So there's a big football game this weekend between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints. Who knew?

In honor of the big game, I thought it might be fun to take a look at the baseball history between the two towns. Currently, Indianapolis is home to the Indianapolis Indians, the Triple-A ball club of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Indians play in the International League and, thus, play teams from Toledo, Durham, and Pawtucket on a regular basis. The Zephyrs call New Orleans home and play in the Pacific Coast League as the Marlins' affiliate. Their opponents are typically from Oklahoma, Tacoma, and Fresno. The two leagues do not participate in any type of interleague play.

The last time the cities of New Orleans and Indianapolis played a regularly scheduled, meaningful game against each other would have been in 1997, when both clubs were members of the American Association. The AA closed its doors after that season, though, and the league's teams were divided between the two bigger minor leagues.

Both towns have a much richer baseball history, though.

(Click "Read More" to continue reading.)

From 1901-1959, New Orleans was home to the Pelicans, a Southern Association club. The city was also host to various Negro League teams throughout this time. The Pelicans made a brief revival in 1977 as the Cardinals AAA affiliate, but lasted only a season. A 32-year old Tony LaRussa and a 21-year old Ken Oberkfell were members of that team. New Orleans didn't get another ballclub until 1993, when the Denver Zephyrs, Milwaukee's AAA-affiliate, were forced to relocate with the arrival of the Colorado Rockies. The Zephyrs nickname (which means a "gentle gust of wind", if you were curious) stuck.

Indianapolis, on the other hand, has a much steadier history of high-level baseball. The Indianapolis Indians were formed in 1902, as a member of the American Association. When the AA closed it's doors for the first time after the 1962 season, the Indians moved over to the International League and spent a season there. From 1964 to 1968, they were a part of the Pacific Coast League. When the AA re-formed in 1969, the Indians were once again a member. The Indians, therefore, have been operating for nearly 110 years. That's very impressive. During this time, Indianapolis also hosted a number of Negro League teams.

If you look closely, there have only been a few years where teams from New Orleans could be expected to play teams from Indianapolis. There were likely some games between the various Negro League franchises, and the two American Association teams would've met during the 1977 season. That would be the only history between the two towns if it wasn't for the five years the Zephyrs spent in the AA during the mid-90s.

I've tried searching around for details on the clubs' records against each other, but I'm not sure where to find detailed historical records for minor league clubs (and, no, I couldn't find anything like this on Baseball-Reference). I was, however, able to find this little video of the Zephyrs' first game as a New Orleans franchise which just happened to be played in Indianapolis. You can watch it below. The funny thing is, the game was actually called on account of rain in the top of the fifth inning, with the Zephyrs up 3-1. It was not an official game.

Here are the lineups from that game, by the way. I could only get the Zephyrs' batting order; for the Indians, I have only a defensive alignment (so therefore no DH info - could it have been the great Cecil Espy?).

New Orleans Zephyrs: John Finn, 2b (age 25); Troy O'Leary, LF (23); Matt Mieske, RF (25); Larry Sheets, DH (33); Edgar Caceres, 1B (29); Eddie Williams, 3b (28); Tom Lampkin, C (29); Jose Valentin, SS (23); Tony Diggs, CF (26)

Indianapolis Indians: Willie Greene, 3b (age 21); Gary Green, 22 (31); Gary Scott, 2b (24); Tommy Gregg, 1b (29); Greg Tubbs, lf (30); Jacob Brumfield, cg (28); Keith Hughes, rf (29); Brian Dorsett, c (32); Bobby Ayala, p (23)

I have no idea whose going to win the Super Bowl - though it seems hard to bet against Peyton - but, with less than two weeks until pitchers and catchers report, it hardly even matters. It is amazing, though, that, even after all these years of professional sports in America, two cities like New Orleans and Indianapolis would have so little sports history together. Whatever happens on Sunday, it's pretty fair to say that these two cities are going to remember it for a long time.

Me? I'll certainly be watching, but my mind is likely to be thinking of the future...

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written by BobH, February 05, 2010

If you go back further, Indianapolis actually had teams in the National League in the 19th century. The Indianapolis Blues lasted one season in 1878, and the Indianapolis Hoosiers (previously the St Louis Maroons) played three seasons from 1887 to 1889.

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