Description: Ebbets is excited to celebrate the heritage of Minor League Baseball that stretches into the modern game with our Vintage Minor League collection. Featuring a modern crown with raised embroidery on the front.

Product Details:

League: International League

History: Although a Major League team by the same name played in the American Association from 1882 to 1891, a series of minor league teams called themselves the Louisville Cardinals beginning in 1901. That first minor league Colonels team played in the Western Association before joining a revived American Association from 1902 to 1962 when the American Association folded. Throughout that time they served as an affiliate team for several Big League clubs: Pittsburgh Pirates (1936-38), Boston Red Sox (1939-55), Washington Senators (1956), Baltimore Orioles (1958), and Milwaukee Braves (1959-62). The Colonels were given new life in 1967 when the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League were purchased by Walter J. Dilbeck and relocated to Louisville, Kentucky and given the Colonels moniker. They were a Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox until 1972 when they were relocated to Pawtucket, Rhode Island after the Kentucky State Fair Board announced that their home stadium, Fairgrounds Stadium, was going to be renovated to fit football making the stadium unsuitable for baseball. The Colonels racked up a total of 15 league titles and five class titles, while ushering many players through their halls, none more notable than the great Pee Wee Reese.