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West Virginia
Coal Sox
First season: 1993
Years in league: 1993
Ballpark: Pioneer Field
Wayne, West Virginia is a town of about 1,100 residents. For a brief period in 1993 the town was home to its very own professional baseball team, the West Virginia Coal Sox.
The Coal Sox won their season opener on a rain-shortened two-hit shutout by Rob Jackson, but it was all downhill from there. Easily the smallest market in the Frontier League, the Coal Sox only averaged 117 fans a game. The league operated the Coal Sox, and when efforts to find local owners failed the other owners in the league were unable or unwilling to sustain the struggling franchise. The decision was made to fold the team on July 15. Although league founder Bud Bickel maintained that the players would be paid, neither players nor coaches ever received a paycheck from the Coal Sox.
Ever if they had survived the Frontier League's first season, chances are the Coal Sox would not have returned in 1994. Rumors circulated that the team was considering relocating to Clarksburg, WV.
The Coal Sox played at their home games at Wayne County High School. Coal Sox manager George Brumfield managed the Wayne baseball team for over 25 years before stepping down in 2004.
Pioneer Field in Wayne, WV, home of the West Virginia Coal Sox.
| Year | Won | Lost | GB | Finish | Attendance | Manager | Playoffs First Round | Playoffs Second Round | ||||||||
| 1993 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 4E | >700 | George Brumfield |
Major Award Winners: none
Coal Sox Post-Season All-Stars: none
Players on FL Tenth Anniversary All-Star Team: none
Franchise Player: Pitcher Rob Jackson was 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA and was the first Frontier League Pitcher Of the Week.
Coal Sox in the majors: none
