1900 – 1920
Ballston dominates the baseball scene...

After 1900, local baseball increased in popularity. Early in the decade there was a Tri-County League, which folded in 1906. Teams from Ballston Spa dominated county play in the first decade of the twentieth century.

The Monitors, formed in 1883, continued their noteworthy winning record, alongside the Ballston Knickerbockers, another semi-pro club. Both teams played at the Fairgrounds, with the Knickerbockers playing on Saturday afternoon, and the Monitors on Sunday. Along with the Saratoga A.C. Team, Ballston teams regularly played clubs from Schenectady, Albany, and Troy. In 1904, the Ballston Monitors won 25 of 26 games, their best record ever. They attributed their success to teamwork and pride in Ballston Spa, since all the players that year were natives of the village. It was customary for baseball clubs to accept players from other towns.

Pride in Ballston Spa extended all the way to the Major Leagues during this period. Ira F. Thomas, born in Ballston Spa in 1881, became the catcher for Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics between 1909 and 1913. In 1909 and 1910, he was on the World Championship Team. Thomas began his career in the minor leagues in Hartford, Connecticut, and moved on to play with Newark, Providence and the New York Highlanders before being picked up by the New York Americans in 1906. In 1908, he joined the Detroit Tigers for a single season, prior to his long association with Philadelphia.

World War I interrupted the baseball scene for a brief time, though interest in the game remained high in this area throughout the period. It was during the 1910s that the only professional team in the region, the Mohawk (Colored) Giants of Schenectady, began to play at Saratoga Springs.

Previous | Next | Home

© Copyright 2002, Saratoga County Historical Society