Columbus Clippers

From SoSH

Columbus Clippers

Location:	Columbus, OH
Established:	1977
MLB Affiliation:	Washington Nationals
League:	International League
Level:	AAA
Ballpark:	Cooper Stadium
Championships:	7
Division Titles:
Wild Card:

The Columbus Clippers are the AAA baseball affiliate of the National League Washington Nationals. The Clippers are members of the International League and play at Cooper Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The team and Cooper Stadium are owned by the government of Franklin County, Ohio.

1 Franchise History
2 Stadium
- 2.1 Current
- 2.2 Future
3 Major League Affiliations
4 Franchise Names
5 Notable Alumni
6 Notable Red Sox Who Played Here
7 External Links
8 See Also

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Franchise History

The Clippers franchise was born in 1977 as an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, changing its affiliation to the New York Yankees in 1979. The franchise, however, traces its post-World War II roots to the Jersey City Giants, who played from 1937 through 1950.

The Jersey City team moved to Ottawa, Ontario, in 1951 and played in Canada's capital for four seasons. At the close of the 1954 season, the Columbus Red Birds, the longtime American Association affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, moved to Omaha, Nebraska, opening up the valuable Columbus territory. The struggling Ottawa franchise claimed it, and Columbus joined the International League in 1955. This team eventually affiliated with the Pirates and became the Columbus Jets. When the Jets encountered stadium problems after the 1970 campaign, they moved to Charleston, West Virginia as the Charleston Charlies from 1971-76. With the availability of Cooper Stadium, the former Jets were lured back to the Ohio capital, and the Clippers were launched in 1977. In 1979, the Clippers became the AAA affiliate of the New York Yankees, beginning a 28 year relationship that ended in 2006. For 2007, the Clippers became the AAA affiliate of the Washington Nationals.

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Stadium

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Current

Cooper Stadium is a baseball stadium in Columbus, Ohio and is the home of the Columbus Clippers, the AAA affiliate of the Washington Nationals. Cooper Stadium has had several names over the years, including Red Bird Stadium, Jets Stadium and Franklin County Stadium, but in 1984 the stadium was renamed in honor of Harold Cooper, the county commissioner who was responsible for keeping baseball in Columbus in the 1950s. The stadium is owned and operated by the Franklin County, Ohio government. It is located in the section of the city known as Franklinton. Built in 1931, it was renovated to its present configuration in 1977 and seats 11,000 in a single deck grandstand with an additional 4,000 overflow bleacher seats.

Over the years, Cooper Stadium has been home to the Columbus Red Birds, a farm team for the St. Louis Cardinals; the Columbus Jets; and, after the renovation was completed, the Columbus Clippers.

Cooper Stadium also host the OHSAA boys baseball State Tournament.

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Future

In February of 2006, plans were announced for a new stadium to be built in the Arena District of downtown Columbus at the corner of Neil Ave. and Nationwide Blvd. The stadium which will be called Huntington Park, is named for Huntington Bancshares Inc. which has purchased the naming rights. Play is expected to begin at the new stadium in the 2009 season.

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