Altoona Rail Kings were a former Independent baseball team, playing their home games from Vets Field

Veterans Memorial Field

Veterans Memorial Field is a stadium in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It is primarily used for baseball and was the home of Altoona Rail Kings. The ballpark has a capacity of 3,000....

 in Altoona

Altoona, Pennsylvania

-History:A major railroad town, Altoona was founded by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1849 as the site for a shop complex. Altoona was incorporated as a borough on February 6, 1854, and as a city under legislation approved on April 3, 1867, and February 8, 1868...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. The stadium's full name is Veteran's Memorial Field. They played two seasons, 1996 in the North Atlantic Baseball League, and 1997 in the Heartland League

Heartland League

The Heartland League was an independent baseball league that operated from 1996 to 1998 in the central United States.The Heartland League was founded with teams in Lafayette, Indiana; Anderson, Indiana; Will County, Illinois; and Dubois County, Indiana. Lafayette won the championship in 1996...

.
In 1996 the Rail Kings finished 36-42. In 1997, they finished 22-14 in the Northern Division's first half, and 14-22 in the second. They did make the playoffs, losing in two straight games to the Anderson Lawmen.

Players for the initial season included:

• Jeff Andrews
• Eric Burroughs
• Mike Cacciotti
• Peter Dallas
• Howard Hill
• Mark Hilyard
• Anthony Iasparro
• Karun Jackson
• Farley Love
• Travis Maxwell
• Carlos Mirabal
• Tim Mitchell
• Paul Neatrour
• Manny Perez
• Billy Reed
• Stanley Scales
• Ray Schmittle
• Anthony Sharer
• John Smith
• Doug Smyly
• Tony Webster
• Eric Yelding
  Eric Yelding
  Eric Girard Yelding , is a former Major League baseball player who was with the Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs from -...
  
  

Management included:

• Owner/President: Eric Reichert
• General Manager: Mike Richmond
• Director of Media Relations: Dave Shannon
• Director of Sales and Marketing: Shawn McIntire
• Account Executive: Eddie Depp
• Manager: Tommy Hearn
• Coach: Michael Richmond

When the Pittsburgh Pirates-affiliated AA franchise was awarded to Altoona, the Rail Kings relocated to Huntington, West Virginia for the 1998 season. They retained the Rail King name but redesigned their logo to feature a crowned H rather than an A. The Kings remained in the Heartland League. The Huntington Rail Kings did not finish the 1998 season, closing due to poor attendance. The Altoona Curve

Altoona Curve

The Altoona Curve are a minor league baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve . The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates major-league club...

arrived in Altoona in 1999. Today, the Rail Kings name lives on at Blair County Ballpark, where the best seats are designated "Rail King." The Rail Kings mascot was R.K. Two other names considered for the team were used later by affiliated teams: the Spikes, now used by State College, and the Curves, used by the current AA team.