Pioneer Field and Team HOF Coming to Allegheny Field

[Tyler]

EDITOR'S NOTE: All references to the original Coal Sox are real-world facts. Also, check out the homepage version of the article for lots of goodies about the first team (team photo, uniforms, lineup card, stadium photos, etc.)

by Patrick Bailey, Charleston Gazette

Charleston, WV – In what team founder, owner, and general manager Tyler Babcock called a “long-overdue tribute,” the West Virginia Coal Sox announced that the team will be expanding Allegheny Field with a new center-field park to be known as “Pioneer Field.” The expansion will be centered around 3,100 new bleacher seats and a team Hall of Fame.

At the press conference announcing the expansion, Babcock explained the motivation behind the project.

“This franchise has always drawn inspiration from the first Coal Sox, and it’s time we properly recognized their accomplishments and drew attention to how their hard work has allowed us to become the team that we are. Pioneer Field will be a great way to recognize the Coal Sox, and in time become our own Hall of Fame.”

Indeed, the story of the original West Virginia Coal Sox is not well known. In 1993, the independent Frontier League was just getting off the ground. The eight-team league played on high school, collegiate, and community fields in Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky. The tiny hamlet of Wayne, WV (population 1,100) was the proud home of one of the original eight Frontier League teams – the West Virginia Coal Sox. The Coal Sox played on the Wayne high school field and were managed by George Brumfield, who also coached the high school team. Unable to find a willing buyer, the franchise was owned and operated by the Frontier League itself. After only two weeks of play, the league deemed the Coal Sox financially hopeless and folded the team. West Virginia had gone 3-7. Its players and coaches never received a paycheck.

Fourteen years later, a young multi-millionaire found himself the owner of a baseball franchise in need of a home. A long-time fan of independent baseball, Babcock said the Allegheny Valley was a natural fit. “After I bought the franchise and decided to move it out of Miami, I knew there was only one place I wanted to go – West Virginia. And once that decision had been made, I knew there was only one possible name for the franchise.”

Pioneer Field, named after the high school home of the original Coal Sox, will contain the pressbox from the original stadium, which Babcock received as a gift of thanks when he donated a new field to Wayne High School last winter. The pressbox will be turned into a small museum, filled with exhibits about the original franchise as well as historical memorabilia. Outside the pressbox, in an outdoor park, will be the modern Coal Sox’s Hall of Fame. The inaugural class of inductees? All of the Coal Sox from 1993, those dedicated players who never got paid.

That is, if Babcock can find out where they are.

“We’re talking about maybe twenty-some guys, whose baseball abilities were fringe-low minors at best, from fifteen years ago who played ten games whose total attendance was less than seven hundred people on a high school field in a tiny town in West Virginia,” stated Babcock. “It’s been difficult.”

So far, Babcock’s staff hasn’t been able to track down any of the original players. Although he has a copy of the opening day lineup card, learning anything but the player’s names has been hard work. Amongst his successes, Babcock has discovered the following about these original members of the Black Lung Brigade.

Rob Jackson – With a 2-0 record and 1.64 ERA, the Coal Sox opening day starter was the Frontier League’s first Pitcher of the Week. He was picked up by the Portsmouth Explorers after the Coal Sox folded.

Dave Dorish – A left-handed bullpen workhorse, Dorish pitched in five games for the Coal Sox and went 1-2. He found a home with the Chillicothe Paints to finish out the season, where his 2.52 ERA led the team.

Tony Susino – Tony pitched for the Coal Sox and was also picked up by the Paints, but never played for Chillicothe.

Jack Scholz – Another Coal Sox picked up by Chillicothe, Scholz also never appeared in a game for the Paints. He played second base.

In addition to the players, one other man will be a member of the inaugural 2009 Coal Sox Hall of Fame – manager George Brumfield. In stark contrast to the difficulty of tracking down the original players, Brumfield found the Coal Sox – two years ago, as a matter of fact.

“I opened up the paper one day,” said Brumfield, “and about had a heart attack. The logo was different, the colors were different, the uniforms were unrecognizable, but there’s no forgetting that name in the box score. The Coal Sox had come back from the dead.”

To close the press conference, Babcock made one additional announcement – in addition to cutting the ribbon at the Pioneer Field opening ceremony, Brumfield will throw out the first pitch on Opening Day.

“This is something that should have happened two years ago,” lamented Babcock. “But it’s better late than never.”

Construction of the new bleacher section has already been completed. The park and monument plaques are in place awaiting arrival of the press box from storage. The Coal Sox are optimistic that construction will be complete for Opening Day on April 6th against Manchester.

“In a few years we’ll be ready to induct the first members of our Coal Sox into the Hall of Fame,” Babcock said. “And I’m a realist – the accomplishments of this franchise dwarf those of the first. But with Pioneer Field, it’s my hope that the team from 1993 will never be forgotten.”

Babcock needn’t worry. As long as the West Virginia Coal Sox play in the PEBA, the memory of the Frontier League team will remain alive.