Defunct Major League Baseball Teams Pins and Buttons

The El Centro Imperials was an independent professional baseball team based out of El Centro, California. The team started play in 1947 in the Sunset League and was folded in 1952. Another team, the Imperial Valley Brahmas played in El Centro in 1995 as part of the Golden State League and the Imperials were revived on April 3, 2009, as one of the four charter members of the new Arizona Summer League, an instructional summer professional baseball league affiliated with the Golden Baseball League. That version of the team was managed by former Los Angeles Dodgers player Mike Marshall, but lasted just the one season.

The Cleveland Buckeyes were a Negro league baseball team that played from 1942 to 1950 in the Negro American League. The Buckeyes played in two Negro World Series, defeating the Washington Homestead Grays in 1945, and losing to the New York Cubans in 1947. They were based in Cincinnati for their first season and Louisville for their second-to-last season.

New Castle Salamanders was a minor league baseball team, who played in the Interstate League in 1896.

The Stockton Millers were a minor league baseball team located in Stockton, California. They competed primarily in the California League between 1886 and 1915.

Defunct Los Angeles Dons All Star Baseball Team

Defunct Cleveland Spiders Retro Style

The Aberdeen Black Cats were a minor league baseball team, based in Aberdeen, Washington that played sporadically in various Washington based leagues between 1903 and 1918.

The earliest Imperial Records was a short-lived United States-based company of the 1900s (decade), producing single-sided lateral cut gramophone records. Issues included ragtime banjo music, operatic solos, and Hebrew songs. As the name implies, they seem to have been destined at least in part for the British market. The back of the records carried a paper label printed with a copyright statement.

The Paterson Invaders were a minor league baseball team based in Paterson, New Jersey. From 1904 to 1907, Paterson teams played as members of the Class C level Hudson River League, winning the 1906 league championship. The team played as the "Intruders" in the 1904 and 1907 seasons, before the franchise folded during the 1907 season, leading to the demise of the league.

The Baltimore Canaries were a professional baseball club in the National Association from 1872 to 1874. The team was usually listed as Lord Baltimore in the box scores of the day, and were also referred to as the Yellow Stockings. The canary and yellow stockings labels were in reference to their uniform colors.

The Baker City Gold Diggers was a primary moniker of the minor league baseball teams based in Baker City, Oregon between 1891 and 1914. Baker City teams played as members of the Pacific Interstate League in 1891, Inland Empire League in 1902, 1908 and Western Tri-State League in 1913 to 1914, using a different nickname each season.

The Las Vegas Wranglers were a minor league baseball team that played in various leagues in the 1940s and 1950s. They were Las Vegas's first professional team in any sport.

The New York Giants were a Major League Baseball team in the National League that began play in the 1883 season as the New York Gothams and were renamed in 1885. They continued as the New York Giants until the team moved to San Francisco, California after the 1957 season, where the team continues its history as the San Francisco Giants. The team moved west at the same time as its longtime rival, the Brooklyn Dodgers, also in the National League, moved to Los Angeles in southern California as the Los Angeles Dodgers continuing the National League, same-state rivalry.

The Dayton Ducks were a minor league baseball team that played in the Central League in 1932 and then the Middle Atlantic League from 1933–1942. The team took its name from their owner and field manager, former St. Louis Cardinals player Ducky Holmes. They were affiliated with the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1934–35, 1938–1942 and the Chicago White Sox in 1937. The team was briefly known as the Dayton Wings from 1939–1940, when Holmes was not involved with the club.

The Peoria Distillers were a minor league baseball team that existed on-and-off from 1894 to 1917. They played in the Western Association from 1894 to 1896; the Central League in 1900, 1904 and 1917; the Western League from 1902 to 1903; and the Three-I League from 1905 to 1917. Under managers David Drohan and Charley Stis, they won their first League Championship in 1911. In 1916, they won their second and final League Championship under the guidance of William Jackson.

The Oil City Cubs were a minor league baseball team based in Oil City, Pennsylvania. From 1906 1908, Oil City teams played as members of the Class D level Interstate League, winning the 1907 league championship. The 1906 team played as the "Oil City-Jamestown Oseejays." Oil City hosted home minor league games at the Sedwick Grounds. The 1898 and 1941 Oil City Oilers teams preceded and succeeded the Interstate League Oil City teams.

