The Helena Brewers were a Minor League Baseball team in the Pioneer League located in Helena, Montana, from 1978 to 2018. The team played their home games at Kindrick Legion Field, which was built in 1939. They were affiliated with the Milwaukee Brewers (1985–2000, 2003–2018) and Philadelphia Phillies (1978–1983).
Among the best-known players to play in Helena are Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg, who started his career with the Phillies in Helena, Gary Sheffield, who started his career with the Helena Gold Sox in 1986, Jeff Cirillo and Mark Loretta who began their careers with the 1991 and 1993 Helena Brewers, respectively; and Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun.
Contents
History
The Helena Phillies joined the Pioneer League in 1978, giving Helena a professional baseball team for the first time in 64 years. In 1984, the Helena Gold Sox won the Pioneer League Championship, a rarity for an independent club. The team hooked on with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1985 and changed its name to the Helena Brewers in 1987. Helena won the league championship in back-to-back seasons in 1995 and 1996. The franchise moved to Provo, Utah, as the Provo Angels after the 2000 season. In 2003, the Medicine Hat Blue Jays moved to Helena, and the team once again became a Brewers affiliate, called the Helena Brewers.
In 2015, David Denson, while playing for the Helena Brewers, which were then affiliated with the Milwaukee Brewers, became the first active player in affiliated professional baseball to come out as gay.
The franchise left Helena for Colorado Springs, Colorado, after the 2018 season, where it would play as the Rocky Mountain Vibes.
Major leaguers
The following is a list of Helena players by year that later played in Major League Baseball:
1978: George Bell, Carmelo Castillo, Wil Culmer, Bob Dernier, Ed Hearn, Alejandro Sánchez, Ryne Sandberg
1979: Jay Baller, Roy Smith
1980: Rocky Childress, Darren Daulton, Marty Decker, Ken Dowell, Tony Ghelfi
1981: Johnny Abrego, Charles Hudson, Jim Olander, Jose Segura
1982: Ken Jackson, Lance McCullers, Johnny Paredes, Wilfredo Tejada
1983: Ricky Jordan, Tom Magrann, Tom Newell
1984: Jack Daugherty, John Trautwein
1985: John Jaha, Russ McGinnis, Randy Veres
1986: George Canale, Brian Drahman, Darryl Hamilton, Gary Sheffield, Greg Vaughn
1987: Frank Bolick, Oreste Marrero, Ángel Miranda, Charlie Montoyo, Jaime Navarro, Dave Nilsson, Troy O'Leary, Steve Sparks, Bill Spiers
1988: Bert Heffernan, Mike Ignasiak, Mark Kiefer
1991: Jeff Cirillo, Mike Matheny, Marshall Boze
1992: Bobby Hughes, Danny Perez, Tim Unroe; Danan Hughes played minor league baseball for the 1992 and 1993 seasons in the Pioneer League for the Helena Brewers. He decided to make football his full-time profession when the Kansas City Chiefs selected him in the 7th round of the 1993 NFL Draft. Hughes played for the Chiefs from 1993 to 1998 as a wide receiver and special teams player.