Defunct Major League Baseball Teams Pins and Buttons

The Orem Owlz were a Minor League Baseball team located in Orem, Utah, United States, from 2001 to 2020. The team competed in the Pioneer League as a Rookie League affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. The Owlz played their home games at Home of the Owlz on the campus of Utah Valley University. They were previously known as the Provo Angels from 2001 to 2004.

The Americus Cardinals operated in the Georgia–Florida League from 1935 through 1938. During that span, Americus had affiliation agreements with the St. Louis Cardinals (1936), Brooklyn Dodgers (1937) and Washington Senators (1938). The team had records of 59–57 in 1935 (3rd place), 58–58 in 1936 (3rd), 50–71 in 1937 (6th), and 65–61 in 1938 (3rd), reaching the postseason in 1938, but lost in the first round of the playoffs.

The Lincoln Links were an American minor league baseball franchise that represented Lincoln, Nebraska, for 18 seasons over a 23-year period (1917–39) during the 20th century. Lincoln was first represented in organized baseball in 1886 as the Tree Planters in the reorganized original Western League. Lincoln's 19th-century teams played in various leagues between 1886 and 1895. In 1906, Lincoln joined the Class A Western League as the Ducklings (1906), Treeplanters (1907), Railsplitters (1908–13) and Tigers (1914–16).

The Fort Wayne Kekiongas were a professional baseball team, notable for winning the first professional league game on May 4, 1871. Though based in Fort Wayne, they were usually listed in game reports as simply "Kekionga" or "the Kekiongas", per the style of the day. "Fort Wayne Kekiongas" is modern nomenclature. Kekionga - pronounced KEY-key-awn-guh - is the name of Chief Little Turtle's Miami Indian settlement where the St. Joseph River and the St. Marys River join to form the Maumee River. This was the largest settlement of the Miami tribe. General "Mad" Anthony Wayne erected Fort Wayne at that same confluence, and the modern city of Fort Wayne, Indiana grew up around the fort.

The Acid Iron Earths were a minor league baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama. In 1886, the uniquely named "Acid Iron Earths" played as members of the independent Gulf League, winning the league championship in the league's only season of play. The team played home games at Frascati Park, which contained the first professional baseball park in Mobile. The "Acid Iron Earths" team name corresponds to the eras locally produced "Acid Iron Earth" medicinal tonic. The team was owned by Charles Mohr, who had a patent on iron tablets, who's local company manufactured the Acid Iron Earth tonic. The Acid Iron Earths are believed to be the first professional team to travel to a foreign country, playing exhibition games in Cuba.

The Adrian Yeggs were a Southern Michigan League baseball team based in Adrian, Michigan, United States that played from 1909 to 1914 as a whole and 1909 to 1911 under the Yeggs nickname. According to the book Baseball Team Names, 1869-2012, they were named after safe-cracker James Yeggs, one of the most well-known inmates at a prison located in Adrian. Carl Vandagrift, Frank Gilhooley and Elmer Smith played for them.

Defunct Amarillo Dillas Baseball

The La Junta Railroaders were a minor league baseball team based in La Junta, Colorado. The Railroaders played in the 1912 season as members of the Class D level Rocky Mountain League. La Junta hosted home games at City Park. In 1912, minor league baseball began in La Junta, Colorado. The La Junta Railroaders became charter members of the four–team Class D level Rocky Mountain League. The league started the season with the Cañon City Swastikas, Colorado Springs Millionaires and Pueblo Indians teams joining the La Junta Railroaders in Rocky Mountain League play.

The Boise Pilots were a baseball team based in Boise, Idaho, that played in the Pioneer League , between 1939 and 1954 at the Class C level.

The Salinas Packers baseball team was a minor league team,The team played in the Various League and was affiliated with various major league teams

Defunct Nashville Vols Baseball 1901-1963

The Dubois County Dragons were a southern Indiana independent professional baseball team active from 1996 through 2002. The Dragons made their home in tiny Huntingburg, which a population of just 5,598 souls in the 2000 U.S. Census. The Dragons were founding members of the Heartland League, an obscure independent loop that formed in 1996 with just four ball clubs in Illinois and Indiana. The Dragons remained in this shaky enterprise for its full three-year run until the Heartland League folded following the 1998 season. In 1999, the Dragons moved to the larger and more stable Frontier League where they would play for the next four seasons.

The Cortland Wagonmakers was the primary name of the minor league baseball teams based in Cortland, New York between 1897 and 1905. Corltland teams played as members of the New York State League from 1897 to 1901 and the Empire State League in 1905. Cortland first began minor league baseball play in 1897, when the Cortland Hirelings became charter members of the Class C level New York State League. The Cortland franchise joined the league on June 2, 1897 after the season had already begun.

