Pioneer League (baseball)

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Pioneer League
200px
Sport Baseball
Founded 1939 (85 years ago) (1939)
President Mike Shapiro
Commissioner Jim McCurdy
No. of teams 10
Country United States
Most recent champion(s) Missoula PaddleHeads (2021)
Most titles Billings Mustangs (15)
Classification Independent
Official website www.pioneerleague.com

The Pioneer League is an independent baseball league that operates in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States. Its teams are not directly affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB). It is designated as an MLB Partner League.

From 1939 to 2020, the Pioneer League was affiliated with Minor League Baseball and its teams were affiliated with MLB teams. It operated as a Class C league from 1939 to 1942 and from 1946 to 1962. It was elevated to Class A for 1963 and was a Rookie-level league from 1964 to 2020.

History

The Pioneer League began in 1939 with six teams in Idaho and Utah, operating at the Class C level. The original six teams were the Boise Pilots, Lewiston Indians, Ogden Reds, Pocatello Cardinals, Salt Lake City Bees, and Twin Falls Cowboys. With players in short supply due to World War II, the league suspended operations for the 1943 through 1945 seasons.

In 1948, the league expanded by adding two teams in Montana; the Billings Mustangs and Great Falls Electrics. In these early years, teams in the league either operated independently or were affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) or Pacific Coast League (PCL) parent clubs, as the PCL was attempting to grow (but ultimately failed) into a major league. When MLB's Los Angeles Dodgers displaced the PCL's Hollywood Stars in 1958, the Stars relocated and became the "new" Salt Lake City Bees, remaining in the PCL and taking away the Pioneer League's largest market.

By 1959, the Pioneer League was down to six teams; Billings and Great Falls along with the Boise Braves, Idaho Falls Russets, Missoula Timberjacks, and Pocatello Athletics. The league operated at the Class A level for one year (1963), before changing to Rookie league in 1964, when there were only four teams in the league; the Idaho Falls Angels, Magic Valley Cowboys, Pocatello Chiefs, and Treasure Valley Cubs. By 1978, the league had again grown to eight teams — Billings and Idaho Falls along with the Butte Copper Kings, Calgary Cardinals, Great Falls Giants, Helena Phillies, Lethbridge Dodgers, and Medicine Hat Blue Jays. With the exception of 1986 (when there were six teams), there have been eight teams in the league since then.

In 2016, total league attendance was 616,686,[1] down slightly from the 2015 total of 633,622.[2]

After the 2018 season, the Helena Brewers relocated to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where they now play as the Rocky Mountain Vibes.[3]

As the start of the 2020 season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic before being cancelled on June 30,[4][5] making the 2019 season the league's last as an MLB-affiliated league of Minor League Baseball.

In conjunction with the reorganization of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Pioneer League was converted to an independent baseball league and was granted status as an MLB Partner League.[6] The reconfigured league continued with the same franchises using the same identities, with the exception of the Orem Owlz who relocated to Windsor, Colorado, as the Northern Colorado Owlz.[6][7] The Boise Hawks also joined the Pioneer League in 2021 after moving from the Northwest League.[8]

The Pioneer League announced a five-year naming rights deal between the league and ticket vendor TicketSmarter that would have the league go as The Pioneer Baseball League presented by TicketSmarter starting in time for the 2022 season.[9]

Current teams

Current team locations:[10]
  Northern Division
  Southern Division
Division Team Founded Joined City Stadium Capacity
Northern Billings Mustangs 1948 Billings, Montana Dehler Park 5,000
Glacier Range Riders 2021 2022[11] Kalispell, Montana Flathead Field 2,500
Great Falls Voyagers 1948 Great Falls, Montana Centene Stadium 2,500
Idaho Falls Chukars 1940 Idaho Falls, Idaho Melaleuca Field 3,400
Missoula PaddleHeads 1999 Missoula, Montana Ogren Park at Allegiance Field 3,500
Southern Boise Hawks 1987 2021 Boise, Idaho Memorial Stadium 3,452
Grand Junction Rockies 1978 Grand Junction, Colorado Suplizio Field 7,014
Northern Colorado Owlz 2001 2022[12] Windsor, Colorado Future Legends Complex 6,000
Ogden Raptors 1994 Ogden, Utah Lindquist Field 8,262
Rocky Mountain Vibes 2019 Colorado Springs, Colorado UCHealth Park 8,500

Current team rosters

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Main article: Pioneer Baseball League rosters

Pioneer League teams (1939–present)

Bold text indicates active teams.

