The Camden Riversharks were an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

professional baseball team based in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...

, from 2001 to 2015. They were a member of the Liberty Division of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

, then unaffiliated with

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 ...

. The Riversharks played their home games at Campbell's Field, which was situated at the base of the

Benjamin Franklin Bridge The Benjamin Franklin Bridge, originally named the Delaware River Bridge and known locally as the Ben Franklin Bridge, is a suspension bridge across the Delaware River connecting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey. Owned and ope ...

. Due to its location on the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

, the ballpark offered a clear view of the

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

skyline. The "Riversharks" name referred to the location of Camden on the Delaware River, and the primary logo incorporated the Benjamin Franklin Bridge that links Camden to Philadelphia. On October 21, 2015, the Camden Riversharks announced they would cease operations immediately due to the inability to reach an agreement on lease terms with the owner of Campbell's Field, the Camden County Improvement Authority (the authority had purchased Campbell's Field from Rutgers University two months prior). The Riversharks were replaced by the

New Britain Bees The New Britain Bees are an American collegiate summer baseball team based in New Britain, Connecticut. They are a member of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL), a wood-bat league with teams in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connectic ...

, a separate franchise for the 2016 season.

History of Camden baseball

Riversharks Game as PATCO Train Passes by on Bridge

The Riversharks were not the first baseball team to call Camden home. The Camden Merritt, named for former state senator Albert Merritt, of the Interstate Association played there in 1883, and disbanded the same year. Another team from the Tri-State League played in Camden in 1904, and they too disbanded, during the season. The inception of the Riversharks in 2001 was the first professional baseball team in Camden since the 1904 season.

Logos and uniforms

The team colors of the Camden Riversharks were navy blue, Columbia blue, and white. The Riversharks' last logo, introduced in 2005 with a new ownership group, consisted of a shark biting a baseball bat superimposed over a stylized depiction of the

. The Riversharks' former logo, used from 2001 to 2005, consisted of a navy blue ring with a shark centered above the wordmark superimposed over it. The Riversharks' primary caps were navy blue with a Columbia blue visor and the "shark-fin" cap logo centered on the front. The home jerseys were white with navy blue piping and feature the "Sharks" wordmark across the front in white with navy blue and Columbia blue outline. The away jerseys were gray with the "Camden" wordmark centered across the jersey in navy blue with Columbia blue outline.

Season-by-season records

Retired numbers

; 42 (

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first Black American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the Baseball color line, ...

Second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

, Retired throughout professional baseball on April 15, 1997 ; 16 (Brad Strauss): 1B / 3B / OF / DH, Retired by the Riversharks on August 12, 2007

Notable alumni

* Kim Batiste *

Danny Bautista Daniel Bautista Alcántara (born May 24, 1972) is a Dominican former Major League Baseball outfielder. Bautista was signed by the Detroit Tigers in 1989. In 1993, he joined the major leagues with the Tigers. Although he hit for an average of .3 ...

* Alberto Castillo *

Mike Costanzo Michael A. Costanzo (born September 9, 1983) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds. Amateur career Costanzo played college baseball for Coastal Carolina Univer ...

* Ben Davis *

Stephen Drew Stephen Oris Drew (born March 16, 1983) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Washington Na ...

* Pedro Feliz *

Brian Lawrence Brian Michael Lawrence (born May 14, 1976) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres and New York Mets. He is currently the pitching coach of the South Bend Cu ...

José Lima José Desiderio Rodriguez Lima (September 30, 1972 – May 23, 2010) was a Dominican right-handed pitcher who spent 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Detroit Tigers (1994–1996, 2001–2002), Houston Astros (1997–2001), K ...

* Blaine Neal * Craig Paquette * Valentino Pascucci *

René Rivera René Rivera (born July 31, 1983) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, Los Ange ...

* Félix Rodríguez *

Ted Silva Theodore A. Silva (born August 4, 1974) is an American baseball coach and former pitcher. Silva played college baseball at California State University, Fullerton from 1993 to 1995 for coach Augie Garrido. He then went on to play in the minor lea ...

Josh Towers Joshua Eric Towers (born February 26, 1977) is an American former right-handed professional baseball pitcher. Towers stands at tall, and weighs . Professional career Baltimore Orioles Towers was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 15th rou ...

* Wilson Valdez *

Jered Weaver Jered David Weaver (born October 4, 1982) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels and San Diego Padres. Weaver was drafted in the first round (12th overall ...

* Delwyn Young

References

External links

Camden Riversharks
official website {{Defunct Philadelphia sports teams Sports in Camden, New Jersey Defunct Atlantic League of Professional Baseball teams Defunct baseball teams in New Jersey Opening Day Partners Professional baseball teams in New Jersey Baseball teams established in 2001 Baseball teams disestablished in 2015 Sports in Philadelphia 2001 establishments in New Jersey 2015 disestablishments in New Jersey