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CHILLICOTHE PAINTS BASEBALL

Chillicothe Paints History


The Prospect League Era

The Chillicothe Paints are a member of the top collegiate wood bat league in the country, The Prospect League. The Prospect League fields teams in cities throughout Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Tennessee, West Virginia and  Missouri. The Chillicothe Paints, the charter member of The Prospect League since 2009, make their home at V.A. Memorial Stadium.

In the summer of 2007, the idea of forming a baseball league that would be a better fit for the communities who had found Independent Professional baseball growing out of their markets began to be discussed.  This idea became the Prospect League, which was officially formed in mid-summer 2008.  The core of the new league was formulated to include current and former Frontier League teams in Chillicothe, Ohio, Richmond, Indiana and Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania.  During the development process, we found ourselves in conversation with the team owners and the Commissioner of the Central Illinois Collegiate League, which brought a rich 45-year summer collegiate league history to the table, as well as six teams within the footprint the Prospect League were looking to develop.  A quick and solid alliance was formed and through continuous talks and negotiations during the fall of 2008, the eleven-team Prospect League was formed.

The league entered its inaugural season under the Prospect League moniker, but it brings with it plenty of tradition and a long list of former players and coaches who have made it to clubs at the MLB level. The Prospect League is the merger of the startup effort described above, along with the former Central Illinois Collegiate League (CICL), one of the original and most recognized summer baseball leagues in the country. The CICL was formed in 1963 as a charter member of NCAA certified summer baseball. The league maintained certification for the entire 41 years of oversight by the NCAA, which ended its certification program in 2005. 

In the winter of 2008 the six teams of the CICL voted to join the five expansion teams to form the new 11-team Prospect League. Coming from the CICL in the Prospect League's inaugural season were the Dubois County Bombers, Danville Dans, Springfield Sliders, Dupage Dragons, Quincy Gems, and Hannibal Cavemen. Joining them for the 2009 season were the Chillicothe Paints, North Coast Knights, Butler BlueSox, Slippery Rock Sliders, and the Richmond RiverRats.

The winter of 2009 saw growth for the 2010 Prospect League season, with the addition of the DeKalb County Liners in northern Illinois, the West Virginia Miners in their brand new facility in Beckley, WV, the Terre Haute Rex playing at Indiana State University and the Nashville Outlaws who will host their home games at Vanderbilt University.  "Our goal was to make the Prospect League the best summer collegiate baseball league in the country and the success of the 2009 season along with the quality growth for the 2010 season takes us a long way towards that goal" said Bryan Wickline, President of The Prospect League.    The 2010 season saw the league's new Commissioner come on board.  Dave Chase brings a rich history of his own to the table, including several years as General Manager of the AAA Memphis Redbirds.  Commissioner Chase joins us in our goal to make this the best summer collegiate program in the nation.

During 2011, the league saw some realignment and operated with 14 teams.  Dupage closed its operation and the league took over operation of the Nashville team, playing at Lipsomb University for the 2011 season, which saw DeKalb County announce they were not playing in 2012.  The league went into 2012 with a much stronger lineup of twelve teams.  The new ownership in Springfield, Illinois brought new life into one of the premier markets in the league.  A move that was in the works for over a year did not materialize and the Dubois County Bombers left the league in late 2012.

The 2013 season brings a complete revamp of the Prospect League documents.  For the first time, all player information submissions, player contracts, dispositions and reports will be electronic.  The new electronic documentation system, as well as the renewal of our stratigic partnership with Pointstreak.com, positions the Prospect League for growth.
 
Prior to the 2014 season, the Slippery Rock Sliders relocated to Springfield, Ohio and became the Champion City Kings. The Prospect League continued through the season with 11 teams and an eye on expansion to bring the League to an even number of teams for future seasons, helping with scheduling and travel.
 
Bryan Wickline, who has served as President since the first season in 2009, was named the League's second Commissioner heading into the 2015 season with the continuing goal of making the Prospect League the best summer college baseball league in the country and adding teams within the already established league footprint. The Lorain County Ironmen relocated to Jamestown, NY and will play as the Jamestown Jammers (replacing the departed Jammers of MiLB at Russell Diethrick Park). Also, an expansion franchise in Kokomo, Ind., will begin play at a brand-new downtown ballpark as the Kokomo Jackrabbits in the League's West Division, bringing the League to 12 teams. The schedule will feature minimum crossover games between East and West Division teams and nearly all Mondays will be league-wide off days. 

2015 saw another successful season on the field for the Chillicothe Paints, as the club earned the league's second-best record at 38-22, good enough for another playoff appearance. At the gate, the Paints once again led the Prospect League in attendance with 54,718 fans for the season, an average of more than 1,800 fans per game.

A change in the management took place for Chillicothe's favorite baseball team in 2016. The team's original owner, Doctor Chris Hanners, sold the majority of the team to a group headed by longtime Paints Vice President & General Manager Bryan Wickline, ensuring that the quality of the gameday experience for fans would continue to be excellent. The Paints set a franchise and Prospect League record for attendance in 2016 with a total attendance of 55,517 and an everage of 1,851 fans per game. On the field, the Paints went 23 and 37, missing the playoffs for just the second time since joining the Prospect League in 2009.

