The St. Clair Saints were 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 based in St. Clair, Pennsylvania. In 1932, the Saints played briefly as members of the six–team, Class D level

Interstate League The Interstate League was the name of five different American minor baseball leagues that played intermittently from 1896 through 1952. Early leagues Earlier versions of the Interstate League, with years active: *1896–1901: an unclassified ...

. St. Clair joined the league when the Norristown team relocated to St. Clair during the season, only to have the team fold shortly after. After the demise of the St. Clair franchise, the Interstate League folded soon after, with St. Clair credited with a third place finish.

History

Early in the 1932 season, the Norristown team of the Class D level

moved to St. Clair. The "St. Clair Saints" then began play, before folding after a few weeks. The Interstate League had started the season with the Lancaster Red Sox, Norristown, Pottstown Legionaires,

Stroudsburg Poconos The Stroudsburg Poconos, located in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, were a minor league baseball team that played in the Interstate League in 1932 and in the North Atlantic League from 1946 to 1950. They were affiliated with the New York Yankees in 1947 ...

, Tamaqua Dukes and

Washington Potomacs The Washington Potomacs were a Negro league baseball team in the Eastern Colored League, based in Washington, D.C., in 1924. They also operated as an independent team in 1923. In 1925 the Potomacs moved to Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is th ...

teams beginning league play on May 20, 1932. One week into the season, the Norristown team relocated to St. Clair on May 27, 1932, with a 2–4 record. After playing 15 games based in St. Clair, the "Saints" folded on June 12, 1932, leaving the Interstate League with five remaining teams. The league then folded on June 20, 1932. After compiling a 9–6 record while based in St. Clair, the Saints ended their season with an overall record of 11–10 to be credited with finishing in third place. Managed by

Steve Yerkes Stephen Douglas Yerkes (May 15, 1888 – January 31, 1971) was a professional baseball player. Formative years and baseball career Yerkes was born in Hatboro, Pennsylvania on May 15, 1888. During his early twenties, he played all or part of se ...

, the Norristown/St. Clair team finished 8.5 games behind the first place

(19–7) in the final standings. Pottstown (18–8) finished in second place, ahead of third place Norristown/St Clair (11–10). St. Clair was followed by the fourth place Slatington Dukes (10–16), while the Washington Potomacs (9–17) and Lancaster Red Sox (7–16) finished in fifth and sixth place. Future major league player Dom Dallessandro played for the 1932 St. Clair Saints, leading the Interstate League in hitting, with a .418 average in the shortened season. St. Clair manager Steve Yerkes was a veteran minor league manager and a Pennsylvania native, who was born and died in the state. After folding in 1932, the Interstate League returned to play in 1939, without a St. Clair team. St. Clair has not hosted another minor league team.

The ballpark

While based in Norristown, the team played 1932 home games at Bartasch Park. The name of the St. Clair ballpark is unknown.

Year–by–year record

Notable alumni

* Dom Dallessandro (1932) * Steve Yerkes (1932, MGR)

References

{{reflist

External links

St. Clair - Stats Crew
Defunct minor league baseball teams Baseball teams established in 1932 Baseball teams disestablished in 1932 Defunct baseball teams in Pennsylvania Defunct Interstate League teams Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania