Lancaster Stormers

Baseball first came to Lancaster County in the 1860s by soldiers returning home from the Civil War. They learned the rules while serving in the military and wanted to continue playing.{{cite web | title=Baseball Comes to Lancaster | work=Lancaster County Historical Society | url=http://www.lancasterhistory.org/collections/exhibitions/Baseball/baseball1.htm | access-date=May 6, 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060503224908/http://www.lancasterhistory.org/collections/exhibitions/Baseball/baseball1.htm |archive-date = May 3, 2006}} The very first professional baseball teams in Lancaster were the Lancaster Lancasters and the Lancaster Ironsides. The Lancasters played in the Keystone Association while the Ironsides played in the Eastern League, both starting in 1884. The following season, the Lancasters joined the Eastern League, and the two teams became rivals. They competed against each other for fan support, league affiliation, and money at the gate. At its peak, insults and refusals to play against each other were the norm. The teams finally agreed to play each other at the end of the 1884 season, in which the Ironsides defeated the Lancasters after seven very close games. Only the Lancasters continued to play the next season.{{cite web | title=Lancasters, Ironsides, and Chicks | work=Lancaster County Historical Society | url=http://www.lancasterhistory.org/collections/exhibitions/Baseball/baseball2.htm | access-date=May 6, 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060503224839/http://www.lancasterhistory.org/collections/exhibitions/Baseball/baseball2.htm |archive-date = May 3, 2006}}

In the 1894 to 1895 seasons, a team called the Lancaster Chicks played in the Keystone Association. An all-African-American team called the Lancaster Giants followed in 1887, and many Lancastrians supported the team despite the social pressure of the day. The Giants hosted many exhibition games against the Philadelphia Giants of the Keystone Club.{{cite web | title=Black Baseball in Lancaster | work=Lancaster County Historical Society | url=http://www.lancasterhistory.org/collections/exhibitions/Baseball/baseball3.htm | access-date=May 6, 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060503224845/http://www.lancasterhistory.org/collections/exhibitions/Baseball/baseball3.htm |archive-date = May 3, 2006}}

Between 1896 and 1899, the first team called the Lancaster Maroons played in the original Atlantic League. In 1905, the second inception of the Maroons played in the Tri-State League.{{cite web | title=Lancaster Marooned | work=Lancaster County Historical Society | url=http://www.lancasterhistory.org/collections/exhibitions/Baseball/baseball4.htm | access-date=May 6, 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060503224815/http://www.lancasterhistory.org/collections/exhibitions/Baseball/baseball4.htm |archive-date = May 3, 2006}}

In 1906, the Maroons became the Lancaster Red Roses. As both teams were named for the opposing factions in England's historic Wars of the Roses, the name change infuriated the rival White Roses from the nearby city of York.{{cite web | title=Lancaster's Roses Bloom and Wither | work=Lancaster County Historical Society | url=http://www.lancasterhistory.org/collections/exhibitions/Baseball/baseball5.htm | access-date=May 6, 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060503224857/http://www.lancasterhistory.org/collections/exhibitions/Baseball/baseball5.htm |archive-date = May 3, 2006}}

File:TommyHerr1983.jpg player in 1983, was the Barnstormers' first manager. He led the team to its first championship in 2006.]]

In 2003, the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball formally announced an expansion team for the city of Lancaster. In November 2004, the Barnstormers announced the signing of Tom Herr, a Major League Baseball veteran and Lancaster native, as the team's first manager.{{cite web | title=Barnstormers Make Herr Theirs | work=FOX23 News | url=http://www.fox23news.com/sports/mlb/mlbguide/story.aspx?content_id=FF2FABB0-1207-415B-BCEC-4D16FCE631BB | access-date=May 6, 2006 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924015005/http://www.fox23news.com/sports/mlb/mlbguide/story.aspx?content_id=FF2FABB0-1207-415B-BCEC-4D16FCE631BB | archive-date=September 24, 2015 }} The Barnstormers' were set to begin competition in 2005 at the newly built Penn Medicine Park.

