HAGERSTOWN– With the major league baseball season kicking off last week, we take a look back at the history of pro ball in Hagerstown. One can’t mention baseball in the tri state area without thinking of the Hagerstown Suns. A staple in regional sports since 1981. But history on the diamond goes back much farther than that.
Popularity of baseball began building momentum around the time of the Civil War. Small amateur teams and leagues began to sprout up all around Washington County. But it was in 1896 that the first pro baseball team took the field in Hagerstown and that team was known as the Lions.
As part of the newly formed Cumberland Valley League, which was established in 1895, the Lions asserted their dominance finishing in first place. Led by future major league players Thomas Lipp (1870-1932), who would pitch briefly for the Philadelphia Phillies, and John Gochnaur (1875-1929), who played shortstop for the Brooklyn Superbas and the Cleveland Bronchos, the team finished the season with a 26-12 win/loss record.
In 1915, a new Hagerstown ball club was formed under the Class D minor league organization, the Blue Ridge League. For the next 16 years, the Hagerstown team operated under four different names, the Blues, Terriers, Champs, and most famously, the Hubs. During their brief time in the league, the Hagerstown team won four pennant races under the leadership of three former major league ball players. Third baseman, Mark Mowrey (1884-1947), who played for the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Frankie Pytlak (1908-1977), who went on to play catcher for the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox. Lastly, there was catcher Ernest “Babe” Phelps (1908-1992) who played 11 seasons with the Washington Senators, Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Babe Phelps would play in 3 All Star Games and finish his career with a .310 batting average.
The Interstate League and Piedmont League were the next chapter in Hagerstown Baseball history. The Class B Interstate League featured the Hagerstown Owls, run by franchise owner Oren E. Sterling in 1941. Then in 1950, Sterling sold the team to Gene Raney, who renamed them the Hagerstown Braves, a name chosen to time them in with their major league affiliates, the Boston Braves.
The short-lived Hagerstown Packets, who played in the Piedmont league from 1953 until the league disbanded in 1955. At that time, the team was affiliated with the major league team, the Washington Senators.
For the next several years, minor league baseball in Hagerstown would be silent. Fans of the game would have to settle for little league games, high school sports, and gathering up their friends for a game at the local park.
Then in 1981 the stadium lights once again shined down on the diamond field of baseball, when the Class A Carolina League introduced the city to their much-beloved Hagerstown Suns. Under the ownership of Lou Elioplos, the team would become affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, and Pittsburgh Pirates.
In 1981, the newly formed Hagerstown would honor their city by winning the Carolina League Championship. The team would achieve successful winning seasons and record-breaking attendance records throughout the 1980’s, but would not win another championship, although they did make it to the championship finals on two more occasions (1986 and 1987).
Several major league stars did make their way through to the majors via the Hagerstown Suns over the years. Names like Craig Worthington, Billy Ripken, Jim Traber, Larry Sheets, Storm Davis, Mike Flanagan, Brady Anderson, and Gregg Olson. But quite possibly the biggest name to spend time in Hagerstown was Baltimore Orioles legendary pitcher and MLB Hall of Famer, Jim Palmer, who in 1983, rehabilitated with the team.
Today, the Suns have a new stadium and new team, but they are still a part of the great legacy of Hagerstown baseball. Fans still flock to see future stars and local heroes.
