St. Petersburg Saints
St. Petersburg Saints 1920–2000 (1920-1928, 1947-2000) St. Petersburg, Florida |
|
Class-level | |
---|---|
Previous | <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
|
Minor league affiliations | |
League | Florida State League (1955–2000) |
Previous leagues
|
|
Major league affiliations | |
Previous | <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
|
Minor league titles | |
League titles | 9 (1922, 1951, 1958, 1959, 1967, 1973, 1975, 1986, 1997) |
Team data | |
Previous names
|
<templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
|
Previous parks
|
<templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
|
The St. Petersburg Saints were a minor league baseball team that operated out of St. Petersburg, Florida. The team began as a semi-pro team and as early as October 1908, the semi-pro Saints played the Cincinnati Reds in a post-season exhibition game.[1] By 1914, the Saints were receiving regular coverage in the local press.[2] They played in the Florida State League from 1920-1928 and then folded operations. A second team, also called the St.Petersburg Saints played in the Florida International League from 1947-1954 and the Florida State League from 1955-1965. The team won four championships and were owned by R. Vernon and Irene C. Eckert from 1951-1954.
Affiliations
They were affiliated with Cleveland in 1949, the New York Yankees from 1956-1961, and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1962-1965. The team name was changed to the St. Petersburg Cardinals upon their signing an affiliation deal with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1966. They continued as the Cards through 1996, winning four more championships. The team was renamed once more in 1997 as the St. Petersburg Devil Rays (an affiliation deal with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays) and remained operation until folding for good after the 2000 season when the Devil Rays affiliated with the Advanced Single-A Bakersfield Blaze for the 2001 season.
Legacy
On June 23, 2007, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays wore 1955 St. Petersburg Saints uniforms in a turn back the clock game against the Dodgers. Rays coach Don Zimmer had played on the 1955 World Series champion Brooklyn Dodgers and the Rays honored the 1955 team and Zimmer.[3]
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
Cite error: Invalid <references>
tag; parameter "group" is allowed only.
<references />
, or <references group="..." />
External links
- Pages with reference errors
- Defunct minor league baseball teams
- Defunct Florida State League teams
- Sports in St. Petersburg, Florida
- Los Angeles Dodgers minor league affiliates
- Tampa Bay Devil Rays minor league affiliates
- St. Louis Cardinals minor league affiliates
- New York Yankees minor league affiliates
- Cleveland Indians minor league affiliates
- 2000 disestablishments in Florida
- Defunct baseball teams in Florida
- 1920 establishments in Florida
- Sports clubs established in 1920
- Sports clubs disestablished in 2000