On May 11, they lost their first game, 4–3, to the Atlantic City Surf, in front of 7,300 fans. They finished the 2005 season with a record of 64 wins and 76 losses. In finishing the first half of the 2006 season with a record of 38–25, the Barnstormers qualified for their first Atlantic League playoff berth. They also won the second half, posting a record of 37–26. After defeating division challenger, Atlantic City, in the first round of the playoffs, the Barnstormers swept the Bridgeport Bluefish to win their first Atlantic League championship, in only their second season. Pitcher Denny Harriger threw a complete game, breaking a franchise record for consecutive pitches. It was the city of Lancaster's first professional championship since 1955 when the former Red Roses won the Piedmont League title. The Barnstormers played in the 2012 Atlantic League Championship Series but were ultimately defeated by the Long Island Ducks in Game 5.{{cite web | title=Long Island Ducks Take Atlantic League Title| work=Yahoo.com | url=https://sports.yahoo.com/news/long-island-ducks-atlantic-league-title-121400796--mlb.html | access-date=March 3, 2013}} In 2012, the Lancaster Barnstormers set an Atlantic League record with 88 wins.{{cite web | title=Stormers coaching staff | work=Lancaster Barnstormers | url=http://lancasterbarnstormers.com/coaches.cfm | access-date=October 1, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704131322/http://lancasterbarnstormers.com/coaches.cfm |archive-date=July 4, 2008}}

Herr managed the team from 2005 to 2006 and from 2009 to 2010. In 2008, the Barnstormers was coached by Von Hayes, a former teammate of Herr from the 1989 and 1990 Philadelphia Phillies.{{cite web| title=Barnstormers hire Hayes, Herr duo| work=Lancaster Online| url=http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/231548| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222045612/http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/231548| url-status=dead| archive-date=December 22, 2008| access-date=December 18, 2008}} Rick Wise, the winning pitcher for the Boston Red Sox in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, is also a managerial alumnus of the Lancaster Barnstormers. He was the team's third base coach from the inaugural 2005 season to the end of the 2008 campaign. Herr, in his second term, was succeeded by Butch Hobson.{{cite web| title=Hobson Comes to Lancaster| work=Atlantic League| url=http://www.atlanticleague.com/cgi-bin/dist/news.cgi?id=1287520776| access-date=October 21, 2010| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101113015026/http://atlanticleague.com/cgi-bin/dist/news.cgi?id=1287520776| archive-date=November 13, 2010}}

The Lancaster Stormers was originally owned by Opening Day Partners (ODP), a company that specializes in baseball club and stadium operations. ODP also created Atlantic League clubs in York, Pennsylvania, Southern Maryland, and Sugar Land, Texas. On November 12, 2014, ODP transitioned its ownership of the Stormers to Lancaster Baseball, LLC. Lancaster Baseball consists of Ian Ruzow, Rob Liss, Steve Zuckerman, and Bob Zuckerman. Ian Ruzow was born in South Africa and moved to the USA in 1980. The other three partners are all natives of New York, and all four have lived in Lancaster for 40 years. Steve Zuckerman, Ian Ruzow, and Bob Zuckerman were the founders of Clipper Magazine, with Rob Liss joining them a few years later. Clipper Magazine has owned the naming rights to the stadium since 2005.

The team's original name (the Barnstormers), selected in a fan ballot,{{cite web | title=Name Chosen for Lancaster's Baseball Team | work=WGAL | url=http://www.wgal.com/sports/2530255/detail.html | access-date=May 6, 2006 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928055132/http://www.wgal.com/sports/2530255/detail.html | archive-date=September 28, 2007 }} refers to the tradition of "barnstorming," which means to travel around an area appearing in exhibition sports events, especially baseball games.{{cite web | title=Definition for "barnstorm" | work=The Free Dictionary | url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Barnstorming | access-date=May 1, 2006}} The term was used to describe Lancaster's baseball teams as early as 1906 when the Lancaster Daily Intelligencer reported, "There was a crowd of between seven and eight hundred persons out on Friday to see the Lancaster barnstormers play the Philadelphia Giants."{{cite web | title=Stepping Up to the Plate - Lancaster takes a twenty-first-century swing at professional baseball| work=Lancaster County Historical Society| url=http://www.lancasterhistory.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=377&Itemid=182| access-date=March 7, 2013}} Their original primary logo incorporated the colors red, navy blue, and khaki previously used by the Lancaster Red Roses of affiliated Minor League Baseball from 1940 to 1961.{{cite web | title=Lancaster Barnstormers unveil logo | work=Lancaster Barnstormers | url=http://lancasterbarnstormers.com/news.cfm?newsID=3 | access-date=June 13, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927195448/http://lancasterbarnstormers.com/news.cfm?newsID=3 |archive-date=September 27, 2007}} The name and logo also alluded to Lancaster's Pennsylvania Dutch agricultural heritage. The team's name was changed to the Stormers in a rebranding effort between the 2023 and 2024 seasons.{{cite web | title=Rebrand - Lancaster Stormers | work=Lancaster Stormers |url=https://www.lancasterstormers.com/team/barnstormers-rebrand-to-stormers/ | access-date=May 5, 2024}}