The 2017 season saw improvement to a 29-31 season, but the Paints missed the playoff for just the third time in nine seasons. Still, the Paints led the Prospect League in attendance and set a franchise record with 58,755 fans in attendance throughout its 30 homes games, an average of 1,959 per game!

The Paints returned to the playoffs for the seventh time in the 10-season history of the Prospect League in 2018. The Paints finished the year 34-26, second in the East Division. The Paints took game one of the East Division Playoffs from Kokomo at VA Memorial Stadium, but lost games two and three at Kokomo to end their season. Once again, the Paints led the league in attendance, both in terms of total (56,534) and per-game average (1,884). Paints Catcher Dillon Dingler (Ohio State) was named the Prospect League's Top Pro Prospect and pitcher Jack Raines (Baldwin Wallace) took home Reliever of the Year honors. 

Chillicothe captured its second Prospect League championship in 2019, beating the Cape Catfish three games to two. After a 2-7 start to the season, the Paints won 10 straight and went 41-14 the rest of the season (including playoffs, which the Paints made their eighth appearance in over 11 seasons). Chillicothe once again led the Prospect League in attendance with a total of 57,040 and 2,037 per game. Closer Nate Haugh (Toledo) was named the Prospect League's reliever of the year, while outfielder Cody Orr (Tiffin), catcher Cole Andrews (Miami Ohio), infielder Gavin Homer (Penn State), and pitchers Jack Raines (Baldwin Wallace), Zach Kendall (Rio Grande) and Austin Calopietro (Toledo) were also named All-Stars.

Several players from the championship-winning 2019 team signed up to play for the Paints again in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic shortended and then canceled the 2020 Prospect League season. It was the first time since the summer of 1992 that the Paints didn't take the field at VA Memorial Stadium.

2021 saw a return to play for the Prospect League and the Paints, and with a new field manager for the first time since 2016 as Chillicothe native and Zane Trace graduate John Penn took the reins from Brian Bigam. Penn led the Paints to a 36-24 record. Chillicothe tied a Prospect League record with a 13-game win streak. Despite being seven games ahead in the division on the whole season, Chillicothe made the playoffs (for the ninth time in 12 seasons) on the last day of the regular season due to the split-season format. The Paints fell to Champion City 10-9 in the Ohio River Valley Division Championship Game in Springfield. The Paints set new franchise records in both total and per-game average attendance with 62,599 and 2,236, respetively. Both would have been new Prospect League records if not for the Prospect League newcomers and former Minor League Baseball member Clinton LumberKings, who tallied 62,872 and 2,329. Pitcher Ruben Ramirez (Point Park) and outfielder Trey Smith (Indianapolis) were named Prospect League All-Stars. 

The Paints had another outstanding season, both on the field and off in 2022, culminating with Chillicothe winning its third Prospect League championship. Field manager Jackson White, in his first season at the helm, guided the Paints to a 38-22 record, winning both halves of the Ohio River Valley Division and clinching a playoff berth for the 10th time in 13 seasons. The Paints mercy-ruled the Johnstown Mill Rats in the division championship game, then erased a 4-0 deficit to beat the Pistol Shrimp in Peru, Ill., 7-4, capturing the Eastern Conference championship. In the Prospect League Championship Series, the Paints took game one over the River Dragons in Alton, Ill., 5-3. Returning to VA Memorial Stadium, the Paints dropped game two 2-0. In game three, the Paints found themselved down 4-0 at the stretch, but roared back, scoring six in the secenth inning and eight in the eighth inning for a walkoff, mercy-rule 14-4 win to capture the crown. The Paints' third title is tied for the most in Prospect League history (Quincy and West Virginia). 

The Paints celebrated their 30th season in 2023 with another championship, a Prospect League record fourth title which was also the club's second straight and third in the last four seasons. Chillicothe put together its best record in terms of total wins by going 41-17. First-year field manager Michael Boswell also became the fourth different Paints manager to win a league title. The Paints won both the first and second halves of the Ohio River Valley Division, but it was the first half win that locked up home-field advantage in the one-game divisional playoff, which the Paints won 7-6 over Champion City. The Paints would go on to beat the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes by mercy rule, 12-0, to move into the Prospect League Championship Series for a league-record sixth time. By virtue of owning home-field advantage thanks to have the best overall record between the final two remaining teams, Chillicothe went on the road to Quincy, Ill., for game one, losing 18-12 in an absolute slugfest that featured four home runs, including a grand slam by eventual Prospect League MVP Tim Orr (Tiffin). Down 1-0 in the best-of-three series, the Paints returned home for game two, topping the Gems 12-0 in a mercy-rule shortended game. Victor Figueroa (Mississippi Valley State) and CJ Dean (Ohio Dominican) each homered for the Paints, while Nick Falter (Denison) turned in a complete-game shutout. In game three, Victor Figueroa homered again en route to becoming the PLCS MVP while Tim Orr and Cole Kwiatkowski (Findlay) also hit home runs and the Paints went on to win 12-8, securing the title. Following the season, play-by-play broadcaster Jacob Wise was named Prospect League Broadcaster of the Year in the inaugural year of the award.

