The Williamsport Grays were a minor league baseball team in

Williamsport, Pennsylvania Williamsport is a city in, and the county seat of, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. It recorded a population of 27,754 at the 2020 Census. It is the principal city of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a popula ...

between 1923 and 1962. The club began play in 1923 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 were a charter member of the Eastern League in 1938. The team was renamed the Williamsport Tigers and Williamsport Athletics in this period. The Grays played at Williamsport's Bowman Field from the park's opening in 1926.

Williamsport Grays, 1923-1946

The club was established in 1923 as a charter member of the

. The team was called the Williamsport Billies by the local media. Other names found in local papers included the ''Bald Eagles'', ''Hinchmanites'', and even the ''Bills'', a name later adopted by the Eastern League clubs in the 1980s. The Billies played their games at Williamsport High School athletic fields, now on the campus of the

Pennsylvania College of Technology Pennsylvania College of Technology (Penn College) is a public college in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. It is affiliated with, but a self-governing entity of, Pennsylvania State University. As an applied technology college (known by the locals and ...

. The Billies were league champions in 1923 with a record of 82-42. The most prominent player was

Mule Haas George William "Mule" Haas (October 15, 1903 – June 30, 1974) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a center fielder in Major League Baseball from 1925 through 1938, most notably as a member of the Philadelphia Athletics dy ...

who would go on to play for 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 ...

from 1929 to 1931. The team changed its name to the Williamsport Grays for the 1925 season. In 1938, the New York-Pennsylvania League renamed itself the Eastern League and the Grays continued play in the league through 1946.

Williamsport Tigers, 1947-1952

From 1947–1949 and again in 1951–1952, The team was named the Williamsport Tigers were a AA affiliate of the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. Detroit had a working relationship with Williamsport from 1946 until 1952. Earle Halstead was a former

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 ...

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

and businessman from

Dearborn, Michigan Dearborn is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 109,976. Dearborn is the seventh most-populated city in Michigan and is home to the largest Muslim population in the United States pe ...

. Halstead gave up his business ventures in favor of owning the Williamsport team in 1945. Halstead arranged for the Williamsport franchise to have a working agreement with the Detroit Tigers of the American League. The Tigers had been the

1945 World Series The 1945 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1945 season. The 42nd edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Detroit Tigers against the National League champion Chicago Cubs. T ...

champions. Local fans were hopeful that the Tigers would fill the roster of the Williamsport team with better players that had previously been sent to Williamsport by the Washington Senators and

Philadelphia A's 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 Oakl ...

. The Tigers took control of the franchise in 1947 and improved Bowman Field by spending $40,000 to repair flood damage and installing

grandstand A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators. This includes both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium in that it does not wrap a ...

seats from

Briggs Stadium Tiger Stadium, previously known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Corktown, Detroit, Corktown neighborhood of Detroit. The stadium was nicknamed "The Corner" for its location at the intersection of U. ...

in Detroit. The Williamsport Grays changed their name to the Tigers for the 1947 season. This was their second year of affiliation with Detroit Tigers, and it was the first time that the Eastern League team in Williamsport was known as something other than the Grays. The 1947 club was managed by George Detore. The Tigers finished in 5th place of an eight team league with a record of 67 wins and 74 losses. The 1948 season saw the Tigers have a change in manager with

Gene Desautels Eugene Abraham "Red" Desautels (June 13, 1907 – November 5, 1994) was an American professional baseball player. He played most of his Major League Baseball career as a backup catcher with four teams between and . Desautels was a light- hitting ...

taking over. The Tigers finished in fourth place in the Eastern League and reached a one-game playoff for the final spot in the league playoffs. The Tigers lost that game to the

Hartford Chiefs The Hartford Chiefs was the final name of the American minor league baseball franchise representing Hartford, Connecticut, that played in the Eastern League (then Class A) between 1938 and 1952. The Hartford team, which played at Bulkeley Stadiu ...

Lou Kretlow Louis Henry Kretlow (June 27, 1921 – September 12, 2007) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in the Major Leagues (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers (1946; 1948–49), St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles (1950, 1953, 1954–55 ...

who would go on to play in the majors for the Tigers,

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 ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

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 ...

and the A's was named the league's Most Valuable Player. The Tigers slipped back into mediocrity during the 1949, 1951 and 1952 seasons. Notable players and managers to pass through Williamsport during these years included,

Jack Tighe John Thomas Tighe ( – ), pronounced "tie", was an American minor league baseball player and a coach, manager and scout for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. Biography Born in Kearny, New Jersey, Tighe joined the professional rank ...

Schoolboy Rowe Lynwood Thomas "Schoolboy" Rowe (January 11, 1910 – January 8, 1961) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, primarily for the Detroit Tigers (1932–42) and Philadelphia Phillies (1943, 1946–49). He was a three-time A ...

and

Hall of Famer 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 fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Jim Bunning James Paul David Bunning (October 23, 1931 – May 26, 2017) was an American professional baseball pitcher and politician who represented Kentucky in both chambers of the United States Congress. He was the sole Major League Baseball athlete to ha ...

. The franchise was sold at the end of the 1952 season to five anonymous businessmen for $7,500. The Tigers era ended at the same time when the team was once again aligned with the Philadelphia A's and the Williamsport Grays name was restored.

Williamsport Athletics and Williamsport Grays, 1953-1962

In 1953, the club was referred to as the Williamsport A's or Williamsport Athletics a Class AA affiliate of the

. The Athletics names lasted for just the 1953 season. The franchise was purchased at the end of the 1952 season by five anonymous businessmen from the

. The ownership group moved to establish a working arrangement with the Philadelphia A's owned by

Connie Mack Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds untoucha ...

. The Williamsport A's struggled on the field. They finished in sixth place with a record of 65 wins and 85 losses. The first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

s to play professional baseball in Williamsport were members of the squad. Joe Taylor a veteran of the

Negro league The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

s and

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 ...

who would go on to play in the

majors Jonathan Michael Majors (born September 7, 1989)Majors in is an American actor. He rose to prominence after starring in the independent feature film ''The Last Black Man in San Francisco'' (2019). In 2020, he garnered wider notice for portraying ...

with the A's and

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 ...

played the full season for the Williamsport A's. The Williamsport Grays were the Philadelphia Phillies' minor league affiliate in the Eastern League from 1958 to 1962. On July 31, 1962, the Phillies traveled to Williamsport and lost to the Grays 4 to 1 at Bowman Field in a mid season exhibition game.

Year-by-year record

* Williamsport led

Springfield Giants From 1957 through 1965, the Springfield Giants were the Single-A and Double-A baseball team affiliate of the New York/San Francisco Giants in the Eastern League. The team played at Pynchon Park in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Springfield Gi ...

1 game to 0 when rain hit. Co-champions were declared

References

{{Minor league baseball in Williamsport, Pennsylvania Defunct Eastern League (1938–present) teams Defunct baseball teams in Pennsylvania Grays Cleveland Guardians minor league affiliates Detroit Tigers minor league affiliates Philadelphia Athletics minor league affiliates Philadelphia Phillies minor league affiliates Pittsburgh Pirates minor league affiliates Washington Senators minor league affiliates 1923 establishments in Pennsylvania 1962 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Baseball teams established in 1923 Baseball teams disestablished in 1962