After winning their second straight Atlantic League title in 2023, Barnstormers social media began to tease "A New Storm," set to be announced on February 15, 2024. On that day, the team unveiled a new logo set and a new name. Now known as the Lancaster Stormers, the new logo set includes a bull's head, with a lightning bolt down the middle of its face in red and khaki colors as the main logo. Alternate logos include the bull charging through a barn, a circular logo with the team name on the outside with a barn in a storm inside the circle, while keeping the white L with a baseball as a homage to the prior name and logo set.

The primary colors of the Stormers are red, black, gold, and white. These are similar to the colors previously used by the Red Roses to reflect Lancaster's baseball heritage. The primary logo features the "Stormers" wordmark in red with a white outline set against a black background. The letters are in a custom font inspired by fraktur, a Pennsylvania Dutch blackletter calligraphy. A bull's head completes the logo below the wordmark in red, black, and gold. There is also a lightning bolt across the bull's forehead. The secondary logo features a bull charging through a barn while the tertiary logo is a black roundel with a red outline and "Lancaster Stormers" in gold letters. Inside the roundel, there is a baseball field with a red barn as a backstop featuring two white Xs implied on the door trim symbolizing the Stormers' twentieth season. A rooster-themed weathervane tops the barn with lightning striking it.{{cite web|url=https://www.lancasterstormers.com/team/rebrand/ |title=Club Updates Name And Logo To Celebrate 20 Years |publisher=LancasterStormers.com |date=2024-02-15 |access-date=2024-02-15}}

The Stormers home cap is red, charged with a stylized cursive L in white with a black and gold outline interweaving with a curving baseball. The home jerseys are white with red headspoon piping and the cursive "Stormers" wordmark across the front in red, black, and gold. The away jersey is gray with red headspoon piping, featuring the cursive "Lancaster" wordmark in white and outlined in gold and black. The Stormers wear red belts, socks, and undershirts with all uniforms.

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

{{York/Lancaster Roses description|Lancaster}}

Every Stormers game was broadcast on WLAN (1390 AM) and WPDC (1600 AM) by Dave Collins, their announcer.{{cite press release | title= Barnstormers announce radio network| publisher=Lancaster Barnstormers | url=https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/barnstormers-announce-radio-network/n-4554409 | access-date=February 15, 2024 |date=March 5, 2013 |via=OurSports Central}} Select home games were televised on Blue Ridge Cable-11.{{cite web | title= See the Barnstormers on Blue Ridge Cable | work=Lancaster Barnstormers|url=http://lancasterbarnstormers.com/news.cfm?newsID=82 | access-date=September 27, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070526144830/http://lancasterbarnstormers.com/news.cfm?newsID=82 |archive-date=May 26, 2007 |date=June 23, 2005}}

On April 20, 2023, the Atlantic League announced that all games, including the Barnstormers, would be streamed exclusively on FloSports.{{cite web | url=https://www.lancasterbarnstormers.com/atlantic-league-flosports-partner-for-live-streaming-platformall-alpb-games-to-be-available-worldwide-via-live-streaming/ | access-date=July 23, 2023 | title=ATLANTIC LEAGUE, FLOSPORTS PARTNER FOR LIVE STREAMING PLATFORMAll ALPB Games To Be Available Worldwide Via Live Streaming}}

File:LancasterBarnstormersCylo.jpg

The Lancaster Stormers' mascot is an anthropomorphic, red cow named Cylo. He wears the team's home jersey with striped socks and retro-style sneakers. Cylo debuted on March 4, 2005, at the Mascot Roller Mill in the Lancaster County village of Mascot. His name in full is Cyloicious L. Barnstormer, alluding to Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young and to silos, representing the county's agricultural heritage.{{cite web | title=Introducing Cylo | work=Lancaster Barnstormers | url=http://lancasterbarnstormers.com/news.cfm?newsID=33 | access-date=March 31, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070526143808/http://lancasterbarnstormers.com/news.cfm?newsID=33 |archive-date=May 26, 2007 |date=March 4, 2005 }} The mascot was designed by the Raymond Entertainment Group, which also produces the Phillie Phanatic's costume.

