Interstate League

The Interstate League was the name of five different American minor baseball leagues that played intermittently from 1896 through 1952.

Early leagues

Earlier versions of the Interstate League, with years active:

• 1896–1901: an unclassified loop with teams in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, and West Virginia.
• 1905-08; 1914-16: a Class D league with clubs in Pennsylvania and New York.
• 1913: a Class C league operating in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
• 1932: a Class D circuit based in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

In addition, a Class C Interstate Association existed for one season, 1906, in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio.

1939–1952

Interstate League

Sport	Baseball
Founded	1939
Inaugural season	1939
Ceased	1952
No. of teams	4 (1939) 8 (1940–1941) (1946–1952) 6 (1942–1945)
Country	United States
Last champion(s)	Hagerstown Braves
Most titles	Wilmington Blue Rocks (4) Lancaster Red Roses (4)
Official website	None

The longest tenured version of the Interstate League was the last incarnation, which played in the Middle Atlantic States from 1939 through 1952, and was one of the few mid-level minor leagues to operate continuously during the World War II period.

This circuit, which began as Class C and was upgraded to Class B in 1940, typically had teams in Allentown, Harrisburg, Lancaster and Sunbury, all in Pennsylvania; Hagerstown, Maryland; Trenton, New Jersey; and Wilmington, Delaware. Its final champion was the Hagerstown Braves, a Boston Braves affiliate. That season, the York White Roses led the league in attendance, attracting over 78,000 fans.

Cities/Teams/Years

Cities represented	Teams	Major League Affiliate	Year(s)
Allentown, Pennsylvania	Allentown Dukes	Boston Braves	1939
	Allentown Fleetwings	St. Louis Cardinals	1940
	Allentown Wings	Philadelphia Phillies (1941) St. Louis Cardinals (1942–43)	1941–43
	Allentown Cardinals	St. Louis Cardinals	1944–52
Bridgeport, Connecticut	Bridgeport Bees	Boston Braves	1941
Hagerstown, Maryland	Hagerstown Owls	Detroit Tigers (1941–44) (1947–48) Chicago Cubs (1945–46) Washington Senators (1949)	1941–49
	Hagerstown Braves	Boston Braves	1950–52
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania	Harrisburg Senators	Pittsburgh Pirates (1941–42) Cleveland Indians (1946–51) Philadelphia Athletics (1952)	1940–42, 1946–52
Hazleton, Pennsylvania	Hazleton Mountaineers	Unaffiliated	1939–40
Lancaster, Pennsylvania	Lancaster Red Roses	Philadelphia Athletics (1944–47) Brooklyn Dodgers (1948–52)	1940–52
Reading, Pennsylvania	Reading Chicks	Unaffiliated	1940
	Reading Brooks	Brooklyn Dodgers	1941
Salisbury, Maryland	Salisbury Athletics	Philadelphia Athletics	1951
	Salisbury Reds	Cincinnati Reds	1952
Sunbury, Pennsylvania	Sunbury Senators	Unaffiliated	1939
	Sunbury Indians	Unaffiliated	1940
	Sunbury Yankees[1]	New York Yankees	1946–47
	Sunbury Reds	Cincinnati Reds	1948–49
	Sunbury Athletics	Philadelphia Athletics	1950
	Sunbury Giants	New York Giants	1951–52
Trenton, New Jersey	Trenton Senators	Unaffiliated	1939–41
	Trenton Packers	Philadelphia Phillies (1942–43) Brooklyn Dodgers (1944)	1942–44
	Trenton Spartans	Brooklyn Dodgers	1945
	Trenton Giants	New York Giants	1946–50
Wilmington, Delaware	Wilmington Blue Rocks	Philadelphia Athletics (1940–43) Philadelphia Phillies (1944–52)	1940–52
York, Pennsylvania	York Bees	Boston Braves	1940
	York White Roses	Pittsburgh Pirates (1943–50) St. Louis Browns (1952)	1943–52

League champions

Season	Interstate League champion	Interstate League runner-up	Other postseason participants
1939	Allentown Dukes	Sunbury Senators	Trenton Senators
1940	Lancaster Red Roses	Reading Chicks	Trenton Senators; Wilmington Blue Rocks
1941	Harrisburg Senators	Trenton Senators	Hagerstown Owls; Reading Brooks
1942	Wilmington Blue Rocks	Hagerstown Owls	Harrisburg Senators; Allentown Wings
1943	Lancaster Red Roses	York White Roses	Hagerstown Owls; Wilmington Blue Rocks
1944	Lancaster Red Roses	Allentown Cardinals	Wilmington Blue Rocks; York White Roses
1945	Lancaster Red Roses	Allentown Cardinals	Trenton Spartans; Wilmington Blue Rocks
1946	Harrisburg Senators	Wilmington Blue Rocks	Hagerstown Owls; Allentown Cardinals
1947	Wilmington Blue Rocks	Allentown Cardinals	Trenton Giants; Harrisburg Senators
1948	Trenton Giants	York White Roses	Wilmington Blue Rocks, Sunbury Reds
1949	Trenton Giants	Harrisburg Senators	Allentown Cardinals; Wilmington Blue Rocks
1950	Wilmington Blue Rocks	Hagerstown Braves	Harrisburg Senators; Trenton Giants
1951	Wilmington Blue Rocks	Sunbury Giants	Hagerstown Braves; Allentown Cardinals
1952	Hagerstown Braves	Lancaster Red Roses	York White Roses, Allentown Cardinals

