Pocatello, Idaho Pocatello () is the county seat of and largest city in Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the principal city of the ...

, has been home to minor league baseball teams who competed in 35 seasons of Minor League Baseball, between 1900 and 1993.

History

The Pocatello Indians played as members of the Independent Utah-Idaho Intermountain League in 1900. The Pocatello Bannocks played in the

Utah–Idaho League The Utah–Idaho League was a minor league baseball organization founded in 1926. Playing as a six–team, Class C level league for its duration, the Utah–Idaho League franchises were based exclusively in Idaho and Utah as the name indicates. ...

from 1926 to 1928. Pocatello's teams since then have played in the Pioneer League. The Pocatello Cardinals, an affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, played during the seasons of 1939–1942 and 1946–1951, as the league paused for three years during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The Cardinals won two Pioneer League titles in 1942 and 1949. Tommy Lasorda 2010

A new version of the Pocatello Bannocks started in 1952, originally as a

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

affiliate for the first two years. In 1957, they changed their name to the Pocatello A's to reflect their new connection to the Kansas City Athletics, and then in 1960 to the Pocatello Giants as the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

took over as their affiliate. After a final season as the Pocatello Bannocks in 1961, they changed their name to the Pocatello Chiefs in 1962 and remained under that name until they moved to

Ogden, Utah Ogden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth ...

, to become the

Ogden Dodgers The Ogden Dodgers were a Minor League Baseball team based in Ogden, Utah. The Ogden Dodgers played as members of the Pioneer Baseball League from 1966 to 1973. The Ogden Dodgers were an affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers (1966–1973). Futur ...

in 1966.

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

manager Tommy Lasorda managed the Chiefs in 1965. In 1984, baseball returned to Pocatello for two seasons, when the Lethbridge Dodgers relocated as the Pocatello Gems. This was the same team that had left in 1966. Walt Weiss 1989

The Pocatello Giants were affiliated with the

for the 1988 and 1989 seasons; prior affiliation was with the Oakland A's. The home stadium was Halliwell Park, located on Alameda Drive. After the 1989 season the Giants ended their farm team affiliation with the franchise. The franchise became an independent/co-op team and was renamed the Gate City Pioneers for the 1990 season; that team featured players from the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

farm systems as well as minor league players from the

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda ...

of the

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

. For the 1991 season, the team changed its name to the Pocatello Pioneers. The franchise to relocated to

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 Alberta municipal censuses, 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, where they became the

Lethbridge Mounties The Lethbridge Black Diamonds were a minor league baseball team located in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. Pocatello gained one more team in 1993, when the

Salt Lake City Trappers The Salt Lake City Trappers were a Minor League Baseball team of the Rookie level Pioneer League from 1985 to 1992. They were located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and played their home games at Derks Field. The Trappers were not affiliated with any M ...

- forced out by the move of a Class AAA Pacific Coast League team to the city - moved to town as the Pocatello Posse in 1993. After the 1993 season, the team moved to

, to become the Ogden Raptors. ;Semi-pro team A new team, the Gate City Grays, was formed in 2014 as part of the Northern Utah League. They were undefeated in their first regular season and won the league championship the next two seasons. The Grays are a

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a consid ...

team not associated with MLB. Games are played at Halliwell Park.

Timeline

Notable alumni

* Tommy Lasorda (1965, MGR) Inducted

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 ...

, 1997 * Corey Lidle (1993) *

Pat Rapp Patrick Leland Rapp (born July 13, 1967) is an American former professional baseball right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). Early life and career Rapp was a student at Sulphur High School in Sulphur, Louisiana. After high school, ...

(1989) *

Jack Hiatt Jack E. Hiatt (born July 27, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player and minor league manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1964 to 1972, most prominently as a member of the San Francisco Giants. After his ...

(1988, MGR) *

Rafael Landestoy Rafael Silvaido Landestoy Santana (born May 28, 1953) is a retired Major League Baseball player. Landestoy played eight major league seasons with the Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, and Los Angeles Dodgers. He amassed 291 hits, a .237 batting a ...

(1987, MGR) * Walt Weiss (1985) MLB All-Star; 1988 AL Rookie of the Year *

Greg Goossen Gregory Bryant Goossen (December 14, 1945 – February 26, 2011) was an American professional baseball player and stand-in actor in the American film industry. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher and first baseman from 1965 to 1974 fo ...

(1964) *

Bill Sudakis William Paul Sudakis (March 27, 1946 – September 15, 2021) was an American Major League Baseball infielder. He was primarily a third baseman, but also appeared as a catcher and first baseman. Early years During his senior year at Joliet Townsh ...

(1964) * Jim Strickland (1964–1965) * John Boccabella (1963) * Fred Wenz (1961–62) * Mike McCormick (1960, MGR) *

Chico Salmon Ruthford Eduardo "Chico" Salmon (December 3, 1940 – September 17, 2000) was a Panamanian professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a utility player from through , most notably as a member of the Baltimore Orioles team ...

(1960) *

Tommy Giordano Thomas Arthur Giordano (October 9, 1925 – February 14, 2019) was an American professional baseball baseball player, player, scout (sport), scout, front-office executive and minor league baseball, minor-league player-manager. In , at age 92 and i ...

(1959, MGR) MLB Player; MLB Scout: Drafted

Cal Ripken Jr. Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr. (born August 24, 1960), nicknamed "Iron man (sports streak), The Iron Man", is an American former baseball shortstop and third baseman who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1981� ...

* John O'Donoghue (1959) MLB All-Star *

Diego Segui Diego is a Spanish masculine given name. The Portuguese equivalent is Diogo. The name also has several patronymic derivations, listed below. The etymology of Diego is disputed, with two major origin hypotheses: ''Tiago'' and ''Didacus''. E ...

