One of my best friends once told me a fun fact about the guitar. Despite playing the instrument for almost 40 years at a professional level, he was still learning notes and chords and interesting things about the guitar. I feel the same way about the game of baseball. Despite having played, coached, and experienced the game since roughly 5 years of age, and now at the age of 53, I feel like I am still learning interesting things about the game of baseball. Case in point, the existence of the Hawaii Islanders and some other fun facts I recently read in a book from 1984, entitled “The Sports Americana Baseball Address List.”

Okay, you may be wondering why I was looking through this book. I may have mentioned it before but if not, here goes. My Uncle Johnny (Walsh) was an avid sports memorabilia expert and collector. He had a system of writing letters with a SASE to sports celebrities asking for their autograph. And he has collected a ridiculous list of sports celebrity autographs, in addition to signed Sports Illustrated covers, and so much more during his lifetime. His collection, which I saw in person early in my 20s, is Hall of Fame quality and probably should end up in a museum someday, should he choose to go that route with his collection. Johnny knew that I was a sports nut, so he sent me this book when I was about 12 years old to get me started on my sports memorabilia journey. Inside this book are mailing addresses, circa 1984, of Major League Baseball players, past and present, as well as team addresses and information on how to collect autographs. Fascinating read, not all that pertinent for 2025 autograph collecting, but still a very interesting book. Plus it came from my sports memorabilia hero, my Uncle Johnny, so that makes it super special to me.

In the front of the book, there are addresses for the then 26 Major League Baseball Franchises. In 1984, the American League had 14 teams, the National League had 12 teams. Currently, with expansion, Major League Baseball has 30 teams, an equal 15 for the AL and NL. Also in 1984, on the Triple A level (highest Minor League level), there were three leagues or divisions – American Association, International League, and Pacific Coast League. Currently (2025), there are 2 Leagues (International, Pacific Coast) which are split up into East and West Divisions. The American Association is now an Independent Baseball League, which is affiliated with Major League Baseball but no one team or teams specifically.

Digging further into the page of Triple A teams, I spotted a number of teams that I recognized right away. From my trips to McCoy Stadium to see the Pawtucket Red Sox spanning close to 40 years – The Toledo Mud Hens, Rochester Red Wings, Columbus Clippers, Richmond Braves all rang a bell inside my head chiming, ‘I probably saw these guys in Pawtucket at some point.’ I live in Norfolk, so the Tidewater Tides are a familiar name, the Norfolk Tides. A co-worker of mine was kind enough to send me photos at a recent family trip to Bosse Field, the former home of the Evansville Triplets and now the home of the Evansville Otters of the Frontier League. And in my recent travels I visited Old Orchard Beach, ME which once held a minor league franchise, Maine Guides. And another who is still in existence – Indianapolis Indians. And others that have simply changed names like the Tacoma Rainiers (formerly Tigers) who still play at Cheney Stadium. In fact, looking over the list of AAA teams on this page, I have visited a number of the cities without knowing there was a former MILB team there, like Portland (OR) and Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona.

Here are the teams I had no idea existed, but do now:

• Denver Bears – they played at Mile Hile Stadium, home of the Denver Broncos
• Omaha Royals – they played at one of the most famous baseball parks in all of baseball – Rosenblatt Stadium, where they hosted the NCAA Division 1 Baseball Championships for years
• Hawaii Islanders – according to their bio, a very popular team until they moved from their original stadium (Honolulu Stadium) to a newer park (Aloha Stadium)
• Edmonton Trappers – their longest affiliation was with the California Angels, was sold to a group led by Nolan Ryan and later moved and became the Round Rock Express (TX)

There are a number of organizations on this page that are still in existence, just a name change or location change, including (but not limited to):

• Iowa Cubs, still the Cubs
• Oklahoma City 89ers, now the Comets
• Wichita Aeros, now the Wind Surge
• Salt Lake City Gulls, now the Bees
• Vancouver Canadians, still the Canadians
• Albuquerque Dukes, now the Isotopes
• Las Vegas Stars, now the Aviators
• Syracuse Chiefs, now the Mets
• Louisville Redbirds, now the Bats

Of course, with contraction and expansion and team sales and the business of baseball over the span of 40 years you are going to get change. Pawtucket Red Sox became the Worcester Red Sox. Richmond Braves became the Richmond Flying Squirrels. Tacoma Tigers became the Tacoma Rainiers. Las Vegas Stars became the Las Vegas Aviators. Some stadiums remain, others have been torn down. A lot can happen in 40 years, and don’t I know that. Still, it gives me yet another reason to research and learn more about teams like the Hawaii Islanders, the Denver Bears, and the Edmonton Trappers and what made them special to their fan bases. And it reminds me yet again that I still have so much to learn about the game I love, the game of baseball.