New Jersey Cardinals
Encyclopedia
The New Jersey Cardinals were a Short-Season A minor league
baseball
team affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals
. They were a member of the New York - Penn League
and played at Skylands Park
in Augusta
, New Jersey
from 1994-2005.
in Erie, Pennsylvania
from 1981-1987. The Erie Cardinals were then relocated to Hamilton, Ontario
to become the Hamilton Redbirds
by Albany businessman Joe Vellano. After the relocation, the team remained as a Cardinals' affiliate. The team played in Hamilton, Ontario from 1988-1992. In 1991, Vellano sold the Redbirds to a limited partnership headed by Barry Gordon and Marc Klee. Gordon and Klee planned to relocate the team to New Jersey where partner Rob Hillard was heading up management of the stadium. The Redbirds spent a lame duck season in Hamilton.
In the interim, the team relocated to Glens Falls, New York
to become the Glens Falls Redbirds where former owner Jack Tracz managed the interim operation. The team played at East Field
for the 1993 season only. After the 1993 season, the Glens Falls Redbirds relocated to Sussex County, NJ to become the New Jersey Cardinals, despite construction delays and apparent mismanagement by the stadium group which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy 120 days before the start of the season. The new park opened on schedule in large part due to the ownership and management of the Cardinals which was headed by Gordon and Klee's general manager Tony Torre. Torre partnered with a prominent local attorney, Kevin Kelly and the two kept the project moving along with Gordon and Klee's open checkbook. The New Jersey Cardinals put together a 43-32 regular-season mark, and then defeated the Jamestown Jammers
, 2 games to 1, and the Auburn Astros
, 2 games to 0, to win the league title. The achievement was culminated when Torre approached Frankford township mayor Carol Ann Kristensen to change the club's official address to "94 Championship Place". The Cardinals had one of their best player drafts the following year, and several future stars, including Matt Morris, passed through Augusta in 1995.
Over the next nine seasons, however, the Cardinals experienced only one more winning season, going 39-37 in 2002
, before their relocation. While the team suffered through several losing seasons, they quietly established new standards for Minor League Baseball attendance. Utica Blue Sox owner and former Minnesota Twins beat writer Bob Fowler once said, "The Cardinals through Torre took the NY-Penn League to new standards." In 2004
, the Cards made a late-season run and finished with a 41-34 record, but still failed to qualify for the league playoffs. In spite an incomplete ballpark the New Jersey Cardinals shattered the NY-Penn League attendance record in 1994, a record that was established in 1947 when the league played a 120 game schedule. The following season the Cardinals attendance soared averaging 4,700 fans per game in their 4,200 seat park. The club continued to draw well drawing 1 million fans faster than any team in NY-Penn League history. The only general manager in the club's 12 year history, Torre popularized the utilization of split double headers and a number of innovative promotions including the Headless Bobble Head Doll, color TV giveaways and ethnic entertainment. At one point the Streit & Smith Sports & Business Journal listed Skylands Park in the Top 25 professional facilities in North America with attendance beyond their seating capacity.
With the arrival of competition in the form of additional teams in the New York metropolitan area and further stadium mismanagement attendance began to slip. The Cardinals drew a league-leading 142,417 fans in their inaugural season, following that up with 157,557 in 1995, but 115,342 in 2004. The team produced a number of Major League stars including Morris, Dan Haren, Coco Crisp, Adam Kennedy, Aliezer Alfonzo, Skip Schumaker and NFL quarterback Chad Hutchinson.
, a Double-A Eastern League
baseball team. The new owners relocated the New Jersey Cardinals to the brand new, 6,000-seat Medlar Field
in University Park, Pennsylvania
which is located right outside of State College, Pennsylvania
, where the team will play the 2006
season. After the relocation, the New Jersey Cardinals were then renamed the State College Spikes
. Following the first year of the franchise as the Spikes, the St. Louis Cardinals switched affiliations with the Batavia Muckdogs
, a former affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies
. The Spikes then became the Class-A Short Season affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates
. Currently, the Spikes are still affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
baseball season, the vacancy left by the New Jersey Cardinals in Augusta, New Jersey, was replaced by a new expansion team called the Sussex Skyhawks
. The Skyhawks played in the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball
, a independent baseball league. The Sussex Skyhawks folded after the 2010 season, leaving Skylands Park vacant for the first time in the stadium's history. It is uncertain if the Skyhawks would return in 2012.
