The York White Roses was the name of a minor league baseball team based in the city of York, Pennsylvania, US, that existed between 1894 and 1969.
History
Early years The York White Roses began as members of the short-lived Keystone Association in 1884. The league disbanded after only 20 games. The White Roses transferred to the Eastern League after the Harrisburg Olympics folded.Nineteenth Century Baseball: Year-By-Year Statistics for the Major League Teams, 1871 Through 1900 () The team remained in the Eastern League until the 1893 season when York joined the Pennsylvania State League.
Turn of the 20th century York joined the Tri-State League as the York Penn Parks in 1904. York defeated Williamsport before 3,500 fans at the Phillies' ball park in Philadelphia for the new league's first championship.
The name was quickly changed back to White Roses for the 1905 season. The 1906 season was full of controversy when the rival Lancaster Maroons changed their name to the Red Roses. George Heckert, White Roses manager, publicly denounced Lancaster's team and predicted that Lancaster would end the season in last place after it unveiled new jerseys and a new name days before the season opener against York.1906–1914: A Rose by Any Other Name Yorkers viewed the change as a copycat maneuver since York had called itself the White Roses since 1884. The Red Roses went on to win the first game, 9–4, and an even heavier rivalry began. Some sources indicate that the rival teams were named for the opposing factions in England's Wars of the Roses.
In 1907, the York franchise was moved to Reading, Pennsylvania, and became the Reading Pretzels for the 1908 season. In 1908 a York team played as members of the Pennsylvania-New Jersey League. The White Roses returned to York for the 1909 season. They made another move in 1914 when rival Lancaster Red Roses moved to Atlantic City. After a bad start to the season in York, the White Roses moved to Lancaster and became the Red Roses for the second half of the 1914 season. The franchise remained in Lancaster until The Tri State league broke up at the end of the 1914 season.
New era of White Roses York is one of the six original teams of the New York–Pennsylvania League, joining for the inaugural season in 1923. The White Roses quickly became one of the powerhouse franchises in the League and won their first league championship on September 25, 1925, defeating the Williamsport Grays 5–3, in 11 innings in the fourth and final game of a best-of-five series. York first baseman Del Bissonette homered in the bottom of the 11th to clinch the title.
The White Roses were unaffiliated until the 1933 season when they became part of the Brooklyn Dodgers minor league system. Financial hardships due to the Great Depression caused this version of the White Roses to fold after the 1933 season. The team came out of the dark in 1936 when the Harrisburg Senators were forced to relocate after the 1935 season. The stay in York was brief, as the franchise moved mid-season, becoming the Trenton Senators on July 2, 1936.
The White Roses joined the Interstate League in 1943, spending most of their seasons in this league (1943–1952) as an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates until 1950. From 1953 to 1955, the White Roses were members of the Piedmont League, affiliated with the St. Louis Browns from 1952 to 1953 and the Baltimore Orioles from 1954 to 1955. Hall of Fame player Brooks Robinson played his first professional season for the 1955 White Roses.
The White Roses re-joined the Eastern League, affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals, in the 1958 season and played there until the end of the 1959 season. The York White Roses returned in 1962 as a member of the Eastern League, as the Johnstown Red Sox moved to York. The Boston Red Sox affiliation lasted only that season. They were affiliated with the Washington Senators from 1963 to 1967.
York Pirates
In 1968, the team was renamed as the York Pirates, affiliated once again with the Pittsburgh franchise / team. Sunday, April 21, 1968, marked a historic event in York baseball history when the York Pirates and Reading Phillies (of nearby Reading, Pennsylvania) played the first outdoor game on artificial turf at York's old Veterans Memorial Stadium. York lost 5–3 but the 6,248 audience was also the largest crowd in York's minor-league baseball history.
The 1969 season was unfortunately the last season of York minor-league baseball in the 20th century. After many dismal losing seasons in the 1960s the York Pirates made it to the Finals against the Pittsfield Red Sox of Massachusetts. Pittsfield won the first game of the series 7–4 but the remaining games of the Championship were rained out and York was named champions (York was in first place in the league that season).
