Johnstown Johnnies (1883–1961)

Did You Know?

• Johnstown teams played at Point Stadium beginning in 1926.
• Point Stadium underwent major renovations in 1995 and 2005.
• Point Stadium has hosted the AAABA Tournament since 1946.

History

The Johnstown Johnnies name began in 1904 with a team in the independent Pennsylvania League, which became the Tri-State League the following year; that squad relocated to Chester, Pennsylvania during the 1912 season. The Johnnies returned in 1925 in the Middle Atlantic League, playing every season through 1942, when World War II caused a temporary halt. They resumed in 1946 and folded in 1950. Before the Johnnies name, Johnstown fielded teams in 1883 (Western Interstate League) and 1884 (Iron & Oil Association), followed by the Johnstown Pirates/Terrors in the Pennsylvania State League and the Johnstown Mormans in the New York State League in 1898. In 1955, the Wilkes-Barre Barons moved to Johnstown and became the Johnnies for two seasons. The Boston Red Sox placed an affiliate in Johnstown in 1961, called the Johnstown Red Sox, managed by Eddie Popowski, featuring future major leaguers such as Guido Grilli, Bob Heffner, Jerry Mallett, Al Moran, Dave Morehead, Ted Schreiber, Pete Smith, Bill Spanswick, and Wilbur Wood. A later version, first named the Steal and then the Johnnies, played in the Frontier League from 1995 to 2002 before moving to Florence, Kentucky to become the Florence Freedom.