(1959) 1970 AL ERA leader *

Dan Pfister Daniel Albin Pfister (December 20, 1936 – November 9, 2020) was an American right-handed professional baseball baseball pitcher, pitcher in the Major League Baseball, Major Leagues from 1961 to 1964. He played for the Kansas City Athletics and ...

(1958) * Lou Klimchock (1958) *

Alex George Alexander or Alex George may refer to: *Alex George (botanist) (born 1939), Australian botanist * Alexander L. George (1920–2006), American political scientist * Alexander George (philosopher), American philosopher *Alex George (motorcyclist), Sc ...

(1958) *

Norm Bass Norman Delaney Bass, Jr. (born January 21, 1939) is a former American college and professional football player and baseball player. He was a pitcher for the Kansas City Athletics from 1961 to 1963. A safety in football, he played college footb ...

(1958) 2-Sport Athlete: MLB (1961-63),

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

AFL (1964) *

Joe Lutz Rollin Joseph Lutz (February 18, 1925 – October 20, 2008) was an American professional baseball player and coach, who was the first Caucasian race, Caucasian to manage a team in Japanese professional baseball. Life Lutz was born on February ...

(1956) *

Lou Stringer Louis Bernard Stringer (May 13, 1917 – October 19, 2008) was an American second baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox between the and seasons. Listed at tall and , Stringer batted and threw righ ...

(1956) *

Frank Lucchesi Frank Joseph Lucchesi ( ; April 24, 1927 – June 8, 2019) was an American professional baseball player, manager, and coach. He was the manager of three Major League Baseball (MLB) teams: the Philadelphia Phillies (–); Texas Rangers (–); ...

(1955) *

Hersh Martin Hershel Ray Martin (September 19, 1909 – November 17, 1980) was an American professional baseball player and scout. An outfielder born in Birmingham, Alabama, and raised in Ponca City, Oklahoma, Martin played for 23 seasons, mostly in minor l ...

(1953) MLB All-Star * Willie Tasby (1952) * Larry Jackson (1951) 5x MLB All-Star; 1964 NL Wins Leader *

Dick Rand Richard Hilton Rand (March 7, 1931 – January 22, 1996) was an American professional baseball catcher who appeared in 72 games in Major League Baseball during all or part of three seasons (, and ) for the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pi ...

(1950) *

John Romonosky John Romonosky (July 7, 1929 – October 2, 2011) was an American professional baseball player. A , right-handed pitcher, he played parts of three seasons in Major League Baseball, appearing in 32 games for the 1953 St. Louis Cardinals and the 19 ...

(1950) *

Bob Mahoney Robert Paul Mahoney (June 20, 1928 – August 27, 2000) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee ...

(1948) *

Solly Hemus Solomon Joseph Hemus (April 17, 1923 – October 2, 2017) was an American professional baseball infielder, manager, and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies. Hemus is one of a sel ...

(1946) *

Bill Brenzel William Richard Brenzel (March 3, 1910 – June 12, 1979) was a Major League Baseball catcher who played three seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Indians where he earned a reputation for his quick wit and his slow feet. After his pla ...

(1946) * Nick Cullop (1942) *

Ed Chandler Edward Oliver Chandler (February 17, 1917 – July 6, 2003) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He pitched in fifteen games for the Brooklyn Dodgers during the 1947 baseball season. Born in Pinson, Alabama Pinson is a city in Jeffers ...

(1941) *

Bill DeLancey William Pinkney DeLancey (November 28, 1911 – November 28, 1946) was an American professional baseball player during the 1930s. As a 22-year-old rookie catcher in , he helped to lead the St. Louis Cardinals' fabled Gashouse Gang team to the wor ...

(1941, MGR) * Eddie Malone (1939) * Jim Mosolf (1928) *

Wally Berger Walter Anton Berger (October 10, 1905 – November 30, 1988) was an American professional baseball player, scout and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder, most notably as a member of the Boston Braves. He also played ...

(1927) 4x MLB All-Star; 1935 NL RBI Leader; 1935 NL HR Leader *

Woody Jensen Forrest Docenus "Woody" Jensen (August 11, 1907 – October 5, 2001) was a professional baseball player who played professional baseball from 1931 to 1939 as an outfielder. His record of 696 at bats in 1936 was not broken until Matty Alou broke it ...

(1927–28) *

Bruce Cunningham Bruce Lee Cunningham (September 29, 1905 in San Francisco – March 8, 1984 in Hayward, California), was a Major League Baseball pitcher from - for the History of the Boston Braves, Boston Braves. External links

1905 births 1984 deaths Maj ...

(1926) *

Doug Taitt Douglas John Taitt oco(August 3, 1902 – December 12, 1970) was a right fielder in Major League Baseball and a player/manager in the Minor leagues. Listed at 6' 0, 176 lb., he batted left-handed and threw right-handed. A native of Bay C ...

(1926)

References

{{reflist San Francisco Giants minor league affiliates Oakland Athletics minor league affiliates Los Angeles Dodgers minor league affiliates Chicago Cubs minor league affiliates Boston Red Sox minor league affiliates Kansas City Athletics minor league affiliates St. Louis Browns minor league affiliates St. Louis Cardinals minor league affiliates Defunct Pioneer League (baseball) teams Defunct minor league baseball teams Professional baseball teams in Idaho

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

Baseball teams established in 1926 Baseball teams disestablished in 1993 1926 establishments in Idaho 1993 disestablishments in Idaho Defunct baseball teams in Idaho