Greater Akron AA Baseball League: AA League History

History of the Greater Akron AA League
Joe Winler
Manager Joe Winkler

The AA League History page is a work-in-progress as our research is continuing on a weekly basis. The AA League has an amazingly rich history that is carried on by the league's alumni, old news stories, and now the rebirth of the AA League. We will be continually updating this page as we piece together more and more.

Last Updated 1.16.05

The Greater Akron AA League can trace it’s beginnings to the old Akron Industrial League, then the Akron A League, before becoming the Akron AA League, and flourishing for decades. The league came into being somewhere in the 1920’s and ran all the way through the 1994 season. No one really knows when it officially became the "AA League", but the Industrial League, Akron A League (also once known as the A-B-C League), and finally the AA League are all considered incarnations of each other. The AA League folded just before the 1995 season was about to begin. The league had as many as 24 teams in the 1930’s and as low as 5 teams the few years before the league folded. The league mostly pulled sponsors and players from the Akron area and the suburbs of Akron. Although there were some exceptions with teams from Mansfield, Wooster, Cleveland, Sandusky, Warren, and other further reaching area also playing in the league. The AA League also participated in cross-over play in leagues they formed in conjunction with other leagues, such as the Akron-Canton League, NEO League, Tri-Cities League, and the Inner City League. Not only did many of the AA League players go on to play professional baseball, many ex-pros returned to the Akron area and continued to play in the AA League after their professional careers were over. The high level of competition made the AA League one of the top leagues in all of Ohio and the nation.



Jack Tramonte
Jack Tramonte, Sponsor, Black Labels
During its time, the Greater Akron AA Baseball League was one of the strongest and most competitive leagues in all of Ohio.

The Tramonte Black Labels led by manager Joe Winkler were probably the greatest team ever to come through the AA League, capturing 8 titles in 9 years in the 1960’s and boasting a lineup dominated by ex-professional players and future Greater Akron Baseball Hall of Famers. The lineup was dominated by names like the Lombardi Brothers (Dick and Don), Dave Young, Jack Bisesi, Jim Pope, and Art Welch among many others that made the Black Labels the most dominating team in the history of the AA League. In 1961, the Black Labels won an incredible 69 games and barnstormed around the area. The Labels also made a strong run at the AABC World Series in 1967.

The C & P Sales teams led by Manager Jim Dennison of the 80’s and 90’s captured five league titles, including the last four seasons that the league was in operation (1991-1994). Akron Insulating also won five titles in the 70’s. The Akron Orphans coached by the legendary Frank Garcia won the NABF National Title in 1945 and are the only 18 and over/adult team from the Akron area to win a World Series title.

The Borden Auto team of 1948 fought their way to a 2nd place finish at the AABC World Series. The team was led by Hall of Fame pitcher Bobby Nash who pitched 33 consecutive scoreless innings in the tournament. Nash also put together one of the top pitching seasons in AA League history while with the Smith's Sheriffs. Nash went 13-1 with 139 strikeouts in 106 innings pitched. Nash is just one of many stars to make their way through the AA League's history.

Many other teams from the AA League made it through to compete for the NABF, CABA and AABC World Series Titles. The AA League also played host to a few CABA Regional Tournaments in the late 80’s and early 90’s.

The Greater Akron Baseball Hall of Fame is filled with players, coaches, and administrators from the AA League.



black labels 1
Black Label Players

Rudy P
Manager/AA Commissioner Rudy Piekarski
Though the AA League struggled for years to field teams and find sponsors, they were always able to pull things together. In the early 90’s, the league continued to shrink as long time sponsors and managers decided to retire and not field teams any more. The league dropped to 4-5 teams for a couple seasons. In 1994, the league combined with the Canton Class A League to create the Akron-Canton League. Both leagues would act as a separate divisions, but teams from both leagues would play each other in an effort to increase level of competition and strengthen the two leagues. The venture worked, but heading into 1995, the AA League only had three teams left and one of those three (Wadsworth) were hanging on by a thread. In the Spring of 1995, after battling all winter in an attempt to get teams and managers, the Greater Akron AA League folded bringing a halt to an amazing run that had started in the 1920’s. The league had planned to regroup and come back in 1996 bigger and stronger. The regrouping effort fell through and the AA League gave way and passed on their teams to the newly formed Open Division of the Summit Senior Baseball Organization, which then became the NEO Roy Hobbs AAA League.

Without the AA League, Akron was truly missing out on the history, tradition, and great play that came along with the league. The AA players scattered to the other leagues in the area, the Canton Class A, NEO Hot Stove, and the NEORH AAA. All that was left of the AA League were memories.

Almost 10 years after the AA League folded, the league was rebuilt by Ted Hardy. Hardy, who played for the Akron Storm, had grown up a huge fan of the Akron AA League and understood the importance that the AA League had on area baseball. Carrying on the AA League legacy and providing a higher level of baseball in the area was the goal. Under his guidance the AA League was reborn and in 2005 play resumed in the Akron AA Baseball League. Now, new memories are being created, new stories are being told, new legends are being made, and the tradition of the Greater Akron AA League is being carried on by a new generation of baseball players.

Greater Akron AA Teams in World Series

1936         West Chevrolet, NABF World Series
1939         Mayflower Hotel, NABF World Series
1940         Killian Celtics, NABF World Series
1945         Akron Orphans, NABF World Series Champions
1948         Borden Autos, AABC World Series, 2nd Place
1953         Borden Autos, AABC World Series
1954         Borden Autos, AABC World Series
1963         Krispy Kreme, NABF World Series
1966         Airmatic Valve, AABC World Series, 1-2
1967         Tramonte Black Labels, AABC World Series, 2-2
1969         Weather Seal, NABF World Series
1988         Mansfield Cherokee Bingo, CABA World Series, 0-2
1989         Copley, CABA World Series, 3-2
1993         Wadsworth, CABA WS, Won Regional Tournament, but could not make trip to WS