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
team affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
. They were a member of the New York - Penn League
New York - Penn League
The New York – Penn League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the northeastern United States. It is classified as a "Short-Season A" league; its season starts in June, after major-league teams have signed their amateur draft picks to professional contracts, and ends in early...
and played at Skylands Park
Skylands Park
CenturyLink Field at Skylands Park is a baseball stadium located in Augusta, New Jersey. Skylands Park opened in 1994 and was built for the New Jersey Cardinals, the New York-Penn League affiliate for the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals called the park home until 2005, after which the team was...
in Augusta
Augusta, New Jersey
Augusta is an unincorporated area located within Frankford Township, Sussex County, New Jersey.Augusta is the home of the New Jersey State Fair and the Sussex County Farm and Horse Show....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
from 1994-2005.
History
The New Jersey Cardinals were founded in 1981 as the Erie Cardinals which were also a Cardinals' affiliate which played at Ainsworth FieldAinsworth Field
Ainsworth Field is a 3,000 seat baseball stadium located in Erie, Pennsylvania. It hosted the Erie Sailors and other Erie based minor league teams between 1928 and 1994. In 1995, it was made obsolete for professional use by the opening of Jerry Uht Park...
in Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...
from 1981-1987. The Erie Cardinals were then relocated to Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
to become the Hamilton Redbirds
Hamilton Redbirds
The Hamilton Redbirds were a minor league baseball team that played in the New York-Penn League from 1988 to 1992. They were affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals and played their home games at Bernie Arbour Memorial Stadium in Hamilton, Ontario. The Redbirds were founded in 1988, but the...
by Albany businessman Joe Vellano. After the relocation, the team remained as a Cardinals' affiliate. The team played in Hamilton, Ontario from 1988-1992. In 1991, Vellano sold the Redbirds to a limited partnership headed by Barry Gordon and Marc Klee. Gordon and Klee planned to relocate the team to New Jersey where partner Rob Hillard was heading up management of the stadium. The Redbirds spent a lame duck season in Hamilton.
In the interim, the team relocated to Glens Falls, New York
Glens Falls, New York
Glens Falls is a city in Warren County, New York, United States. Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,700 at the 2010 census...
to become the Glens Falls Redbirds where former owner Jack Tracz managed the interim operation. The team played at East Field
East Field
East Field is a stadium in Glens Falls, New York. It is primarily used for baseball and is the former home of the Adirondack Lumberjacks, Glens Falls White Sox, Adirondack Red Birds and Glens Falls Tigers, The Detroit Tigers Minor League Team in the 1980s. The ballpark has a capacity of 8,000...
for the 1993 season only. After the 1993 season, the Glens Falls Redbirds relocated to Sussex County, NJ to become the New Jersey Cardinals, despite construction delays and apparent mismanagement by the stadium group which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy 120 days before the start of the season. The new park opened on schedule in large part due to the ownership and management of the Cardinals which was headed by Gordon and Klee's general manager Tony Torre. Torre partnered with a prominent local attorney, Kevin Kelly and the two kept the project moving along with Gordon and Klee's open checkbook. The New Jersey Cardinals put together a 43-32 regular-season mark, and then defeated the Jamestown Jammers
Jamestown Jammers
The Jamestown Jammers are a minor league baseball team in Jamestown, New York, United States. The team is the Short-Season A classification affiliate of the Miami Marlins and plays in the New York - Penn League...
, 2 games to 1, and the Auburn Astros
Auburn Doubledays
The Auburn Doubledays are a minor league baseball team in Auburn, New York, USA, that is owned and operated by Auburn Community Baseball. They are a member of the Short-Season Class A New York-Penn League and have been a farm team of the Houston Astros , the Toronto Blue Jays , and Washington...
