Founded in 1899, they are the oldest continuously operating sports franchise in North America below the major league level.

According to Rochester sports historian Douglas Brei, only six franchises in the history of North American professional sports have been playing in the same city and same league continuously and uninterrupted since the 19th century: the Rochester Red Wings, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals.

[citation needed] Lean times were ahead for Rochester, with the 1940s finding the Red Wings on the bottom half of the standings.

[citation needed] In the fall of 1956, the Cardinals ceased to operate the Red Wings and put both the team and the stadium up for sale.

The attempt was successful as RCB purchased both entities from the Cardinals on February 27, 1957, in an event that was dubbed the "72 Day Miracle".

[7] Rochester's Frank Verdi, standing in as third-base coach in place of manager Cot Deal, who had been ejected earlier in the game, was grazed by a bullet, as was Leo Cárdenas, the Sugar Kings' shortstop.

After two straight fourth-place finishes, and early exits from the playoffs, the Red Wings dismissed Clyde King, a hold over from the Cardinals era, as manager of the team, and named Darrell Johnson in his place.

[citation needed] Altobelli returned to the Red Wings after his retirement from the coaching ranks, serving as general manager from late 1991 to 1994 and then as part of the radio broadcasting team through 2008.

1978 was a terrible season for the Red Wings, as the club had three managers, Ken Boyer, Al Widmar, and Frank Robinson.

[citation needed] The team did horribly under Verdi, and was mainly stocked with cast off former major leaguers, career minor league players, and very few prospects.

The only bona fide major league prospect on the team during this lean period was Larry Sheets, who was mainly a journeyman hitter during his career.

In 1993, the Red Wings, guided by manager Bob Miscik, reached the International League finals but lost to the Charlotte Knights in five games.

In 1997, the Red Wings moved into the new Frontier Field in downtown Rochester after 68 seasons at Silver Stadium on the city's northeast side.

[citation needed] In 2000, during the team's fourth year at the stadium, the Red Wings played host to the Triple-A All-Star Game.

The Red Wings' affiliation with the Orioles ended when it signed a working agreement with the Minnesota Twins on September 17, 2002.

The turnaround was capped in 2006 when Rochester, now under the leadership of Stan Cliburn, advanced to the International League playoffs as the Wild Card with a record of 79–64.

With Glynn continuing as manager, the 2013 Wings got off to a dismal 2–11 start, but slowly improved before turning red-hot in July.

At some points they led the North Division, but a late surge by Pawtucket relegated the Wings to a fight for the IL's lone wild card spot.

They secured the wild card on the last day of the season, based on a tiebreaker with the Norfolk Tides, leading the Wings to their first postseason appearance since 2006.

The following season's playoff push came down to the final series of the year in Pawtucket, but a loss on August 31 put them out of the picture for good.

[14] To replace Glynn, the Red Wings announced on January 30, 2015, that former Chicago Cubs' manager Mike Quade would be taking over for the 2015 season, a position he retained for three years through the 2017 campaign.

[16][17] On November 10, 2020, Twins management disclosed to the Red Wings that they would be discontinuing their partnership as part of the broad changes in the minor league system for the 2021 season and beyond.