Miami Marlins history: The original Miami Marlins

The Miami Marlins have been around since 1993, but the franchise name is a lot older than that and has been around since 1956. There was the International League AAA team that was affiliated with the Philadelphia Phillies from 1956-1958 and then the Baltimore Orioles from 1959-1960. There was another Miami Marlins Minor League team from 1962-1970 and 1982-1988 that overall existed from 1962-1991 (it moved to Fort Myers, FL for the 1992 season). Let’s celebrate the history of this name…

The Miami Marlins is a historic name and covers multiple franchises.

The original Miami Marlins began play as the Syracuse Chiefs back in 1934 (a Philadelphia Phillies Minor League team), but moved to Miami in 1956. After a good start with high attendance, the team started to suffer in that department, and it ultimately led to them moving to Atlanta in 1962. The team played in the since demolished (ugh) Miami Stadium. The most notable player is legendary starting pitcher Satchel Paige, who even pitched for the team when he was 50 years old!

The next incarnation of the Miami Marlins name was right after the previous one. This version started as the Fort Myers Palms in 1926 (an independent Florida State League team) and then moved to Miami and became the Miami Hustlers in 1927. After playing the 1927 and 1928 seasons they were inactive until the 1962 season, when they became the Miami Marlins, a Class A Minor League team of the Philadelphia Phillies.

These Miami Marlins were later affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles from 1966-1981 and the San Diego Padres (1983-1984) before finally becoming affiliated with the Minnesota Twins and moving to Fort Myers in 1991. Who were some famous players who played for them? The controversial José Canseco and Baltimore Orioles legend and Hall of Famer SS/3B Cal Ripken Jr. Both played for this team in Miami.

These two teams started the legacy of the Miami Marlins name in Miami. They had future Hall of Famers such as Cal Ripken Jr. and Satchel Paige play for them and helped start the movement to a Major League version arriving in 1993… the Florida Marlins who then became the Miami Marlins in 2012. It’s up to the Major League Miami Marlins to continue this legacy.