The minor league Providence Grays was the name of several

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

teams between and . These teams were unconnected to the

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

Providence Grays The Providence Grays were a Major League Baseball team based in Providence, Rhode Island who played in the National League from until . The Grays played at the Messer Street Grounds in the Olneyville neighborhood. The team won the National ...

. The first minor league Grays were members of the Eastern League in 1886, playing at the

Messer Street Grounds Messer Street Grounds, also known as Messer Park or Messer Field, was a former baseball park located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was home to the Providence Grays of the National League from 1878 to 1885 and of the minor league Providence Gray ...

. The team folded in June. A team known as the Providence Clamdiggers first played in the

Eastern Association The Eastern Association of counties was an administrative organisation set up by Parliament in the early years of the First English Civil War. Its main function was to finance and support an army which became a mainstay of the Parliamentarian m ...

in , folding in August, and teams known as the Clamdiggers or Grays played in the Eastern League through . The Grays and Clamdiggers had been preceded in Providence by the Providence Rhode Islanders who played as members of the 1877 New England Association. The next Providence team was a bit more successful, joining the EL in as the Clamdiggers, then changing its name to the Grays soon thereafter. That team remained in operation through , at which point the EL had become the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

. The team moved back to the new Eastern League in .

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

, who was still a pitcher at that time, played for this version of the Grays in a few games beginning in August 1914. The Grays had a very successful season in 1914, becoming International League champions. "Grays Outplay Chicago Cubs," ''Boston Herald'', September 28, 1914, p. 6. The Grays returned to the Eastern League again in as the Providence Rubes before changing its name back to Grays in . This team lasted until . Finally, in , the Providence Chiefs were formed as members of the

New England League The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played intermittently in five of the six New England states (Vermont excepted) between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League B ...

, who also changed their name to the Grays in before folding after the season.

References

Eastern League (1916–1932) teams Grays Professional baseball teams in Rhode Island Defunct baseball teams in Rhode Island New England League teams Baseball teams disestablished in 1949 Baseball teams established in 1886 {{ProvidenceRI-stub