Eastern Shore League

The Eastern Shore Baseball League was a class D minor league baseball league that operated on the Delmarva Peninsula for parts of three different decades. The league's first season was in 1922 and the last was in 1949, although the years were not consecutive, and featured teams from Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia. The first incarnation lasted from 1922 to mid-1928 (disbanded in July), the second from 1937–41, and the third from 1946–49. Though the level of play was competitive and many future major leaguers gained experience in the ESBL, funding the league remained a constant problem for the rural franchises.

Future major leaguers who played in the ESBL include notables such as: Frank "Home Run" Baker, Mickey Cochrane, Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Vernon, and Don Zimmer.

The Eastern Shore Baseball Hall of Fame at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium in Salisbury, Maryland, pays homage to ESBL players and locals who made the major leagues. Perdue Stadium is the home of the class A Delmarva Shorebirds, an Orioles farm team.

Host cities, teams and years

Cities represented	Teams	Year(s)
Cambridge, Maryland	Cambridge Canners	1922–1928, 1940–1941
	Cambridge Cardinals	1937–1939
	Cambridge Dodgers	1946–1949
Centreville, Maryland	Centreville Colts	1937–1939
	Centreville Red Sox	1940–1941
	Centreville Orioles	1946
Crisfield, Maryland	Crisfield Crabbers	1922–1928, 1937
Dover, Delaware	Dover Senators	1923–1924, 1926
	Dover Dobbins	1925
	Dover Orioles	1937–1940
	Dover Phillies	1946–1948
Easton, Maryland	Easton Farmers	1924–1928
	Easton Browns	1937
	Easton Cubs	1938
	Easton Yankees	1939–1941, 1946–1949
Federalsburg, Maryland	Federalsburg Little A's	1937–1941
	Federalsburg A's	1946–1948
	Federalsburg Feds	1949
Laurel, Delaware	Laurel Blue Hens	1922–1923
Milford, Delaware	Milford Sandpipers	1923
	Milford Giants	1938–1941
	Milford Red Sox	1946–1948
Northampton, Virginia	Northampton Red Sox	1927–1928
Parksley, Virginia	Parksley Spuds	1922–1928
Pocomoke City, Maryland	Pocomoke City Salamanders	1922–1923
	Pocomoke City Red Sox	1937–1939
	Pocomoke City Chicks	1940
Rehoboth Beach, Delaware	Rehoboth Beach Pirates	1947–1948
	Rehoboth Beach Sea Hawks	1949
Salisbury, Maryland	Salisbury Indians	1922–1928, 1937–1938
	Salisbury (MD) Senators	1939
	Salisbury Cardinals	1940–1941, 1946–1949
Seaford, Delaware	Seaford Eagles	1946–1949

Selected bibliography

• The Eastern Shore Baseball League by William Mowbray (1989) remains the most comprehensive source for ESBL history.
• Mike Lambert has published the Eastern Shore League with Arcadia Publishing in April 2010.

Sources

• Baseball Reference – Eastern Shore League (D) Encyclopedia and History