The Newark Peppers, originally known as the Indianapolis Hoosiers, were a

Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...

baseball team from 1913–1915. The Federal League (FL), founded in 1913, was a third major league in 1914 and 1915.

History

The Federal League began as an independent minor league in 1913. The franchise placed in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, was called the "Hoosier Feds" or just "Hoosiers", and won the 1913 league championship. Their ball field the first season was referred to as Riverside Beach or Riverside Park, and newspapers reported its location as "30th Street and Riverside Park". When the Federal League declared itself a challenger to the two major leagues in 1914, it retained its franchise in Indianapolis, and built a new facility, Federal League Park. Primarily owned by oil magnate Harry F. Sinclair, the Hoosiers again won the Federal League championship that year with an 88–65 record. Although the FL had placed a team (the Tip-Tops) in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, from the outset Federal League officials felt they could more effectively compete commercially against the American and National leagues by placing a team in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. All attempts were effectively blocked by principals of the two existing Manhattan teams (the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

and the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

). Federal League executives decided to relocate the Indianapolis franchise to a major city in the New York metropolitan area, and Newark was chosen. Although the team was named the Newark PeppersChicago ''Tribune'' May 11, 1915, page 11 "The Whales fairly knocked the cover off the ball, easily defeating the Newark Peppers by the score of 10 to 5"] (called "The Peps" for short, and initially also "Newfeds"), the team actually played at Harrison Park (New Jersey), Harrison Park, in the town of

Harrison, New Jersey Harrison is a town in the western part of Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark, and is located from New York City. Once considered "the bee ...

, across the

Passaic River The Passaic River ( or ) is a river, approximately long, in North Jersey, northern New Jersey. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburb ...

from downtown Newark. (As part of the franchise transfer, Indianapolis

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

Benny Kauff, who was the Federal League batting champ in 1914, was placed with the Tip-Tops.) The team finished in 5th place with a won–loss record of 80–72. The Peppers were disbanded when the Federal League went out of business after the 1915 season. The Peppers were the only major league baseball franchise in New Jersey besides the

Elizabeth Resolutes The Elizabeth Resolutes were a 19th-century professional baseball team based in Elizabeth, New Jersey. They were a member of the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players for the 1873 season, and played their home games at Waverly Fa ...

, who played half of the 1873 season in the National Association (the precursor to the National League). 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 ...

played seven "home" games (one against each NL rival) in Jersey City in 1956 and 1957. Neither Indianapolis or Newark have had a major league baseball team since 1915.

Notable players

The team's roster included 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 ...

members

Edd Roush Edd J. Roush (May 8, 1893 – March 21, 1988) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder from 1913 to 1931, most prominently as a member of the Cincinnati Reds where he was a t ...

and

Bill McKechnie William Boyd McKechnie (August 7, 1886 – October 29, 1965) was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman during the dead-ball era. McKechnie was the first manager to win ...

. Other notable major leaguers on the Peppers included pitchers

Ed Reulbach Edward Marvin "Big Ed" Reulbach (December 1, 1882 – July 17, 1961) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball. He helped the Chicago Cubs win the 1907 and 1908 World Series. Career Reulbach played college baseball at the University ...

and Cy Falkenberg. Team infielder Rupert Mills "played" the non-existent 1916 "season." A clause in his 1915 contract guaranteed him a salary for the following year as long as he continued to show up at the park, suited and ready to play for the team. Mills fulfilled his contractual obligation, coming to the empty park each day and performing a physical workout to remain in playing condition. Mills, who was born in Newark, was also the only native Jerseyan on the team.

Baseball Hall of Famers

References

External links

1914 Indianapolis Hoosiers
at Baseball Reference
1915 Newark Peppers
at Baseball Reference {{Federal League Baseball teams established in 1913 Baseball teams disestablished in 1915 Federal League teams Defunct Major League Baseball teams 1913 establishments in Indiana 1915 disestablishments in New Jersey Defunct baseball teams in New Jersey Defunct baseball teams in Indiana Baseball teams in Newark, New Jersey

History

Notable players

Baseball Hall of Famers

See also

References

External links