HISTORY OF THE HORNELL DODGERS

Professional History

In 1876 was the year professional baseball first began with the National League. In 1877, Minor League Baseball began with three leagues including the International Association. In 1878, Hornellsville entered the league for one year, after which the league broke up. Many top ballplayers played during that year in Hornellsville, including Hall of Famers Candy Cummings and James "Pud" Galvin, and Tom Burns who played and managed in the Majors. After the breakup of the International Association, Hornell hosted semi-pro teams and "outlaw" teams through the 1920's and '30's. In 1942, a franchise in London, Ontario of the Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York (PONY) League moved to Hornell and to a newly renovated and lighted Maple City Park. As a farm club of Pittsburgh, the Hornell Pirates played in Hornell until 1947. The Pirates' highest finish was a second place in 1943, but the mediocre team managed to pull in over 30,000 fans every year but one, amazing in the World War II period. In 1948, without the Pirates, the organization became independent, calling themselves the Maple Leafs. Under manager Russ Kerns, the team had a dismal season and finished eigth overall. The Maple Leafs set a record for having the worst record in the history of the PONY League between the years 1942-1965. Attendence that year was still over 40,000. The Red Sox entered Maple City Park in 1949. Hornell finished in fifth place, two games under .500 with an attendence all year of almost 86,000 fans. The Red Sox had a competitive team, but true success would not come until the "Trolly Dodgers" invaded Hornell in 1950. When Hornell became one of the 23 Brooklyn farm clubs and the fifth one at the class D level, a new era of professional baseball was brought to the city, one that would have long lasting effects on the citizens as well as the city itself. In 1950, Hornell won the pennent by a margain of 10 1/2 games. With stars like Don Zimmer, Chico Sierra, Ralph Butler, player/manager Doc Alexson, and Satch Franklin, over 97,000 fans packed the stands at Maple City Park. In 1951, the Dodgers won the only playoff champioship with the help of stolen base leader Maury Wills and 19 year-old pitching phenom Karl Spooner. The team drew in over 74,000 fans all season and played host to over 2,800 fans in the final game, who poured onto the field upon the last out in the ninth inning, earning the Hornell Dodgers their first and only title. Doc Alexson left the team after the 1952 season, but the team remained in Hornell until 1956, a season in which the team finished fourth and drew in only a little over 20,000 fans, the worst attendence in Hornell's history in the PONY League. A lack of funding which caused many of the member teams in the league to fold was the cause of the collapse of the Hornell Dodgers. The Cincinnati Reds would be the saviour of baseball in Hornell. Twenty games through the 1957 season, the Bradford franchise disbanded. Eventually, the club was brought to Hornell. Going by the Hornell Redlegs, the club had a disappointing year. They were, however, managed by a future Major League manager, Dave Briston, and future Philadelphia Phillie Tony Gonzalez of Hornell hit a league-leading 22 home runs. In 1958, the reds moved to Geneva, NY, where fans saw the professional debuts of future legends Pete Rose and Tony Perez. There has not been professional baseball in the city of Hornell since.

