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 ...

promotion, the Knothole Gang is a special ticket package for children (usually no more than 12–14 years of age) sold in an effort to bring more families out to games. An example of teams using the promotion: *

Billings Mustangs The Billings Mustangs are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Billings, Montana, and have played their home games at Deh ...

– $12 38-game season pass *

Jupiter Hammerheads The Jupiter Hammerheads are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Roger Dean ...

– $15 free admittance to Tuesday games *

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Fie ...

– $3 ticket on selected games * Palm Beach Cardinals – $15 free admittance to Tuesday games *

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

– $15 Sunday game activities * Wichita Wranglers – $10 10-game pass * St. Lucie Mets – $18 free admittance to Friday and Sunday games In addition to game admission, souvenir T-shirts, meet-the-players

autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Intern ...

days, and free or discount merchandise may also be included in the membership.

History

Historically, the

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

are recognized as sponsoring the first "Knothole Gang club". A quote, from Baseball Though a Knothole – A St. Louis History by Bill Borst, pages 38 – 39, tells the story. "William Edward Bilheimer, a St. Louis insurance man, introduced the idea of a 'Knothole Gang'. With each fifty dollars worth of stock purchased n the Cardinal franchisewent one bleacher seat that was opened up free of charge for the city's youth." The date was the beginning of the 1917 season. This came about as part of the plans when Mrs. Helen Britton sold the Cardinal's club to a "fan syndicate from the city's prominent businessmen that formed an army of stockholders", page 38. Executive Branch Rickey developed the idea. The knothole gangs came about as professional ballparks were first being built with wooden fences. Kids without the price of a seat would find that the wooden fences surrounding the parks provided spy holes to watch the games for free. These holes were created when knots in the wood popped out. Naturally gangs of kids gathered around the knotholes. In the late 1880s (perhaps 1889) –

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

owner Abner Powell promoted the first knot hole gang when he allowed kids to watch free if they showed good behavior. Another good example of a knothole gang was the Columbus Redbirds of Columbus, Ohio. If kids decided that they wanted to sign up they would do so and if they got good grades, they would be admitted free into any home game with the exceptions of the playoffs and All-Star games. The Brooklyn Dodgers gave over 2 million free passes to kids during the 1940s and '50s. A photo of youngsters lying on the pavement to grab a view from under the center field gate at Ebbets. From 1962 to 1965, the Houston Colt .45s called their knot-hole gang the "Six Shooter Club".

References

{{reflist Minor league baseball