Individual records

Hitting

• Games: 142, Steve Flipowicz, Sunbury (1947)
• Batting Average: .428, Woody Wheaton, Hazelton (1939)
• At Bats: 593, Robert Mays, Hagerstown (1943)
• Runs: 128, Nellie Fox, Lancaster (1945)
  128, Richard Burgett, Allentown (1946)
• Hits: 220, George Kell, Lancaster (1943)
• Runs Batted In: 144, Edward Sanicki, Wilmington (1946)
• Doubles: 52, Bob Maier, Hagerstown (1943)
• Triples: 24, Harold Bamberger, Trenton (1947)
  24, Charley Neal, Lancaster (1951)
• Home Runs: 37, Edward Sanicki, Wilmington (1947)
• Extra Base Hits: 73, John Capra, Allentown (1944)
• Total Bases: 320, Del Ennis, Trenton (1943)
• Consecutive Game Hitting Streak: 22, Harold Nerino, Sunbury (1940)
  22, Bill Cox, Harrisburg (1941)
  22, Edward Nowak, Hagerstown (1945)
• Sacrifices: 24, Harvey Johnson, Harrisburg (1941)
• Stolen Bases: 47, Joseph Schmidt, Wilmington (1946)
• Walks: 130, Guy Glaser, Wilmington (1945)
• Hit By Pitch: 23, Nellie Fox, Lancaster (1945)
• Struck Out: 123, Peyton Rambin, Trenton (1949)

Pitching

• Games: 49, George Eyrich, Wilmington (1948)
• Complete Games: 29, Charles Bowles, Lancaster (1943)
  29, Norman Shope, York (1944)
• Wins: 24, Daniel Lewandowski, Allentown (1951)
• Losses: 21, Wilson Emmerick, Allentown (1943)
• Best Percentage: .880 (22-3), Anderson Bush, Hagerstown (1951)
• Earned Run Average: 1.44, Royce Lint, Harrisburg (1942)
• Innings Pitched: 260, Charles Miller, Hagerstown (1943)
• Win Streak: 13, Woody Wheaton, Lancaster (1943)
• Shutouts: 7, John Burrows, Wilmington (1942),
• Strikeouts: 278, Andy Tomasic, Trenton (1947)
• Bases on Balls: 165, Dick Libby, Sunbury (1948)
• Wild Pitches: 19, Joseph Slotter, Hagerstown (1944)

No-hitters

Year	Date	Pitcher	Team	Opposition	Score	Notes
1940	July 2	Don Kepler	Sunbury	York	6-0	7 innings
1942	August 24	Jack Casey	Trenton	Hagerstown	2-3	lost game
1943	July 1	Steve Gerkin	Lancaster	Trenton	4-0	7 innings
1944	June 25	Hal Kelleher	Trenton	York	6-0	7 innings
1946	June 10	Whitey Konikowski	Trenton	Harrisburg	4-0	7 innings
1949	May 7	Tony West	Trenton	Westbury	11-0
1950	June 11	Joe Micciche	Trenton	Harrisburg	9-0
1950	August 25	Tony Segzda	York	Sunbury	6-0
1951	April 28	Keith Kelley	Lancaster	Wilmington	10-0
1951	June 14	William Minton	Salisbury	Harrisburg	0-2	lost game
1951	July 18	Tom Casagrande	Wilimington	York	0-1	11 innings; lost game
1951	July 28	Ernest Nichols	Lancaster	Salisbury	6-2
1951	August 20	Tom Casagrande	Wilmington	Harrisburg	4-0	7 innings
1952	June 5	Bob Berresford	Harrisburg	Wilmington	1-0
1952	August 6	Doug Gostlin	Lancaster	Sunbury	1-0

References

1. "Ed Baker presents Mike Daddario's Sunbury Memorial Field – Sunbury Pennsylvania – Former Home of the Sunbury Reds".

Further reading

• Johnson, Lloyd and Wolff, Miles, editors: Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Durham, North Carolina Publisher: Baseball America, 2007. Format: Hardback, 767 pp. ISBN 978-1-932391-17-6