Hagerstown Owls

The Hagerstown Owls were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland, United States. The team played in the Inter-State League (1941–1952) and the Piedmont League (1953–1955). Their home games were played in Municipal Stadium.

History

After the departure of the Hagerstown Hubs in 1931, there was no professional baseball in Hagerstown. The Inter-State League began play in 1939 as a class C league with teams in Trenton, New Jersey and Sunbury, Hazleton and Allentown, Pennsylvania. The league grew to class B status with the addition of four additional teams from Wilmington, Delaware and Reading, Harrisburg and York, Pennsylvania. Professional baseball returned to Hagerstown in 1941 when Oren E. Sterling moved his Sunbury Indians franchise to town and became a Detroit Tigers affiliate. The team was named the Owls for Oren, Win, Luck and Sterling.

1941–1949: Hagerstown Owls

The Owls did well in their first year, posting a record of 75-48 and finishing 5.5 games behind the first place Harrisburg Senators in 1941. Emil Brinsky tied for the league runs batted in (RBI) title with 104. Brinsky also led the team with 7 home runs. Batters with a .300 plus batting average for Hagerstown were Brinsky (.318), future major leaguer Turkey Tyson (.316), Roy Kennedy (.315) and future major leaguer Ferrell Anderson (.304). The dominant pitcher for Hagerstown was Anderson Bush. He led the Inter-State League in wins (20), strikeouts (170), earned run average (ERA, 1.61) and winning percentage (.833, 20-4). The Owls made the playoffs, but were eliminated in the first round by the Trenton Senators. Outfielder Brinsky and manager Dutch Dorman were selected for the 1941 Inter-State League End of Season All-Star Team.