Middle Atlantic League (1939-1940)
Tombstone
Born: 1939 – Re-branded from Dayton Ducks
Re-Branded: March 12, 1941 (Dayton Ducks)1NO BYLINE. “Holmes Starts Work of Raising Ducks”. The Herald (Dayton, OH). March 13, 1941
First Game: April 30, 1939 (L 10-8 @ Charleston Senators)
Last Game: September 17, 1940 (L 3-1 vs. Akron Yankees)
Middle Atlantic League Championships: None
Stadium
Wings Field
Ownership & Affiliation
Owner: Brooklyn Dodgers
Major League Affiliation: Brooklyn Dodgers
Editor's Pick
The Middle Atlantic League
1925-1952
A Baseball History
By William E. Akin
The small and midsized cities of western Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia reached their peaks of population and prosperity in the second quarter of the 20th century. The baseball teams from these towns formed the Middle Atlantic League, a circuit that author William Akin argues was once the strongest in the low minors. This thorough history chronicles the MAL through three distinct phases from its 1925 inaugural season up through its decline and dissolution in 1952 as the country underwent seismic cultural and economic shifts following World War II.
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Background
The Dayton Wings were a Class C farm club of the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Dayton franchise played in the Middle Atlantic League from 1933-1942 and was known as the “Dayton Ducks” for all of that time except for this two-year interlude in 1939-1940. The Ducks took their name from the team’s owner and field manager, a cantankerous former catcher named Howard “Ducky” Holmes“ who played one week in the Majors for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1906. Holmes later became a Major League umpire.
The Dayton club seems to have parted ways with Holmes in 1939 and felt the need to re-brand the team at the same time. In 1941, Holmes regained control of the ball club and changed the name back to the Ducks.
The most prominent player to come out of Dayton during the Wings era was Wally Westlake, who appeared in 30 games for the club as a 19-year old outfielder in 1940. Westlake eventually made the Majors in 1947 and stayed for ten seasons, appearing in nearly 1,000 games and hitting 127 home runs for six teams.
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