Rochester Red Wings

Rochester Red Wings
The Rochester Red Wings is a name of a minor league baseball team, which is based in Rochester of New York. It is one of the oldest and longest running minor league franchise in the history of any of the professional sports.

The team generally plays for the International League, and it is considered as the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins major-league club. The Red Wings usually play in Frontier Field, which is located in downtown Rochester.

The Red Wings had an affiliation with the St. Louis Cardinals for 33 years, from 1928 to 1960, and then it had spent over 42 years, till 2002 with Baltimore Orioles, as their farm club.

The franchise had played from 1929 through 1996 at Silver Stadium, later it had moved to a modern day arena called Frontier Field in the year of 1997.

The history of baseball in the town of Rochester goes back to the year of 1877, when the Rochesters of the International Association, and Rochester used to have a franchise in the league, which is known as the International League at these times, it was established in 1885.

The present franchise is in the town right from 1899, the team was known as the ?Rochester Bronchos' at that time and it had won the league championship in its inaugural season.

The Rochester sports historian Douglas Brei, has declared that only six franchises had a major role in the sports of the North American professional sports, they had the chance to play in the same city and same league continuously and uninterrupted since the 1800s.

They include the Rochester Red Wings, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, and St. Louis Cardinals. He has reported that the Red Wings are one of only two franchises in North American professional sports, which have got a chance to win a championship in almost every decade of the 20th century.

The club has a unique feature as it is one of the few publicly owned franchises in the present sports world. The franchise is owned and controlled by Rochester Community Baseball, Inc. It is composed of fans of the team as shareholders.

The organization was formed by the citizens and fans in the year of 1956, as the team owners the St. Louis Cardinals, had advertised it for a sale. The campaign was driven by a Rochester businessman named as Morrie Silver, to raise money to buy the team and its stadium from the Cardinals and keep the franchise in Rochester.

The organization still owns the franchise as the sole member, even in these days too. The Red Wing Stadium was renamed Silver Stadium in honor of Morrie Silver in August 1968.

The Rochester Red Wings also holds the record for the longest professional baseball game along with the Pawtucket Red Sox. It had lasted a total of 33 innings and 8 hours, 25 minutes over the course of three different days.

The historical game was held at McCoy Stadium in the year of 1981. Even in these days, Rochester Community Baseball, Inc. provides a complete and economical sports entertainment to the Greater Rochester area. The Red Wings have finished the 2007 season with a paid attendance of 473,288 fans.