The Portsmouth A's were a

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

team based in

Portsmouth, Ohio Portsmouth is a city in Scioto County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located in southern Ohio south of Chillicothe, Ohio, Chillicothe, it lies on the north bank of the Ohio River, across from Kentucky and just east of the mouth of th ...

. From 1948 to 1950, the A's played as exclusively as members of the Class D level Ohio-Indiana League and were a minor league affiliate of 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, they became the Oakland ...

. The Portsmouth A's hosted minor league home games at Riverside Park, known today as Branch Rickey Park. The A's won the 1949 league pennant.

History

The Portsmouth A's were immediately preceded by the

Portsmouth Red Birds The Portsmouth Red Birds were a minor league baseball club, located in Portsmouth, Ohio. The team played in the Class C Middle Atlantic League between 1935 and 1940. During the club's first two seasons, it was known as the Portsmouth Pirates, as ...

, who played as members of the

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 ...

from 1937 to 1940 as an affiliate of the

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

. In 1948, the Portsmouth A's were formed, serving as a minor league affiliate of the

. Portsmouth became members of the eight–team Class D level Ohio–Indiana League. Portsmouth joined the

Lima Terriers Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

, Marion Cubs, Muncie Reds, Newark Yankees,

Richmond Braves The Richmond Braves were an American minor league baseball club based in Richmond, Virginia, the Triple-A International League affiliate of the Atlanta Braves from 1966 to 2008. Owned by the parent Atlanta club and colloquially referred to as the ...

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 ...

and Zanesville Dodgers in beginning league play on May 15, 1948. In their first season of play, Portsmouth A's placed second in the Ohio–Indiana League regular season standings. The A's ended the 1948 season with a record of 82–58, as George Staller served as manager. Portsmouth finished a mere 0.5 game behind the first place Zanesville Dodgers in the final standings. In the playoffs, the Muncie Packers swept Portsmouth 4 games to 0. The 1949 Portsmouth A's won the Ohio–Indiana League pennant before losing in the playoffs. Playing under manager Homer Cox, Portsmouth placed first in the regular season standings with an 81–58 record. Portsmouth finished 4.5 games ahead of the second place Springfield Giants. In the first round of playoffs, the Marion Red Sox defeated the A's 3 games to 1. In their final season, the Portsmouth A's did not qualify for the 1950 playoffs to defend their championship. The Portsmouth A's ended their final Ohio–Indiana League season with a 46–89 record to place seventh. Walter Van Grofski served as manager, as Portsmouth finished 42.5 games behind the first place Marion Red Sox. The A's scored 568 total runs, last in the league. In 1951, the Portsmouth A's did not return to play, as the Ohio–Indiana League reduced from eight teams to six teams. Portsmouth was without minor league baseball until the 1993 Portsmouth Explorers began a three–season tenure as members of the

Frontier League The Frontier League (FL; French: ''Ligue Frontière'', LF) is a professional baseball league in North America composed of 18 teams – 15 in the United States and 3 in Canada. The FL is one of the eight independent baseball leagues in North Ame ...

The ballpark

The Portsmouth A's hosted minor league home games at Riverside Park. The ballpark was renamed "Branch Rickey Park" in 1950. The ballpark was constructed in 1935 and is still in use today, as home to the

Shawnee State Bears The Shawnee State Bears are the athletic teams that represent Shawnee State University, located in Portsmouth, Ohio, in intercollegiate sports. They are a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing ...

collegiate team. The location is 25 Mary Ann Street.

Timeline

Year–by–year records

Notable alumni

* Hilly Flitcraft (1948) *

Dutch Romberger Allen Isaiah "Dutch" Romberger (May 26, 1927 – May 26, 1983) was an American professional baseball player. The right-handed pitcher had a 13-season career (1948–59; 1961) in minor league baseball, but made only ten appearances in the Major ...

(1948–1949) * George Staller (1948, MGR) * Portsmouth A's players

References

{{reflist

External links

Portsmouth - Baseball Reference
Defunct minor league baseball teams Professional baseball teams in Ohio Defunct baseball teams in Ohio Baseball teams established in 1948 Baseball teams disestablished in 1950 1948 establishments in Ohio 1950 disestablishments in Ohio Philadelphia Athletics minor league affiliates Portsmouth, Ohio Ohio-Indiana League teams