, 2 games to 0, to win the league title. The achievement was culminated when Torre approached Frankford township mayor Carol Ann Kristensen to change the club's official address to "94 Championship Place". The Cardinals had one of their best player drafts the following year, and several future stars, including Matt Morris, passed through Augusta in 1995.
Over the next nine seasons, however, the Cardinals experienced only one more winning season, going 39-37 in 2002
2002 in sports
2002 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Stephan Eberharter, Austria** Women's overall season champion: Michaela Dorfmeister, Austria-American football:...
, before their relocation. While the team suffered through several losing seasons, they quietly established new standards for Minor League Baseball attendance. Utica Blue Sox owner and former Minnesota Twins beat writer Bob Fowler once said, "The Cardinals through Torre took the NY-Penn League to new standards." In 2004
2004 in sports
2004 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-American football:* College football Bowl Championship Series :**January 1 – Rose Bowl – USC 28, Michigan 14...
, the Cards made a late-season run and finished with a 41-34 record, but still failed to qualify for the league playoffs. In spite an incomplete ballpark the New Jersey Cardinals shattered the NY-Penn League attendance record in 1994, a record that was established in 1947 when the league played a 120 game schedule. The following season the Cardinals attendance soared averaging 4,700 fans per game in their 4,200 seat park. The club continued to draw well drawing 1 million fans faster than any team in NY-Penn League history. The only general manager in the club's 12 year history, Torre popularized the utilization of split double headers and a number of innovative promotions including the Headless Bobble Head Doll, color TV giveaways and ethnic entertainment. At one point the Streit & Smith Sports & Business Journal listed Skylands Park in the Top 25 professional facilities in North America with attendance beyond their seating capacity.
With the arrival of competition in the form of additional teams in the New York metropolitan area and further stadium mismanagement attendance began to slip. The Cardinals drew a league-leading 142,417 fans in their inaugural season, following that up with 157,557 in 1995, but 115,342 in 2004. The team produced a number of Major League stars including Morris, Dan Haren, Coco Crisp, Adam Kennedy, Aliezer Alfonzo, Skip Schumaker and NFL quarterback Chad Hutchinson.
Relocation
Following the 2005 season, the owners agreed to sell the New Jersey Cardinals. The group that purchased the team is headed by the principal partners of the Altoona CurveAltoona Curve
The Altoona Curve are a minor league baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve . The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates major-league club...
, a Double-A Eastern League
Eastern League (U.S. baseball)
The Eastern League is a minor league baseball league which operates primarily in the northeastern United States, although it has had a team in Ohio since 1989. The Eastern League has played at the AA level since 1963. The league was founded in 1923 as the New York-Pennsylvania League...
baseball team. The new owners relocated the New Jersey Cardinals to the brand new, 6,000-seat Medlar Field
Medlar Field at Lubrano Park
Medlar Field at Lubrano Park is a 5,406-seat baseball stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania that hosted its first regular season baseball game on June 20, 2006, when the secondary tenant of the facility, the State College Spikes, lost to the Williamsport Crosscutters, 5-3...
in University Park, Pennsylvania
University Park, Pennsylvania
University Park, Pennsylvania is an unincorporated community in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States, and is the location of the flagship campus of the Pennsylvania State University....
which is located right outside of State College, Pennsylvania
State College, Pennsylvania
State College is the largest borough in Centre County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Centre County. As of the 2010 census, the borough population was 42,034, and roughly double...
, where the team will play the 2006
2006 in sports
2006 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-American football:* January 2, Fiesta Bowl – Ohio State 34-20 Notre Dame* January 2, Sugar Bowl – West Virginia 38-35 Georgia...
season. After the relocation, the New Jersey Cardinals were then renamed the State College Spikes
State College Spikes
The State College Spikes are a minor league baseball team that currently plays in the New York – Penn League. The Spikes play their home games at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park located on the main campus of Pennsylvania State University located in University Park, Pennsylvania. Medlar Field is...
. Following the first year of the franchise as the Spikes, the St. Louis Cardinals switched affiliations with the Batavia Muckdogs
Batavia Muckdogs
The Batavia Muckdogs are a minor league baseball team based in Batavia, a city in Genesee County, New York, United States. The Muckdogs are the current Short-Season A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals...
