Rochester Community Baseball, Inc. are the owners of the Triple-A
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 Field ...
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
team.
History
The company was formed when in 1956 the
St. Louis Cardinals announced that they would no longer operate the franchise in Rochester. Local businessman
Morrie Silver
Morrie E. Silver (July 28, 1909April 26, 1974) was an American businessman based in Rochester, New York. He is best known for his work with the Rochester Red Wings minor league baseball team.
Business career
A native of Rochester, Silver attended ...
led a community stock drive to purchase the team and the stadium. Silver and 8,221 shareholders purchased the team from the Cardinals on February 27, 1957, and gained affiliation with the
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...
in 1961. The event became known as the "72 Day Miracle". Local businesses such as
Bausch & Lomb,
Haloid, and
Rochester Gas & Electric set up pledge booths in their offices as part of the drive.
Silver served as the team president and general manager, having purchased a $25,000 share of stock. His daughter Naomi Silver is the president, chief executive officer and chief operating officer. Gareth Larder is chairman of the board.
As of December 12, 2011, there were 215 shareholders within the team with equity stakes at 0.1% to 5.0% per person. The stock is not publicly traded and has never paid a dividend.
References
Rochester Red Wings
1956 establishments in New York (state)
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