The Wilkes-Barre Barons were a minor league baseball team that existed on and off from 1886 to 1955. They began as an unnamed team in the Pennsylvania State Association in 1886. The following season the team was known as the Wilkes-Barre Coal Barons and played in the

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...

in 1888, but the league disbanded after that season. Two Wilkes-Barre team took the field in 1889 and 1892, with the later sharing representation with

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, as Wilkes-Barre Coal Barons/Pittsburgh in the record books. The team then played from 1893 until 1898 in the Eastern League, and from 1898 to 1900 in the Atlantic League. After spending the 1902 season in the

Pennsylvania State League The Pennsylvania State League was an American minor league baseball sports league that operated from 1892 to 1895, then became the first Atlantic League (1896–1900), Atlantic League. The league member teams were exclusively based in Pennsylvania ...

, as Wilkes-Barre/Mount Carmel. Their next incarnation came about in 1905, when they began playing in the

New York State League The New York State League was an independent baseball league that played six seasons between 2007 and 2012 in New York State and the New York City metro area. Over 500 NYSL players have been signed by professional teams. Players from forty-eight ...

, as the Wilkes-Barre Barons. They played in that league until 1917. From 1923 to 1937, they played in the

New York–Pennsylvania League New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

and from 1938 to 1948 they played in the Eastern League. Until 1939, they did not have any affiliations, however from 1939 to 1951 they were affiliated with the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

. The team was briefly named the Wilkes-Barre Indians from 1949 to 1951 and were managed by Bill Norman. They won a league championship in 1950 and made the league playoffs each year they played between 1949 and 1951. From 1953 to 1955 the team regained the Barons name and once again played in the Eastern League, and in 1954 they were affiliated with the

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 ...

. In 1955, they were affiliated with 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. ...

when the franchise moved midseason to become the

Johnstown Johnnies Johnstown may refer to: Places Australia * Johnstown, Queensland, a locality split between the Southern Burnett Region and the Gympie Region, Queensland Canada * Johnstown, Nova Scotia * Johnstown, Ontario, United Counties of Leeds and Grenvi ...

The ballpark

One ballpark they played their home games at was Artillery Park.

Notable alumni

Multiple notable players spent time with the team, including:

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 ...
alumni

Tony Lazzeri Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leag ...

(1943, MGR) Inducted, 1991 *

Bob Lemon Robert Granville Lemon (September 22, 1920 – January 11, 2000) was an American right-handed pitcher and manager (baseball), manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Lemon was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, National Ba ...

(1940-1941) Inducted, 1976 *

Joe McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most vis ...

(1912-1914, 1916) Inducted, 1957

Notable alumni

Ray Boone Raymond Otis Boone (July 27, 1923 – October 17, 2004) was an American professional baseball infielder and scout who played in Major League Baseball (MLB). Primarily a third baseman and shortstop, he was a two-time American League All-Star ( an ...

(1946) 2 x MLB All-Star * Frank Brannan, *

Bob Bruce Robert James Bruce (May 16, 1933 – March 14, 2017) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher who appeared in 219 games in Major League Baseball from to for the Detroit Tigers, Houston Colt .45s / Astros, and Atla ...

(1954) *

Leon Cadore Leon Joseph "Caddy" Cadore (November 20, 1891 – March 16, 1958) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1915 to 1924. Early life Born in Chicago, Illinois, Cadore was orphaned at 13 and went to live with his uncle, ...

(1912) *

Bill Dietrich William John "Bullfrog" Dietrich (March 29, 1910 – June 20, 1978) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1933 to 1948 for the Philadelphia Athletics, Washington Senators, and Chicago White S ...

(1932) *

Hank Edwards Henry Albert Edwards (January 29, 1919 – June 22, 1988) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1941 and 1953 for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers, Cinc ...

(1941) *

Nick Etten Nicholas Raymond Thomas Etten (September 19, 1913 – October 18, 1990) was a first baseman in major league baseball, who played for the Philadelphia Athletics (1938–39), Philadelphia Phillies (1941–42, 1947) and New York Yankees (1943–46). ...

(1936) MLB All-Star; 1940 AL Home Run Leader *

Elbie Fletcher Elburt Preston Fletcher (March 18, 1916 – March 9, 1994) was a professional baseball first baseman. He played all or part of 12 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Boston Braves (1934–35) and Bees (1937–39), Pittsburgh Pirates (1939� ...

(1935) MLB All-Star *

Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all time ...

(1932) *

Buck Freeman John Frank "Buck" Freeman (October 30, 1871 – June 25, 1949) was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball at the turn of the 20th century. Listed at and , he both batted and threw left-handed. Freeman was one of the top sluggers of ...

(1893) * Mike Garcia (1946-1947) 3 x MLB All-Star; 1954 AL ERA Title * Doug Hansen, *

Jim Hegan James Edward Hegan (August 3, 1920 – June 17, 1984) was an American professional baseball player, coach, and scout. He played for 17 seasons as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to and to , most notably for the Cleveland Indians ...

