Lancaster Stormers facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lancaster Stormers
Team logo Cap insignia
Information
League	Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (North Division)
Location	Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Ballpark	Clipper Magazine Stadium
Year founded	2003
League championships	(4) 2006, 2014, 2022, 2023
Division championships	(5) 2006, 2012, 2014, 2022, 2023
Former name(s)	Lancaster Barnstormers (2003–2023)
Colors	Red, black, gold, white
Mascot	Cylo
Retired numbers	42
Ownership	Lancaster Baseball, LLC
Manager	Ross Peeples
Media	LNP

The Lancaster Stormers are a professional baseball team from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They used to be called the Lancaster Barnstormers. The team plays in the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. This league works closely with Major League Baseball. The Stormers play their home games at Clipper Magazine Stadium. They have been playing there since 2005.

Team History

Early Baseball in Lancaster

Baseball first came to Lancaster County in the 1860s. Soldiers returning from the Civil War brought the game home. They wanted to keep playing after learning the rules in the military.

The first professional teams in Lancaster were the Lancaster Lancasters and the Lancaster Ironsides. Both teams started playing in 1884. The Lancasters were in the Keystone Association. The Ironsides played in the Eastern League. The next year, the Lancasters joined the Eastern League too. This made them big rivals. They fought for fans and money. At one point, they even refused to play each other. But they finally played at the end of 1884. The Ironsides won after seven close games. Only the Lancasters continued playing the next season.

Later, other teams played in Lancaster. The Lancaster Chicks played from 1894 to 1895. In 1887, an all-African-American team called the Lancaster Giants started. Many people in Lancaster supported them. The Giants often played against the Philadelphia Giants.

Between 1896 and 1899, a team called the Lancaster Maroons played in the first Atlantic League. A second Maroons team played in 1905. In 1906, the Maroons changed their name to the Lancaster Red Roses. This name made their rivals, the White Roses from nearby York, very angry. Both names came from the historic Wars of the Roses in England.

The Barnstormers Era

Tom Herr, shown here as a St. Louis Cardinals player in 1983, was the Barnstormers' first manager. He led the team to its first championship in 2006.

In 2003, the Atlantic League announced a new team for Lancaster. In 2004, the team signed Tom Herr as their first manager. Herr was a former Major League Baseball player and grew up in Lancaster. The team, named the Barnstormers, began playing in 2005. Their home was the new Clipper Magazine Stadium.

The Barnstormers played their first game on May 11, 2005. They lost 4–3 to the Atlantic City Surf. About 7,300 fans watched the game. In their first season, they won 64 games and lost 76.

In 2006, the Barnstormers had a great season. They won the first half of the season with 38 wins and 25 losses. This earned them a spot in the playoffs. They also won the second half of the season. They beat Atlantic City in the first round of the playoffs. Then, they swept the Bridgeport Bluefish to win their first Atlantic League championship. This was only their second season! Pitcher Denny Harriger threw a complete game, which was a team record. It was Lancaster's first professional baseball championship since 1955.

The Barnstormers also played in the 2012 Atlantic League Championship Series. They won a record 88 games that year. But they lost to the Long Island Ducks in Game 5. They won more championships in 2014, 2022, and 2023.

Tom Herr managed the team from 2005 to 2006 and again from 2009 to 2010. Other managers included Von Hayes, who played with Herr on the Philadelphia Phillies. Rick Wise, a famous pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, was also a coach for the team.

The Lancaster Stormers were first owned by Opening Day Partners (ODP). This company helps run baseball clubs and stadiums. ODP also started other Atlantic League teams. In 2014, Lancaster Baseball, LLC, took over ownership. This group includes Ian Ruzow, Rob Liss, Steve Zuckerman, and Bob Zuckerman. They are all from or have lived in Lancaster for a long time. Steve Zuckerman, Ian Ruzow, and Bob Zuckerman started Clipper Magazine. Clipper Magazine has had the stadium's naming rights since 2005.

