The city of

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, has been home to two Minor League Baseball teams called the Baltimore Orioles, in addition to the three

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), ...

teams that have used the name (the first of which played in 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 ...

in 1882 to 1891, then joined the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

from 1892 to 1899, the second being the charter

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

franchise which played for two seasons in 1901 and 1902, and the modern AL team since April 1954.)

Name history

"Orioles" is a traditional name for baseball clubs in Baltimore, after the state bird of Maryland, with the colors of black and orange/gold/yellow. It was used by major league teams representing the city from 1882 through 1899 in the old

and the original

two decades after its founding in 1876, and by a charter team franchise member of the new

from 1901 through 1902. The original American League franchise was replaced by a team in New York City in 1903 and eventually became known as the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

First minor league team, 1903–1914

In 1903, an Oriole minor league team joined the Eastern League (renamed the

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 ...

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

, and not to be confused with the present day 'Double AA' level, minor league Eastern League). This Orioles team stayed mediocre for the first few years of its existence, but after the arrival of Jack Dunn (1872–1928), as manager, it won the Eastern League pennant in 1908. This E.L./I.L. Orioles team played at the old American League Park (a.k.a. Oriole Park) at the southwest corner of Greenmount Avenue and 29th Street in the Waverly neighborhood of northeast Baltimore. The 1914 season featured the professional debut of local son, George Herman "Babe" Ruth, but competition from the

Baltimore Terrapins The Baltimore Terrapins were one of the most successful teams in the short-lived Federal League of professional baseball from to , but their brief existence led to litigation that led to an important legal precedent in baseball. The team played i ...

of the new

Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...

challenge for major league status, with their more modern steel-beamed ballpark across the street, forced Dunn to sell Ruth (to the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

) later in the 1914 season and many of his other players, and eventually temporarily relocate the team to

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, as the Richmond Climbers, for the 1915 and 1916 seasons.

Second minor league team, 1916–1953

After the Federal League's demise, Dunn returned with an Orioles team in 1916. This team, later in the 1919 I.L. Baseball Season won the

pennant with 100 victories, the first team to win that many games and went on a championship spree, seldom seen in major or minor league baseball ever since. Featuring another future Hall-of-Fame

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Lefty Grove Robert Moses "Lefty" Grove (March 6, 1900 – May 22, 1975) was an American professional baseball pitcher. After having success in the minor leagues during the early 1920s, Grove became a star in Major League Baseball with the American League's P ...

, the Orioles improved on that in 1920 by winning 110 games, including the last 25 of the season. In

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

, the Orioles won 27 straight games (a record for consecutive victories by a minor league team that would stand until the Salt Lake City Trappers won 29 in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

). The Orioles won the League by 20 games over the second place team, and had a home record of 70 wins and 18 losses. Despite their impressive record, however, they lost the "

Little World Series The Junior World Series was a postseason championship series between champions of two of the three highest minor league baseball leagues modeled on the World Series of Major League Baseball. It was called the Little World Series (no relation to ...

" to the American Association's champion

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that also played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as ...

, 4 games to 1. The Orioles actually led the fourth game, 12–4, but a riot broke out among the Louisville home crowd in the top of the 9th inning, and the game was forfeited to Baltimore, 9–0. The I.L. Orioles continued to roll over International League opposition for several more seasons straight through to the 1925 Baseball Season. The team entered the Governors' Cup playoffs in the International circuit in 1936, 1937, and 1940, but did not win another pennant until the "war year" of

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

. The team was leading the League on July 4 of that year, when their home wooden and steel beamed stadium,

Oriole Park Oriole Park, often referred to as Terrapin Park, opened in 1914 and closed after a fire on July 3–4, 1944. "Oriole Park" was the name of multiple baseball parks in Baltimore, Maryland, all built within a few blocks of each other. Oriole Par ...

(formerly

Terrapin Park Oriole Park (V) is the name used by baseball historians to designate the longest-lasting of several former major league and minor league baseball parks in Baltimore, Maryland, each one named Oriole Park. Terrapin Park A third major league, ...

of 1914), burned down. Even after relocating several blocks northwest to the old 1922 football bowl of Municipal Stadium on 33rd Street Boulevard (also known as "Baltimore Stadium"), the team seemed to have a hard time recovering from that loss, playing lackluster ball through the rest of the season and losing their last game, only to strangely "back into the championship" when the second place team, the

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. T ...

, also lost their recent games. The Orioles, under manager Alphonse "Tommy" Thomas, went on to win the "

Junior World Series The Junior World Series was a postseason championship series between champions of two of the three highest minor league baseball leagues modeled on the World Series of Major League Baseball. It was called the Little World Series (no relation to ...

" that year, four games to two, against

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

. Six years later, with the shackles of war-time baseball cast off, in 1950, under manager Nick Cullop, Baltimore won the league championship again, only to lose the "Junior World Series" to the

Columbus Red Birds The Columbus Red Birds were a top-level minor league baseball team that played in Columbus, Ohio, in the American Association from 1931 through 1954. The Columbus club, a member of the Association continuously since 1902, was previously known as ...

of Ohio, four games to one. In 2001, the Orioles teams of 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, and 1924 were recognized as being among the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time.