A Red River Valley League played several seasons as a semi–pro league before the league evolved to become a full minor league in 1897. The Red River Valley League began minor league baseball play in the 1897 season as a Class F league. The Four charter teams were the Moorhead Barmaids, Grand Forks Senators/Black Stockings, Wahpeton–Breckenridge Methodists and Fargo Divorcees/Fargo Red Stockings. The league presidents were Chauncey Wheeler and Senator W.A. Gordon, who also served as manager of Grand Forks. Player salaries were capped at $40.00 per month by the league.

Charleston, West Virginia went without pro baseball for three summers after the Charleston Charlies pulled up stakes for Maine in late 1983. The Charlies were a triple-A club just one step removed from the Major Leagues. But by 1983, Charleston was the smallest Class AAA city in America by population. So it was little surprise that when pro ball returned with the formation of the Charleston Wheelers in the spring of 1987, local hardball fans had to accept a two-level demotion to the Class A South Atlantic League.

The Toledo Avengers represented Toledo, OH in the Western League in its first season in 1885. They had previously played in the American Association as the Toledo Blue Stockings, and before that in the Northwestern League. Managed by Dan O'Leary, the Avengers lost their first 11 games and once erred 18 times in a game. The team lost around $8,000 and folded after 29 games. After that 0-11 start, they had improved dramatically, going 8-10. Joe Morrison finished second in the league with 11 doubles.

The Grays Harbor Loggers was the primary name of the minor league baseball team that represented the communities of Grays Harbor, Washington, Hoquiam, Washington and Aberdeen, Washington. Grays Harbor played as members of the Class A Short Season Northwest League from 1976 to 1980. Owned and managed by the Stockton Ports' former owner and manager Carl W. Thompson, Sr., the team had a record of 26-46, at that time the worst in the league. Season attendance at Hoquiam's Olympic Stadium was fourth in the seven-team Northwest League at 28,842.

The Bell Witch or Bell Witch Haunting is a legend from Southern United States folklore, centered on the 19th-century Bell family of northwest Robertson County, Tennessee. Farmer John Bell Sr. resided with his family along the Red River in an area currently near the town of Adams. According to legend, from 1817 to 1821, his family and the local area came under attack by a mostly invisible entity that was able to speak, affect the physical environment, and shapeshift. Some accounts record the spirit also to have been clairvoyant and capable of crossing long distances with superhuman speed (and/or of being in more than one place at a time).

After winning the American Association league championship in 1889, the Brooklyn club (very occasionally now nicknamed the Bridegrooms or Grooms, for six players having wed during the 1888 season) moved to the competing older National League (1876) and won the 1890 NL Championship, being the only Major League team to win consecutive championships in both professional "base ball" leagues.

Pittsburgh Allegheny was the name of the first professional baseball club to represent Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team was an unrelated forerunner to the American Association's Pittsburgh Alleghenies that were established in 1882, which continue today as the Pittsburgh Pirates. Following the American Civil War, the leading baseball clubs in Pittsburgh were the "Enterprise", "Olympic", and "Xantha" teams. They played at Union Park, was located in the city of Allegheny, before it became annexed into Pittsburgh in 1907. On February 2, 1876, Pittsburgh lost its bid for a franchise in the newly established National League. Twenty days later, several local organizers formed the Allegheny Base Ball Club.

The Grand Rapids Baseball Club was a minor league baseball team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan that played under several different names at various times between 1883 and 1951. In the 1890s, they played in the Western League, a minor league precursor to what is now the American League of Major League Baseball, before moving to Cleveland in 1900 and becoming the present-day Cleveland Guardians. Later Grand Rapids teams played mostly in the Central League but also in various other Michigan-based leagues. After a long minor league hiatus in Grand Rapids, the West Michigan Whitecaps of the Midwest League began play in Comstock Park, Michigan, just outside Grand Rapids, in 1994.