The Mobile Bears were an American minor league baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama. The franchise was a member of the old Southern Association, a high-level circuit that folded after the 1961 season. Mobile joined the SA in 1908 as the Sea Gulls, but changed its name to the Bears in 1918, and the nickname stuck. The club played in the Association until July 1931, when it moved to Knoxville, Tennessee. Almost exactly 13 years later, in July 1944, the Bears returned to Mobile when the Knoxville Smokies franchise shifted back from Tennessee. (A club known as the Mobile Shippers competed in the Class B Southeastern League from 1937 to 1942.)

Joshua Adam Donaldson is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball. He previously played for the Oakland Athletics. In 2015, Donaldson led the AL with 123 RBIs and topped the majors by scoring 122 runs. He hit 41 home runs and batted .297. He was declared the Most Valuable Player in the American League division in November, 2015.

The Aberdeen Black Cats were baseball team based in Aberdeen,Washington between 1903 and 1918

The 1884 Boston Reserves were the first minor league baseball team to play in Boston, Massachusetts. The Reserves were owned and operated by the Boston Beaneaters of the National League and may have been the first true baseball farm team. The Boston Reserves played as charter members of the eight–team Massachusetts State Association, which played one or two games per week in its only season of play. The Boston Reserves of the Massachusetts State Association ended the 1884 season with a record of 13–8, finishing 2nd in the Massachusetts State Association, 1.0 games behind 1st place Springfield.

Daytona Beach Islanders was a name for various minor league baseball teams that have all played in the Florida State League from 1920–1966 and in 1977 and again from 1985–1986. In 1968 through 1973, the team became the Daytona Beach Dodgers, due to their affiliation with the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 1977, the team once again took up the Islanders name before becoming the Daytona Beach Astros for the next seven seasons. Then, for the 1985 and 1986 seasons, they were, yet again, known as the Daytona Beach Islanders, playing as a co-op club of the Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers for the first of those years and as a full affiliate of the Rangers for the 1986 season. Finally the team became the Daytona Beach Admirals.

The Cape Fear Crocs were a minor league baseball team in Fayetteville, North Carolina. They were a low Class-A baseball team which played in the South Atlantic League, and were a farm team of the Montreal Expos for the franchise's entire tenure as the Cape Fear Crocs. They played all of their home games at J. P. Riddle Stadium and were previously known as the Fayetteville Generals.

Defunct Memphis Blues Baseball 1968-1976

The Clinton Pilots, a minor league baseball team, played in the Central Association and Midwest League between 1914 and 1976. Clinton was the A-level affiliate of the expansion Seattle Pilots in 1969. They kept the Pilots name when the parent club moved to Milwaukee in 1970. Manager Sibby Sisti was a former Atlanta Braves utility man who played every position except catcher. He also consulted on the film "The Natural" in the 1980s.

Lincoln was first represented in organized baseball in 1886 as the Tree Planters in the reorganized original Western League. Lincoln's 19th-century teams played in various leagues between 1886 and 1895. In 1906, Lincoln joined the Class A Western League as the Ducklings (1906), Treeplanters (1907), Railsplitters (1908–13) and Tigers (1914–16). During this time, team nicknames were often unofficially assigned by sportswriters, and The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, published by Baseball America in 2007, lists other nicknames for the Lincoln franchise of the time, including Greenbackers and Antelopes.

The Norfolk Elk Horns or the shortened "Elks" was a primary moniker of the minor league baseball teams based in Norfolk, Nebraska between 1914 and 1941. The Norfolk minor league teams played as members of the Class D level Nebraska State League1914–1915, 1922–1923), Tri-State League (1924), Nebraska State League (1928–1938) and Western League (1939–1941). The Norfolk minor league teams hosted home games at Athletic Park. The Norfolk Elks were a St. Louis Cardinals minor league affiliate in 1936. Norfolk played as an affiliate of the New York Yankees from 1937 to 1941 and adopted the Norfolk "Yankees" moniker in 1940.

The Ada Herefords was a minor league baseball team based in Ada, Oklahoma. From 1947 to 1954, the Herefords played exclusively as a member of the Class D level Sooner State League, winning the league pennant in 1950. The Herefords were a minor league affiliate of the St. Louis Browns from 1947 to 1953 and remained an affiliate when St. Louis relocated to become the Baltimore Orioles in 1954. Ada Hosted minor league home games at Hereford Park.

The Lynn Red Sox continued Lynn's long history of play in the New England League. The Red Sox were preceded in the New England League play by the Lynn Lions (1886-1888), Lynn Live Oaks (1901), Lynn Shoemakers (1905–1910, 1913), Lynn Leonardites (1911–1912), Lynn Fighters (1914), Lynn Pirates (1915), Lynn Pipers (1916) and Lynn Papooses (1926–1930). The New England League Lynn teams were preceded in minor league play by the 1877 Lynn Live Oaks, who played as members of the New England Association and the 1884 Lynn team of the Massachusetts State Association.