Stadium The White Roses had numerous ballparks during the first half of the 20th century. In 1947, York moved its minor-league team from Memorial Field in West York, Pennsylvania, to Memorial Stadium in York. York's minor-league clubs continued to play at Veterans Memorial Stadium/Bob Hoffman Stadium until the York Pirates folded at the end of the 1969 season.
Notable alumni
Hall of Fame alumni
Brooks Robinson (1937-2023), also played third base for the Baltimore Orioles, 1955-1977, Inducted 1983
Other notable alumni
Year-by-year records
Keystone Association (1884) Year Record Finish Manager Playoffs Notes 1884 10–10 2nd Frank Burnham none Keystone Association disbanded June 7
Eastern League (1884) Year Record Finish Manager Playoffs Notes 10–21 5th John Murphy none York replaced the disbanded Harrisburg team July 18
Pennsylvania State League (1893) Year Record Finish Manager Playoffs Notes 1893 51–55 6th William Stevens / Bill Sharsig
Tri-State League (1909–1914) Year Record Finish Manager Playoffs Notes 1909 41–73 8th Frank Reisling / William Poole none 1910 37–74 8th Louis Simmel / Jacob Weitzel / Curt Weigand none 1911 50–58 6th Curt Weigand none 1912 45–65 7th John Manning none 1913 59–52 4th George Heckert none 1914 16–37 – George Heckert / Eddie Hooper York moved to Lancaster (10–46) July 8
New York–Penn League (1923–1933, 1936) Year Record Finish Manager Playoffs Notes 1923 73–51 2nd Rube Dessau none 1924 80–48 2nd Rube Dessau none 1925 77–55 1st (t) Rube Dessau League Champs 1926 79–57 2nd Rube Dessau none 1927 79–58 3rd Rube Dessau / Johnny Tillman none 1928 65–72 5th Win Clark none 1929 71–66 4th Jack Bentley none 1930 66–73 6th Jack Bentley none 1931 73–67 5th Jack Bentley / Frank Uzmann none 1932 72–66 3rd Russ Wrightstone / Rube Dessau none 1933 59–78 8th Rube Dessau none 1936 24–45 – Dutch Dorman / Walter Smallwood York moved to Trenton (16–54) July 2
Interstate League (1943–1952) Year Record Finish Manager Playoffs Notes 1943 73–66 4th Bunny Griffiths Lost League Finals 1944 69–68 3rd Bunny Griffiths Lost in 1st round 1945 49–90 6th Bunny Griffiths 1946 68–70 5th Boom-Boom Beck 1947 67–70 5th Edward Turchin 1948 77–62 3rd Frank Oceak Lost League Finals 1949 66–72 6th Frank Oceak 1950 65–73 6th Frank Oceak 1951 51–88 7th Joe Bowman / Edward Waleski / Eugene Crumling 1952 74–62 3rd Jim Crandall Lost in 1st round
Piedmont League (1953–1955) Year Record Finish Manager Playoffs Notes 1953 59–70 5th Mark Christman / Bill Enos / George Hausmann 1954 72–67 3rd George Staller Lost in 1st round 1955 64–65 3rd George Staller Lost in 1st round
Eastern League (1958–1969) Year Record Finish Manager Playoffs Notes 1958 68–61 3rd Joe Schultz Lost in 1st round 1959 59–81 6th Mike Ryba / Ed Lyons 1963 63–77 5th Danny O'Connell / Johnny Schaive none 1964 55–85 6th Jim Lemon none 1965 67–72 3rd Billy Klaus none 1966 62–77 6th Billy Klaus none 1967 43–95 8th Billy Klaus / George Case 1968 58–82 5th Joe Morgan 1969 89–50 1st Joe Morgan * League Champs *1969– Playoffs Rained out, York Pirates named Eastern League Champions
See also York Revolution Lancaster Red Roses Baltimore Orioles History of the Baltimore Orioles Baltimore Memorial Stadium Eastern League (1938–present) Piedmont League Interstate League New York–Penn League Tri-State League Pennsylvania State League Eastern League (1884–1887) Sports in Pennsylvania Minor League Baseball Major League Baseball National League (baseball) American League
References