Tombstone
Born: 1996 – Northeast League expansion franchise
Folded: Postseason 1996
First Game:
Last Game:
Northeast League Championships: None
Stadium
Ownership & Affiliation
Owner: Mike Palermo
Major League Affiliation: Independent
Attendance
Background
The Rhode Island Tiger Sharks were a One-Year Wonder during the summer of 1996 in the Northeast League, a now-defunct independent baseball circuit. The Tiger Sharks were one of six teams in the loop, competing against four clubs from New York (Adirondack, Albany, Elmira and Newburgh), plus the Bangor Blue Ox from Maine.
Owner/Field Manager Mike Palermo was an insurance executive from Long Island, New York. He and his partners purchased the Tiger Sharks as a Northeast League expansion franchise for $75,000. (Boston Globe 8/5/1996).
The T-Sharks lone season turned into a grim slog. The team played at tiny McCarthy Field in West Warwick, Rhode Island and drew only a couple of hundred fans per game. A Boston Globe reporter sent to do a feature on the club in August 1996 counted just 23 people dotting the stands for the first pitch of a contest against the Elmira Pioneers. The team was lousy on the field as well, finishing in distant last place with a 19-61 record.
29-year old outfielder Mike Humphreys was the lone Tiger Shark with Major League service team. Humphreys appeared in 54 games for the New York Yankees between 1991 and 1993.
The club folded quietly at the end of the 1996 season.
Downloads
June 1996 Tiger Sharks vs. Newburgh Nighthawks Roster Sheet
6-1996 Rhode Island Tiger Sharks vs Newburgh Nighthawks Roster
Links
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