Turin

Turin Mountaineers - 1902-1920

JR Richardson, GM

Franchise #11

 History Brief:   The Turin franchise was born in the mountains of Italy to honor Pier Georgio Frassati, a rugged outdoorsman and a fervent evangelist. They recruited a strapping teenager named Padre Pio, who turned 15 in the first season of the team’s play, from a town in southern Italy, Pietrelcina. He enjoyed spending the summers in the northern part of the country. Pio and the Mountaineers apparently received some divine intervention to win the TCBA title in their first season.

Despite the early success, Franchise #11 has perhaps been the most troubled franchise in all of TCBA. In fact, the secretive handling of ownership transfer by the league offices to J.R. Richardson in 2009 remains a mystery. Following a 50-year dormancy, the franchise was re-formed in 1975 as the South Starrucca Ainspans, with Marty Fiehl as its head. And it was the same Marty Fiehl who oversaw the title transfer from a league co-op to Richardson in late 2008! Fiehl released his original hold on the franchise in 1978, selling out to Irish investor Paul McGowan. The team was sold to speculators Al Jenkins in 1982 and Wes Peters in 1983, after which it was disbanded. In 1985, Fresno activist Joe Woznicka was granted control of Franchise #11. He tried for five years to stabilize the team to no avail. Ownership changes in 1990, 1993, 1994, 1997, and 1998 left the franchise reeling, empty of talent, and with no fan base to support it. In 1999, hot-shot litigator Bob Scharnberger took control, using the force of his public relations know-how to inform the league that he would be the savior of Franchise #11. He surrendered in 2003, paying off his bar bill by handing the franchise over to brewmeister Bill Kirwin. Four years later, Kirwin disappeared, and the league was once again forced to assume control of Franchise #11.  Then, in 2009, J.R. Richardson suddenly announced that HE would solve the mystery. Just what machinations occurred to allow Richardson to move the team to Rochester is largely unknown. What we do know is that, prior to 2016, only three times since 1975 had a Franchise #11 team finished in first place, only thrice had a Franchise #11 team been a Wildcard, and only once had a Franchise #11 team even been in a League Championship series, let alone win one, which they did in the very first season, 1902. It was a mystery; but apparently J.R. was the one to solve it. 114 years after claiming their first championship, the Rochester version of Franchise #11 won a second league crown in 2016, racing their way through three worthy playoff opponents!

The Mountaineers

Turin Pilot Padre Pio

League Champions

1902

Division Winner

1902 1903 1905 

1911 1912 1914 1916

All-Time Record

·  All-Time Batting Statistics

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 ·  All-Time Pitching Statistics

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Team Season Records

Franchise #11 Season Records