| Erie Sailors | |
| Firstseason: | 1905 |
| Lastseason: | 1994 |
| Allyears: | 1905 - 1916, 1928 - 1932, 1938 - 1942, 1944 - 1994 |
| City: | Erie, Pennsylvania |
| Past Class Level: |
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| League: | Frontier League (1994) |
| Past League: |
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| Pastmajorleague: |
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| Pastnames: |
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| Pastparks: | Ainsworth Field |
| Mascot: | The Sea Gull (1990-1994) |
| Leaguechamps: | 8 (1906, 1941, 1942, 1946, 1948, 1949, 1957, 1994) |
The Erie Sailors was the primary name of several minor league baseball teams that played in Erie, Pennsylvania between 1906 and 1994.
Several unrelated teams used the Erie Sailors name in the Interstate League (1906 - 1907, 1913, 1916), the Ohio–Pennsylvania League (1908 - 1911), and the Central League (1912, 1915, 1928 - 30, 1932).
During these years, the Erie Sailors played in the Middle Atlantic League from 1938 - 1939, 1941 - 1942, and 1946 - 1951; the Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League (PONY League) from 1944 - 1945 and 1954 - 1956; and the PONY's successor New York - Penn League from 1957 - 1963. Several times during this period, the team was also called the Erie Senators, after its major league affiliate, the Washington Senators. The Sailors won league championship in 1957. The Sailors won the regular season by nine games in 1951. They then lost the league championship series to the Niagara Falls Citizens, four games to two.
From 1948 onward, this team (and all subsequent Sailors teams) played at Ainsworth Field.
In 1990, after the Baltimore Orioles ended their affiliation with the team (then known as the Erie Orioles), they reclaimed the Sailors name and operated as an unaffiliated minor league team for two years before becoming the Florida Marlins' first farm team in 1992 and a Texas Rangers affiliate in 1993. Because of the deteriorating condition of Ainsworth Field, the team moved after the 1993 season to Fishkill, New York and then became the Hudson Valley Renegades.
In 1994, the Sailors were a team in the independent Frontier League, winning the league championship in their only year of existence as a member of the Frontier League. In 1995, the Erie SeaWolves moved to town, displacing the Sailors, forcing the franchise to move to Johnstown, Pennsylvania as the Johnstown Steal/Johnnies and then to Florence, Kentucky as the Florence Y'alls.
| Year | Record | Finish | Manager | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1905 | 58-39 | 2nd | Daniel Koster, Bob McLaughlin & Jack Burke | |
| 1906 | 65-41 | 1st | League Champs | |
| 1907 | 64-51 | 1st | Thomas Reynolds | |
| 1908 | 4-12 | 6th | Frank Baumeister | League disbanded on June 5 |
| 1908 | 37-53 (42-79 overall) | 8th | Butler moved to Erie June 15 | |
| 1909 | 48-69 | 6th | Milt Montgomery, Red Davis & W. Broderick | none |
| 1910 | 55-69 | 8th | Matthew Broderick | none |
| 1911 | 77-54 | 3rd | none | |
| 1912 | 75-55 | 3rd | none | |
| 1913 | 57-21 | 1st | League disbanded July 21 | |
| 1914 | 64-57 | 3rd | Charles Smith & Frank Gygli | |
| 1915 | 64-58 | 5th | none | |
| 1916 | 26-37 | -- | Team disbanded August 9 | |
| 1928 | 76-59 | 1st | Henry Wetzel | Lost League Finals |
| 1929 | 78-61 | 2nd | none | |
| 1930 | 76-63 | 2nd | none | |
| 1932 | 85-56 | 1st | ||
| 1938 | 52-75 | 7th | ||
| 1939 | 55-73 | 8th | ||
| 1941 | 75-51 | 2nd | League Champs | |
| 1942 | 63-65 | 4th | League Champs | |
| 1944 | 61-63 | 6th | Bill Harris | |
| 1945 | 46-77 | 7th | Bill Harris | |
| 1946 | 91-39 | 1st | League Champs | |
| 1947 | 68-56 | 3rd | Lost in 1st round | |
| 1948 | 80-44 | 2nd | League Champs | |
| 1949 | 85-53 | 1st | League Champs | |
| 1950 | 63-52 | 3rd | Lost in 1st round | |
| 1951 | 85-40 | 1st | Lost League Finals | |
| 1954 | 45-81 | 8th | Tom O'Connell, Nap Reyes, Thomas Milich, Joe Consoli, & Thomas Milich | |
| 1955 | 66-60 | 5th | Ted Sepkowski | |
| 1956 | 45-74 | 6th | Johnny Welaj | |
| 1957 | 70-47 | 2nd | League Champs | |
| 1958 | 53-72 | 7th | ||
| 1959 | 49-76 | 8th | ||
| 1960 | 83-46 | 1st | Harry Warner | Lost League Finals |
| 1961 | 68-57 | 2nd | Lost in 1st round | |
| 1962 | 68-51 | 2nd | Lost in 1st round | |
| 1963 | 57-73 | 6th | ||
| 1967 | 26-51 | 6th | ||
| 1981 | 44-30 | 4th | Sonny Ruberto | |
| 1982 | 35-38 | 6th | Joe Rigoli | |
| 1983 | 37-38 | 7th | Joe Rigoli | |
| 1984 | 43-31 | 4th | Rich Hacker | |
| 1985 | 44-34 | 5th | Fred Koenig | |
| 1986 | 37-40 | 7th | Joe Rigoli | |
| 1987 | 36-39 | 9th | Joe Rigoli | |
| 1988 | 46-31 | 4th | Bobby Tolan | |
| 1989 | 25-49 | 14th | Bobby Tolan | |
| 1990 | 44-33 | 3rd | Lost League Finals | |
| 1991 | 37-41 | 8th | Lost in 1st round | |
| 1992 | 40-37 | 4th | Lost League Finals | |
| 1993 | 36-41 | 10th | ||
| 1994 | 42-25 | 2nd | League Champs | |