Bradford Bees

Bradford Bees
Bradford Bees
1939–1957; (1939–1942, 1944–1957); Bradford, Pennsylvania ;
Minor league affiliations
Previous classes	Class D
League	New York–Penn League (1957)
Previous leagues	Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League (1939–1956)
Major league affiliations
Previous teams	Cincinnati Redlegs (1957) New York Yankees (1956); ; Philadelphia Phillies (1944–1955); Boston Braves (1942); Boston Bees (1939–1941);
Minor league titles
League titles	2 (1941, 1949)
Team data
Previous names	Bradford Beagles/Hornell Redlegs (1957); Bradford Yankees (1956); Bradford Phillies (1950–1955); Bradford Blue Wings (1944–1949); Bradford Bees (1939–1942);

The Bradford Bees were a minor league baseball team based in Bradford, Pennsylvania. The team was a charter member of the Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York (PONY) League and played 18 seasons from 1939 to 1957 (the team sat out the 1943 season due to World War II). Over the course of the team's history, the team also played under the names Bradford Beagles, Bradford Blue Wings, Bradford Phillies and Bradford Yankees. In its last season, the Beagles split their schedule between Bradford and Hornell after the Hornell Dodgers had ceased operations; in Hornell, the team was known as the Hornell Redlegs.

As the Bees, the team won the league title in 1941. The Blue Wings also won a league title in 1949.

Bradford no longer hosts baseball at the professional level, nor does it host summer baseball as a few other former PONY League markets that have shrunk to the point where they can no longer support the professional game have done. Its highest baseball squad as of 2015 is a team in the Southwestern New York Men's Baseball League, a weekly amateur league.

Notable Alumni

Hall of Fame Alumni

Warren Spahn (1940) Inducted, 1973

Notable Alumni

Roy Face (1949-1950) 6 x MLB All-Star

Frank McCormick (1951) 9 x MLB All-Star; 1940 NL Most Valuable Player

Jim Owens (1951)

Jack Sanford (1948) MLB All-Star; 1957 NL Rookie of the Year

Carl Sawatski (1945)

External links

All Bradford-based teams at Baseball-Reference.com

Template:New York – Penn League

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