A Bird's-Eye View of Geneva's Baseball History

The history of baseball in Geneva is as rich as they come.

The first record of the sport in this historic city dates back to 1854 - leaving us looking back at 168 years of baseball as of 2022!

Geneva had an official baseball team as far back as 1897 in the New York State League, an early incarnation of the present-day International League.

Later — in 1905, 1906, and 1907 — Geneva played in the Empire State League.

Then, after four decades without a team, Geneva returned to the scene in 1947 with the Red Birds in the Class C Border League. The team name changed to the Robins for the 1948-51 seasons. Another seven-year hiatus was followed by the Geneva Red Legs, who started playing in the New York-Pennsylvania League in 1958; this became the beginning of a 16-year run.

Geneva's following 17-year stretch of pro baseball — all as an affiliate of the National League's Chicago Cubs — began in 1977 and ended in '93.

Needless to say, over these 168 years, it's fair to say hundreds of ballplayers spent their summers on Lyceum Street at the now McDonough Park. Many of those players advanced to the Major Leagues.