American Association (1984-1992)
Pacific Coast League (1998-2016)
Tombstone
Born: November 24, 1992 (Denver Zephyrs Relocate to New Orleans)1Denver Triple-A team to move to New Orleans, The News, Nov. 25, 1992
Renamed: November 15, 20162Marlins Triple-A affiliate renamed to New Orleans Baby Cakes, ESPN, Nov. 15, 2016
First Game: April 8, 1993
Last Game: September 7, 2016
American Association Championships: None
Ownership & Affiliation
Owners:
- John Dikeou, George Dikeou, and Deno Dikeou (1993-1995)
- Don Beaver, Walter Leger Jr., et al (1995-2015)
- Lou Schwechheimer (2015-2016)
Major League Affiliations:
- Milwaukee Brewers (1993–1996)
- Houston Astros (1997–2004)
- Washington Nationals (2005–2006)
- New York Mets (2007–2008)
- Miami Marlins (2009–2016)
Stadia
Privateer Park (1993-1996)
Opened: 1979
Shrine on Airline (1997-2016)
Opened: April 11, 1997
Marketing
Colors: Navy, dark green, and white3TruColor.net
Background
The history of baseball in New Orleans is an odd tale. The sport has been played in the city since before the Civil War, but its success at the professional level has ebbed and flowed.
In 1887, the New Orleans Pelicans, previously an amateur squad, joined the Southern League, becoming the city’s first pro baseball team. In 1901, the team became a charter member of the Southern Association, a Class B circuit, later upgraded to double-A status, which also featured the Atlanta Crackers, Birmingham Barons, Nashville Vols, and Memphis Chicks, among others.
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The city was also home to the Black Pelicans, who played in various Negro leagues, as well as independently, from 1926 through the 1940s. The New Orleans Creoles played from the mid-40s until the early ‘50s.
By the late ‘50s, though, the Pelicans, as well as the entire Southern Association, were in trouble. The team moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, after the 1959 season, leaving the city without a pro baseball team for the first time since 1900.
Bringing baseball back to NOLA
Oddly, it was the pursuit of professional football that would spark an interest in bringing Major League Baseball to the Crescent City. In 1960, New Orleans businessman David Dixon, who would later found the United States Football League, spearheaded an effort to bring a professional football team to his hometown, either in the National Football League (NFL) or the then-new American Football League (AFL).4New Orleans Said ‘Out’ As AFL Expansion City, AP via The Victoria Advocate, Aug. 8, 1966 By 1966, Dixon had convinced city leaders to focus on building a domed stadium, similar to Houston’s Astrodome, in order to secure a team.5Domed Stadium Considered for New NFL Entry, AP and UPI via The Eugene Register-Guard, Nov. 2, 1966 Though it took another five years to break ground on the stadium, the city got its team, the Saints, in time for the start of the 1967 season.6Domed Stadium for New Orleans, AP via The Phoenix, Feb. 16, 1971
Around the time the ceremonial shovels were turned on what would become the Louisiana Superdome, the city started pursuing a Major League Baseball team to share the facility with the Saints. Indeed, just two weeks after ground was broken on the new stadium, Cleveland Indians owner Vern Stouffer hatched a plan to have his franchise play 27 home games in the Superdome starting in 1974.7Cleveland May Learn, Silence, It’s Golden, UPI via The Bonham Daily Favorite, Aug. 31, 1971 However, when Nick Mileti took controlling interest in the Indians the following spring, he put the kibosh on that idea.8Indians Won’t Play Games in New Orleans, They Say, The New York Times, Apr. 2, 1972
Moving on
Undaunted, New Orleans continued to pursue a team, and in December of 1974, it seemed like a shoo-in for an expansion team, along with Seattle.9New Orleans, Seattle make it, AP via The Day, Dec. 6, 1974 It was Toronto, though, that joined the Emerald City in the American League expansion class of 1977. New Orleans wound up with the relocated Tulsa Oilers of the Triple-A American Association. They played in the Superdome for one season before moving to Illinois and became the Springfield Redbirds.
After that, the Big Easy was rarely mentioned as a possible expansion site for Major League Baseball. Triple-A baseball returned, though, when the National League welcomed the Colorado Rockies to its ranks for the 1993 season. That forced Denver’s Triple-A team to look for a new home. On November 24, 1992, the team announced its relocation to Louisiana.
In 1984, the team changed its name from the Denver Bears to the Denver Zephyrs as part of a plan to land a Major League expansion team. Zephyr referred to a western wind, as well as a famous passenger train that ran between Chicago and Denver. The team decided to keep the name when they moved to New Orleans, which seemed odd at first. However, NOLA natives had fond memories of the famous Zephyr rollercoaster at Pontchartrain Beach, though the park had closed ten years prior.
Good times, bad times
The New Orleans Zephyrs remained in the American Association through the 1997 season, when that circuit was dissolved and its teams distributed between the other two Triple-A loops, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The Zephyrs joined the latter and proceeded to win the championship in their first season as PCL members. They went on to beat the IL champion Buffalo Bisons in the Triple-A World Series that year. They averaged over 7,200 fans per game, second-best in the PCL that season, playing at the new Zephyr Field, not the Superdome.
Over the years, the team had its ups and downs. Not uncommon in the minors. They finished dead last the season after winning it all, but two years later, in 2001, they finished as league co-champions. Attendance held steady at around 5,000 fans a game, but that was near the bottom of the league. A trip to the finals in 2007 didn’t put more butts in the seats, but the Zephyrs soldiered on.
Lou Schwechheimer, a veteran minor league executive from New England, bought a controlling share in the team in 2015. Following the 2016 season, a rename-the-team contest was held, and Baby Cakes was selected as the winner. The new name didn’t improve the team’s fortunes, as the Baby Cakes finished near the bottom of the standings and last or close to last in attendance. After the 2019 season, the team moved to Wichita, leaving New Orleans without a professional baseball team.
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