The Clinton Owls were a Minor League Baseball team based in Clinton, Iowa, United States, that operated in the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League in 1937–1938 as an affiliate of the Brooklyn Dodgers. From 1939–1940 they were an affiliate of the New York Giants and were known as the Clinton Giants. The team was disbanded at the onset of World War II. Today, the Clinton franchise is the Clinton LumberKings who still play at Riverview Stadium, now called NelsonCorp Field.

The Lima Pandas were a minor league baseball team based in Lima, Ohio. From 1939 to 1941 and 1944 to 1947, with the interruption due to World War II, Lima teams played exclusively as members of the Class D level Ohio State League, with the Pandas winning the 1939 and 1940 league championships. The franchise played as a minor league affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1944, Cincinnati Reds in 1945 and Chicago White Sox in 1946 to 1947, with the team adopting new monikers during the affiliate seasons. The Lima Ohio State League teams hosted home minor league games at Allen County Park.

The Kankakee Kanks were a minor league baseball team located in Kankakee, Illinois. Kankakee teams played a member of the Class D level Northern Association in 1910, playing as the Kankakee "Kays" and the Illinois-Missouri League from 1912 to 1914. The Kankakee teams hosted home minor league games on the grounds of the Kankakee State Hospital. Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Casey Stengel played for the 1910 Kankakee Kays, beginning his first professional season.

The Phoenix Firebirds were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Phoenix, Arizona, from 1958 to 1959, and from 1966 to 1997. Before 1986, the team was known as the Phoenix Giants. The franchise was a member of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League (PCL), and were the top minor league affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. The Firebirds were forced to leave Phoenix following the 1997 season, as the new National League expansion team, the Arizona Diamondbacks would begin play in Phoenix the following year. In a complicated series of events, the owners of the Firebirds moved their team to Tucson, Arizona, and became the Tucson Sidewinders, dropping their affiliation with the Giants in favor of the expansion Diamondbacks.

The Bassett Furnituremakers were a minor league baseball team based in Bassett, Virginia, USA that played from 1935 to 1940. Bassett was a member of the Bi-State League (1935–1940) and the Blue Ridge League (1950). Bassett was an affiliate of the Brooklyn Dodgers (1940), Cincinnati Reds (1939) and New York Yankees (1936–1937). Baseball Hall of Fame member Phil Rizzuto played for Bassett in 1937, his first professional season.

The Columbus Jets were a Minor League baseball team that played in Columbus, Ohio, from 1955 to 1970. The team moved from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada where they were known as the Ottawa Athletics. The Jets were a member of the Triple-A International League. The Jets' name came from Columbus' role in manufacturing aircraft by North American Aviation for World War II. They were the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Athletics (1955–56) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1957–70). The Jets played their home games at Jets Stadium.

The Dallas–Fort Worth Spurs were an American minor league baseball team in the Texas League from 1965–1971. The team played in Turnpike Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Spurs were created when the Triple-A Dallas Rangers moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1965. With the opening of Turnpike Stadium, the Double-A Texas League's Fort Worth Cats, an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, moved into the new venue and adopted the regional Dallas-Fort Worth designation and the Spurs nickname. The Spurs were affiliated with the Cubs (1965–1967), Houston Astros (1968) and Baltimore Orioles (1969–1971).

The Salem Witches were a minor league baseball team that played in the New England League, a minor league. They were based in Salem, Massachusetts.

In 1998, the Will County Cheetahs of the Heartland League moved to Midlothian, IL, where they became the Cook County Cheetahs. Managed by Brian Dayett, they were 23-11 in the first half, a half-game behind the top Tennessee Tomahawks. They were last in the second half at 14-18 but stunned the Tomahawks in back-to-back games in the playoffs for the title. The Cheetahs were last in attendance (10,552) among the clubs that survived the season, the last for the league. All-Stars were 2B Neil Bradshaw (.264) and P Derek Santiago (8-3 with a league-leading 2.17 ERA).

The Tacoma Daisies were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Pacific Northwest League. They were based in Tacoma, Washington and played in Tacoma Baseball Park. The Daisies were active for three seasons, winning the league championship in 1892. In July 1890, the Daisies agreed to allow Sunday games because of poor attendance.

The Connecticut Defenders were a Minor League Baseball team based in Norwich, Connecticut. The team, which played in the Eastern League, was the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major-league club from 2003 until following the 2009 season, when the Defenders relocated to Richmond, Virginia and are now known as the Richmond Flying Squirrels. The Defenders played in Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium, located in Norwich; opened in 1995, it seats 6,275 fans. The Defenders had been known as the Norwich Navigators from 1995 until October 2005. Prior to the 2003 season, the Navigators had been an affiliate of the New York Yankees.