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Long before the State College Spikes and the Altoona Curve, there were the Central Penn Railraiders. Well, that was supposed to be a minor league baseball team. Don't remember them? Not surprising, they never played a ballgame.
Back in the 1990s, a group of businessmen wanted to bring an independent team to Armagh Memorial Field in Milroy. A pipedream? Possibly.
The reality of their pitch - the business plan and not the ones made by ballplayers - was that Armagh Field would be renovated while still being shared with the Mifflin County Babe Ruth League. The prospective owners wanted to fix up the outfield bleachers, adding more seats, renovate the concession stand and improve parking.
I'm sure it was a given that Armagh officials wouldn't allow any changes that would have affected the rich history or charm of the field.
Again, how close the team came to setting up shop in Milroy or anywhere in Mifflin County is anybody's guess.
Many of those involved in those discussions have passed on as has at least one of the prospective team owners. I asked Ray Wilde, Mifflin County's Babe Ruth historian, and he didn't believe the concept ever came very close to fruition.
Relationships with youth leagues and professionals sharing facilities can be tumultuous at times. Wilde believes a second field would have been needed for the arrangement to work.
Nonetheless, owners did hold a name-the-team contest in The Sentinel. I only remember one of the three or four suggested names. I wasn't really a fan of any of the choices.
I believe they were looking at playing in either the Frontier or Heartland leagues, which had teams pop up and disappear seemingly overnight. I think that volatility made folks in Milroy nervous. Plus, they hadn't heard of many of the other towns where teams played, like Chillicothe, Ohio; Mountaindale, N.Y. in the Catskills; or DuBois County and Richmond, Ind.
I'm not certain why it failed. I remember hearing from one of the owners that their plans had changed. It was disappointing, mainly because it would have been fun being their beat writer.
Once the owners pulled the plug on the project, the team moved into new digs at venerable Vets Field and became the Altoona Rail Kings, the predecessor to the Curve.
I remember catching a few Rail Kings' games. It was entertaining for the price of tickets. The Rail Kings didn't last long.
When Altoona was awarded a Double-A franchise, the Rail Kings relocated to Huntingdon, W.Va. for the 1998 season. They remained in the Heartland League but didn't finish the season, ceasing operations due to poor attendance.
Today, the Rail Kings' name lives on at Blair County Ballpark, where the best seats are designated "Rail King."
I've always wondered what things would be like today if that ball club had come to Mifflin County. Hearing the umpire yell, "Play ball!"
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Greg Williams is a reporter and Weekend Editor for The Sentinel. A Mifflin County native, he has been writing for The Sentinel since 1991. His column, "Virtually Home," appears regularly.