The Huntington Boosters were a

Middle Atlantic League The Middle Atlantic League (or Mid-Atlantic League) was a lower-level circuit in United States, American minor league baseball that played during the second quarter of the 20th century. History The Middle Atlantic League played from 1925 in base ...

(1931–1933) and

Mountain State League The Mountain State League was a minor league baseball league that played as a six–team league from 1937 to 1942. The league franchises were based in Kentucky and West Virginia. The Mountain State League was a Class D level league from 1937 to 19 ...

(1937, 1939) minor league baseball team based in

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell County, West Virginia, Cabell and Wayne County, West Virginia, Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The County seat, seat of Cabell County, the city is located at the confluence of the Ohio River, O ...

. It was affiliated with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

in 1932 and 1933 and with the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

in 1939. It was the first team to be based in Huntington since the Huntington Blue Sox of the

Ohio State League The Ohio State League was a minor league baseball league that operated in numerous seasons between 1887 and 1947, predominantly as a Class D (baseball), Class D level league. League franchises were based in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Wes ...

disbanded in 1916.

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 ...

inductee

Walter Alston Walter Emmons Alston (December 1, 1911 – October 1, 1984), nicknamed "Smokey", was an American baseball manager in Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally ...

played for Huntington in 1936. From 1934 to 1936, the team was known as the Huntington Red Birds and in 1938 it was known as the Huntington Bees. That year, it was managed by

Dickey Kerr Richard Henry Kerr (July 3, 1893 – May 4, 1963) was an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball. He also served as a coach and manager in the minor leagues. Early life Kerr was born in St. Loui ...

, while

Mike Sandlock Michael Joseph Sandlock (October 17, 1915 – April 4, 2016) was an American professional baseball utility player who played in Major League Baseball from 1942 to 1953. He played for the Boston Braves, Brooklyn Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates. L ...

and Hank LaManna played for the team. It became the Huntington Aces in 1940. As the Aces, Sheriff Blake,

Russ Young Russell Charles Young (September 15, 1902 – May 13, 1984) was a professional baseball catcher. He played part of one season in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Browns in 1931. He was a switch hitter and threw right-handed. He was ...

, Pee-Wee Wanninger and Ezra Midkiff each managed the team at some point, despite the team lasting only two seasons under that name. Of note, Cliff Fannin and Ken Wood, who both spent over half a decade in Major League Baseball, played the team when it was known as the Jewels. Multiple major league players spent time with the team when it was called the Boosters, including 1945 All-Star second baseman

Eddie Mayo Edward Joseph Mayo (born Edward Joseph Mayoski; April 15, 1910 – November 27, 2006), nicknamed "Hotshot" and "Steady Eddie", was an American professional baseball player. He played as an infielder in the Major League Baseball from to , most n ...

. He was with the team in 1933.Eddie Mayo minor league record
/ref>

Notable alumni

(1936) Inducted

, 1983 *

Rube Benton John Cleave "Rube" Benton (June 27, 1890 – December 12, 1937) was an American pitcher for Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds (1910–15, 1923–25) and New York Giants (1915–21). He pitched in the minor leagues for the Minneapolis Miller ...

(1933) * Sheriff Blake (1941) * Cliff Fannin (1942) * Orville Jorgens (1931) *

(1938) *

Marty Marion Martin Whiteford "Mr. Shortstop" Marion (December 1, 1917 – March 15, 2011) was an American Major League Baseball shortstop and manager (baseball), manager. Marion played for the St. Louis Cardinals and the St. Louis Browns between 1940 and 195 ...

(1936) 8 x MLB all-Star; 1944 NL Most Valuable Player *

(1932) MLB All-Star * Bernie Neis (1933) * Johnny Stuart (1931) * Ken Wood (1942)

References

{{Middle Atlantic League , state=collapsed Baseball teams established in 1931 Defunct minor league baseball teams Professional baseball teams in West Virginia Detroit Tigers minor league affiliates Brooklyn Dodgers minor league affiliates St. Louis Cardinals minor league affiliates St. Louis Browns minor league affiliates Mountain State League teams Middle Atlantic League teams Defunct baseball teams in West Virginia 1931 establishments in West Virginia Sports in Huntington, West Virginia 1942 disestablishments in West Virginia Baseball teams disestablished in 1942