The Erie Sailors was the primary name of several minor league baseball teams that played in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

between 1906 and 1994.

Pre-1930s

Several unrelated teams used the Erie Sailors name in the

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 ...

(1906–1907, 1913, 1916), the

Ohio–Pennsylvania League The Ohio–Pennsylvania League (1905–1912) was a Class C and Class D level minor league baseball league that featured franchises based in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The league was founded by Charlie Morton and operated for ei ...

(1908–1911), and the

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consi ...

(1912, 1915, 1928–30, 1932).

1938–1963

During these years, the Erie Sailors played in the Middle Atlantic League from 1938–1939, 1941–1942, and 1946–1951; the Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League (PONY League) from 1944–1945 and 1954–1956; and the PONY's successor

New York – Penn League New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

from 1957–1963. Several times during this period, the team was also called the Erie Senators, after its major league affiliate, the Washington Senators. The Sailors won league championship in 1957. The Sailors won the regular season by nine games in 1951. They then lost the league championship series to the

Niagara Falls Citizens The Niagara Falls Citizens were a minor league baseball club, based in Niagara Falls, New York. The franchise can be traced back to 1939 when the Niagara Falls Rainbows were established and played as a charter member of the Pennsylvania–Ontario ...

, four games to two. From 1948 onward, this team (and all subsequent Sailors teams) played at Ainsworth Field.

New York–Penn League – 1990s

In 1990, after the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

ended their affiliation with the team (then known as the Erie Orioles), they reclaimed the Sailors name and operated as an unaffiliated minor league team for two years before becoming the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...

' first farm team in 1992 and a Texas Rangers affiliate in 1993. Because of the deteriorating condition of Ainsworth Field, the team moved after the 1993 season to Fishkill, New York and then became the

Hudson Valley Renegades Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson R ...

Frontier League

In 1994, the Sailors were a team in the independent

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

, winning the league championship in their only year of existence as a member of the Frontier League. In 1995, the

Erie SeaWolves The Erie SeaWolves are an American professional baseball team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They compete in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a member of the Eastern League's Southwest Division, serving as the Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Tige ...

moved to town, displacing the Sailors, forcing the franchise to move to

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, Johnstown is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, whi ...

as the Johnstown Steal/Johnnies and then to

Florence, Kentucky Florence is a home rule-class city in Boone County, Kentucky, United States. Florence is the second largest city located in Northern Kentucky, after Covington, and part of the Greater Cincinnati Metropolitan Area. The population was 31,946 a ...

as the Florence Y'alls.

Notable alumni

Hall of Fame Alumni

Chief Bender Charles Albert "Chief" Bender (May 5, 1884There is uncertainty about Bender's birth-date. He was voted the SABR "Centennial Celebrity" of 1983, as the best baseball player or figure born in 1883. However, the SABR ''Baseball Research Journal'' fo ...

(1932) Inducted, 1953

Other notable alumni

* Vic Aldridge (1915) *

Luis Alicea Luis René Alicea de Jesús (born July 29, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman and coach. Alicea played for the Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, Anaheim Angels, St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox. He played college bas ...

(1986) *

Pete Appleton Peter William Appleton (May 20, 1904 – January 18, 1974), born Peter Jablonowski and sometimes known as "Jabby" and the "Polish Wizard,"("Jabby") was an American baseball player, scout, and manager. Appleton played college baseball for the Univ ...

(1951) *

George Bamberger George Irvin Bamberger (August 1, 1923 – April 4, 2004) was an American professional baseball player, pitching coach and manager. In Major League Baseball, the right-handed pitcher appeared in ten games, nine in relief, for the 1951–52 New Y ...

(1946) *

Joe Boever Joseph Martin Boever (born October 4, 1960) is an American former professional baseball right-handed relief pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to for the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Houston ...

(1982) *

Billy Gilbert William Gilbert Barron (September 12, 1894 – September 23, 1971), known professionally as Billy Gilbert, was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects ...

(1912) *

Frank Gilhooley Francis Patrick "Frank" Gilhooley Sr. (June 10, 1892 – July 11, 1959) was an outfielder in Major League Baseball, playing mostly as a right fielder from through for the St. Louis Cardinals (1911–12), New York Yankees (1913–18) and Boston ...

(1912) *

Bernard Gilkey Otis Bernard Gilkey (born September 24, 1966) is an American former professional baseball left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, and Atlanta Braves. ...

(1985) * Fredi Gonzalez (1992) * Lance Johnson (1984) MLB All-Star * Pat Kelly (1962) MLB All-Star *

Paul LaPalme Paul Edmore LaPalme (December 14, 1923 – February 7, 2010) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played from 1951 through 1957 for four different teams in Major League Baseball. Listed at , , he batted and threw left-handed. A nativ ...

(1942) * John Lynch (1992) NFL HOF and current 49ers GM *

Dick McAuliffe Richard John McAuliffe (November 29, 1939 – May 13, 2016) was an American professional baseball shortstop / second baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers (1960–73) and Boston Red Sox (1974–75). He was ...

(1957) 3 x MLB All-Star *

Cliff Melton Clifford George Melton (January 3, 1912 – July 28, 1986) was an American professional baseball left-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Giants over parts of eight seasons spanning 1937–44. Listed at , ...

(1932) MLB All-Star *

Jim Merritt James Joseph Merritt (born December 9, 1943) is a former left-handed Major League Baseball pitcher. Minnesota Twins Merritt originally signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers out of Edgewood High School in West Covina, California, but was plucked f ...

(1962) MLB All-Star *

Tom Pagnozzi Thomas Alan Pagnozzi (born July 30, 1962) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career as a catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, from through . A three-time Gold Glove Award w ...

(1983) MLB All-Star *

Frank Quilici Francis Ralph Quilici (May 11, 1939 – May 14, 2018) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager who spent his entire Major League Baseball career with the Minnesota Twins. Quilici served the team for all or part of five year ...

(1961) *

Arthur Rhodes Arthur Lee Rhodes, Jr. (born October 24, 1969) is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed relief pitcher who is the current pitching coach for the Cleburne Railroaders of the American Association of Professional Baseball. Career Rho ...

(1989) MLB All-Star *

Buck Rodgers Robert Leroy "Buck" Rodgers (born August 16, 1938) is a former catcher, manager and coach in Major League Baseball. He managed three major league teams: the Milwaukee Brewers (1980–1982), Montreal Expos (1985–1991) and California Angels (19 ...

(1957) 1987 NL Manager of the Year *

Dean Stone Darrah Dean Stone (September 1, 1930 – August 21, 2018) was an American professional baseball player, a pitcher who appeared in 166 games over all or parts of eight Major League Baseball seasons. The well-traveled, , left-hander played for the ...

(1951) MLB All-Star * Bobby Tolan (1988-1989) *

Todd Worrell Todd Roland Worrell (born September 28, 1959) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played all or part of eleven seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball, serving as those team ...

(1982) 3 x MLB All-Star; 1986 NL Rookie of the Year * Todd Zeile (1986)

Year-by-year record