, a former affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
. The Spikes then became the Class-A Short Season affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
. Currently, the Spikes are still affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Sussex Skyhawks, the New Jersey Cardinals Replacement
Beginning with the 20062006 in sports
2006 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-American football:* January 2, Fiesta Bowl – Ohio State 34-20 Notre Dame* January 2, Sugar Bowl – West Virginia 38-35 Georgia...
baseball season, the vacancy left by the New Jersey Cardinals in Augusta, New Jersey, was replaced by a new expansion team called the Sussex Skyhawks
Sussex Skyhawks
The Sussex Skyhawks were a professional baseball team that played at Skylands Park in Augusta, New Jersey. The team was part of the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball, an independent minor baseball league also referred to as the Can-Am League, from their inaugural season in 2006...
. The Skyhawks played in the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball
Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball
The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, based in Durham, North Carolina, is a professional, independent baseball league located in the Northeastern United States and the Canadian province of Quebec. It operates in cities not served by Major or Minor League Baseball teams and is...
, a independent baseball league. The Sussex Skyhawks folded after the 2010 season, leaving Skylands Park vacant for the first time in the stadium's history. It is uncertain if the Skyhawks would return in 2012.
Season Records
| Season | Affiliation | Manager | Record |
| 1994 | Cardinals | Roy Silver | 43-32, 1st place McNamara |
| 1995 | Cardinals | Luis Meléndez Luis Meléndez (baseball) Luis Antonio Meléndez Santana is a former professional baseball player. He played all or part of eight seasons in Major League Baseball from 1970 until 1977, for the St... |
35-41, 3rd place McNamara |
| 1996 | Cardinals | Scott Melvin | 28-47, 5th place McNamara |
| 1997 | Cardinals | Jeff Shireman | 35-39, 3rd place McNamara |
| 1998 | Cardinals | Jose Oquendo José Oquendo José Manuel Roberto Guillermo Oquendo Contreras is a former Major League Baseball infielder and the current third base coach for the St. Louis Cardinals... |
34-41, 4th place McNamara |
| 1999 | Cardinals | Jeff Shireman | 30-46, 8th place Stedler |
| 2000 | Cardinals | Jeff Shireman | 31-45, 6th place Pinckney |
| 2001 | Cardinals | Brian Rupp Brian Rupp Brian Rupp is a minor league baseball manager of the Wilmington Blue Rocks in the Kansas City Royals organization, he resides in Florissant, MO with his wife Stacie and son Andrew. The 2009 campaign will be Rupp's sixth season in the Royals organization and ninth as a minor league manager. His... |
35-41, 5th place McNamara |
| 2002 | Cardinals | Tommy Shields Tommy Shields Thomas Charles Shields is an American baseball player who played infielder in the Major Leagues from 1992-1993 for the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs.-References:... |
39-37, 3rd place McNamara |
| 2003 | Cardinals | Tommy Shields | 31-42, 5th place McNamara |
| 2004 | Cardinals | Tommy Shields | 41-34, 2nd place McNamara |
| 2005 | Cardinals | Mark DeJohn Mark DeJohn Mark Stephen DeJohn is an American professional baseball coach who in will serve as field coordinator of instruction in the St. Louis Cardinals' farm system. He is a former minor league manager and Major League infielder and coach... |
37-39, 5th place McNamara |
Postseason Records
- 1994: defeated Jamestown JammersJamestown JammersThe Jamestown Jammers are a minor league baseball team in Jamestown, New York, United States. The team is the Short-Season A classification affiliate of the Miami Marlins and plays in the New York - Penn League...
, 2 games to 1; defeated Auburn AstrosAuburn DoubledaysThe Auburn Doubledays are a minor league baseball team in Auburn, New York, USA, that is owned and operated by Auburn Community Baseball. They are a member of the Short-Season Class A New York-Penn League and have been a farm team of the Houston Astros , the Toronto Blue Jays , and Washington...
, 2 games to 0, for league championship