(1940) 5 x MLB All-Star *

Dave Hoskins David Will Hoskins (August 3, 1917 – April 2, 1970) was an American professional baseball player: a right-handed pitcher who appeared in 26 games for the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball during the 1953 season and 14 games during the ...

(1950-1951) * Sam Jones (1950) 2 x MLB All-Star; 1959 NL ERA Title *

Bob Kuzava Robert Leroy "Sarge" Kuzava (May 28, 1923 – May 15, 2017) was an American professional baseball player, a left-handed pitcher for the Cleveland Indians (1946–1947), Chicago White Sox (1949–1950), Washington Senators (1950–1951), New York ...

(1946) *

Brooks Lawrence Brooks Ulysses Lawrence (January 30, 1925 – April 27, 2000) was a Major League Baseball All-Star pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals (1954–1955), Cincinnati Redlegs (1956–1959), and Cincinnati Reds (1960). Lawrence was born in Springfie ...

(1951) MLB All-Star *

Danny Litwhiler Daniel Webster Litwhiler (August 31, 1916 – September 23, 2011) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 1940 to 1951 for the Boston Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelp ...

(1953) MLB All-Star *

Don Mossi Donald Louis Mossi (January 11, 1929 – July 19, 2019) was an American major league pitcher from 1954 to 1965. He was a left-handed control pitcher whose strikeout-to-walk ratio was regularly among the league leaders (he led the league in 1961) ...

(1951) MLB All-Star *

Ray Narleski Raymond Edmond Narleski (November 25, 1928 – March 29, 2012) was a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played with the Cleveland Indians (1954–58) and Detroit Tigers (1959). He batted and threw right-handed. His father, Bill Narleski, ...

(1948) 2 x MLB All-Star *

Johnny Niggeling John Arnold Niggeling (July 10, 1903 – September 16, 1963) was an American professional baseball pitcher who appeared in 184 games in Major League Baseball over all or parts of nine seasons (–) with the Boston Bees / Braves, Cincinnati Reds ...

(1933) * Bill Norman (1947-1951, MGR) *

Dave Pope David Pope (June 17, 1921 – August 28, 1999) was an American Negro league and Major League Baseball outfielder who played one inning for the Homestead Grays and for four seasons in MLB for the Cleveland Indians in 1952, and from 1954 to 1955. He ...

(1950-1951) *

Allie Reynolds Allie Pierce Reynolds (February 10, 1917 – December 26, 1994) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Reynolds pitched 13 years for the Cleveland Indians (1942–1946) and New York Yankees (1947–1954). Reynolds was nicknam ...

(1962) 6 x MLB All-Star; 1952 AL ERA Title * Jack Scott (1931) * Jose Santiago (1950-1951) *

Joe Shaute Joseph Benjamin Shaute (August 1, 1899 in Peckville, Pennsylvania – February 21, 1970 in Scranton, Pennsylvania) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He pitched from 1922 to 1934, and during his 13-year career, he played primarily for the Cl ...

(1938) *

Harry Simpson Harry Leon "Suitcase" Simpson (November 30, 1924 – April 3, 1979) was an American outfielder and first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Athletics, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, and Pittsb ...

(1949) MLB All-Star *

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was an American politician who served four terms as Governor of New York and was the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1928. The son of an Irish-American mother and a C ...

(1948-1949) 3 x MLB All-Star *

Scott Stratton Chilton Scott Stratton (October 2, 1869 – March 8, 1939) was an American pitcher and outfielder in Major League Baseball from 1888 to 1895. He played for the Louisville Colonels, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Chicago Colts. Biography Stratton was b ...

(1900) 1890 ERA Title * Fred Thomas (1948) Outfielder, first black player in the Eastern League *

Hal White Harold George White (March 18, 1919 – April 21, 2001) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher for the Detroit Tigers (1941–43 and 1946–52), St. Louis Browns (1953) and St. Louis Cardinals (1953–1954). Born in ...

(1939) *

Gene Woodling Eugene Richard Woodling (August 16, 1922 – June 2, 2001) was an American professional baseball player, coach and scout. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder between and , most prominently as a member of the New York Yankees dynas ...

(1942-1943) MLB All-Star *

Heinie Zimmerman Henry Zimmerman (February 9, 1887 – March 14, 1969), known as "Heinie" or "The Great Zim", was an American professional baseball third baseman. Zimmerman played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs and New York Giants from 1907 to 191 ...

(1907) 1912 NL

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

Year-by-year record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkes-Barre Barons (Baseball) Sports in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area Baseball teams established in 1888 Baseball teams disestablished in 1955 1888 establishments in Pennsylvania 1955 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Defunct minor league baseball teams Defunct baseball teams in Pennsylvania Defunct Eastern League (1938–present) teams Chicago White Sox minor league affiliates Cleveland Guardians minor league affiliates New York Giants minor league affiliates

The ballpark

Notable alumni

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 ... alumni

Notable alumni

Year-by-year record

References

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 ...
alumni