The Hartford Chiefs was the final name of the American

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 ...

franchise representing

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, that played in the Eastern League (then Class A) between 1938 and 1952. The Hartford franchise was an affiliate of the

Boston Braves The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...

for each of its 15 seasons. It played at Bulkeley Stadium, and was known as the Bees from 1938 to 1945. It was also called the Laurels due to reporting by ''

The Hartford Times ''The Hartford Times'' was a daily afternoon newspaper serving the Hartford, Connecticut, community from 1817 to 1976. It was owned for decades by the Gannett Company which sold the financially struggling paper in 1973 to the owners of the ''New ...

,'' the city's afternoon newspaper. The 1944 Hartford club was recognized as one of the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time. The team was renamed the "Chiefs" in 1946, five years after its parent club, known as the Boston Bees from 1936–1940, reverted to its previous identity, the Braves.

Long baseball tradition

The

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

capital had been in organized baseball since the

Hartford Dark Blues The Hartfords (more commonly called the Hartford Dark Blues because of their uniform color) were a 19th-century baseball team. The team was based in Hartford, Connecticut. History In 1874, baseball in Hartford was being played in a fever pitch. ...

were a charter member of the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

in – 77. After those two years in

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 ...

, Hartford was represented in eleven different

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

— including three earlier versions of the "Eastern League." When the Class B Northeastern League folded after the season during the depths of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, Hartford was without professional baseball for three seasons. Then Hartford joined the Class A

New York–Pennsylvania League New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

. The arrival of franchises in Hartford and

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...

, caused the NYPL to change its identity to the Eastern League in 1938, with marking the 75th consecutive season the league has used the name.

Affiliate of Boston's NL franchise

The 1938 Laurels made the Eastern League playoffs and Hartford qualified for the postseason nine times in its 15-year history (including 1943–46 in succession), but the franchise never captured the league's playoff title. While the 1942 team included a future

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Warren Spahn Warren Edward Spahn (April 23, 1921 – November 24, 2003) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). A left-handed pitcher, Spahn played in 1942 and then from 1946 until 1965, most notabl ...

, the Boston Bees/Braves of the era did not have an extensive player development system. Class A was prior to a higher-level circuit, close to today's Double-A ranking, and the Hartford franchise was the Braves' most advanced minor league affiliate through 1945. In , however, the Braves began to build out their

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

, adding Triple-A and Double-A affiliates and expanding their presence in Classes B, C and D. They also worked with a second Class A farm club, the

Denver Bears Denver ( ) is a consolidated city and county, the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the Western United States, in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains east of th ...

of the Western League, from 1949–51. But after winning the 1948 National League pennant, the big-league Braves experienced a dramatic fall-off in attendance, and played their last season in Boston in . The Hartford Chiefs did not survive them; the franchise was transferred to

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( , alternatively or ) is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It ...

, as an unaffiliated team for 1953. Meanwhile, the MLB Braves moved to

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, during spring training of . They had two Class A affiliates that season: the

Lincoln Chiefs Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

of the Western League—inheritors of the Hartford team's nickname—and the

Jacksonville Braves The Jacksonville Braves were a minor league baseball team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. The Class A affiliate of the Milwaukee Braves Major League Baseball team, they played in the South Atlantic League (the "Sally League") from 1953 t ...

of the Sally League, whose star player in 1953 would be 19-year-old Henry Aaron.

Notable alumni

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...
alumni

Travis Jackson Travis Calvin Jackson (November 2, 1903 – July 27, 1987) was an American baseball shortstop. In Major League Baseball (MLB), Jackson played for the New York Giants from 1922 through 1936, winning the 1933 World Series, and representing the G ...

(1951) Inducted, 1982 *

Inducted, 1973

Notable alumni

* Bob Buhl 2 x MLB All-Star * Ripper Collins (1949-1950) 3 x MLB All-Star *

Gene Conley Donald Eugene Conley (November 10, 1930 – July 4, 2017) was an American professional baseball and basketball player. He pitched for four teams in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1952 to 1963. Conley also played as a forward in the 1952� ...

4 x MLB All-Star *

George Crowe George Daniel Crowe (March 22, 1921 – January 18, 2011) was an American professional baseball player who appeared in 702 games in the Major League Baseball, major leagues as a first baseman and pinch hitter between and . Before joining minor ...

MLB All-Star * Dick Donovan 5× MLB All-Star ;1961 AL ERA Leader * Ernie Johnson * Don Liddle * Catfish Metkovich * Bama Rowell *

Sibby Sisti Sebastian Daniel "Sibby" Sisti (July 26, 1920 – April 24, 2006) was an American Major League Baseball utility player. Playing career Sisti stood tall and weighed . His perseverance in the face of numerous injuries made him a fan favorite. ...

Frank Torre Frank Joseph Torre (; December 30, 1931 – September 13, 2014) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman. Torre, who batted and threw left-handed, played for the Milwaukee Braves (1956� ...

Whitey Wietelmann William Frederick "Whitey" Wietelmann (March 15, 1919 – March 26, 2002) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He was an infielder in the Major Leagues from – 47 for the Boston Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates. The na ...

Yearly record

2016 return to Eastern League

In 2015, after more than six decades without a team in organized baseball, Hartford officials led by then-

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Pedro Segarra proposed building a new baseball stadium (to be known as Dunkin' Donuts Park) in the city's North End to attract the nearby

New Britain Rock Cats The New Britain Rock Cats were a minor league baseball team that competed in the Eastern League (1938–2020), Eastern League. They were the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox for 12 years, the Minnesota Twins for 20 years and the Colorado ...

of the modern Double-A Eastern League. The renamed

Hartford Yard Goats The Hartford Yard Goats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The Yard Goats, which play in the Eastern League, are the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. The team was founded in 2016 when the New Britain Ro ...

debuted in 2016 but played the entire season on the road — with some games moved to

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

, to the southeast — because of construction delays. Despite continued problems in completing the stadium, the team began play in Hartford's new ballpark in 2017.

References

External links

Baseball Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartford Chiefs 1938 establishments in Connecticut 1952 disestablishments in Connecticut Baseball teams disestablished in 1952 Baseball teams established in 1938 Boston Braves minor league affiliates Defunct baseball teams in Connecticut Defunct Eastern League (1938–present) teams Defunct sports clubs and teams in Connecticut Professional baseball teams in Connecticut Sports clubs and teams in Hartford, Connecticut

Long baseball tradition

Affiliate of Boston's NL franchise

Notable alumni

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ... alumni

Notable alumni

Yearly record

2016 return to Eastern League

References

External links

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...
alumni