The Ottawa Athletics (also known as the Ottawa A's) were a

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

minor-league baseball team based in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada, that operated from 1952 to 1954. The team played at

Lansdowne Park Lansdowne Park is a urban park, historic sports, exhibition and entertainment facility in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, owned by the City of Ottawa. It is located on Bank Street adjacent to the Rideau Canal in The Glebe neighbourhood of central Otta ...

in Ottawa and was a member of the Triple-A

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

History

Triple-A baseball first came to Ottawa in , when the former

Jersey City Giants {{about, the baseball team, the football team, American Association (American football) The Jersey City Giants was the name of a high-level American minor league baseball franchise that played in Jersey City, New Jersey, as the top farm system a ...

(1937–50) relocated to Canada's capital because of poor attendance. Ottawa had most recently hosted the ''Nationals'' and the ''Senators'' of the Class C

Border League The Border League, is the oldest established rugby union league in the World, having been formed in 1901. Currently known as the Booker Border League, after its sponsors, teams from all over the Scottish Borders as well as Berwick RFC from Nor ...

from 1947 to 1950, leading that league in attendance for three of its four seasons and making the playoffs each year. The 1951

Ottawa Giants The Ottawa Giants were a professional minor-league baseball team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada that operated in 1951 after the relocation of an existing Triple-A team, the Jersey City Giants. It played at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa and finishe ...

were one of two Triple-A affiliates of the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(the other was the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

). But the Ottawa Giants would play only one season. After the season, their parent club decided to field only one top-level minor-league team in 1952—the Millers—and they abandoned Ottawa. 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 ...

, who had no Triple-A affiliate in 1951, replaced the Giants and the Ottawa team was renamed. The season saw Ottawa's attendance (over 153,000 fans) increase by 31 percent over the 1951 Giants', but the A's finished in seventh place in the eight-team IL. Attendance held steady in for a sixth-place team, but when the Ottawa A's plunged into the league's basement, attendance also plummeted to a league-worst 94,000 fans. The Athletics' record over their three years in Ottawa was a poor 194–264 (.424). The Ottawa A's then relocated in 1955 to

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, which had just lost its longtime American Association franchise to

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

. The Ottawa Athletics were renamed the

Columbus Jets The Columbus Jets were a Minor League baseball team that played in Columbus, Ohio, from 1955 to 1970. The team moved from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada where they were known as the Ottawa Athletics. The Jets were a member of the Triple-A (baseball), Tr ...

, and the Jets remained in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

's capital city until , when a deteriorating home stadium led the team to move to

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...

, as the

Charleston Charlies The Charleston Charlies were a Triple-A minor league baseball team located in Charleston, West Virginia. Two separate Charlies franchises played in the International League from 1971 to 1983. The team was the relocated Columbus Jets. In 1977 the ...

Notable players

* Charlie Bishop *

Moe Burtschy Edward Frank "Moe" Burtschy (April 18, 1922 – May 2, 2004) was an American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for the Philadelphia / Kansas City Athletics (1950, 1951, 1954–56). He was listed as tall and . ...

Bob Cain Robert Max "Sugar" Cain (October 16, 1924 – April 8, 1997) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Browns between 1949 and 1954. He batted and threw left-handed. Cain was the pitc ...

* Joe Coleman *

Art Ditmar Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of what ...

* Luke Easter *

Hank Foiles Henry Lee Foiles Jr. (born June 10, 1929) is an Americans, American former professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball between and . He had an eleven-year career for seven different teams in Major League Basebal ...

Marion Fricano Marion John Fricano (July 15, 1923 – May 18, 1976) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He is likely remembered for throwing the pitch that ended Cass Michaels' career on August 27, . U.S. Navy The , right-hander was born in Brant, ...

Lou Limmer Louis Limmer (March 10, 1925 – April 1, 2007) was a Major League Baseball player in 1951 and 1954 for the Philadelphia Athletics. Limmer was born in the Bronx, New York, and was Jewish. He graduated from Manhattan High School of Aviation in ...

* Jack Littrell *

Héctor López Héctor Headley López Swainson (July 8, 1929 – September 29, 2022) was a Panamanian professional baseball left fielder and third baseman who played in Major League Baseball for the Kansas City Athletics and New York Yankees from 1955 to 196 ...

Jean-Pierre Roy Jean-Pierre Roy (June 26, 1920 – November 1, 2014) was a Canadian pitcher in Major League Baseball. He pitched in three games during the season for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was born in Montreal, Quebec. While with the minor league Montre ...

Bob Trice Robert Lee Trice (August 28, 1926 – September 16, 1988) was an American baseball pitcher who played for the Philadelphia / Kansas City Athletics (1953–1955). A native of Newton, Georgia, the right-hander stood and weighed 190 lbs. Car ...

* Coaker Triplett * Taft Wright

References

{{reflist Baseball teams established in 1952 Baseball teams disestablished in 1954 Defunct International League teams

Ath Ath (; nl, Aat, ; pcd, Ât; wa, Ate) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Arbre, Ath, Bouvignies, Ghislenghien, Gibecq, Houtaing, ...

Philadelphia Athletics minor league affiliates Defunct baseball teams in Canada 1952 establishments in Ontario 1954 disestablishments in Ontario

History

Notable players

See also

References