Baseball league in the Western United States
The
Pioneer Baseball League
(also known as simply the
Pioneer League
) is a
professional
baseball
league
based in the
Western United States
. It operates as one of four
Major League Baseball
(MLB) Partner Leagues in the American
independent baseball league
system without MLB team affiliations. The league is contested by twelve teams from the
Northern California
and
Rocky Mountains
regions, who play a
regular season
split into two halves. The top two teams at the end of each half qualify for a
postseason
tournament that determines the overall champion.
The Pioneer League was established in 1939 as a
Class C
minor league
consisting of six teams from
Idaho
and
Utah
. It later expanded to
Montana
as part of a failed effort in the 1950s to become a third major league rivalling the
American
and
National
leagues, complicated by competition with the
Pacific Coast League
. By the time it was reclassified as a
Rookie
league in 1964, only four teams in Idaho remained. Gradually, it returned to Montana and Utah, and expanded into
Colorado
and the Canadian province of
Alberta
by 1974, and since then has consistently had eight or more teams competing. In 2021, the league became independent, and ceased all MLB team affiliations, reorganizing as an MLB Partner League representing the Western United States market. An expansion into
California
followed in 2024.
As of the
2024 season
, four teams from Montana, three from Colorado, two from California and Idaho each, and one from Utah compete in the Pioneer League. Nineteen franchises have competed in the league across its 85-year history, with the
Missoula PaddleHeads
, a current team that joined as the
Pocatello Cardinals
in the inaugural season, being the longest-tenured. The
Ogden Raptors
are the current champions, while the
Billings Mustangs
, also a current team, have won the most championships (15).
History
[
edit
]
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 into a third major league (a bid that ultimately failed). 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 at least 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]
In its final years as an MLB-affiliated league, the Pioneer League was one of two "Rookie Advanced" minor leagues along with the
Appalachian League
. As such, it occupied the second-lowest rung in the minor league ladder.
Although classified as a Rookie league, the level of play was slightly higher than that of the two "complex" Rookie leagues, the
Gulf Coast League
and
Arizona League
. Unlike the complex leagues, Pioneer League teams charged admission and sold concessions. It was almost exclusively the first fully professional league in which many players competed; most of the players had just been signed out of high school. It was a short-season league that competed from late June (when Major League teams signed players whom they selected in the amateur draft) to early September.
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]
Organization
[
edit
]
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.
[10]
Jim McCurdy is the commissioner
[10]
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),
[11]
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),
[11]
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).
[11]
Teams
[
edit
]
500km
300miles
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Current teams
[
edit
]
Team
|
Location
|
Founded
|
Joined
|
Venue
|
Cap.
|
Billings Mustangs
|
Billings, MT
|
1948
|
Dehler Park
|
3,071
|
Boise Hawks
|
Boise, ID
[a]
|
1969
|
2021
|
Memorial Stadium
|
3,452
|
Glacier Range Riders
|
Kalispell, MT
|
2022
|
Glacier Bank Park
|
2,500
|
Grand Junction Jackalopes
|
Grand Junction, CO
|
1978
|
Suplizio Field
|
7,014
|
Great Falls Voyagers
|
Great Falls, MT
|
1948
|
Centene Stadium
|
3,001
|
Idaho Falls Chukars
|
Idaho Falls, ID
|
1940
|
Melaleuca Field
|
3,400
|
Missoula PaddleHeads
|
Missoula, MT
|
1939
|
Ogren Park at Allegiance Field
|
3,500
|
Northern Colorado Owlz
|
Windsor, CO
|
1978
|
4Rivers Equipment Stadium
|
2,500
|
Oakland Ballers
|
Oakland, CA
|
2024
|
Raimondi Park
|
4,000
[13]
|
Ogden Raptors
|
Ogden, UT
|
1977
|
Lindquist Field
|
8,262
|
Rocky Mountain Vibes
|
Colorado Springs, CO
|
1974
|
1977
|
UCHealth Park
|
8,500
|
Yolo High Wheelers
[14]
|
Davis, CA
[15]
|
2024
|
Dobbins Stadium
|
3,500
|
- List of franchises (1939?present)
- Bold
text indicates current teams
Timeline of franchises (1939?present)
Champions
[
edit
]
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.
[16]
[17]
Notes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Pioneer League: Attendance (2016)"
.
MiLB.com
. Minor League Baseball
. Retrieved
August 15,
2017
.
- ^
"Pioneer League: Attendance (2015)"
.
MiLB.com
. Minor League Baseball
. Retrieved
September 23,
2015
.
- ^
"New Name on Tap for Colorado Springs Pioneer League Team"
.
Ballpark Digest
. August Publications. June 13, 2018
. Retrieved
June 14,
2018
.
- ^
"A Message From Pat O'Conner"
.
MiLB.com
. Minor League Baseball. March 13, 2020
. Retrieved
May 5,
2020
.
- ^
"2020 Minor League Baseball Season Shelved"
.
MiLB.com
. Minor League Baseball. June 30, 2020
. Retrieved
July 1,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
"Pioneer League named MLB Partner League"
.
MLB.com
. Major League Baseball. November 30, 2020
. Retrieved
November 30,
2020
.
- ^
Kirk, Alexander (November 30, 2020).
"Orem Owlz announce move to Windsor in 2021"
.
9 News
. Retrieved
November 30,
2020
.
- ^
Kloppenburg, Katie (December 9, 2020).
"Boise Hawks plan to join Pioneer Baseball League in 2021"
.
Idaho News 6
. Retrieved
December 9,
2020
.
- ^
"Pioneer League, TicketSmarter unveil naming-rights deal"
.
Ballpark Digest
. August Publications. January 26, 2022
. Retrieved
January 29,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
"Pioneer League staff"
.
Pioneer League
. Minor League Baseball
. Retrieved
January 30,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
c
"James R. McCurdy"
.
Thomas Jefferson School of Law
. December 11, 2015
. Retrieved
August 11,
2016
.
- ^
"Memorial Stadium A-Z"
.
boisehawks.com
. Retrieved
March 7,
2024
.
- ^
"Ballers Unveil Full Vision for Raimondi Park"
. May 2, 2024.
- ^
"2024 Pioneer League Schedule"
.
Pioneer League
.
- ^
Reichard, Kevin.
"New for 2024: Oakland Ballers"
.
Ballpark Digest
. August Publications.
- ^
"Pioneer League Champions"
.
Pioneer League
. Minor League Baseball
. Retrieved
August 13,
2017
.
- ^
Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles (2007).
Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball
(third ed.). Baseball America.
ISBN
9781932391176
.
External links
[
edit
]
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