The Youngstown Buckeyes were 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 t ...

team in

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, whi ...

that 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 consi ...

in 1932. In 1929, Joe Cambria purchased the Hagerstown Hubs. In 1931, Hagerstown was playing in the Class C

Middle Atlantic League The Middle Atlantic League (or Mid-Atlantic League) was a lower-level circuit in United States, American minor league baseball that played during the second quarter of the 20th century. History The Middle Atlantic League played from 1925 in base ...

, and Cambria moved the team, first to Parkersburg, West Virginia, and later that summer to Youngstown, where they played as the Youngstown Tubers. In 1932, the Youngstown team joined the Class B Central League and were named the Youngstown Buckeyes.

1932 season

Tony Citrano was named as the team's

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

, and Alex Pisula was the business manager. The team played its home games at

Idora Park Idora Park was a Victorian era trolley park in north Oakland, California constructed in 1904 on the site of an informal park setting called Ayala Park on the north banks of Temescal Creek. It was leased by the Ingersoll Pleasure and Amusement P ...

. The Central League played a split season format and consisted of six teams—

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...

(later replaced by Canton),

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

Erie Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

, Fort Wayne, and

South Bend South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

, in addition to Youngstown. The Dayton Ducks won the first half title, with the Buckeyes finishing in third place with a 36–33 record. In the second half, Canton and South Bend were unable to finish the season, so the season ended with four teams still in the league. Fort Wayne won the second half title, and Youngstown finished in third place with a 35–36 record.

Players

Several Youngstown Buckeyes players advanced to play in the major leagues. The following players played at least 500 games in the majors: * Babe Phelps was a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

for the Washington Senators, Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Though a catcher for most of his career, at Youngstown he mostly played first base. * Jake Powell was an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

for the Washington Senators,

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

, and Philadelphia Phillies. The following

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

s pitched at least 125 games or 500 innings in the majors: * Bud Thomas played for the Washington Senators, Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit Tigers.

References

{{Middle Atlantic League , state=collapsed Baseball teams established in 1932 Sports clubs and teams disestablished in 1932 Defunct minor league baseball teams Sports in Youngstown, Ohio Defunct baseball teams in Ohio 1931 establishments in Ohio 1932 disestablishments in Ohio Central League teams Baseball teams disestablished in 1932