Frontier League
From SoSH
| Founded: | 1993 |
| No. of Teams: | 12 |
| Class: | Independent |
| Most recent champion: | Windy City ThunderBolts |
Contents |
League Information
Current
The Frontier League was founded in as an independent minor baseball league. The Frontier League's area is Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Missouri. Play is characterized at the Single-A level.
History
In the winter of 1992-1993, several men got together and decided to start an independent professional baseball league to serve the West Virginia, eastern Kentucky and southeast Ohio areas. They believed they could bring professional baseball to areas that would never have a chance of affiliated professional baseball coming to their communities. The seed was planted and they named their project The Frontier League.
These founders approached business people and interested individuals in many different cities to own and operate the franchises. In late June of 1993, eight cities began play in high school, college and municipal parks. College players quickly heard of the fledgling league and mostly came from the Midwest and east coast to chase their dreams of playing pro ball. Two weeks into the inaugural season, two teams folded their operations and the remaining six owners, led by current FL President Chris Hanners of Chillicothe, fought to keep the League above water. They made it through that first year with six teams and immediately began to make plans for 1994 by adding teams in Newark, Ohio and Erie, Pennsylvania. The Zanesville Greys were the first champion.
Prior to the 1994 season, the owners of the League made a commitment to move forward and they hired Bill Lee as the first and only Commissioner the League has seen. Lee had been in the professional sports business since 1980 and the owners hoped he could help the League grow and flourish in the future. The League got through the 1994 season with all eight teams in tact. The Erie Sailors won the League Championship and the future was looking brighter. Also, the League sold its first players to Major League clubs.
During the off-season between the 1994 and 1995 seasons, several changes took place that helped the League gain credibility and recognition. Teams were relocated to Richmond and Evansville, Indiana as well as Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The stadiums were major upgrades to the caliber of fields that were in existence. The markets were larger and as a result, crowds that attended games were larger. The Johnstown Steal won the 1995 title and Evansville's attendance was greater than the entire League attendance in 1993. The moves to Richmond and Evansville ultimately opened the door to the western expansion of the League.
In 1996, two more cities were added to the League by purchasing and relocating existing franchises. They were Springfield, Illinois and Kalamazoo, Michigan. Again, with bigger markets and better stadiums, the League attendance took a major leap forward. The caliber of play got better and the geographics from which players were coming to the League also continued to expand. The Springfield Capitals won the championship in their first season, but it was the third championship in a row for Manager Mal Fichman.
Several major changes took place in the League Rules in 1997 that led to a stronger level of competition in the League. First, the League went to an 80 game schedule. Second, the League allowed older players with more experience to play in the League. It also allowed for players who were popular in their cities to play in the League longer. The Canton Crocodiles, who had replaced the Zanesville Greys franchise, won the League Championship in their inaugural season. The Evansville Otters were the first franchise to draw over 100,000 fans in a season, including their playoff games.
1998 probably saw the greatest level of overall talent of any year in League history. Richmond's Morgan Burkhart established almost every single season hitting record including 36 homers in 80 games. Other great players such as Chillicothe's Gator McBride, Scott Pinoni and Mitch House, Springfield's Joe Ronca and Jason Simontacchi made the League extremely exciting. The Springfield Capitals became the first franchise to win two championships.
In spite of all of the tremendous on field exploits of 1998, it was the winter of 1999 that saw the greatest changes in the League and elevated it to another level. The League expanded by two teams, making a total of ten teams, by adding the River City Rascals and the Cook County Cheetahs. This was important because it took the League into major metropolitan areas (St. Louis and Chicago) and both franchises were building new facilities. These were the first facilities built specifically for Frontier League franchises. The schedule expanded to 84 games and the River City Rascals in O'Fallon, Missouri, led the way in attendance reaching an unparalleled 151,000 fans. During the season, League attendance went to over 711,000 fans, more than ten times what it drew in 1993. The Dubois County Dragons also entered the League in 1999 by purchasing the Ohio Valley Redcoats. This purchase also meant that only the Chillicothe Paints remained from the original eight franchises that began in 1993. Also, the League became international in flavor by moving from Kalamazoo to London, Ontario, Canada. The Werewolves would set numerous team records on their way to becoming the 1999 League Champions.
