International League (1961-2018)
Tombstone
Born: January 28, 1961 – The Montreal Royals relocate to Syracuse, NY
Re-Branded: October 16, 2018 (Syracuse Mets)
First Game: April 19, 1961 (L 11-2 @ Columbus Jets)
Last Game: September 3, 2018 (W 2-0 vs. Buffalo Bisons)
Governors Cup Champions: 1969, 1970 & 1976
Stadia
1961-1996: MacArthur Stadium (10,500)11978 Columbus Clippers Program
Opened: 1934
Demolished: 1997
Dimensions (1979): LF 320′, CF 434′, RF 320′21979 International League Whitebook
1997-2018: P&C Stadium
Opened: 1997
Ownership & Affiliation
Owners:
- 1961-2017: Community Baseball Club of Central New York, Inc. (community stockholders)
- 2018: New York Mets (Fred Wilpon)
Major League Affiliations:
- 1961: Minnesota Twins
- 1962: New York Mets & Washington Senators
- 1963-1966: Detroit Tigers
- 1967-1977: New York Yankees
- 1978-2008: Toronto Blue Jays
- 2009-2018: Washington Nationals
Background
The “Chiefs” tradition in minor league baseball dated all the way back to 1934 and covered three separate franchises. This entry is for the last and most enduring edition of the Chiefs, formed in 1961 when the Montreal Royals of the Class AAA International League relocated to Syracuse’s MacArthur Stadium.
The original Chiefs (1934-1955) won five International League titles before moving to Miami in 1955. The were replaced by an ill-fated Class AA version of the Chiefs (1956-1957) that lasted just a season-and-a-half in the Eastern League before skedaddling for Allentown, Pennsylvania midway through the summer of ’57.
The Chiefs tradition ended, for now at least, in 2018 when the New York Mets purchased the team and re-branded it as the Syracuse Mets ahead of the 2019 season. After getting burned by two by the relocation of prior Chiefs teams twice in a two-year period of the mid-1950’s, Syracuse re-entered the International League in 1961 with a community ownership model. Hundreds of citizens held stock in the Community Baseball Club of Central New York. A cap was placed on the number of voting shares any one person could own, ensuring no individual could take control and seek greener pastures.
Yankees Era
Syracuse pinballed between several Major League parent clubs during the early 60’s, handling prospects for the Twins, Mets, Senators and Tigers. Greater stability took hold in 1967 when the New York Yankees took over as the Chiefs’ Major League sponsor. The Yanks stayed for the next 11 summers.
Syracuse has won the Governor’s Cup championship of the International League only three times in 59 seasons since re-joining the circuit in 1961 and all three crowns came during the Yankees era of 1967-1977. The Chiefs won back to back IL titles under manager Frank Verdi in 1969 and 1970. Syracuse made three straight Governors Cup finals appearances from 1974 to 1976 with future Hall-of-Famer Bobby Cox at the helm, winning a third championship in 1976.
Although Syracuse produced hordes of future Major Leaguers during the Yankees epoch, only two players – Thurman Munson (Chiefs ’69) and Ron Guidry (Chiefs ’75-’76) went to become major stars in the Bronx. Arguably, Syracuse produced more impact players for the Baltimore Orioles than for the Yankees during this time. Rick Dempsey (Chiefs ‘ 73), Tippy Martinez (Chiefs ’74-75), Scott McGregor (Chiefs ’74-’75-’76) all became major contributors to the Orioles 1979 and 1983 World Series champion teams.
MacArthur Stadium Fire
On May 14th, 1969 the Chiefs hosted the Rochester Red Wings at MacArthur Stadium. Later that night, a pair of local teen burglars broke into the ballpark set off a massive blaze that consumed the press box, concession stand, and 1,800 seats in the center portion of the stadium grandstand. A separate incident at the decrepit park a month later saw a slab of concrete from the upper deck crash into the third base grandstand, quarantining another 2,000 seats. Initially declared a total loss, the mangled park managed to re-open in June 1969 with nearly 4,000 seats either destroyed or condemned.
Despite the stadium chaos, the Chiefs won their first Governors Cup three months later.
Toronto Blue Jays Partnership
In 1978 the Yankees moved their Class AAA operation to Columbus, Ohio. The Toronto Blue Jays took over as Syracuse’s parent club that same year, launching a partnership that would last for the next 31 seasons.
