The Winnipeg Whips were a professional Triple-A minor league

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

team based in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world ...

that played in 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 ( ...

from 1970 to 1971. The team was affiliated with the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in ...

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 ...

and played its home games at

Winnipeg Stadium Canad Inns Stadium (also known as Winnipeg Stadium) was a multipurpose stadium in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The stadium was located at the corner of St. James Street and Maroons Road, immediately north of the Polo Park Shopping Centre and t ...

. The franchise was founded as the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fie ...

, a founding member of the International League in 1886. The Expos purchased the Bisons shortly after joining 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 tea ...

in 1969 and were eager to relocate the struggling team, to the extent that the team was moved midseason from Buffalo to Winnipeg in June 1970. The Expos selected Winnipeg even though it was located 1,100 miles from the nearest league rival. As part of the move, the Expos agreed to pick up the additional travel costs of opposing teams, believing it would be a temporary measure until the Whips could switch to the American Association, a Triple-A league operating in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

, which was much closer to Winnipeg. Clyde McCullough managed the team at its inception. The Whips did not fare well on the field, finishing in last place in both 1970 and 1971. In 1971, the team only won 44 of its 140 games, and only 17 of its final 74. McCullough was replaced as manager during the year by Jim Bragan, and Steve Shea would also take his turn as manager of the ballclub. Skyrocketing costs, coupled with the failed bid to join the American Association, forced the Expos to give up on Winnipeg and move the team to

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia * Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia * Hampton, New South Wales * Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria Canada *Hampton, New Brunswick * ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

after the 1971 season. The team became the Peninsula Whips and played two seasons out of Hampton War Memorial Stadium, located just 19 miles from the IL's Tidewater Tides. After drawing only 48,680 fans in 1973, the AAA franchise was moved to Memphis, Tennessee and played in the international League as the

Memphis Blues The Memphis blues is a style of blues music created from the 1910s to the 1930s by musicians in the Memphis area, such as Frank Stokes, Sleepy John Estes, Furry Lewis and Memphis Minnie. The style was popular in vaudeville and medicine shows ...

through 1976. They moved to Charleston, West Virginia and assumed the identity of the

Charleston Charlies The Charleston Charlies were a Triple-A minor league baseball team located in Charleston, West Virginia. Two separate Charlies franchises played in the International League from 1971 to 1983. The team was the relocated Columbus Jets. In 1977 the f ...

, who had relocated to Columbus, Ohio for the 1977 season. After a stop in Old Orchard Beach, Maine ( Maine Guides), the franchise founded as the Buffalo Bisons and once known as the Winnipeg Whips is now playing out of Moosic, Pennsylvania as the

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...

Major League alumni

* John Bateman * Gil Blanco * Don Bosch * Kevin Collins * Boots Day * Bill Dillman * Pepe Frías * Jim Gosger *

Rich Hacker Richard Warren Hacker (October 6, 1947 – April 22, 2020) was a Major League Baseball player, base coach and scout. Hacker played 16 games for the Montreal Expos in the 1971 season as a shortstop. He had a .121 batting average, with four hits i ...

Don Hahn Donald Paul Hahn (born November 26, 1955) is an American film producer who is credited with producing some of the most successful animated films in recent history, including Disney’s ''Beauty and the Beast'' (the first animated film to be nom ...

* Larry Haney * Remy Hermoso * José Herrera * Walt Hriniak * Terry Humphrey * Garry Jestadt * Larry Loughlin * Leo Marentette * Mike Marshall * Clyde Mashore * Ernie McAnally * Dave McDonald * Dan McGinn * Joe Moock * Balor Moore * Rich Nye * John O'Donoghue *

Adolfo Phillips Adolfo Emilio Phillips López (December 16, 1941), is a Panamanian former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Montreal Expos, and Cleveland Indians from t ...

Jim Qualls James Robert Qualls (born October 9, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player who appeared in 63 games in Major League Baseball as an outfielder and pinch-hitting specialist for the Chicago Cubs (), Montreal Expos () and Chicago ...

* Bob Reynolds * Steve Rogers * Carroll Sembera * Don Shaw * Steve Shea * Tommie Sisk * Dick Smith *

Joe Sparma Joseph Blase Sparma (February 4, 1942 – May 14, 1986) was a quarterback in collegiate football (1961–1962) and a pitcher in Major League Baseball (1964–1970). Quarterback at Ohio State Born in Massillon, Ohio, Sparma attended Ohio State ...

Stan Swanson Stanley Lawrence Swanson (May 19, 1944 – September 1, 2017) was a baseball player who played for the Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Q ...

Mike Torrez Michael Augustine Torrez (born August 28, 1946) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) starting pitcher. In an 18-season career, he pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals (1967–1971), Montreal Expos (1971–1974), Baltimore Orioles (19 ...

* Freddie Velázquez *

Mike Wegener Michael Denis Wegener (born October 8, 1946) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. The right-hander was signed by the Baltimore Orioles before the 1964 season, drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies from the Orioles in the 1964 first-year dr ...

* Fred Whitfield *

Jimy Williams James Francis Williams (born October 4, 1943) is an American former professional baseball infielder, coach and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was born in Santa Maria, California, and briefly appeared in two MLB seasons as a seco ...

* Ron Woods

Notes

References

{{reflist Baseball teams established in 1970 Defunct International League teams Defunct baseball teams in Canada Montreal Expos minor league affiliates Baseball teams in Winnipeg Baseball teams disestablished in 1973