The year 2000 propelled the League to even greater heights in publicity and notoriety, when in June, former Chillicothe Paint Brian Tollberg was called up to the Major Leagues with the San Diego Padres. Tollberg responded by winning the National League Player of the Week honors in his first week in the big leagues. Six days after Tollberg, Frontier League legend Morgan Burkhart received his call to the Boston Red Sox. Burkhart singled in his first at bat off of Baltimore's Mike Mussina. Other great moments in 2000 included London's Brett Gray striking out a League Record 25 batters on opening night. This almost unheard of feat drew national attention and even saw memorabilia of the event going to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Gray was signed by the Cincinnati Reds two days later. There were also two no-hitters during the year, one by Chillicothe's Andy Lee and the other by Johnstown's Matt Sheets. The Johnstown Johnnies, who had barely played .500 ball in June, slugged their way to the League Championship. The River City Rascals eclipsed their own League attendance record by attracting in excess of 157,000 fans.
In 2001, the Gateway Grizzlies and Kalamazoo Kings were added to the League. These additions gave the League 12 teams. Gateway is based in Sauget, Illinois, a suburb east of St. Louis. They played their games in a temporary park in 2001, but opened a brand new $6.5 million ballpark in 2002. In Kalamazoo, a group of local businessmen led by automobile dealer Bill Wright brought baseball back in a big way. The Kings drew over 103,000 fans on their way to being named Frontier League Organization of the Year. The League saw its first former manager, Jack Clark of the River City Rascals, advance to the Major Leagues as the Hitting Coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers. A tremendous pennant race that was settled on the last night of the season, led to the Richmond Roosters claiming their first FL crown. Attendance reached an all-time high of 719,000 fans.
The League again saw changes for the 2002 season. Rockford, Illinois replaced Springfield. Rockford is the second largest city in Illinois and the Riverhawks had the highest average in professional baseball history in Rockford. Washington, Pennsylvania was also added by purchasing the Canton Crocodiles. The Wild Things opened new Falconi Field with a bang as they established a League Record for wins in a single season and took the powerful East Division crown. Also, Canton native Mark Haidet purchased the London franchise and moved it to Canton and Thurman Munson Stadium. The Richmond Roosters won their second consecutive FL title, the first franchise to do that. The League set a record for attendance by drawing in excess of 950,000 fans to its parks. The League saw five more graduates reach the Major Leagues as Zanesville's Terry Pearson made the Detroit Tigers roster, Ohio Valley's Brendan Donnelly was called up by the Anaheim Angels and eventually gained a World Series win, J.J. Trujillo advanced to the Padres, and the Cardinals called up both Jason Simontacchi and Matt Duff. More than 230 players, coaches, managers and trainers have moved on to Major League Organizations.
2003 was a record year for the League at the turnstiles. It was the first time in League history that the League attracted more than 1.1 million fans. The Gateway Grizzlies led the League in attendance and also claimed the League Championship en route to garnering the Organization of the Year award. The All-Star Game was a huge success and was televised by Fox Sports Midwest. In 2003, the League entered three new markets. Canton relocated to Columbia, Missouri, Dubois County relocated to Kenosha, Wisconsin and Johnstown ended an eight year run in the League by selling to Florence, Kentucky. The Florence club had to play their games in Hamilton, Ohio while their new stadium was constructed and ready for play in 2004.
In 2004, the League again took a dramatic jump in attendance. Nearly 1.3 million fans entered the turnstiles of Frontier League stadiums. The Gateway Grizzlies led the charge, being the first team to draw over 200,000 fans in a single season and average more than 4000 fans per night. The League expanded its schedule to 96 games with the majority of those games as intra-divisional play. Also, the first round of playoffs was expanded to a best-of-5 game series. The Rockford RiverHawks claimed their first League title, sweeping the Evansville Otters 3 games to 0. Rockford’s Richard Austin was named the League’s MVP. Former Evansville Otters lefthander, George Sherrill, was the tenth former FL player to advance to the Major Leagues as he pitched for the Seattle Mariners. Plans for new Frontier League stadiums were announced in Chillicothe, Oh., Rockford, Il., and Traverse City, Mi.