Back to the majors

After the 1953 season, the

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 p ...

moved to Baltimore and took the name of the Baltimore Orioles. The last minor league/International League Orioles team (of 1916–1953) re-located to Richmond (coincidentally just as had the earlier Orioles team in 1914), this time as the

Richmond Virginians The Richmond Virginians was the name of a minor league baseball franchise that played in Richmond, Virginia, from 1954 through 1964. The team competed at the Triple-A level as members of the International League, and were affiliated with the ...

from 1954 to 1964, later relocating as today's

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

franchise in northwest Ohio since 1965.

Championships

The Orioles won the Governors' Cup, the championship of the International League 2 times, and played in the

5 times. *

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

– Lost to Buffalo * 1937 – Lost to

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

* 1940 – Lost to

– Defeated

* 1950 – Defeated

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

Notable players

Hughie Jennings Hugh Ambrose Jennings (April 2, 1869 – February 1, 1928) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager from 1891 to 1925. Jennings was a leader, both as a batter and as a shortstop, with the Baltimore Orioles teams that won Nat ...

- 1903-06;

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 ...

shortstop and manager *

Wilbert Robinson Wilbert Robinson (June 29, 1864 – August 8, 1934), nicknamed "Uncle Robbie", was an American catcher, coach and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Philadelphia Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, and St. Louis Cardinal ...

- 1903-06;

catcher and manager * Jack Dunn - 1907-11, 1919; second baseman, later manager and owner of the club *

Home Run Baker John Franklin "Home Run" Baker (March 13, 1886 – June 28, 1963) was an American professional baseball player. A third baseman, Baker played in Major League Baseball from 1908 to 1922 for the Philadelphia Athletics and New York Yankees. Althoug ...

- 1908;

third baseman *

Sammy Strang Samuel Strang Nicklin (December 16, 1876 – March 13, 1932) was a professional baseball player for the Louisville Colonels (1896), Chicago Orphans (1900 and 1902), New York Giants (1901 and 1905–08), Chicago White Sox (1902) and Brooklyn ...

- 1908-10; Major League Baseball third baseman and outfielder *

Cy Seymour James Bentley "Cy" Seymour (December 9, 1872 – September 20, 1919) was an American professional baseball center fielder and pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to for the New York Giants (1896–; –), Baltimore Orioles ( ...

- 1910-11; Major League Baseball pitcher and outfielder *

Fritz Maisel Frederick Charles "Fritz" Maisel (December 23, 1889 – April 22, 1967) was a professional baseball player who played third base in the Major Leagues from 1913 to 1918, and was later a minor league player and manager and a major league scout. In ...

- 1911-13, 1919-28; Major League Baseball third baseman, longest-tenured player in Orioles history *

Bob Shawkey James Robert Shawkey (December 4, 1890 – December 31, 1980) was an American baseball pitcher who played fifteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Philadelphia Athletics and New York Yankees from 1915 to 1927. He batted ...

- 1912-13; Major League Baseball pitcher *

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

- 1914;

pitcher and outfielder * Jack Bentley - 1916-17, 1919-22; Major League Baseball pitcher and first baseman *

Max Bishop Max Frederick Bishop (September 5, 1899 – February 24, 1962) was an American professional baseball player, scout and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a second baseman from through , most notably as a member of the Philadelphia ...

- 1918-23, 1936; Major League Baseball second baseman *

- 1920-24;

pitcher * Chief Bender - 1923;

pitcher *

George Earnshaw George Livingston Earnshaw (February 15, 1900 – December 1, 1976) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He played in parts of nine seasons (1928–36) with the Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Brooklyn Dodgers, and St. Louis Cardina ...

- 1924-28; Major League Baseball pitcher * Sherry Magee - 1925-26; Major League Baseball outfielder *

Joe Hauser Joseph John Hauser (January 21, 1899 – July 11, 1997), nicknamed "Unser Choe", was an American professional baseball player who was a first baseman in the major leagues from 1922 to 1929, with the Philadelphia Athletics and Cleveland Indians. ...

- 1930-31; Major League Baseball first baseman and outfielder *

Buzz Arlett Russell Loris Arlett (January 3, 1899 – May 16, 1964), also known as Buzz Arlett, was an American baseball player, sometimes called "the Babe Ruth of the minor leagues." Like Ruth, Arlett was a large man, and , who began his career as a pitch ...

- 1932-33; Major League Baseball outfielder *

Phil Weintraub Philip Weintraub (October 12, 1907 – June 21, 1987) was an American professional baseball first baseman and outfielder. Weintraub played for 13 minor league teams, for whom he had an aggregate batting average of .337, as well as for the New Yo ...

- 1938; Major League Baseball first baseman and outfielder *

Sherm Lollar Sherm is a shortened version of the given name Sherman and may refer to: People *Sherm Chavoor (1919-1992), American swimming coach *Sherm Cohen (born 1965), American storyboard artist *Sherm Feller (1918–1994), American musician and sports an ...

- 1943-46; Major League Baseball catcher *

Bobby Ávila Roberto Francisco Ávila González (April 2, 1924 – October 26, 2004), known as "Beto" in Mexico and as "Bobby" in the United States, was a Mexican professional baseball second baseman. A native of Veracruz, Mexico, Ávila began his career pl ...

- 1948; Major League Baseball second baseman

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baltimore Orioles (Minor League) St. Louis Browns minor league affiliates Cleveland Guardians minor league affiliates Baseball teams established in 1903 Baseball teams disestablished in 1953 Defunct International League teams Sports teams in Baltimore Philadelphia Phillies minor league affiliates 1903 establishments in Maryland 1953 disestablishments in Maryland Defunct baseball teams in Maryland