{{IndyLB roster

| League = Atlantic League

| TeamName = Lancaster Stormers

| RosterCode = 3613

| BC1 = #d12030

| FC1 = #fff

| BC2 = #000

| FC2 = #be965b

| Date = April 10, 2025

|Pitchers=

{{MLBplayer|--|A. J. Alexy}}

{{MLBplayer|--|Tim Brennan}}

{{MLBplayer|--|Phillip Diehl}}

{{MLBplayer|--|Scott Engler}}

{{MLBplayer|--|Alex Garbrick}}

{{MLBplayer|--|Ryley Gilliam}}

{{MLBplayer|--|Kyle Johnson}}

{{MLBplayer|--|Keylan Killgore}}

{{MLBplayer|--|Steven Lacey}}

{{MLBplayer|--|Michael McAvene}}

{{MLBplayer|--|Jackson Rees}}

{{MLBplayer|--|Mason Ronan}}

{{MLBplayer|--|Christian Scafidi}}

{{MLBplayer|--|Noah Skirrow}}

{{MLBplayer|--|Matt Swarmer}}

|Catchers=

{{MLBplayer|--|Alex Isola}}

{{MLBplayer|--|Andrew Semo}}

|Infielders=

{{MLBplayer|--|Joseph Carpenter}}

{{MLBplayer|--|Yeison Coca}}

{{MLBplayer|--|Kelly Dugan}}

{{MLBplayer|--|Trace Loehr}}

{{MLBplayer|--|Mason Martin}}

{{MLBplayer|--|Slater Schield}}

{{MLBplayer|--|Nick Ward}}

|Outfielders=

{{MLBplayer|--|LeDarious Clark}}

{{MLBplayer|--|Nick Lucky}}

{{MLBplayer|--|Ariel Sandoval}}

|Utility=

|Manager=

{{MLBplayer|23|Ross Peeples}}

|Coaches=

{{MLBplayer|14|Jeff Bianchi}}(hitting)

{{MLBplayer|37|Mark Johnson}}(pitching)

{{MLBplayer|21|Trayvon Robinson}}(hitting)

{{MLBplayer|22|Troy Steffy}}(bench)

{{MLBplayer|  |Jim Toole}}(clubhouse manager)

}}

; 42 (Jackie Robinson): 2B, Retired throughout professional baseball on April 15, 1997

{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|

• {{MLBplayer||Cam Booser}}
• {{MLBplayer||Phil Coke}}
• {{MLBplayer||Scott Patterson}}
• {{MLBplayer||Fernando Perez}}
• {{MLBplayer||Jason Perry}}
• {{MLBplayer||Matt Watson}}
• {{MLBplayer||Daryle Ward}}
• {{MLBplayer||Jerome Williams}}
• {{MLBplayer||Marcus Walden}}
• {{MLBplayer||Lance Zawadzki}}

}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Commons category|Lancaster Barnstormers}}

{{Portal|Pennsylvania|Baseball}}

• [http://www.lancasterstormers.com Lancaster Stormers] (official website)
• [http://www.barnstormersboosters.org/ Lancaster Barnstormers Booster Club]

{{S-start}}

{{s-ach|ach}}

{{Succession box

| title = Atlantic League Champions
Lancaster Stormers

| years = 2014

| before = Long Island Ducks
2013

| after = Somerset Patriots
2015

}}

{{Succession box

| title = Atlantic League Champions
Lancaster Stormers

| years = 2006

| before = Somerset Patriots
2005

| after = Newark Bears
2007

}}

{{s-end}}

{{s-start-collapsible|header={{s-ach|ach}}}}

{{Succession box

| title = Freedom Division Champions
Lancaster Stormers

| years = 2012

| before = York Revolution
2011

| after = Somerset Patriots
2013

}}

{{Succession box

| title = South Division Champions
Lancaster Stormers

| years = 2006

| before = Somerset Patriots
2005

| after = Somerset Patriots
2007

}}

{{s-end}}

{{Atlantic League}}

{{Sports in Pennsylvania}}

{{South Central Pennsylvania sports}}

Category:Atlantic League of Professional Baseball teams

Category:Culture of Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Category:Professional baseball teams in Pennsylvania

Category:Sports in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Category:Opening Day Partners

Category:Baseball teams established in 2003

Category:2003 establishments in Pennsylvania