The Blue Ridge League was the name of two minor league baseball organizations that operated in the first half of the twentieth century in the United States.

History

The first league operated for the better part of sixteen years, from 1915 through 1918, and 1920 to 1930. It was a Class D level league in the old classification system that ran from Class D up to Class Double-A, and had teams from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

. The league was founded by Charles W. Boyer in 1915, as part of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues. Boyer, former president of the original

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

, served as the league president in the Blue Ridge League's inaugural season. Due to internal problems, Boyer resigned as president the first week of the 1916 season, being replaced by James Vincent Jamison Jr. Jamison was at the forefront of the league until it ceased its operations shortly before the beginning of the 1931 season. Blue Ridge League play officially began in 1915 with six teams from

Chambersburg Chambersburg is a borough in and the county seat of Franklin County, in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley, and north of Maryland and the Ma ...

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

, Gettysburg, Hagerstown,

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

and Martinsburg. The team to win the most games during the regular season was declared the pennant winner. Through the 1917 midseason,

replaced Cumberland when this team refused to pay its annual forfeit fee. The league shrank from six teams to four in 1918, with teams representing Cumberland, Hagerstown, Martinsburg and

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, and ultimately disbanded after three weeks of play due to the lack of players during World War I. Due to the aftermath of the war and the

1918 flu pandemic The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

, the Blue Ridge League did not resume operations until 1920, with Chambersburg, Frederick, Hagerstown, Hanover and Martinsburg rejoining the action, as well as the addition of the Waynesboro franchise to bring again the six-team format. Since 1928, the two teams with the best records competed in a series of play-off games to determine the League Champion. Gradually, six

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 (A ...

franchises started their affiliation with the league, among others

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) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

(Frederick),

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 ...

(Hanover),

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 ...

(Chambersburg),

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

(Waynesboro) and

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 Oakla ...

(Martinsburg), Washington Senators (Hagerstown). But after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, Detroit and St. Louis dropped their affiliations due to heavy financial losses. Only the teams of Chambersburg, Frederick, Hagerstown and Waynesboro returned in 1930, the Blue Ridge League's last season.

Cities/Teams/Years

Championship teams

*1915 Frederick Hustlers *1916 Chambersburg Maroons *1917 Hagerstown Terriers *1918 Cumberland Colts *1919 ''Season suspended'' *1920 Hagerstown Champs *1921 Frederick Hustlers *1922 Martinsburg Blue Sox *1923 Martinsburg Blue Sox *1924 Martinsburg Blue Sox *1925 Hagerstown Hubs *1926 Hagerstown Hubs *1927 Chambersburg Maroons *1928 Hanover Raiders *1929 Hagerstown Hubs *1930 Chambersburg Young Yanks

Season records

Hitting

*Games: 118, Richard Zorman, Hanover (1929)
118, Dan Tapson, Hanover (1929) *Batting Average: .404, Roger "Doc" Cramer, Martinsburg (1929) *At Bats: 466, Babe Phelps, Hagerstown (1930) *Runs: 104, George Rawlings, Martinsburg (1923) *Hits: 175, Babe Phelps, Hagerstown (1930) *Doubles: 41, Holmes Diehl, Hagerstown (1925) *Triples: 24,

Joe Vosmik Joseph Franklin Vosmik (April 4, 1910 – January 27, 1962) was an outfielder for the Cleveland Indians (1930–36), St. Louis Browns (1937), Boston Red Sox (1938–39), Brooklyn Dodgers (1940–41) and Washington Senators (1944). He helped the ...

, Frederick (1929) *Home Runs: 30,

Hack Wilson Lewis Robert "Hack" Wilson (April 26, 1900 – November 23, 1948) was an American Major League Baseball player who played 12 seasons for the New York Giants, Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies. Despite his diminutive statur ...

, Martinsburg (1922) *Extra Base Hits: 62, Babe Phelps, Hagerstown (1930)
62, John Vosmik, Frederick (1929) *Total Bases: 300, Babe Phelps, Hagerstown (1930) *Sacrifices: 39, John Boyle, Hagerstown, (1925) *Stolen Bases: 47, Walter Kimmick, Waynesboro (1921) *Walks: 100, George Scheiminant, Hagerstown (1925) *Struck Out: 77, Louis Allen, Hanover (1928)

Pitching

*Games: 39, Frank Fraley, Frederick (1929) *Complete Games: 22, Frank Ulrich, Waynesboro (1923) *Wins: 25, Earl Howard, Hagerstown (1917)
25, Alan Clarke, Waynesboro (1921) *Losses: 17, Stephen Woodgie, Chambersburg (1922) *Best Percentage: .889 (16-2), Lester Shatzer, Chambersburg (1927) *Innings Pitched: 274, Alan Clarke, Waynesboro (1921) *Win Streak: 8, Abe Welcher, Hagerstown (1915) *Strikeouts: 258, Alan Clarke, Waynesboro (1921) *Hit Batsmen: 29, Alan Clarke, Waynesboro (1921) *Bases on Balls: 163, Joe Zubris, Hagerstown (1925)

No-Hitters

Second League

Another Blue Ridge League operated between 1946 and 1950. It was located in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

and

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 ...

and was rated as a D-level league. The Presidents in the history of the league were Joe Ryan (1946), Stanley F. Radke (1947-'48), Judge E. C. Bivins (1948-'49) and John B. Spiers (1950). In 1946, the team with the best winning record was declared the pennant winner. From 1947 through 1950, the two teams with the best records faced in a series of play-off games to determine the League Champion.

Cities/Teams/Years

Championship teams

*1946 Salem Friends/Lenoir Red Sox # *1947 Galax Leafs *1948 Galax Leafs *1949 Mount Airy Graniteers *1950 Elkin Blanketeers # Salem moved to Lenoir in the midseason

References

Sources

*''Minor League Baseball Standings: All North American Leagues, through 1999'' – Benjamin Barrett Sumner. Publisher: McFarland & Company, 2000. Format: Hardcover, 726pp. Language: English. *''Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: The Official Record of Minor League Baseball'' – Lloyd Johnson, Miles Wolff, Steve McDonald. Publisher: Baseball America, 1997. Format: Paperback, 672pp. Language: English. *''The Blue Ridge League: Images of Baseball'' – Robert B. Savitt. Publisher: Arcadia Publishing, 2011. Format: Softcover, 127pp. Language: English.

External links

Class D, Blue Ridge League (1915-1930) WebsiteBaseball Reference - Blue Ridge League History
{{Authority control 1915 establishments in the United States 1930 disestablishments in the United States Sports leagues established in 1946 1950 disestablishments in the United States Defunct minor baseball leagues in the United States Baseball leagues in Pennsylvania Baseball leagues in Maryland Baseball leagues in West Virginia Baseball leagues in North Carolina