Baseball
Rhode Island was a hotbed of baseball in the 1870s with several notable amateur clubs along with Brown University's powerhouse collegiate team. In 1875 the semi-pro "Rhode Islanders" were formed. They joined the newly formed National League in 1878 and in a break from tradition wore flannel instead of white for their home uniform and the team became known as the Grays. They played in the National League until 1885 at the Messer Street Grounds in the Olneyville neighborhood of Providence. The team won the National League title in 1879 and 1884 and won the first World Series over the New York Metropolitans of the American Association in 1884. The minor league Providence Grays were the name of several minor league baseball teams (changing name back to Grays many times) between 1886 and 1949. Babe Ruth played for this 1914 version of the Grays. The 1926 Providence Grays were Eastern League champions. Providence's last team, Providence Chiefs (1946-47), was formed in the New England League. In 1948 and 1949 the team was known as the Providence Grays. New York Yankee Yogi Berra played for them while in the Navy. The Woonsocket Speeders and Pawtucket Tigers were in the Colonial League in 1914.
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Professional Baseball
1877 Providence Rhode Islanders (NE Assoc.)
1878-85 Providence Grays (National League) 1886 Providence Grays (Eastern League) 1894 Pawtucket Maroons (NE League) 1891-11 Providence Clamdiggers/Grays (Eastern League) 1895-97 Pawtucket Phenoms (NE League) 1897-98 Newport Colts (NE League) 1898 Pawtucket Tigers (NE League) 1912-17 Providence Grays (International League) 1918-26 Providence Grays (Eastern League) 1914 Woonsocket Speeders (Colonial League) 1914-15 Pawtucket Tigers (Colonial League) 1926-30 Providence Rubes/Grays (Eastern League) 1946-49 Providence Chiefs/Grays (NE League) College Baseball
Brown University (1874)
University of Rhode Island (1898) *No team 1901-06 Providence College (1921) |
The Pawtucket Slaters (1946-49) played its games at McCoy Stadium as a member of the New England League. The Slaters were preceded in the New England League by the Pawtucket Maroons (1894–1896), Pawtucket Phenoms (1897), Pawtucket Tigers (1898) and Newport Colts (1897-98). Brown University baseball was introduced in 1865 and Providence College followed in 1921. Schoolboy baseball began play in the R.I. Interscholastic League in 1899 with Classical winning the first championship over Hope, East Providence and Cranston. School teams (not in the Interscholastic League) often challenged the winner for state championship bragging rights before expansion of the school league. The development of amateur baseball had been largely due to the influence of "Tim" O'Neil, "the King of the Sandlots", who launched his first league in 1902. Two of his oldest leagues, the Providence Amateur League in 1903 and the Independent Amateur League in 1908, endured over 50 years on the diamonds of Rhode Island. Other leagues included the Manufacturers League, Woonsocket Mill League, Rhode Island Amateur League, Pawtucket Amateur League and Inter City League.
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