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Teams by city

Teams by city
City, State or Province Team(s) Years Seasons
Billings, Montana Mustangs 1948–1963, 1969–present 69
Boise, Idaho Braves, Hawks, Pilots, Yankees 1939–1942, 1946–1963, 2021–present 24
Butte, Montana Copper Kings 1978–1985, 1987–2000 22
Caldwell, Idaho Cubs, Treasure Valley Cubs 1964–1971 8
Calgary, Alberta Cardinals, Expos 1977–1984 8
Casper, Wyoming Ghosts 2001–2011 11
Colorado Springs, Colorado Vibes 2019–present 3
Great Falls, Montana Dodgers, Electrics, Giants, Selectrics, Voyagers, White Sox 1948–1963, 1969–present 69
Grand Junction, Colorado Rockies 2012–present 10
Helena, Montana Brewers, Gold Sox, Phillies 1978–2000, 2003–2018 29
Idaho Falls, Idaho A's, Angels, Braves, Chukars, Gems, Nuggets, Padres, Russets, Yankees 1940–1942, 1946–present 79
Kalispell, Montana Range Riders 2022–present 1
Lethbridge, Alberta Black Diamonds, Dodgers, Expos, Mounties 1975–1998 24
Lewiston, Idaho Indians 1939 1
Medicine Hat, Alberta A's, Blue Jays 1977–2002 26
Missoula, Montana Osprey, PaddleHeads, Timberjacks 1956–1960, 1999–2019, 2020–present 28
Ogden, Utah Dodgers, Raptors, Reds, Spikers 1939–1942, 1946–1955, 1966–1974, 1994–present 51
Orem, Utah Owlz 2005–2020 15
Pocatello, Idaho A's, Bannocks, Cardinals, Chiefs, Gems, Giants, Pioneers, Gate City Pioneers, Posse 1939–1942, 1946–1965, 1984–1985, 1987–1991, 1993 32
Provo, Utah Angels 2001–2004 4
Salt Lake City, Utah Bees, Giants, Trappers 1939–1942, 1946–1957, 1967–1969, 1985–1992 27
Twin Falls, Idaho Cowboys, Magic Valley Cowboys 1939–1942, 1946–1957, 1961–1966, 1968–1971 36
Windsor, Colorado Owlz 2022–present 1

Staff

Mike Shapiro is the current president of the Pioneer Baseball League, having been a senior executive in a wide range of professional sports including baseball, golf, basketball and hockey.[13]

Jim McCurdy is the commissioner[13] and a past president of the Pioneer Baseball League. McCurdy received his BBA from the University of Houston in 1970 and his JD from the University of Texas School of Law in 1974. He mediated the restructure of Minor League Baseball's governing structure in 1992 and was an inaugural member of the MiLB board of trustees from 1992 to 1994. In 1993, he was appointed by the president of MiLB to serve on the Professional Baseball Executive Council. McCurdy was elevated to the position of league president in 1994, replacing Ralph Nelles who was the president from 1975 to 1993. McCurdy also teaches sports law courses at Gonzaga University School of Law and the University of San Diego School of Law. His publications include: Sports Law: Cases & Materials (with Ray Yasser, C. Peter Goplerud, and Maureen Weston) (7th ed. LexisNexis 2011),[14] Thunder on the Road from Seattle to Oklahoma City: Going from NOPA to ZOPA in the NBA, in Legal Issues in American Basketball ch. IV (Lewis Kurlantzick ed., Academica Press 2011),[14] and, The Fundamental Nature of Professional Sports Leagues, Constituent Clubs, & Mutual Duties to Protect Market Opportunities: Organized Baseball Case Study, in Legal Issues in Professional Baseball ch. IV (Lewis Kurlantzick ed., Academica Press 2005).[14]

League champions

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Main article: List of Pioneer League champions

League champions have been determined by different means since the Pioneer League's formation in 1939. There were postseason playoffs when the league operated as Class C (1939–1962), except for 1939 and 1956, and for the three years during World War II when the league did not operate. In the league's one year as Class A (1963), there were also postseason playoffs. After becoming a Rookie league in 1964, the league champions were simply the regular season pennant winners through 1977. Since 1978, postseason playoffs have again been held to determine a league champion.[15][16]

References

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  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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