  • In 2023, over 300,000 fans walked through the gates at VA Memorial Stadium for various events!
  • Also in 2023, VA Memorial Stadium hosted nearly 400 events February through November!
  • Recipient of the 2005 Chillicothe Gazette / Rotary Foundation Business Ethics Award
  • Voted a “Top 10” Independent Minor League franchise by Baseball America while in the Frontier League
  • The Paints were twice awarded Organization of the Year in the Frontier League
  • Players and staff are involved in the community through youth programs, clinics, charitable fundraisers and public appearances

 

The Frontier League Era

In February of 1993, Dr. Chris Hanners along with the Chillicothe/Ross Chamber of Commerce and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center brought professional baseball to Southern Ohio. On a rainy Wednesday night in June of 1993, fans totaling 2,154 saw the first-ever Frontier League game in Chillicothe. The Paints were victorious on that night over the Portsmouth Explorers, and Paints' Baseball began to thrive and prosper throughout Southern Ohio.

On Opening Day of 1995, the Paints brought in Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench to catch the first pitch. In 1996, another member of the Big Red Machine, Pete Rose, Major League Baseball's all-time hit king, thrilled fans at V.A. Memorial Stadium. In 1999, Hall of Famer and voice of the Cincinnati Reds, Marty Brennaman spoke to a group of over 200 Paints' fans at the first annual Winterfest and the 2000 Winterfest brought 250 baseball fans to see Ken Griffey, Sr. speak. Former Paints’ pitcher, Brian Tollberg, was the 2001 Winterfest guest speaker. Tollberg became the first Frontier League player in history to make it to Major League Baseball.   And this past February, Winterfest 2002 showcased the baseball movie, A Little Inside.    The motion picture premiered in front of a packed house at the historic Majestic Theatre.  The film had many scenes shot at V.A. Memorial Stadium at a local downtown restaurant named, The Dock at Water.  In attendance that night was two of the film's stars, Benjamin King and Hallie Eisenberg.

Throughout the history of the Paints, appearances by syndicated talk show host Gary Burbank and 700 WLW personality Andy Furman have enhanced Paints' baseball.

The Paints drew 20,253 fans in the inaugural season of 1993. In their second year, attendance grew to 32,808. Winning Organization of the Year honors in 1996, the Paints increased attendance by 65% to 51,419 fans. In winning Organization of the Year for the second time in three years, 1998's attendance improved once again, reaching 71,782 fans; an average of over 1,800 per game.  For over ten straight years, the Paints have drawn more than 70,000 fans each season.

In the Spring of 2006, The Ross County Board of Commissioners and the Chillicothe Paints installed a state-of-the-art  playing surface called Field Turf.  The synthetic playing surface allows VA Memorial Stadium to become a true multi-purpose facility!  A venue that will host football, soccer, festivals, concerts and numerous other events without the worry of damaging the playing surface.

In 2008, the Paints played their last season in the Frontier League of Professional Baseball.

Chillicothe Professional Baseball is proud of their team logo and trade name, the Chillicothe Paints featuring the Paint Horse. The logo was chosen to stay within the original theme set by the Frontier League. The Paint horse is documented as being the preferred horse by the American Indians, considered by many authorities to be the greatest horsemen who ever lived. The Paint horse is known for it's combination of versatility, strength and aggressiveness which we display within our logo; a horse with markings and war feathers flowing from the horse's mane. The Paint horse is to symbolize the team spirit and is known as the Sports Model of the Horse World. The official team colors are navy blue and white with accents of scarlet and gold.

If you want to see baseball as it was meant to be played, Chillicothe, Ohio is the place!

 

Other Events at V.A. Memorial Stadium:

  • Chillicothe Paints Craft Beer Festival in October
  • River States Conference Baseball Postseason Tournament
  • North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament
  • Numerous High School Baseball, Softball and Soccer Games throughout the Spring, Summer and Fall
  • Ohio High School Athletic Association Postseason Tournament Games
  • American Legion Baseball Games & Tournaments
  • Mid-American Conference Baseball Championships (several times, last in 2011)
  • NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Baseball Tournament (2009)
  • Bluegrass With The Paints Concert featuring Ricky Skaggs and Rhonda Vincent (June 2006)
  • Veterans Celebration ’04 Country Concert with Blake Shelton (June 2004)
  • Boston Pops (as part of the Bicentennial Celebration (August 2003)
  • V.A. Hospital Functions and POW - MIA Recognition Day 
  • Chillicothe Paints Baseball Club Summer Youth Clinics
  • Local Elementary school field trips and tours during the school year
  • High School Graduations
  • 2019 traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall exhibit

 

Logo History

                                                 

Primary 1993-2012                      Alternate 1993-2012                        Primary 2013-Present

Secondary 2013-Present