The Jeannette Jays was the predominant name of a

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 ...

team located in

Jeannette, Pennsylvania Jeannette is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,780 at the 2020 census. Jeannette was founded in 1888 and named after Jeannette Hartupee McKee, the wife of one of the city's founders, H. Sellers McKe ...

, between 1926 and 1937. The Jays first played in the

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 ...

from 1926 until 1931. On May 23, 1931, The Jays with a 1-11 record, moved to

Altoona, Pennsylvania Altoona ( ) is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 43,963 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan area, w ...

, to become the short-lived

Altoona Engineers The Altoona Engineers were a short-lived minor league baseball club based in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The team played for just part of the season in the Middle Atlantic League. The Engineers were only professional baseball team to represent the city ...

. Then on July 18, 1931, the Engineers moved to nearby Beaver Falls to become the

Beaver Falls Beavers Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-largest l ...

. After a three-year hiatus, the team played as the Jeannette Reds as an affiliate of the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

in the

Pennsylvania State Association The Pennsylvania State Association was a class D level league of minor league baseball that existed from 1934 until 1942. The league franchised were entirely based in Western Pennsylvania. History The Pennsylvania State Association was compose ...

. After a year off, they were known as the Jeannette Little Pirates, an affiliate of the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

. The team was finally known as the Jeannette Bisons in 1937, before folding."Jeannette, Pennsylvania Minor League History"
baseball-reference.com. Retrieved August 28, 2014.

Notable alumni

Jess Cortazzo John Francis "Jess" Cortazzo (September 26, 1904 – March 4, 1963), also known as "Shine", was an American professional baseball player. He was a shortstop for one season (1923) with the Chicago White Sox. For his career, he appeared in one g ...

Jim Curry James L. Curry was a second baseman in Major League Baseball. He was born on March 10, 1886, in Camden, New Jersey. He was 5 foot 11 and 160 pounds. In 1909, Curry played one game for the Philadelphia Athletics. In 1911 he played with the New Yo ...

Rags Faircloth James Lamar "Rags" Faircloth (August 19, 1892 – October 5, 1953) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. Faircloth played for the Philadelphia Phillies in . In two career games, he had a 0–0 record with a 9.00 ERA. He batted and threw right-hand ...

Ken Heintzelman Kenneth Alphonse Heintzelman (October 14, 1915 – August 14, 2000) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played all or part of 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1937–42 and 1946–47) and Philad ...

* Orville Jorgens *

Jerry Lynn Jeremy Lynn (born June 12, 1963), better known by the ring name Jerry Lynn, is an American retired professional wrestler signed with All Elite Wrestling as a producer and coach. Lynn has worked for professional wrestling promotion, promotions ...

Whitey Moore Lloyd Albert Moore (June 10, 1912 – December 10, 1987) was an American Major League Baseball player who was a right-handed pitcher from 1936 to 1942. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds. He stood tall and weighed . Early ...

* Red Nonnenkamp * Jimmy Outlaw *

Jimmy Ripple James Albert Ripple (October 14, 1909 – July 16, 1959) was an American professional baseball player who played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball for seven seasons, from 1936 to 1943. Ripple appeared for the New York Giants (1936–1939) ...

* Al Rubeling *

Art Scharein Arthur Otto "Scoop" Scharein (June 30, 1905 – July 2, 1969) was a third baseman in Major League Baseball. He played for the St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as ...

* Phil Voyles * Bud Weiser *

Kemp Wicker Kemp Caswell Wicker (born Kemp Caswell Whicker; August 13, 1906 – June 11, 1973) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yankees from 1936 to 1938 and the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1941. Wicker was b ...

Rusty Yarnall Waldo Ward "Rusty" Yarnall (October 22, 1902 – October 9, 1985) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He appeared in one game in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1926. He was a right-handed thrower and batter. ...

Seasons

References

{{Pennsylvania State Association , state=collapsed Baseball teams established in 1926 Baseball teams disestablished in 1937 Defunct minor league baseball teams Cincinnati Reds minor league affiliates Pittsburgh Pirates minor league affiliates 1926 establishments in Pennsylvania 1937 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Defunct baseball teams in Pennsylvania Middle Atlantic League teams Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania