By Michael Heilman
Baseball has always had a rich history in Atlantic City. In 1912, the Lancaster Red Roses played in Atlantic City for a couple of years before disbanding after the 1913 season. The Negro League’s Duval Giants moved to Atlantic City in 1916 and renamed themselves the Bacharach Giants after then Atlantic City mayor Harry Bacharach. The Giants won the Eastern Colored League championships in 1926 and 1927. After the ECL folded, the Giants moved to the American Negro League and played two more years before folding in 1929.
In 1944, the New York Yankees held Spring Training at Bader Field in Atlantic City. The Yankees were there for two years in 1944 and 1945. The Boston Red Sox also held Spring Training at Bader Field in 1945. After that, baseball was never seen in Atlantic City again.
When the New York Mets objected to Frank Boulton’s proposal to move the Albany-Colonie Yankees because of territorial rights, he created a new league called the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball that launched in 1998. The Atlantic City Surf was one of the six original teams to play in the inaugural season, with Doc Edwards becoming the first manager in team history. Joining the Surf were the Bridgeport Bluefish, Nashua Pride, Newark Bears, Newburgh Black Diamonds, and the Somerset Patriots.
The Surf opened Sandcastle Stadium on May 20,1998, with an 8-5 win over the Somerset Patriots. The Surf also hosted the first All-Star Game between the Surf and the ALPB All-Stars and would defeat the ALPB All-Stars 6-4 in front of 5,552 fans. The All-Star MVP went to third baseman Luis Quinones of Atlantic City. The Surf would finish in second place with a 60-40 record behind the Bridgeport Bluefish. Atlantic City would capture the first ALPB championship three games to one over the Bridgeport Bluefish as Surf pitcher Chris Eddy was named the finals MVP. The total attendance for the season was 189,730 fans, with an average of 2,710 fans a game.
The following year, Atlantic City had one of its best attendances of the season, with a total of 206,538 fans with an average of 2,718 fans a game. The Surf would finish 61-58 in third place, missing the playoffs. The Surf would go on to miss the playoffs two more times in 2000 and 2001. From there, the Surf would make the playoffs four of the last five years in the Atlantic League, losing in the division finals all four times. Attendance started to become an issue after the 1999 season.
While 2003 was a rebound with a total of 177,723 fans, attendances were on the decline since then. The Surf was not alone; the Atlantic City Cardsharks only played one year at Boardwalk Hall before folding their only season in 2004. The Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies relocated to Stockton, CA, after the 2004-05 season, and the Atlantic City Sea Gulls of the United States Basketball League folded as well, leaving the Surf as the only team left in Atlantic City.
In 2007, the Atlantic City Surf moved to the Can-Am Baseball League. In their first year in the league, the Surf finished 51-41, losing three games to one to the North Shore Spirit. In their final year of play in 2008, the Surf would finish the season 51-43, once again, losing in the semi-finals three games to one to the Quebec Capitales. Despite Atlantic City declining, the Surf attendance remained stable with an average of two thousand fans a game. But the owners were attempting to sell the team, and unfortunately, on March 30, 2009, the Surf ceased operations.
There were a couple of big-name players who at one time were up in the major leagues that had worn a Surf uniform like former Phillies pitcher Mitch Williams, and former Braves first baseman Cecil Fielder. They have also faced other big-league players like Jon Rocker of the Long Island Ducks, Jarred Weaver of the Camden Riversharks were among just some of the players that played in the Atlantic League.
Atlantic City had some unique rivalries, with one of them being the Camden Riversharks, Somerset Patriots, and the Newark Bears. Fans from both Camden and Atlantic City would travel to each other’s stadiums to watch them play. The only thing that bugged many people was the greenheads. Like the Boardwalk Bullies, the Surf overall was a successful team and gave many fans plenty of memories.
Sandcastle Stadium or Bernie Robbins Stadium, as it was called initially, before becoming Surf Stadium sat vacant after the Surf folded. All that the fans could see was an empty baseball stadium just sitting there, rotting away, and being vandalized for years. The city has been attempting to sell Bader Field for years. Instead, the city decided to make repairs to the stadium with an attempt to get a baseball team again. Today, Surf Stadium hosts the Atlantic Cape Community College baseball team. The Surf may be gone, but the memories will last a lifetime.
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