The Wilmington Blue Rocks were a minor league baseball team based in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

, playing in the

Interstate League The Interstate League was the name of five different American minor baseball leagues that played intermittently from 1896 through 1952. Early leagues Earlier versions of the Interstate League, with years active: *1896–1901: an unclassified ...

from 1940 to 1952. The nickname "Blue Rocks" came from 73-year-old Robert Miller in a name-the-team contest. Miller lived in the Henry Clay section of the city, famed for its blue granite found along the

Brandywine River Brandywine Creek (also called the Brandywine River) is a tributary of the Christina River in southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware in the United States. The Lower Brandywine (the main stem) is longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydr ...

. The current

Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. ...

were named in 1992 for this original franchise. In 1940, Bob Carpenter founded the original Wilmington Blue Rocks in partnership with

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 ...

as a Class B

affiliate of Mack's

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 ...

. In 1943, the Carpenter family bought the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

, and before the 1944 season they bought out Mack's interest and made the Blue Rocks an affiliate of the Phillies. The Phillies purchased the club outright in March 1945. The Blue Rocks played multiple mid-season exhibition games in Wilmington against major league clubs. The Blue Rocks went 2–2 against the Phillies, winning, 5–1, on August 23, 1943, and 9–3 on June 5, 1944, and losing, 7–4, on July 8, 1947, and 5–3 on July 11, 1951. The Blue Rocks played in

Wilmington Park Wilmington Park was a ballpark in Wilmington, Delaware that was located at the corner of 30th Street and Governor Printz Boulevard. It was home to the University of Delaware football team from 1940 to 1952 and the Wilmington Blue Rocks of the Cl ...

at 30th Street and Governor Printz Boulevard. Some 7,000 fans attended the Blue Rocks' first game at the ballpark in 1940 and the club established a Class B attendance record in 1940 with 145,643 attending ballgames at Wilmington Park. The club topped that mark with 172,531 fans in 1944. The single game attendance record for the Blue Rocks was set in 1947 when 7,062 fans saw

Curt Simmons Curtis Thomas Simmons (May 19, 1929 – December 13, 2022) was an American professional baseball left-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to and to . Along with right-hander Robin Roberts (a member of the Baseball H ...

' Wilmington debut. By 1950 attendance for the season had dropped to 38,678. Although 1951 saw a slight improvement to 43,135, attendance declined again in 1952, which proved to be the last season both for the Interstate League and this incarnation of the Blue Rocks.

References

External links

Wilmington Blue Rocks: WILMINGTON BLUE ROCKS TEAM HISTORY
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilmington Blue Rocks (1940-1952) Baseball teams established in 1940 Sports in Wilmington, Delaware Philadelphia Phillies minor league affiliates Defunct Interstate League teams 1940 establishments in Delaware 1952 disestablishments in Delaware Defunct baseball teams in Delaware Baseball teams disestablished in 1952 Philadelphia Athletics minor league affiliates