Friday, April 5, 2024

Peterborough Whitecaps

 Hello Friends!

I can't recall if I mentioned this on here, but while going through Baseball Reference and Canadian cities that hosted a minor league team, two cities stuck out to me.. Peterborough, and Port Arthur Ontario.

Peterborough, dear reader, is my current home. Port Arthur, post 1970, has been one half of the city of Thunder Bay. 

Both cities hosted minor league baseball in the 1910s. 

I looked into the Peterborough team. It was known as the Whitecaps for two seasons and the Petes for one. 

I've hit a dead end on information regarding the team itself aside from a single photograph that was used in an article in the Peterborough Examiner..


In 1912, they were part of the Class C Canadian League. There were eight teams in the league. Peterborough finished 8th. 

Other teams that season included the Ottawa Senators, Brantford Red Sox, Hamilton Kolts, London Tecumsehs, St Thomas Saints, Berlin Busy Bees, and Guelph Maple Leafs. 

In 1913, the team changed their name to the Petes, but their record seems to have not been recorded in any place on the internet. The same teams were in the league though Hamilton became the Hams. 

In 1914, the Petes and the Canadian League were bumped up to Class B. 
The Petes ended this season 49-62, good for 6th in the 8 team league. 
The teams were The Ottawa Senators, London Tecumsehs, Erie Yankees, Toronto Beavers, St Thomas Saints, the Petes, Hamilton Hams, and Brantford Red Sox. 

Between the 1914 and 1915 seasons, the Petes and the Erie Yankees disappeared from the league. The Canadian League continued until the end of the 1915 season, where the league folded. 

Unfortunately, that's about all I have on the Peterborough Whitecaps/Petes. I know they played at a place called Riverside Park, but I don't know where that would have been in the city. It might be East City Bowl, the current home of baseball in Peterborough. It could be where Water Street and Millenium Park are now. I don't know. I have reached out for clarification. 

I hope this was somewhat informative. 


5 comments:

  1. Very interesting. I'm off to see if there are any photos of the Berlin Busy Bees. I want to see what their jerseys looked like.

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    1. Berlin is now known as Kitchener. The area has a number of German immigrants and when WWI was on, the Government changed the city to Kitchener.

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    2. Found this:
      https://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/sports/peterborough-region/riverside-stadium-was-the-centre-of-peterborough-baseball/article_7e4bf413-48ec-59b8-9f5b-57c23796c22b.html

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    3. So it is at the park near Quaker. Thanks!

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