Team Name and Look

The team's first name, the Barnstormers, was chosen by fans. It comes from "barnstorming." This means traveling around to play exhibition sports games. People used this term for Lancaster baseball teams as early as 1906. The team's first logo used red, navy blue, and khaki colors. These were the same colors used by the old Lancaster Red Roses team. The name and logo also honored Lancaster's farming history.

After the 2023 season, the team changed its name to the Lancaster Stormers. They announced "A New Storm" on February 15, 2024. The new logo features a bull's head with a lightning bolt. The main colors are red and khaki. Other logos include a bull charging through a barn. There is also a round logo with the team name and a barn in a storm. They kept a white "L" with a baseball as a nod to their old name.

Logos and Uniforms

The Stormers' main colors are red, black, gold, and white. These colors are like those used by the old Red Roses team. The main logo has the word "Stormers" in red with a white outline. It sits on a black background. The letters are in a special font inspired by Fraktur, a Pennsylvania Dutch art style. Below the name is a bull's head in red, black, and gold. It has a lightning bolt across its forehead.

The team's home cap is red. It has a white cursive "L" with black and gold outlines. The home jerseys are white with red trim. They have the cursive "Stormers" wordmark on the front in red, black, and gold. The away jerseys are gray with red trim. They feature the cursive "Lancaster" wordmark in white, outlined in gold and black. The Stormers wear red belts, socks, and undershirts with all their uniforms.

Season Records

• 4 Atlantic League Championships (2006, 2014, 2022, 2023)

Team Culture

War of the Roses Rivalry

The South Central Pennsylvania cities of Lancaster and York have a historical rivalry in all sporting events from the high-school level to the professional. Since both cities are named after the English cities of Lancaster and York, their former Pennsylvania baseball teams were named for the opposing sides of the Wars of the Roses. As a metaphor, "War of the Roses" describes the intense baseball matches fought between the Lancaster Red Roses and the York White Roses. With the addition of York to the Atlantic League, the Revolution and Barnstormers now continue this tradition as they battle each other for lower Susquehanna supremacy.

The "War of the Roses" was rekindled with the sound of celebratory cannon-fire at the start of the 2007 Atlantic League season in Wrightsville, a borough located on the Susquehanna River, the natural boundary between Lancaster and York counties. The winner of the War of the Roses is presented with the Community Cup, while the defeated team is obligated to sing the ballpark classic "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" and plant a rose garden at the opponent's ballpark with their representative color: red for Lancaster, white for York. The first Community Cup was championed by the Barnstormers in the 2007 season, though the Revolution avenged them by winning it in 2008. The clubs also competed in the Route 30 Showdown in 2009–2011, an annual cross-county doubleheader inadvertently created at the conclusion of the 2008 season by a rain-delay.

The "War of the Roses" is a special rivalry between the Lancaster Stormers and the York Revolution. Both teams are named after the historic English Wars of the Roses. This rivalry is a big part of their team culture.

Media Coverage

In the past, every Stormers game was broadcast on WLAN (1390 AM) and WPDC (1600 AM). Dave Collins was their announcer. Some home games were also shown on Blue Ridge Cable-11. Since April 20, 2023, all Atlantic League games, including the Stormers', are streamed online on FloSports.

Team Mascot

Cylo, the Stormers' mascot

The Lancaster Stormers' mascot is a red cow named Cylo. He wears the team's home jersey, striped socks, and cool sneakers. Cylo first appeared on March 4, 2005. His full name is Cyloicious L. Barnstormer. This name is a mix of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young and "silos," which are farm buildings. This honors Lancaster County's farming background. The company that designed the Phillie Phanatic's costume also designed Cylo.

Team Roster

Retired Numbers

42 (Jackie Robinson)

2B, This number is retired throughout all professional baseball. It was retired on April 15, 1997, to honor Jackie Robinson.

Players Who Played in Major League Baseball

See also

In Spanish: Lancaster Barnstormers para niños