Clinton Magazine Spring 2022 | Page 5

A PLACE IN TIME
Early photos of Riverview Stadium .
LumberKings Stadium . Dated 1937 , the plaque says the stadium was erected by the Board of Park Commissioners of Clinton and the Works Progress Administration .
With the new stadium came a professional baseball presence that had been absent from Clinton for 19 years . The Clinton Owls , a Brooklyn Dodgers affiliate in the Three-I League , christened the stadium with a first-place finish that season .
The Owls recorded a 75-36 record , the most wins the Owls posted in any season . Attendance was 70,000 , about 1,261 per game , according to Stats Crew . The following season was the Owls ’ worst . The team won 46 and lost 75 . Attendance fell to 35,119 , or 580 per game .
From 1939-1941 , Clinton ’ s baseball team was affiliated with the New York Giants . From 1947-49 with the Chicago Cubs and from 1954-58 and 1966-68 with the Pittsburgh Pirates .
From 1956 to 2020 , Riverview Stadium was home to Minor League Baseball ’ s Midwest League . The Clinton baseball team was a White Sox affiliate from 1959-65 and a Brewers affiliate ( calling itself The Clinton Pilots ) from 1969-1970 . Clinton was affiliated with the Tigers from 1971-75 , with the Tigers and White Sox in 1976 , with the Dodgers in 1977-79 , the Giants from 1980- 1994 ( adopting the name LumberKings in 1994 ), the Padres from 1995-98 , the Reds from 1999-2000 , the Expos from 2001-2002 , the Rangers from 2003-2008 and the Mariners from 2009-2018 . The LumberKings began an affiliation with the Miami Marlins in 2019 ; this season will mark the second year of the LumberKings ' membership in the Prospect League .
Aside from its time as the C-Sox ( 1960 – 65 ) and the Pilots ( 1966 – 76 ), the team used the parent major league team ' s nickname before adopting the LumberKings name for the 1994 season . It captured league titles in 1963 and 1991 , according to Minor League Baseball .
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Spring 2022 Clinton Magazine 5