History Of The Dodgers In The NCBL

1994 - Finished last in the first half of the season, but came on strong to take the second half crown with a one-game playoff win against their rivals, the Cohocton Red Wings. They went on to win the western division crown before losing to Little Falls in the semi-finals. Phil Haigler had an ERA of just 0.92 and Doug Livingston (now in the Colorado organization) was in the top three in the league in hits, runs, extra base hits, stolen bases, and total bases. Livingston also led the team with a slugging percentage of 0.476. Pitcher Mike Rodgers and third baseman Ken Folkers also had all-star years. Chris Chism tied the wooden bat era record for triples in a single season (6). Final record: 24 -18 (.571) 1995 - Finished fourth place in the first half, third in the second half, and third overall. In the playoffs, they took out 2nd seeded Schenectady 5-3, fourth seeded Ithaca 7-3, and again beat Ithaca in the finals 3-2, and won the championship in only their second season. Pitcher Brian Hendrickson led the NCBL in wins, strike outs, and innings pitched (68 - an NCBL wooden bat era record). Heath Davis led the league with a 0.383 batting average, 49 hits, 16 extra base hits, and 68 total bases. Davis also had a 0.531 slugging percentage. Final record: 24 - 21 (.558) 1996 - Finished third in the Western Division and sixth overall. Missed the playoffs for the first time. Third baseman and closer Ken Folkers barely missed the Triple Crown, finishing first in batting average (.381) and runs batted in (27, tied), and second in home runs (5, tied). He led the team in all three categories. Folkers also led the NCBL in runs scored with 30, in hits with 51, and was third in extra base hits with 16. He had a .590 slugging percentage and a .447 on-base percentage. Chad Johnson was tied with Folkers with 5 home runs to lead the Dodgers. Catcher Barry Larson had a .330 batting average and a .509 slugging percentage. Ryan Luther led the team with eight stolen bases. Jeremy Scheid was among the team leaders with a .415 slugging percentage. Jamal Gaines was the dominant pitcher, with a record of 5-1 and two complete games. Tiger Bell led the team with three saves. Ken Folkers came into three games, recording one win and giving up on hits, runs, or walks in three innings pitched. Folkers also recorded three strikeouts. Final record: 17-23 (.425) 1997 - The Dodgers ended with their worst record ever, finishing last in the Western Division for the first time in their four-year history. Despite the 12-30 record, it was a record setting year for the Dodgers. Offensively, the Dodgers were led by Nate Espy. Espy had a 0.345 batting average and had 36 RBI's, a team record. He also hit 13 doubles, tying a team record. He also led the team with 49 hits. Corey Whitby led the team with 43 walks and made opposing pitchers regret it with 23 stolen bases, both team records. He also broke the team record for runs scored with 40 and was the only other 0.300+ hitter on the ballclub. Steve Dickinson broke the team homerun record with 6. Dru Martinson had 4 wins on the mound, and Mitch Wylie had 3. Martinson and Chris Gallick had 3 complete games, Wylie had 2. Wylie and Andy Tarnoff each had one save. Gallick and Wylie each had 50 strike outs to their names. Tarnoff had the best ERA on the team with 1.08, Martinson was second best with 1.84. Another team record set was Judd Thomas' 161 at bats. Espy's 18 extra base hits, Whitby's 40 runs, Espy's 36 RBI's, and Dickinson's 6 homers all led or tied for the lead in the NCBL in '97. Whitby's 40 runs, Espy's 36 RBI's, and Whitby's 43 walks were also NCBL records, the walk record beat Tim Naehering's Aluminum Era record of 35. Records are broken down into aluminum bat and wooden bat eras because of the difference in offensive output. Final record: 12-30 (.286) 1998 Hornell Dodger Stats - Greg Bryant AB-111, 18 runs, 27 hits, 2B-6, 3B-1, HR-0 RBI-11, Ave-.243, Slg% .315 OB% .273, BB-5, K-16, SAC-4 LOB-21, SB-13, SB% 1.00 Jade O'Brien AB-120, 17 runs, 25 hits, 2B-5, HR-2, RBI-10, Ave-.208, Slg%-.300, OB%-.246, BB-6, K-21, SAC-3, LOB-19, SB-5, SB%-.83 Steve Folkers AB-74, 11 runs, 13 hits, Ave-.176, Slg%-.176, OB%-.311, BB-14, K-26, SAC-1, LOB-13, SB-1, SB%-1.00 Jonathan Wallace Joe Guthrie Chris Nunnally Matt Wagner Dave Parker Steve Luke Brad Rachal Eben Wells Matt Johnson Jessee Kapellusch Desmond, O'Quinne Jeremy Taylor Joey Foster Wes Whitehead Roger Kenner Shawn Barksdale Julio Chinea Terry Tiffee Roger Cox Wayne Chinapen Tim Davis Josh Kinney Lance Allen DODGER PITCHING STATISTICS WAGNER, matt PARKER, dave LUKE, steve RACHAL, brad KAPELLUSCH, jesse TAYLOR, jeremy KENNER, roger BARKSDALE, shawn CHINCA, julio COX, roger CHINAPEN, wayne DAVIS, tim KINNEY, josh ALLEN, lance 1999 Hornell Dodger Stats DODGER BATTING STATISTICS: ALLEN, Spencer CIEMNIECKI, Brian GODWIN, Cliff HARRIS, Silas HOLDERMAN, Danny KEARNES, George MCNERTNEY, Jason MERCADO, Joey O'BRIEN, Jade PAVICICH, Frank THOMAS, Justin GAVILLAN, Pete FROST, Jeremy DODGER PITCHING STATISTICS: BARRERA, Shawn CANTRELL, Eric COUGHENOUR, Jory FULLER, Jerrill HARRIS, Silas IRVIN, Matt SOJA, Steve TROSCLAIR, Steve TYRELL, Trapper WILKINSON, Jake CATCHERS: GAVILLAN, Pete GODWIN, Cliff MC NERTNEY, Jason >b> 2000 Hornell Dodger Stats 2000 CHAMPIONS (Back to Homepage)