Vandergrift Pioneers

Middle Atlantic League (1947-1950)

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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 Vandergrift Pioneers were a Class C minor league baseball team in Westmoreland County, Western Pennsylvania. The Pioneers served as a farm club of the Philadelphia Phillies for three-and-a-half seasons from 1947 to 1950.

The Pioneers won the Middle Atlantic League championship in their first summer of operation in 1947. A league record 13-game winning streak late in the season helped Vandergrift to the pennant with a 76-46 mark. The Pioneers swept the Butler Yankees in four game in the league’s playoff championship to cap the campaign.

The Pioneers drew approximately 91,000 fans to Davis field for their inaugural voyage in 1947. But attendance dropped sharply to 51,000 in 1948 despite an outstanding team and never recovered.

Field Manager Floyd “Pat” Patterson returned for a second season at the helm in 1948 and the Pioneers roared out to another first place start. Patterson suffered a heart attack in late July and was not able to return to the club. Phillies Scout Lew Krausse, Sr. took over manager duties for the rest of the season. The Pioneers finished first again with a superb 86-39 record. The Erie Sailors upset the Vans 4 games to 1 in the league championship series.

Local pitcher Rudy Minarcin signed with the Phillies shortly after graduating from Vandergrift High in 1948. The Phils assigned Minarcin to his home town team and he won 7 ballgames for the Vans that summer. A two-year military stint during the Korean War era interrupted Minarcin’s rise. Minarcin finally debuted in the Majors in 1955 at age 25. On June 4 of that year, Minarcin hurled a one-hit shutout against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field, just 30 miles from his hometown. He went on to make 70 appearances over three Major League seasons with Cincinnati and Boston.

The Pioneers fell to sixth place in 1949. The team was mired in another losing season in July 1950. The club’s local sponsor, the Vandergrift Athletic Association, petitioned the Middle Atlantic League to fold the team midway through the schedule. The club’s backers withdrew because of financial troubles and, in the colorful phrasing of the Shamokin News-Dispatch (July 20, 1950) “because the people of Vandergrift showed an intense lack of interest”.

Pro baseball never returned to Vandergrift, Pennsylvania. The Middle Atlantic League itself folded after the 1951 season.

In Memoriam

Manager Lew Krausse, Sr. (Pioneers ’48) died on September 6, 1988 at age 76.

Pitcher Rudy Minarcin (Pioneers ’48) passed away on October 15, 2013. The Vandergrift native was 83.

Links

Middle Atlantic League Media Guides

Middle Atlantic League Programs

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