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Professional Baseball Returns to St. Joseph, Missouri

December 13, 2005 - American Association (AA)
St. Joseph Blacksnakes News Release


(St. Joseph, MO) - After a 52 year absence, professional baseball will return to St. Joseph, Missouri in 2006 when an American Association franchise begins play at Phil Welch Stadium. A press conference Friday, December 16 at 1 p.m. at City Hall has been scheduled to welcome professional baseball back to St. Joseph.

Members of the new ownership group and league including principal owner Van Schley and American Association Commissioner Miles Wolff will be on hand to discuss the new franchise.

St. Joseph Mayor David J. Jones and other local dignitaries are scheduled to attend the event. The press conference will be located in the lower level of City Hall.

Along with introducing the ownership group, the St. Joseph club is also expected to announce its 2006 Field Manager who will be on hand for Friday's press conference.

Principal owner Van Schley has been actively involved in independent professional baseball for over 24 years. His teams have won nine league championships in six separate leagues (New York-Penn, Northeast, Northern, Pioneer, Frontier, and Northwest). In 1987, Schley's Salt Lake Trappers gained national attention when they shattered the existing professional baseball record by winning 29 straight games.

"St. Joseph is the type of town that's exciting to put a team into," said Schley. "The stadium and its history are very appealing as is the success of the amateur team in recent years. This is a town that's ready to enjoy professional baseball again."

A co-founder of the Northern League and its initial player personnel director, Schley brokered the deal that sent the first Northern League player to a major-league organization, and eventually the major leagues (Kevin Millar). Over 100 of his players have signed with major-league organizations.

"We have the same mentality as when we began the Northern League," said Schley. "It's a chance to do something new and fun with people interested in baseball. There's a lot of positive energy with the people involved in the American Association."

Among the group of investors involved in the St. Joseph organization is actor/comedian Brian Doyle-Murray. He has appeared in numerous films and television shows since the 1970s including Saturday Night Live, Caddyshack (which he co-wrote) and Scrooged. Doyle-Murray resides in Manhattan, Kansas.

Wolff will answer questions about the new ten-team league founded in October 2005. In 1993, Wolff co-founded the Northern League, the first modern independent baseball league. He has served as commissioner of the Northeast League from (2003-2004) and the Can-Am League (2002-2005). Wolff was recently selected as one of the top 100 most important people in baseball by Total Baseball: The Ultimate Baseball Encyclopedia.

One of the men instrumental in the formation of the new league is St. Paul Saints President Mike Veeck, son of Hall of Fame owner Bill Veeck. His first book, "Fun is Good: How to Create Joy and Passion in Your Workplace and Career" was released in April 2005. The book has earned acclaim in the sports, business and educational world as an innovative approach to the operation of a business. Veeck will attend Friday's press conference. The Saints will join St. Joseph, Lincoln (NE), Sioux City (IA) and Sioux Falls (SD) in the North Division of the American Association.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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