In 2005, the League attracted close to 1.2 million fans to its ballparks. The Kalamazoo Kings claimed their first League title in one of the most exciting playoff series in League history, defeating the Chillicothe Paints 3 games to 2. The Washington Wild Things hosted the All-Star Game to a sellout crowd at Falconi Field. Frontier League clubs moved 25 players to MLB clubs, and former Evansville Otters left-hander, George Sherrill, made his Major League debut with the Seattle Mariners. Kalamazoo’s Pete Pirman won the Morgan Burkhart Award as the League’s Most Valuable Player, eclipsing the League RBI record in the process. Following the season, the League suspended operations of the Ohio Valley and Mid-Missouri clubs for 2006. John and Leslye Wuerfel purchased the Richmond Roosters and relocated the club to their home town of Traverse City, Mi. The League also hosted the 3rd Annual Independent Baseball Convention in St. Louis.
In 2006, the Frontier League drew almost 1.3 million fans to its 10 clubs. This translated to an average attendance of 2,713, the highest per game attendance in League history. Much of the attendance increase was due to new facilities in Rockford, Illinois and Traverse City, Michigan. The Frontier League’s 14th Annual All-Star Game was played in Evansville’s historic Bosse Field and was televised into more than 14 million homes on Fox Sports Net. The West Division won the game in a Home Run Derby tie-breaker when Evansville’s Beau Blacken slammed the game winner. Kalamazoo’s Ian Church was the MVP of the All-Star Game as well as the League MVP. He was only the second player in League history to hit more than 30 homers in a season. In a battle of the League’s two oldest teams, the Evansville Otters defeated the Chillicothe Paints 3 games to 0 to claim their first League championship. Former River City Rascal, Josh Kinney, was the 13th former FL player to play in the Major Leagues. He was an integral part of the St. Louis Cardinals run to the World Series Championship.
The Frontier League will once again be at 12 teams in 2007. The Southern Illinois Miners will play in Marion, Illinois in a new stadium. The facility will seat approximately 4,500 fans with luxury boxes, group areas, video scoreboard and an artificial turf surface. The Slippery Rock Sliders will also play in the league, at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania. The Slippery Rock scenario will be unique for professional baseball, as several departments of the University are assisting in the operation of the club. The 2007 All-Star Game will be played at Champion Window Field in Florence, Kentucky. There will be new managers in eight cities in 2007. Several of those have long time Frontier League ties: Mark Mason, the 2005 Manager of the Year with Ohio Valley, will take over in Chillicothe. Greg Jelks, who won the League’s 2006 title with Evansville, will skipper the Slippery Rock club. Phil Warren, who played six years in the League with Chillicothe and Gateway, will pilot the Grizzlies. With the addition of two teams, the All-Star Game in Florence, and new managers on the field, the Frontier League looks forward to an exciting 2007 season.
Teams
Current Teams
East Division
Central Division
West Division
Former Teams
- Canton Coyotes
- Canton Crocodiles
- DuBois County Dragons
- Erie Sailors
- Johnstown Steal/Johnnies
- Kalamazoo Kodiaks
- Kenosha Mammoths
- Kentucky Rifles
- Lancaster Scouts
- London Werewolves
- Mid-Missouri Mavericks
- Newark Buffalos/Bison
- Ohio Valley Redcoats
- Portsmouth Explorers
- Richmond Roosters
- Springfield Capitals
- Springfield-Ozark Ducks
- Tri-State Tomahawks
- West Virginia Coal Sox
- Zanesville Greys
League Champions
- 1993 Zanesville Greys
- 1994 Erie Sailors
- 1995 Johnstown Steal
- 1996 Springfield Capitals
- 1997 Canton Crocodiles
- 1998 Springfield Capitals
- 1999 London Werewolves
- 2000 Johnstown Johnnies
- 2001 Richmond Roosters
- 2002 Richmond Roosters
- 2003 Gateway Grizzlies
- 2004 Rockford RiverHawks
- 2005 Kalamazoo Kings
- 2006 Evansville Otters
- 2007 Windy City ThunderBolts
