Newark Bears

• Location: Newark, NJ
• League: International League 1917-1919, 1921-1949; Atlantic League 1998-2010; Can-Am Association 2011-
• Affiliation: New York Yankees 1932-1949
• Ballpark: Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium 1999-present

[edit] International League

Sign for the team playing a game in Florida, ca. 1930

In 1917 the Newark Indians were renamed the Newark Bears. Except for a lack of a team in '20, the Bears remained a fixture in the International League until 1950. That season the team moved to Springfield, MA and became the Springfield Cubs; the culprit likely was the introduction of television, which allowed New Jersey residents to tune in to games by the New York Yankees, Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants. Never winning a title through 1931, the team's fortunes changed when the club was purchased in November 1931 by Jacob Ruppert and became the main farm club of the Yankees. They finished in first place their first year as a Yankee property, then repeated in 1933, 1934, 1937 and 1938 for five such finishes in 7 years before the Yanks moved their top players to the Kansas City Blues in the American Association, leaving Newark for the 2nd-tier prospects (still good enough to keep them competitive). The Bears finished first also in 1942. The 1937 team is considered one of the greatest minor league clubs ever.

Prominent players included:

• Eddie Rommel - 1918-1919
• George J. Burns - 1926 (led league with 45 doubles)
• Al Mamaux - 1926-1933 (led in wins and ERA in 1927 and served as manager for part of 1930 and 1931-1933)
• Jack Fournier - 1928
• Wally Pipp - 1929
• Tris Speaker - player-manager in 1929 and part of 1930
• Ike Boone - 1931 (batting titlist in 1931)
• Red Rolfe - 1932-1933
• Don Brennan - win and ERA leader in 1932
• Jumbo Brown - win and ERA leader in 1934
• Joe Gordon - 1937
• Charlie Keller - 1937-1938 (Minor League Player of the Year in 1937)
• Tommy Holmes - 1940
• Snuffy Stirnweiss - 73 stolen bases in '42, leading the IL by 40
• Tommy Byrne - 1941-1942
• Yogi Berra - 1946 (hit .314 in 77 games)
• Sherm Lollar - 1947

IL MVPs were Marv Owen (1932), Rolfe (1933) and Mickey Witek (1939). Newark won the Governors' Cup in 1937, 1938, 1940 and 1945 and lost in 1939, 1942 and 1944. Newark also won the Junior World Series in 1932, 1937 and 1940 and lost in 1938 and 1944.

Sources: "The International League: Year-by-Year Statistics" by Marshall Wright, 1984 IL Record Book

Four Bears clubs are considered among the greatest minor league teams of all time:

• 1932 Newark Bears
• 1937 Newark Bears
• 1938 Newark Bears
• 1941 Newark Bears

[edit] Year-by-Year Record

[edit] Independent Leagues

Since 1998, a team called the Newark Bears has played in independent leagues, first the Atlantic League from 1998 to 2010, and the Can-Am Association starting in 2011. Since 1999, the club has played at Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium. In 2002, under the leadership of skipper Marv Foley, they captured the league championship. They captured a second league title in 2007. Some of the former big leaguers to play for the Atlantic League Bears include Jose Canseco, his brother Ozzie, Rickey Henderson, Jim Leyritz, Jaime Navarro, Lance Johnson, and Jose Lima.

[edit] Year-by-Year Record

[edit] Related Sites

• Newark Bears