Pro Baseball In The Capital, A Look Back
Part 1: The Early Years
We jump in the Way Back Machine heading to the year 1857 when Queen Victoria selected Ottawa, Ontario to become the national capital of Canada (then known as the United Province of Canada). Nothing much happened afterward and there were many dark, boring days in the region. Not really but that’s a whole different story that we’re not interested in 😁. These days mounted relentlessly until the year 1898. That was the year professional baseball arrived in Ottawa.
In the middle of the 1898 Eastern League (Class A) season, the Rochester Patriots were in dire straights and ended up folding on July 12. The franchise moved to Ottawa the very next day where the Ottawa Wanderers were born and professional baseball debuted in the capital. They finished 18.5 games back with a record of 53-70 in their only season.
More dark & boring days were had until the next time professional baseball was in Ottawa. That was 1906 … and once again, not for long. Only one season for the Northern Independent League expansion franchise that came in 2nd place with an 18-16 record.
The Ottawa Senators not only brought pro ball back to the capital in 1912 but also started a magnificent run of form in the Canadian League. They finished first in 1912 (63-35, Class C), 1913 (66-39, Class C), 1914 (76-45, Class B) and 1915 (72-39, Class B). They were here for a good time, but not a long time.
After a seven-year hiatus, the Senators returned to the Eastern Canada League (Class B) in 1922. For the 1923 season, they played as the Ottawa Canadiens then one more name change to the Ottawa-Hull Senators for the 1924 season where they played in the Quebec-Ontario-Vermont League (Class B).
The completion of the 1924 season kicked off a 12-year lapse with no professional baseball in Canada’s Capital.
The Canadian-American League (Class C) was the Senators home for their return in 1936. Manager Walt Masters led the Sens to a 53-37 record with James Stephenson leading the squad with a 1.055 OPS over 307 AB.
A return to the Canadian-American League (Class C) for the 1937 season brought us another name change. The Ottawa Braves took the field under manager Clair Forster and……struggled to a 32-75 record. This was also the first time a pro team from Ottawa was a minor league affiliate (Boston Bees, NL).
The Braves returned in 1938 under new manager George Army. New season, new manager, same struggles with a 38-83 record.
Combining for a 70-158 record over the previous two seasons led to a name change…again. To the Senators…again. Not too sure it helped all that much with an improved but still sub.500 55-69 record for Ottawa in 1939.
Let’s tweak the name & franchise another time for the 1940 Canadian-American League season (Ottawa-Ogdensburg Senators) where Ogdensburg & Ottawa partnered for the season. The Sens were a Philadelphia Phillies affiliate that finished first in the regular season standings with an 84-39 record. After getting knocked out of the 1940 playoffs by the Amsterdam Rugmakers, the Sens did not field a team for the 1941 season or any season until 1947.
Let’s take this 7-year interlude in the history of professional baseball in Ottawa as our time to end Part 1 and look forward to Part 2. Thank you for checking in today and I’ll be talking with you all again soon. Until then…KEEP IT 80 GRADE.
Sources & Resources
Canadian Baseball Network, Bob Elliot, Ottawa Pro Ball History Pt.1
Canadian Baseball Network, Adam Morrissette, Ottawa Pro Ball History Pt.2