formed as an

league, composed of league members

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

, Malone, Montpelier,

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

and St. Albans. The 1887 Rutland team won the Northeastern League championship with a 16–6 record managed by James Harmon. The five–team league began play on July 6, 1887 and the Rutland was followed by St. Albans (19–9), Burlington (13–17), Malone (3–10) and Montpelier (2–13) in the final standings. The

Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...

team was managed by L.J. Smith and L.G. Burnham. Malone, New York was managed by Ryder.

Montpelier, Vermont Montpelier () is the capital city of the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Washington County. The site of Vermont's state government, it is the least populous state capital in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population w ...

was managed by Fred Spaulding and William Lord. The Rutland, Vermont team was managed by James Harmon and St. Albans, Vermont was managed by Hunt. All the 1887 Northeastern League teams would become members of the

Northern New York League The Northern New York League was a Minor League Baseball circuit that operated in a span of six seasons between 1900 and 1905. League franchises were located in New York and Vermont. For the majority of its existence it operated as an independen ...

, which began play in 1900. The Northeastern League played again as an Independent league in the 1895 and 1896 seasons, with teams and standings unknown. The Northeastern League resumed play in 1934. The league played in 1934 as a Class B level league under the direction of President Roger E. Baker. The Northeastern League began play on May 16, 1934, as six–team league, playing a split–season schedule with members

Hartford Senators The Hartford Senators were a minor league baseball team based in Hartford, Connecticut. They operated in the Connecticut League from 1902–1912, the Eastern Association from 1913–1914, the Eastern League (baseball, 1916-32), Eastern League from ...

, Lowell Honeys/Hustlers, Manchester Indians, New Bedford Whalers,

Springfield Ponies Springfield Ponies was the primary name of minor league baseball teams based in Springfield, Massachusetts that played between 1893 and 1943. The team competed as the Ponies through its history except for single seasons as the Maroons (1895), Tip ...

and Waltham Rosebuds. On May 24, 1934, the Waltham Rosebuds, with a 6–2 record, moved to become the Worcester Rosebuds, playing their first home game in Worcester on June 1, 1934. The Lowell Honeys/Hustlers won the first half standings. At the start of the second half, the Northeastern League expanded to eight teams, adding the Watertown Townies and Cambridge Cantabs as new franchises. On July 17, 1934, Cambridge, with a 1–12 record, moved to become the Wayland Birds. Worcester won the second half standings. In the playoff Finals, Lowell won the championship 4 games to 1 over Worcester. The Northeastern League permanently folded after the 1934 season. After the season ended, league owner Roger Baker, an accountant, reportedly was convicted of embezzlement from his clients and sentenced to serve time in prison.

Northeastern League cities

1887 *

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

: Cambridge Cantabs 1934 *

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

1934 *

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...

: Lowell Honeys/ Hustlers 1934 * Malone, New York: Malone 1887 * Manchester, New Hampshire: Manchester Indians 1934 *

: Montpelier 1887 *

New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. Up throug ...

: New Bedford Whalers 1934 *

Rutland, Vermont Rutland, Vermont may refer to: *Rutland (city), Vermont * Rutland (town), Vermont *Rutland County, Vermont *West Rutland, Vermont West Rutland is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,214 at the 2020 census. The t ...

1887 *

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

1934 * St. Albans, Vermont: St. Albans 1887 *

Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, th ...

: Waltham Rosebuds 1934 *

Watertown, Massachusetts Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and is part of Greater Boston. The population was 35,329 in the 2020 census. Its neighborhoods include Bemis, Coolidge Square, East Watertown, Watertown Square, and the West End. Watertown ...

: Watertown Townies 1934 * Wayland, Massachusetts: Wayland Birds 1934 *

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

: Worcester Rosebuds 1934

Standings and statistics

1887 Northeastern League

1934 Northeastern League

References

{{Professional Baseball Defunct minor baseball leagues in the United States Baseball leagues in Connecticut Baseball leagues in Massachusetts Baseball leagues in New Hampshire Defunct professional sports leagues in the United States Sports leagues established in 1887 Sports leagues disestablished in 1934 Baseball leagues in New York (state) Baseball leagues in Vermont 1887 establishments in the United States 1934 disestablishments in the United States