Tombstone
Born: January 1988 – Re-branded from Maine Guides
Moved: 1989 (Scranton-Wilkes Barre Barons)
First Game: April 7, 1988 (W 6-1 @ Tidewater Tides)
Last Game: September 1, 1988 (L 4-3, W 3-2 vs. Rochester Red Wings)
Governors Cup Championships: None
Stadium
The Ball Park at Old Orchard Beach (5,313)11988 Maine Phillies Media Guide
Opened: 1984
Ownership & Affiliation
Owner: John McGee, et al.
Major League Affiliation: Philadelphia Phillies
Attendance
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Maine’s published attendance of 80,071 ranked last in the 8-team International League in attendance in 1988 and was well under half the number of fans of 7th place Syracuse, who drew 184,910.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (3rd ed.), Lloyd Johnson & Miles Wolff, 2007
Background
The Maine Phillies were the top farm club of the Philadelphia Phillies in the summer of 1988.
The franchise, based in the vacation hamlet of Old Orchard Beach, was formerly known as the Maine Guides from 1984 through 1987. The team re-branded as the Maine Phillies in early 1988 following a contentious two-year legal battle between Guides founder Jordan Kobritz and a Scranton, Pennsylvania group called Northeastern Baseball, headed by John McGee. The ownership dispute eventually went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
By October 1987, McGee earned control of the franchise. But construction delays on the team’s new home at a $22 million ballpark in Moosic, Pennsylvania meant that McGee had nowhere to play in 1988. The class AAA International League refused to grant a waiver that would allow the team to play in a class AA ballpark in Pennsylvania in 1988. McGee was left to choose between a summer of 12:30 matinees before Philadelphia Phillies home games at 60,000-seat Veterans Stadium or playing a lame duck season in Old Orchard Beach. He chose the latter.
In January 1988 McGee dropped the Guides nickname and announced the team would re-brand as the Maine Phillies. During their only season of play, the Maine Phillies finished in last place in the International League’s East Division with a 62-80 record.
Move To Pennsylvania
The team finally moved to Pennsylvania in 1989. After several subsequent affiliation changes and re-brands, the former Maine Guides/Phillies franchise plays on today as the Scranton-Wilkes Barre RailRiders.
Pro baseball never returned to Old Orchard Beach after the departure of the Phillies in 1988. The Ball Park fell into extreme disrepair in the 2000’s, but a community effort to renovate the 25-year old structure in 2009 led to the return of amateur/summer collegiate ball in the summer of 2011.
Voices
“The mosquitos were horrendous. The atmosphere … you had no roof or anything. It was serviceable. Today? You’d be lucky to get a Class A club in there. That’s a tough nut up there.”
– Bill Terlecky, General Manager 1988 (FWiL Interview 2019)
Maine Phillies Shop
Links
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One Response
Worked at a youth sports camp in Maine during the summer of 88. Went to a game at old orchard beach. Didn’t realize that it was the only season of the Maine Phillies.