Helena Gold Sox

Did You Know?

• Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg started his professional career with the Helena Phillies in 1978.
• Gary Sheffield began his career with the Helena Gold Sox in 1986.
• Danan Hughes played for the Helena Brewers in 1992 and 1993 before switching to football and playing for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1993 to 1998.

History

Helena's return to professional baseball came in 1978 when the Phillies joined the Pioneer League, ending a 64-year gap. As an independent team renamed the Gold Sox, they captured the league championship in 1984. The club partnered with the Milwaukee Brewers the following year and became the Helena Brewers in 1987. Back-to-back titles followed in 1995 and 1996. After the 2000 season, the franchise relocated to Provo, Utah, but a new chapter began in 2003 when the Medicine Hat Blue Jays moved to Helena, once again affiliating with the Brewers. In 2015, Brewers player David Denson made history as the first active affiliated professional baseball player to publicly come out as gay. The team departed Helena for Colorado Springs after the 2018 season, rebranding as the Rocky Mountain Vibes.

Major leaguers

The following is a list of Helena players by year that later played in Major League Baseball: 1978: George Bell, Carmelo Castillo, Wil Culmer, Bob Dernier, Ed Hearn, Alejandro Sánchez, Ryne Sandberg. 1979: Jay Baller, Roy Smith. 1980: Rocky Childress, Darren Daulton, Marty Decker, Ken Dowell, Tony Ghelfi. 1981: Johnny Abrego, Charles Hudson, Jim Olander, Jose Segura. 1982: Ken Jackson, Lance McCullers, Johnny Paredes, Wilfredo Tejada. 1983: Ricky Jordan, Tom Magrann, Tom Newell. 1984: Jack Daugherty, John Trautwein. 1985: John Jaha, Russ McGinnis, Randy Veres. 1986: George Canale, Brian Drahman, Darryl Hamilton, Gary Sheffield, Greg Vaughn. 1987: Frank Bolick, Oreste Marrero, Ángel Miranda, Charlie Montoyo, Jaime Navarro, Dave Nilsson, Troy O'Leary, Steve Sparks, Bill Spiers. 1988: Bert Heffernan, Mike Ignasiak, Mark Kiefer. 1991: Jeff Cirillo, Mike Matheny, Marshall Boze. 1992: Bobby Hughes, Danny Perez, Tim Unroe; Danan Hughes played minor league baseball for the 1992 and 1993 seasons in the Pioneer League for the Helena Brewers. He decided to make football his full-time profession when the Kansas City Chiefs selected him in the 7th round of the 1993 NFL Draft. Hughes played for the Chiefs from 1993 to 1998 as a wide receiver and special teams player. 1993: Brian Banks, Todd Dunn, Danny Klassen, Mark Loretta, Sean Maloney, Greg Martinez. 1994: Antone Williamson, Kelly Wunsch. 1995: Robinson Cancel, Geoff Jenkins, Mike Kinkade, Mickey Lopez, Greg Mullins. 1996: Allen Levrault, Mark Watson. 1997: Jason Childers, Brian Mallette. 1998: Matt Childers, Bill Hall, Luis Martinez. 2003: Drew Anderson, Carlos Corporán, Tim Dillard, Dana Eveland, Vinny Rottino, Mitch Stetter, Ty Taubenheim. 2004: Alcides Escobar. 2005: Michael Brantley, Ryan Braun, Lorenzo Cain, Darren Ford, Matt Gamel, Ángel Salomé, Joe Thatcher. 2006: Zach Braddock, Cole Gillespie, Taylor Green, Mike McClendon. 2007: Dane De La Rosa, Eric Farris, Eric Fryer, Caleb Gindl, Donovan Hand, Matt LaPorta, Jonathan Lucroy, Zelous Wheeler. 2008: Erik Komatsu, Lucas Luetge, Wily Peralta, Logan Schafer, Rob Wooten. 2009: Chris Capuano, Khristopher Davis, Michael Fiers, Sean Halton, Jake Odorizzi, Josh Prince. 2010: Hiram Burgos, Jimmy Nelson, Caleb Thielbar, Tyler Thornburg. 2011: Tyler Cravy, David Goforth, Yadiel Rivera, Jason Rodgers. 2012: Michael Reed, Tyler Wagner. 2018: Max Lazar.