Year founded 1914 Former ballparks Exposition Park Founded 1913 Year disbanded 1915 | Former league(s) Federal League Colors Navy, white (1915) Color Navy, white (1915) Years active 1913–1915 | |
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Former name(s) Pittsburgh Stogies (1914)
Pittsburgh Rebels (1914-1915) Ownership C. B. Comstock & Edward Gwinner Location Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States Managers Doc Gessler (1914), Rebel Oakes (1914–1915) Leagues Federal League, United States Baseball League | ||
The Pittsburgh Rebels were a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1914 and 1915. The team was a member of the short-lived Federal League.They finished the 1914 season as the Pittsburgh Rebels. The team was originally called Pittsburgh Stogies after an earlier Pittsburgh team that played in the Union Association in 1884. They finished the year as the Pittsburgh Rebels. The team played all of its home games at Exposition Park, located on Pittsburgh's Northside. The Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League left the stadium for Forbes Field in 1909. After the Rebels left Exposition Park in 1915, the field was demolished and its property became part of the rail yards.
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Origins
The team's origins can be traced to the Pittsburgh Filipinos a short-lived minor league club in the outlaw United States Baseball League in 1912. The team was known as the Pittsburgh Filipinos in honor of their manager, Deacon Phillippe, a former pitcher with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Filipinos finished in first place during the league's inaugural season, which lasted only one month, with a 19-7 record. The team move into the Federal League, which was still a minor league in 1913 and were renamed the Stogies.
Federal League
In early 1914, the Federal League president James Gilmore discussed with Robert B. Ward, owner of the Brooklyn Tip Tops, that he was concerned about the financial backing of the Stogies' franchise. Ward then found Edward Gwinner, a railroad contractor with deep pockets. Gwinner was then partnered with architect C. B. Comstock as the new backers of the Pittsburgh Stogies. Doc Gessler was named the Stogies' manager. However he was fired after only one month. Gessler was replaced by player-manager, Rebel Oakes. The team then took on the nickname of the Rebels, after Oakes took over as the team's manager. With some strong financial backing, the team did not fare so well on the field. They ended up in seventh place (next to last) that season, with a 64-86 record.
During the 1915 season, the team finished in third position with an 86-67 mark, 0.5 games behind the first place Chicago Whales, who would go on to win the league pennant. That season Frank Allen pitched the first no hitter of the season, after the Rebels defeated the St. Louis Terriers 2-0 on April 24, 1915.
Notable players
Some Rebels players had American and National leagues experience. Pitcher Cy Barger played two seasons with the New York Highlanders (later renamed the New York Yankees) and another three seasons with the Brooklyn Superbas-Dodgers before joining the Rebels. Meanwhile, fellow pitcher Howie Camnitz played for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1904 until 1913 and was a member of their 1909 World Series team. First baseman Ed Konetchy, played for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pirates, before playing for the Rebels. After the team and the league folded in 1915, Konetchy continued his playing career with the Boston Braves, Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies.