The Columbus Senators Minor league baseball team was born in 1888 as a founding member of the Tri-State League. After that, the Senators played in the Western League (1897-1899), Interstate League (1900) Western Association (1901) and American Association (1903–1930). The team represented Columbus, Ohio, and played their home games at Recreation Park and Neil Park.
In their first season, the Senators finished in third place with a 64-50 record. The nickname was used again in 1897, when the Columbus team in the Western League changed its name from the Columbus Buckeyes to the Senators. Columbus competed until 1899, when the team had to move before the season was completed. In 1900, Columbus also posted a Senators club in the Interstate League, moving to the Western Association in 1901.
By 1902, the Senators became one of the founding members of the new American Association. Before the 1905 season the team owner built Neil Park, the first concrete-and-steel stadium in the minor leagues. From 1905 through 1907, the Senators won the league title,losing the Junior World Series in 1906 and 1907. The team declined after that, and never finished higher than fourth place between 1919 and 1930.
In 1931, the St. Louis Cardinals took control of the Columbus team as part of their developing minor league system and renamed them the Columbus Red Birds.