Among the future Hall-of-Famers and Major League stars who came up through Syracuse during the Blue Jays era:
- Future NBA All-Star & Executive-of-the-Year Danny Ainge (Chiefs ’78-’79-’80)
- 7-time Major League All-Star pitcher Dave Stieb (Chiefs ’79)
- 5-time Major League All-Star shortstop Tony Fernandez (Chiefs ’81-’82-’83-’84)
- 1987 American League Most Valuable Player George Bell (Chiefs ’82-’83)
- 4-time Major League All-Star pitcher Jimmy Key (Chiefs ’83)
- 5-time Major League All-Star first baseman Fred McGriff (Chiefs ’84-’85-’86)
- “The Terminator” – 2-time Major League All-Star closer Tom Henke (Chiefs ’85)
- 1990 & 1991 American League home run champ Cecil Fielder (Chiefs ’86)
- Pitcher David Wells (Chiefs ’86-’87-’88) went on to win 239 games in the Majors
- First baseman Carlos Delgago (Chiefs ’91-’94-’95) hit 473 Major League home runs
- 1996 American League Cy Young Award winner Pat Hentgen (Chiefs ’91-’92)
- 2-time Major League All-Star outfielder Shawn Green (Chiefs ’94)
- 2005 National League Cy Young Award winner Chris Carptener (SkyChiefs ’97)
- Future Hall-of-Fame pitcher Roy Halladay (Sky Chiefs ’97-’98-’00)
- 3-time Major League All-Star center fielder Vernon Wells (SkyChiefs ’99-’00-’01)
New Ballpark, New(ish) Name
April 1997 saw a new home and a new look for the Syracuse Nine. $29.3 million P&C Stadium opened, replacing MacArthur Stadium, home of Syracuse baseball since 1934. To coincide with the debut of the new ballpark, the Chiefs gently updated their branding and became the “SkyChiefs”.
Crowds jumped from 300,405 in 1996 for the Chiefs’ final summer at the Big Mac to 400,804 for the team’s first season at P&C Stadium in 1997. Chiefs Attendance reached an all-time peak of 446,025 in 1999.
The SkyChiefs era last for 10 years. In December 2006 Syracuse jettisoned the SkyChiefs name and returned to the Chiefs identity.
“The reason we changed the name in the first place is because political correctness came about,” Syracuse General Manager John Simone told Benjamin Hill of MLB.com. The new Chiefs branding for the 2007 season introduced an industrial/railroad theme and stayed far away from the Native American caricatures of earlier decades.
Financial Problems
The Chiefs ran into financial troubles during the mid-2000’s. After 36 straight years of turning an operating profit, the Chiefs posted a loss in 2006 (Syracuse Post-Standard 10/1/2013). At the end of the 2008 season the Toronto Blue Jays ended their player development deal with Syracuse after 31 seasons. The Washington Nationals replaced the Jays in 2009. The red ink mounted over the next several years until the Chiefs were nearly a million dollars in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy in 2013.
Amidst this economically bleak era, the Nationals delivered several thrilling prospects to Syracuse. Washington sent #1 overall pick Stephen Strasburg to Syracuse for a 6-game stint in 2010. The pitcher’s local debut on May 7, 2010 attracted an all-time Syracuse pro baseball attendance record of 13,766 fans to Alliance Bank Stadium.
2012 saw the arrival of Bryce Harper, the Nationals’ #1 overall pick in the 2010 draft. Like Strasburg, Harper’s time at Class AAA was brief. He hit .243 with one home runs in 21 games for the Chiefs before moving up Washington and earning 2012 National League Rookie-of-the-Year honors.
In 2018 Chiefs stockholders voted to end nearly six decades of community ownership and sell out to the New York Mets. The Mets desired a nearby Class AAA operation after years to shuttling players 2,500 miles back and forth to Las Vegas of the Pacific Coast League. The Chiefs played out one final season as a Nationals farm club that summer.
In October 2018 Mets officials announced the end of the Chiefs era, re-branding the team as the Syracuse Mets for the 2019 International League season.
Trivia – Perfect Games
Chiefs pitchers spun three perfect games between 1961 and 2018. All three were 7-inning efforts as part of double-headers.
22-year old Chiefs pitcher Stan Bahnsen hurled the first perfect game in club history against the Buffalo Bisons at MacArthur Stadium on July 9th, 1967. Bahnsen went on to win 146 games in the Majors.
Blue Jays prospect Tim Brown was perfect against the Toledo Mud Hens in the back end of a double-header on June 1, 1993.
Leo Estrella spun a 64-pitch perfect game against the Indianapolis Indians in his triple-A debut on June 17, 2000.
Syracuse Chiefs Video
Chiefs final game at MacArthur Stadium vs. Pawtucket Red Sox. September 2nd, 1996.
In Memoriam
Infielder Mike Sharperson (Chiefs ’85-’86’-87) died in a single car accident on May 26, 1996 after leaving a ballgame in Las Vegas. He was 34.
Manager Frank Verdi had three separate stints with the Chiefs (’61-’62; ’69-’70 and 1972) passed away at age 84 on July 9, 2010.
Pitcher Roy Halladay (SkyChiefs ’97-’98-’00) died on November 7, 2017 when the small aircraft he was piloting crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. Halladay was 40 years old. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame posthumously in 2019. New York Times obituary.
Links
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One Response
Hi, my name is Joe Shupe and my uncle John (Jack) Shupe played for the Chiefs at the beginning of the Yankee era. Over the years I’ve looked for memorabilia regarding my uncle, while I have found a few things the one that eludes me is his trading card. From this article I can tell you have love for the team or the game, both, I thought I’d ask if you knew of any places I could look. I appreciate it, thanks