Tombstone
Born: December 23, 1957 – Eastern League expansion franchise1NO BYLINE. “Eastern League Grants Lancaster Franchise; 10-Team Loop Possible”. The Intelligencer-Journal (Lancaster, PA) December 24, 1957
Folded: December 1961
First Game: April 22, 1958 (W 9-8 @ York White Roses)
Last Game: September 4, 1961 (L 7-2 & L 3-2 vs. Springfield Giants)
Eastern League Championships: None
Stadium
Stumpf Field
Opened: 1938
Ownership & Affiliation
Owners:
Major League Affiliations:
- 1958: Detroit Tigers
- 1959-1960: Chicago Cubs
- 1961: St. Louis Cardinals
Attendance
Background
The Lancaster Barnstormers of 1958 to 1961 were the last of various incarnations of Red Roses baseball clubs that played in the southeastern Pennsylvania city between 1905 and 1961. The club’s membership in the Class A Eastern League also represented a step up in competition from recent Red Roses teams that played in the defunct Class B Interstate and Piedmont Leagues during the 1940’s and early 1950’s.
The 1958 Red Roses won the Eastern League pennant in their debut season, posting a 75-57 record under the direction of field manager Johnny Pesky and edging the Reading Indians by a half game. In the playoffs, the Red Roses eliminated local rival York before falling to the Binghamton Triplets 3 games to 2 in the 1958 Eastern League championship series.
Demise
Stability was not the team’s strong point, as the Lancaster cycled through three different Major League parent clubs in their four seasons in the Eastern League. The Detroit Tigers were first in line for the 1958 season. The Chicago Cubs took over for a two-season tour in 1959 and 1960. The St. Louis Cardinals sent prospects for the Red Roses final season during the summer of 1961.
In September 1961 the Cardinals dropped the Red Roses after a single season, leaving Lancaster in search of their fourth Major League tie-up in five years. The team appeared to have a bead on a player development deal with the Baltimore Orioles, but Baltimore jilted Lancaster in favor of Elmira, New York in the fall of 1961. After the efforts of local backers and Eastern League president Rankin Johnson to secure a new Major League patron for Lancaster failed, the Red Roses dropped from the league in December 1961.
Professional baseball would not return to the city until the arrival of the Lancaster Barnstormers of the independent Atlantic League in 2005.
Trivia
Lancaster also had several minor league basketball teams known as the Red Roses at various times during the 20th century, including 1946-1949, 1953-55 and 1975 to 1980.
Lancaster Red Roses Shop
Links
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