MUNICIPAL STADIUM HISTORY

The Hagerstown Suns Municipal Stadium boasts the honor of being one of the three oldest Minor League baseball stadiums in the country.

From 1915-1929, Hagerstown's minor league teams played at Willow Lane Park, where Bester Elementary School is now located. When the city made the decision to build the school, the need for a new stadium was urgent. The Field and Athletic Association was created to find land and build a stadium. The organization struck a deal with the city, leasing a tract of land for 99 years at $1 per year. Municipal Stadium was quickly built on the land in a mere six weeks, just in time for the first home game on May 8th, 1930. Since then, the stadium has undergone two major renovations.

The first took place in 1981, when Minor League baseball returned to Hagerstown after a 26-year absence from the city. About $546,000 was put into the stadium overhaul, which included the installation of a public address system, stadium lights, underground electricity, and new seats and bleachers.

In 1995, $500,000 worth of improvements to the stadium were made, such as the installation of new seats, and upgrading the VIP section to include cup holders. The Sunset Grille and bar area was also added at this time. The stadium is still used today for the all of the Suns home games.

HAGERSTOWN SUNS HISTORY

The team that is now called the Hagerstown Suns has a long history in the Hagerstown area.

In 1915, the Hagerstown Hubs entered the Class-D Blue Ridge League. They played in the league until 1931, winning five pennants during that time. After a long run, the Blue Ridge league folded one month into the 1931 season, and the Hagerstown Hubs franchise moved to Parkersburg, WV.

In 1941, after an 11-year absence, professional baseball returned when Owen Sterling moved his Sunbury, PA Detroit Tiger franchise to Hagerstown. He named his new team the Hagerstown Owls (standing for Owen, Win, Luck, and Sterling) and joined the Class B Interstate League. Sterling sold the team to Gene Raney, who in 1950 affiliated the team with the Boston Braves, and the team became the Hagerstown Braves.

Soon after, in 1953, the team again changed affiliation to the Washington Senators and moved into the Piedmont League. The team name was again changed to the Hagerstown Packets. The Piedmont League folded after the 1955 season and professional baseball was absent from Hagerstown indefinitely.

In 1981, Lou Eliopulos ended the hiatus of professional baseball in the area when he moved his Florence, S.C. team to Hagerstown, refurbished the stadium, and began the Hagerstown Suns. The team was an affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and part of the Class A Carolina League. The Suns became the League Champions in their inaugural year.

In 1988, the Orioles moved their Class A affiliate to Frederick, MD, and their Williamsport, PA Class AA Eastern League team to Hagerstown. The Suns remained the Orioles Class AA affiliate until 1992 when the team was moved to Bowie, MD.

Hagerstown was without a team for six weeks until they were picked up by the Toronto Blue Jays, where they became members of the Class A South Atlantic League. The Suns were with the Blue Jays for eight years until 2000, when affiliation was switched to the San Francisco Giants. In 2005, after four years with the Giants the Suns became the Class A South Atlantic League affiliate of the New York Mets.  The 2005 season brought a lot of excitement as the Suns won the South Atlantic League North Division Title, losing to Kannapolis in the League Championship.  The Suns remained with the Mets in 2006, but will but will begin a new relationship with the Washington Nationals in 2007, bringing with it, “Our Nationals Pastime”. The Suns will enjoy their second season as a Washington Nationals Affiliate in 2008. During the fall of 2007 Municipal Stadium replaced the infield surface, and will have a completely new infield for the 2008 season.