The Syracuse Chiefs are a minor league baseball team based in Syracuse, New York. The team plays in the International League and is the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. Their home stadium is Alliance Bank Stadium (formerly known as P&C Stadium) located north of downtown Syracuse.

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Franchise History

Syracuse has been represented in professional baseball since 1877, when the Syracuse Stars competed in the League Alliance, an early minor league. Syracuse fielded two Major League versions of the Stars, in the 1879 National League and the 1890 American Association. Apart from those seasons, however, the Stars were members of high minor leagues such as the Eastern League (forerunner to the International) and the New York State League through 1917. From 1918-27, they competed in the International League and were an early farm team of the St. Louis Cardinals. But in 1928 the IL franchise moved to Montréal and became the Montréal Royals. The Stars moved down one classification to the New York-Pennsylvania League for 1½ seasons before moving to Utica, New York. ^[1]

The Chiefs date to 1934 when the International League's Jersey City Skeeters moved to Syracuse and were renamed the Chiefs. The franchise played for 22 consecutive seasons in the IL, through 1955, and won five championships, including in 1954. But it was sold and moved to Miami, Florida, as the Marlins for the 1956 campaign. A team known as the Chiefs competed briefly in the Class A Eastern League, then two levels below the IL, in 1956-57 but moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 1957. ^[1] Syracuse was without baseball until the 1961 season, when, ironically, the Montréal Royals franchise was abandoned by its owners, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and moved to Syracuse.

The Chiefs have played in Syracuse uninterrupted since their rebirth in 1961. The team was rebranded as the SkyChiefs in 1997; however, the name reverted back to the original "Chiefs" in December 2006. ^[3]

From 1978 to 2008, the Chiefs were the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. On September 20, 2008, the Chiefs signed a two-year affiliation agreement with the Nationals, ending their 31-season relationship with the Blue Jays. The Toronto–Syracuse affiliation was the longest of the 11 major league affiliations the Chiefs have had since 1936.

The Chiefs played at MacArthur Stadium from 1934 to 1996. They moved to then-P&C Stadium in 1997.

In 2008, the Chiefs wore a decal on their uniform with the letters HB on it to commemorate Harold Berman, a former member of the Chiefs' Board of Directors, who died between the 2007 and 2008 baseball seasons.

For the 2009 season, the Chiefs will wear a decal on their uniform with the letters HM on it to commemorate Hy Miller, a former State Assemblyman for New York and a former director on the Chiefs' Board of Directors, who died between the 2008 and 2009 baseball seasons.

Titles

The Chiefs have won the Governors' Cup, the championship of the IL, 8 times, and have played in the championship series 17 times.

• 1935 - Defeated Montréal
• 1942 - Defeated Jersey City
• 1943 - Defeated Toronto
• 1946 - Lost to Montréal
• 1947 - Defeated Buffalo
• 1948 - Lost to Montréal
• 1951 - Lost to Montréal
• 1954 - Defeated Montréal
• 1964 - Lost to Rochester
• 1969 - Defeated Columbus
• 1970 - Defeated Columbus
• 1974 - Lost to Rochester
• 1975 - Lost to Tidewater
• 1976 - Defeated Richmond
• 1979 - Lost to Columbus
• 1989 - Lost to Richmond
• 1994 - Lost to Richmond

After 11 years since the Chiefs have been in the playoffs, 15 years since the Chiefs have been in the finals of the championship series, and 33 years since the Chiefs have won the Governors' Cup, the Chiefs have a shot at the playoffs, as the 2009 season is wrapping up. The Chiefs, as of the end of August, are second in both the Northern Division and the Wild Card, trailing by a couple of games behind the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees in the north, and trailing by a couple of games behind the Gwinnett Braves in the Wild Card.

Current roster

Players				Coaches/Other
Starting rotation Bullpen		Catchers Infielders Outfielders		Manager Coaches † Disabled list ‡ Reserve list § Suspended list

Alumni

• Chris Carpenter
• Bobby Cox
• Carlos Delgado
• Shawn Green
• Ron Guidry
• Roy Halladay
• Aaron Hill
• Casey Janssen
• Zach Jackson
• Fred McGriff
• Denny McLain
• Thurman Munson
• Deion Sanders
• Hank Sauer
• Travis Snider
• Luis Sojo
• Johnny Reder
• Alex Rios
• David Wells
• Vernon Wells

Retired numbers

References

1. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, eds., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball,'' 3d edition. Durham, N.C.: Baseball America, 2007
2. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, eds., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball,'' 3d edition. Durham, N.C.: Baseball America, 2007
3. "Chiefs" Nickname Returns Full Steam Ahead