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The Edmonton Capitals, originally the Edmonton Cracker-Cats, were a Canadian professional independent minor-league baseball team that played between 2005 and 2011 in several leagues. The Capitals were based in
Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...
. The team was founded in 2005 as the Edmonton Cracker-Cats and, with their provincial brethren the Calgary Vipers, joined the Northern League as part of that league's attempt to expand its footprint in Canada. The Cracker-Cats moved to the
Golden Baseball League The Golden Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in San Ramon, California, with teams located in the Western United States, Western Canada and northwest Mexico. The GBL was not affiliated with Major League Baseball or the org ...
in 2008 and were sold to Daryl Katz, the owner of the
Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...
, in 2009. The team adopted the name Capitals after Katz's purchase and also adopted the same colors as their corporate sibling. The team last played in 2011 as a member of the North American League.


Team history


Northern League (2005–2007)

The Cracker-Cats began as an expansion team in 2005 as a member of the Northern League. The name "Cracker-Cats" is derived from the oil industry term
fluid catalytic cracking Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) is the conversion process used in petroleum refineries to convert the high-boiling point, high-molecular weight hydrocarbon fractions of petroleum (crude oils) into gasoline, alkene gases, and other petroleum produc ...
("cat cracking" for short), which is part of the process of refining crude oil into gasoline by converting high boiling hydrocarbons into smaller molecules. They played the first game of their inaugural season on May 20, 2005, on the road against the
Kansas City T-Bones The Kansas City Monarchs are a professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Kansas. Formerly known as the Kansas City T-Bones, they are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball; which, in 2020, became designated as a Majo ...
. Their first home game did not take place until one week later when they hosted the
Sioux Falls Canaries The Sioux Falls Canaries are a professional baseball team based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. The Canaries are members of the North Division of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major ...
in front of 7,894. On June 13, 2006, a string of bean balls in the first two innings touched off two major brawls between the Cracker-Cats and their provincial rivals, the Calgary Vipers. After Edmonton's Greg Morrison was hit by a Calgary pitch for the fourth time in five games, the Cracker-Cats responded by throwing at two Calgary players. The resulting melee was so violent that the umpires sent both teams off the field, and suspended the game for over an hour to consult with league officials. When the Cracker-Cats refused to return to the field afterward, the game was declared a forfeit and the Vipers were awarded a 9–0 victory even though Edmonton was leading 1–0. As a result of the suspension, Cracker-Cats manager Terry Bevington resigned. The league came down hard on both teams, as both managers and seven players were suspended a total of 79 games. Morrison blamed Calgary manager Mike Busch for the incident, believing that Busch held a grudge after both Morrison and another former Viper, J.P. Fauske, defected to the Cracker-Cats after leaving the Vipers after a falling out with the Calgary manager late in the 2005 season. On July 18, 2006, Stubby Clapp was named
Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...
of the Northern League All-Star Game. On September 3, 2006, the 'Cats finished their second season six games back in the wild card race and missed the playoffs. The 2007 season was a major disappointment. Al Coates, a sports broadcaster, was named general manager of the Edmonton Cracker-Cats for the 2007 season, and despite adding three former Major Leaguers, Ryan Radmanovich,
Mike Johnson James Michael Johnson (born January 30, 1972) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 56th speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2023. A member ...
, and Lou Pote, the 'Cats finished 38–58 and last in the league.


Golden Baseball League (2008–2010)

After three years in the Northern League, the Cracker-Cats joined the Golden Baseball League on October 24, 2007. This occurred just after the rival Vipers jumped to the league. On June 30, 2008, The 'Cats set a new attendance record of 8,676 fans against the Vipers. On August 22, 2008, the Cracker-Cats clinched a playoff spot by defeating the
Orange County Flyers The Fullerton Flyers were a professional baseball team based in Fullerton, California, in the United States. They were an independent franchise, not affiliated with either Major League Baseball ''or'' Minor League Baseball. The team played from 2 ...
13–4 and won the second half. They faced the Vipers, who won the first half, in the first-ever North Division Championship Series, but were swept by Calgary 3 games to 0. On February 4, 2009, the Cracker-Cats were purchased for $400,000 by Katz Baseball Corp. led by Daryl Katz who also owns the National Hockey League's
Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...
. A new name was drawn from a contest, renaming the franchise the ''Capitals''.


North American League (2011)

The Capitals were one of six former GBL teams to join the newly formed North American League in 2010 and began play in 2011. The Capitals won the league championship in the inaugural season of the NAL. On February 21, 2012, the Katz group announced that the Edmonton Capitals had withdrawn from the North American League, citing that only four teams had registered for the 2012 season. They also went dark for the 2013 season after being unable to find a new league to play in. They were exploring options for the 2014 baseball season but it never happened.


Year-by-year record


See also

* List of baseball teams in Canada


References


External links


Official Website

Golden Baseball League
{{Baseball in Canada
Cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...
Baseball teams in Alberta Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010) teams Golden Baseball League teams Baseball teams established in 2005 2011 disestablishments in Alberta 2005 establishments in Alberta Baseball teams disestablished in 2011 Defunct independent baseball league teams Defunct baseball teams in Canada