Life in the Minors
Starting point for a handful of Phillies was in Auburn, NY
For six minor league seasons, the Phillies had a minor league affiliate in Auburn, NY (1972–77). The Auburn Phillies ballclub was considered a low-A classification, playing a short-season (80) games in the New York-Penn League.
Auburn first joined the NYPL in 1958. Only year without a pro team in the city was 1981. In 1978, the team name was changed to the Sunsets as players were supplied by the Phillies and Indians under a co-op arrangement. The current Doubledays franchise has been with the Nationals since 2011.
Ballpark
Falcon Park, originally build in 1927. It was demolished in 1994 and a new park was built on the same site. The Phillies played in the original one.
Managers
Nolan Campbell (1972), Harry Lloyd (1973), Larry Rojas (1974), June Raines (1975), Mike Compton (1976), Ruben Amaro Sr. (1977)
The 1973 club (46–23) won the championship.
Climbing the Ladder
The following started their climb to the majors in Auburn and played a minimum five seasons in the show: (1972) C Bill Nahorodny. (1973) OF Rick Bosetti, LHP Randy Lerch, RHP Dan Boitano. (1974) OF Lonnie Smith, RHP Jim Wright. (1975) Dickie Noles. (1976) INF Luis Aguayo, Ozzie Virgil. (1977) OF George Vukovich, 1B Greg Walker, RHP Jerry Reed. (1978) OF Alejandro Sanchez.
(Compiled by Steve Potter of www.philliesbaseballfan.com and Larry Shenk.)
Happy Day, Happy Baseball
