Bangor Bangors

The Bangor Bangors were a minor league baseball team based in Bangor, Pennsylvania. Bangor teams played as members of the 1907 Blue Mountain League and the Class D level North Atlantic League in 1949 and 1950, hosting home games at Bangor Stadium. The team played a partial season in 1949 known as the "Pickers."

Bangor Bangors
Minor league affiliations
Class
League
Major league affiliations
Team
  • None
Minor league titles
League titles (0)None
Team data
Name
  • Bangor (1907)
    Bangor Pickers (1949)
    Bangor Bangors (1950)
BallparkBangor Stadium (1949–1950)

History

Bangor first hosted minor league baseball in 1907 as members of the Independent level Blue Mountain League. The final league standings are unknown.[1]

Minor league baseball returned to Bangor in 1949, when the Bangor Pickers became members of the eight–team Class D level North Atlantic League. The Carbondale Pioneer Blues, Hazleton Mountaineers, Lebanon Chix, Mahanoy City Brewers, Nazareth Barons, Peekskill Highlanders and Stroudsburg Poconos teams joined Bangor in beginning play on May 3, 1949.[2]

On August 8, 1949, Bangor had a 44–55 record when the franchise transferred to Berwick, Pennsylvania, possibly due to flooding in Bangor. With a 59–75 overall record, the Bangor/Berwick team placed sixth in the North Atlantic League standings. Managed by Bill Long, the Pickers finished 40.5 games behind the first place Stroudsburg Poconos in the final regular season standings.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

Bangor/Berwick player Joe Campinha, formerly of the Baltimore Elite Giants, is recognized as breaking the color barrier in the North Atlantic League, playing catcher for the 1949 Bangor/Berwick Pickers, while hitting .269.[9][10][11]

In 1950, the Bangor Bangors resumed play as members of the North Atlantic League. Berwick also continued play in the eight–team league, hosting the Berwick Slaters. In their final season of play, Bangor finished the regular season with a record of 65–71. The Bangors placed sixth while drawing 15,302 at Bangor Stadium. Playing under manager Al Gardella, the Bangors finished their final season 23.5 games behind the first place Lebanon Chix.[8] Player/manager Al Gardella managed his brother Danny Gardella on the 1950 Bangors. After the conclusion of the 1950 season, the North Atlantic League permanently folded after the final two seasons of North Atlantic League saw overall league attendance drop from 242,000 in 1949 to 175,000 in 1950.[12][13][5][14][15][16][17]

Bangor, Pennsylvania has not hosted another minor league team.[18]

(1933) Bangor Memorial Park. Bangor, Pennsylvania

The ballpark

Bangor teams were noted to have played minor league home games at Bangor Stadium in 1949 and 1950. Located within Bangor Borough Memorial Park, the ballpark had a capacity of 2,500 in 1949 and 2,800 in 1950. The ballpark address was 37 Broadway. Today, the park is called Bangor Veterans Memorial Park and remains a public park with ballfields and other amenities. The location is 197 Broadway, Bangor, Pennsylvania.[19][20][21]

Timeline
Year(s)# Yrs.TeamLevelLeagueBallpark
19071BangorIndependentBlue Mountain LeagueUnknown
19491Bangor PickersClass DNorth Atlantic LeagueBangor Stadium
19501Bangor Bangors

Year–by–year records
YearRecordFinishAttendanceManagerPlayoffs/Notes
190700–00NANANALeague records unknown
194959–756th27,112Bill LongMoved to Berwick August 8
195065–716th15,302Al GardellaDid not qualify

[22][23][24]

Notable alumni

References
  1. "1907 Bangor Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  2. "1949 North Atlantic League (NAL) Minor League Baseball on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  3. "1949 Bangor/Berwick Pickers Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  4. "1949 North Atlantic League (NAL) Standings on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  5. Schuler, Jeff. "Valley's been a major site for minor league baseball". mcall.com.
  6. WALTER, FRED. "MEMORIES FLOOD BACK 25 YEARS LATER, BANGOR RESIDENTS REMEMBER DELUGE". mcall.com.
  7. "1949 Bangor/Berwick Pickers Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  8. Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (Third ed.). Baseball America. ISBN 978-1932391176.
  9. "Black History Month: Wareham native broke baseball color barrier". SouthCoastToday.com.
  10. "Cape Cod Baseball League: Weekly Season News". capecodbaseball.org.
  11. "Joe Campini Negro & Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com.
  12. "1950 North Atlantic League (NAL) Standings on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  13. "1950 Bangor Bangors Statistics on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  14. "1950 North Atlantic League". Baseball-Reference.com.
  15. "1950 Bangor Bangors Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  16. "Danny Gardella Minor, Mexican & Independent Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com.
  17. "1950 Berwick Slaters minor league baseball Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  18. "Bangor, Pennsylvania Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com.
  19. "Bangor Stadium in Bangor, PA history and teams on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  20. "Parks and Recreation – Borough of Bangor". bangorborough.org.
  21. "Memorial Park Stadium, Bangor, Pa". www.charliesballparks.com.
  22. "1907 Blue Mountain League". Baseball-Reference.com.
  23. "Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew". www.statscrew.com.
  24. "1950 Bangor Bangors minor league baseball Statistics on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
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