Newark Bears
From SoSH
| Location: | Newark, NJ |
| Established: | 1998 |
| MLB Affiliation: | None |
| League: | Atlantic League of Professional Baseball |
| Level: | Independent |
| Ballpark: | Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium |
| Championships: | 2 (2002, 2007) |
| Division Titles: | 1 (2001) |
| Wild Card: |
The Newark Bears are a professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey, in the United States. The Bears are a member of the Freedom Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. From the 1999 season to the present, the Bears have played their home games at Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium.
Contents |
Team History
The club is named after the earlier Newark team. It was formed in 1998 by former New York Yankees catcher Rick Cerone, a Newark native. However, the Bears played their "home" schedule at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Connecticut that season while awaiting the completion of their new home field. In addition, the Bears played several home games during the first half of the 1999 season at Skylands Park in Augusta, New Jersey. The Bears inaugurated their new park, Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium, in Newark on July 16, 1999. The Newark Bears are sometimes given the nickname of the "'Brick City Bruins."
Over the years, the Bears have succeeded in attracting star talent to their club. Ozzie Canseco played for the Bears in 2000 and 2001, and his brother José Canseco was with the team for part of 2001 as well. Rickey Henderson played the first half of the 2003 season with the Bears and was named most valuable player in the Atlantic League All-Star Game. He was subsequently signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers, but was released at season's end, and he returned to the Bears for 2004. Also in 2003, José Lima pitched for the Bears at the beginning of the season; after the Kansas City Royals signed him away from Newark, Lima won his first seven decisions for the Royals.
The Bears of the International League (1926-49)
The Newark Bears were a team in the International League from 1926 to 1949. They played their home games at Ruppert Stadium in what is now known as the Ironbound section of Newark; the stadium was demolished in 1967.
Newark was a hotbed of minor league baseball from the time of the formation of the Newark Indians in 1902, and the addition of the Newark Eagles of the Negro National Leagues in 1936. A Federal League team, the Newark Peppers, played in 1915.
In 1937, as a farm club of the New York Yankees, the Bears featured one of the most potent lineups in baseball, including Charlie Keller, Joe Gordon, Spud Chandler and George McQuinn, among others. They won the pennant by 25½ games. [1] Their legacy was ensured when, after trailing 3 games to 0, they won the last four games against the Columbus Red Birds of the American Association to capture the Junior World Series.
Following the 1949 season, the Bears moved to Springfield, Massachusetts. Their departure, and the folding of the Eagles a year later, left Newark without professional baseball for nearly 50 years, until the formation of the Atlantic League Bears.
Teams and Records
- 2007 72-54 Manager: Wayne Krenchicki
Attendance
- 2007.....186,807...2,707 per game
Current Roster
Field Management
- Manager - Wayne Krenchicki
- Pitching Coach - Steve Foucault
Front Office
- Owner - Marc Berson
- General Manager - John Brandt
- Front Office Staff
Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium
Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium is a 6,200-seat baseball-only stadium in Newark, New Jersey that opened in July 16, 1999, with a win against the Lehigh Valley Black Diamonds. It was built as the home of the Newark Bears baseball team, as well as to the college baseball teams of the Newark campus of Rutgers University and the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
Stadium Dimensions
Left Field: 302 Feet
Center Field: 394 Feet
Right Field: 323 Feet
Trivia
- The Newark Bears (International League) team was coached by Tris Speaker in 1929-30 and by Walter Johnson in 1928.