The Beaumont Golden Gators were a four-year entry in the Texas League during the mid-1980’s. Though a San Diego Padres farm club, the Gators wore an eye-popping Gold/Green/White color scheme more reminiscent of the Oakland Athletics, topped off by pillbox-style striped caps. The team played at Vincent-Beck Stadium on the campus of Lamar University.

The Mount Airy Graniteers were a minor league baseball Class D team that represented the city of Mount Airy, North Carolina. The team played under two different names in two leagues over their 13 non-consecutive seasons spanning 1934–1950. The club joined the Bi-State League for the 1934 season. In 1935, the Graniteers changed its name to the Mount Airy Reds and continued to operate in the league through 1937.

The Detroit Stars were an American baseball team in the Negro leagues and played at historic Mack Park. The Stars had winning seasons every year but two, but were never able to secure any championships. Among their best players was Baseball Hall of Famer Turkey Stearnes. Founded in 1919 by Tenny Blount with the help of Rube Foster, owner and manager of the Chicago American Giants, the Detroit Stars immediately established themselves as one of the most powerful teams in the West.

The Iola Gasbags were a minor league baseball team based in Iola, Kansas. Between 1902 and 1906, Iola teams played as a member of the Missouri Valley League from 1902 to 1904 and the 1906 Kansas State League. The Iola Gasbags won the 1904 Missouri State League championship, before adopting the Iola "Grays" nickname for the 1906 Kansas State League season. The Iola teams hosted home minor league games at Riverside Park.

The Montpelier Goldfish, a minor league baseball team, played in the Quebec-Ontario-Vermont League between 1924 and 1924. Montpelier briefly hosted the 1924 Montpelier Goldfish of the Class B level Ontario–Quebec–Vermont League. The team folded on July 16, 1924, finishing with a 16–37 record under manager Bill McCorry. Barre, Vermont has not hosted another minor league team.

The Dubuque Shamrocks of the Illinois-Iowa-Indiana League ended the 1905 season with a record of 70 wins and 53 losses, finishing first in the IIIL. Charlie Buelow and Hunkey Hines served as manager.

The Waterloo Hawks were a minor league team that existed on-and-off from 1922 to 1969. From 1922 to 1932, they played in the Mississippi Valley League and in 1932 they were affiliated with the Chicago White Sox. They played in the Western League in 1936 and from 1940 to 1942 they played in the Illinois-Iowa-Indiana League and were affiliated again with the White Sox. From 1958 to 1969 they played in the Midwest League and were affiliated with the Boston Red Sox (1958–1968) and Kansas City Royals (1969). They were located in Waterloo, Iowa.

Columbia, South Carolina hosted a New York Mets Class A farm club in the South Atlantic League for 22 seasons from 1983 until 2004. The team was initially known as the Columbia Mets (1983-1992). In 1992 the club adopted the Capital City Bombers identity, while maintaining the long-time Mets partnership.

The Fort Pierce Bombers were a professional minor league baseball team based in Fort Pierce, Florida from 1940 until 1942. The clubs played in the Class-D Florida East Coast League. The league and the team both shut their doors, along with many other minor leagues, a few months after the United States entered World War II, and, despite the postwar baseball boom, they were not revived.

The Quincy Shipbuilders were a minor league baseball team based in Quincy, Massachusetts. In 1933, the Shipbuilders played briefly as members of the Class B level New England League, before relocating during the season. Quincy hosted home games at Fore River Field. The Quincy Shipbuilders were a minor league affiliate of the Detroit Tigers.

Minor league baseball began in Boise in 1904 when the Boise Fruit Pickers played as members of the Pacific National League. In 1905, the Boise Infants continued play in the Pacific National League. Boise fielded two teams in 1909, as Boise played as members of the Montana State League, and the Boise Irrigators were members of the Inter-Mountain League. The Boise Irrigators later played in the Union Association (1911, 1914) and Western Tri-State League (1912–1913).

The Clear Lake Fish Eaters were a minor league baseball team based in Clear Lake, Iowa. Clear Lake teams played as members of the Independent level Iowa State League in 1912 and the Class D level Central Association in 1917, with the 1917 team playing a brief season as the "Rabbits.". Both teams hosted home minor league games at the Clear Lake City Ball Park.