Pawtucket Maroons

The "Maroons" were part of a Pawtucket tenure as members of the New England League beginning in 1892 and continuing through the 1899 season.

[7] Haverhill and Pawtucket joined the Bangor Millionaires, Brockton Shoemakers, Fall River Indians, Lewiston, Portland and Worcester teams in beginning league play on April 28, 1894.

Beginning the season with a semi-professional team in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, Yeager was involved in a fight at a cigar shop where he fractured the skull of another man.

The Fall River Indians were the league champions for the second consecutive season, finishing 16.5 games ahead of Pawtucket.

[3][17][18] Tom Bannon of Pawtucket led the New England League with both 101 stolen bases and 137 runs scored.

[3][25][26] Player/manager Harry Davis led the New England league with a .391 batting average and 16 home runs, as well as 189 total hits.

Davis went on to play for the Philadelphia Athletics, leading the American League home runs in four consecutive seasons from 1904 to 1907.

[27] After the 1895 New England season concluded, Pawtucket catcher George Yeager was recruited to play for a Fall River, Massachusetts team in an exhibition series featuring teams from Fall River, New Bedford, Massachusetts and Newport, Rhode Island.

[30] With Germany "Phenomenal" Smith beginning a tenure as manager, the 1896 Pawtucket Maroons finished in fifth place in the New England League season.

[31] Smith had reportedly received the nickname "Phenomenal" after pitching a no-hitter for the Philadelphia Athletics against the Baltimore Orioles on October 3, 1885, facing the minimum of 27 batters in the game.

[34] In August Yeager was fined $25 "for giving unsolicited advice to his manager," as the Boston Herald reported.

Pawtucket catcher George Yeager led the league with 25 home runs before he advanced to catch for the Boston Beaneaters at the end of the season.

Brockton and Newport finished in a first-place tie, as they ended the New England League season identical records and no playoff was held between the two teams.

[47] Brockton and Newport were followed in the New England League standings by the Pawtucket Phenoms (54–51), Fall River Indians (47–59), Taunton Herrings (40–68) and New Bedford Whalers (38–67).

[48][49] In 1900, while manager of the Norfolk Phenoms, Phenomenal Smith resurrected the career of Baseball Hall of Fame member Christy Mathewson.

Mathewson made his debut with New York on July 18, 1900, beginning a major league career that saw him win 373 games for the Giants.

The Pawtucket Tigers ended the season with a record of 26–23 and were in second place under new manager Hobe Whiting when the New England League folded.

Known to be feisty, in 1902, Ferris was suspended for an altercation with umpire Jack Sheridan and received a three-day suspension from American League president Ban Johnson.

"Ferris deserves his suspension, and while it will hurt Collins’ club, I am glad of it," wrote Peter Kelley of the Boston Journal, regarding the incident.

The Portland Phenoms, led by manager Phenomenal Smith, were the eventual league champion in 1899, completing the season in first place, but not without controversy.

Manchester won all six games, to move ahead of Newport in the standings, but the league allowed only two of the wins.

[67] The Attleboro Angels, Lewiston, Newport Ponies, Portland Blue Sox and Woonsocket Trotters teams joined with Pawtucket in forming the league, which folded after playing less than three weeks.

[74] On July 4, 1914, Pfeffer assaulted Bannwart in the stands at Woonsocket before the game that day and was suspended by the league president.

Pawtucket second Joseph Callahan was appointed as interim manager to replace Pfeffer, who never returned to organized baseball following the incident.

Playing the season under managers Frank "Big Jeff" Pfeffer, Joseph Callahan and William Fortin, Pawtucket finished 18.0 games behind the first place Fall River Spindles in the final standings.

[80] Continuing play in the eight-team 1915 Colonial League, the Pawtucket }Rovers" joined the Brockton Shoemakers, Fall River Spindles, Hartford Senators, New Bedford Whalers, New Haven White Wings, Springfield Tips and Taunton Herrings teams in Colonial League play.

[95] In the era, Pawtucket teams hosted Sunday minor league games at Crescent Park.

[99] Built in 1895, the Cresent Park Carousel survives and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

[100] Today, the historic carousel is located at 700 Bullocks Point Avenue in Riverside, Rhode Island.

(1911) Harry Davis , Philadelphia Athletics . Davis played with Pawtucket in 1884 and 1895, managing the team in 1895. Davis went on to lead the American League in home runs four times in his 22 year major league career.
(1888) Phenomenal Smith , Philadelphia Athletics, Old Judge Tobacco card. Smith managed Pawtucket in 1896 and 1897 and was the namesake of the "Phenoms."
Hobe Ferris, Boston Americans second baseman, [ca. 1901]. Michael T. "Nuf Ced" McGreevy Collection, Boston Public Library
(1901) Hobe Ferris , Boston Americans . Ferris played for Pawtucket from 1897 to 1899.
(1910) Big Jeff Pfeffer . Pfeffer was player manager for Pawtucket in 1914. He was suspended and replaced in July 1914 after assaulting team owner Alexander Bannwart .