The Schaumburg Boomers are a

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

team based in

Schaumburg, Illinois Schaumburg ( ) is a village mostly in Cook County and partly in DuPage County in northeastern Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 Census, the population was 78,723. Schaumburg is around northwest of the Chicago Loop and northwest of O'Har ...

that began play in the independent

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

in 2012. The team plays its home games at

Wintrust Field Wintrust Field is a stadium in Schaumburg, Illinois, formerly known as Boomers Stadium and Alexian Field. It is now home to the Schaumburg Boomers of the Frontier League which began play in May 2012 and captured the first-ever professional base ...

. The Boomers replaced the now defunct Schaumburg Flyers of the

Northern League Northern League may refer to: Sport Baseball * Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971 * Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...

after the franchise was evicted for not paying almost US$1 million in back rent. The "Boomers" nickname comes from a common nickname for males of the

greater prairie chicken The greater prairie chicken or pinnated grouse (''Tympanuchus cupido''), sometimes called a boomer,Friederici, Peter (July 20, 1989)"The Last Prairie Chickens" ''Chicago Reader''. Retrieved August 27, 2014.（Chinese 中文：帕艺明彩大凤� ...

species, a bird which was once abundant in the Midwest but is now a

vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatening its survival and reproduction improve. Vulnera ...

. That bird's nickname comes from the dance these males do in order to attract females for mating purposes. The Boomers carry on the mascot's tradition by performing a reenactment of the prairie chicken's dance in between innings during games.

History

Originally, the team was set to play in the

American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

under the ownership of Joliet Slammers principal owner Alan Oremus; however, Oremus sold the team to

Gary SouthShore RailCats The Gary SouthShore RailCats are a professional baseball team based in Gary, Indiana, in the United States. The RailCats are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. The Rai ...

owner Pat Salvi, who moved the team to the Frontier League because of his loyalty to the RailCats and lack of interest in setting up a conflict should the two teams play against each other. Under Oremus's ownership, the team had held a name-the-team contest, with the winning selection of "Mallers". After the ownership change, however, the Boomers name, logo, and colors were unveiled on October 18, 2011. The first signed roster player was infielder Andrew Cohn of Emory University. Shortstop Gerard Hall recorded the first hit in Boomers history in a 4–0 shutout against the Lake Erie Crushers in

Avon, Ohio Avon ( ) is a city in northeastern Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The population was 24,847 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. History In the 17th century, what is now Avon, Avon Lake, Bay Village, and We ...

, in the franchise's first-ever regular season game. Outfielder Jereme Milons had the first extra-base hit in team history with a double to centerfield in the same game. The Boomers won their home debut with a 5–2 victory over the Florence Freedom in front of 6,067 fans at Boomers Stadium. Outfielder Nate Baumann hit the first home run at Boomers Stadium with a two-run blast to left in the five-run sixth inning. The Boomers finished the first half of their inaugural season as the Frontier League West Division Leaders with a record of 29–19. The team had a total of 10 representatives appear in the 2012 Frontier League All-Star Game in Normal. Manager Jamie Bennett managed the West Division squad and was joined by his coaching staff, Mike Kashirsky, Paul Kubon, C.J. Thieleke, and team trainer Scott Waehler. Schaumburg's Frank Pfister was selected as the West Division's starting third baseman, and was joined by outfielders Sean Mahley and Chad Mozingo and pitchers Cameron Roth and Patrick Mincey. The Schaumburg Boomers won the 2013 Frontier League championship in September 2013, becoming the first team in league history to finish the playoffs undefeated (in this case 6–0 as they won two best-of-five series). They defeated the Lake Erie Crushers in the championship final. The Boomers again won the 2014 Frontier League championship, winning back-to-back titles. They beat the

Southern Illinois Miners The Southern Illinois Miners were a professional baseball team based in Marion, Illinois. The Miners were members of the West Division of the independent Frontier League. From 2007 to 2021, the Miners played their home games at Rent One Park. ...

2 games to 1 in the divisional round, and beat the River City Rascals 3 games to 1 to win the title. The Boomers also won the 2017 Frontier League championship by defeating the Evansville Otters in the first round 3 games to 1, and beat the Florence Freedom, also 3 games to 1, in the championship round to win the title. The Boomers won their fourth title by winning the 2021 Frontier League championship as they beat the Florence Y'alls in the first round 3 games to 1, and defeating the Washington Wild Things 3 games to 2 in the championship round.

Season-by-season records

Radio

Games are broadcast on WRMN (1410 AM,

Elgin, Illinois Elgin ( ) is a city in Cook and Kane counties in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. Elgin is located northwest of Chicago, along the Fox River. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 114,797, the seventh-larg ...

) by Boomers broadcaster Tim Calderwood.

Mascot

The mascot of the Schaumburg Boomers is Coop the boomer. Coop is portrayed by a person dressed in a prairie chicken costume.

Current Roster

Notable alumni

* Justin Erasmus (2014) * Jake Cousins (2019) * Willy García (2021) * Braxton Davidson (2021–

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

)

References

External links

* {{Illinois Sports 2011 establishments in Illinois Baseball teams in Chicago Frontier League teams Professional baseball teams in Illinois Schaumburg, Illinois Baseball teams established in 2011