The New York NUKES online

Current NUKES manager Don Baylor calls his shot back in his days as the Cleveland Bulldogs D.H.  Of course calling a shot at the Dawg Pound wasn't all that dramatic, considering that a drive to it's power alleys needed to travel a mere 275 feet!

The Bulldogs crossed the Atlantic in 1995 to begin a brief stay in Britain. Their home changed from Cleveland to London, their stadium changed from The Dawg Pound to Wembley Stadium, but their mediocre ways continued.

The NUKES first season in New York was also it's first with superstar center fielder Ty Cobb (shown above spiking Gobi Mongols catcher Mike Piazza in the groin).

In 1998, the NUKES won the franchises' first championship, defeating the Havana Cigars in a classic 7 game series!

The History of the New York NUKES

Cleveland Bulldogs (1987-1995)

The history of the New York NUKES dates back to 1987, when the franchise was established as the Cleveland Bulldogs, one of the original Weaver League franchises. The structure of the early Weaver League was much different than it is today, with only eight teams owned by four owners during that original season. Bulldogs owner Jim Lockwood also owned the now defunct Chicago Hitmen and many players were shuttled between the two teams, as was common practice between teams with common ownership in those days.  The Bulldogs were a team known for their slugging prowess, with a lineup loaded with power hitters (featuring current NUKES first baseman Andres Galarraga and manager Don "It's Gone!" Baylor as their DH) and a home stadium with the smallest dimensions in the history of organized baseball, known as The Dawg Pound. The deepest part of The Dawg Pound was center field, which ran a mere 300 feet from home plate!  

The Bulldogs were always an entertaining ballclub whose offensive fireworks never disappointed their die hard fans, but poor pitching always left the team with a sub .500 record until the 1990 season. That year the Bulldogs sneaked into the playoffs as a wild card team. A heavy underdog during those playoffs, the Bulldogs advanced all the way to the League Championship Series to face the San Francisco Seals, owned by Charles "AKA Marty" Polanski.  The Seals took the first three games of that series, and it looked like the Bulldogs season would end in a humiliating sweep.  But they came back to win the next three games and managed to force a decisive Game 7 before bowing to the Seals. It was to be the greatest season for the team in Cleveland, who's days in the city were numbered.

London Bulldogs (1995-1996)

In 1992 the Weaver League began a five year hiatus, which threw the Bulldogs organization into disarray. The team attempted to remain in Cleveland as a member of several minor leagues for a few years, but found the financial strain on the franchise to be too much to stay. On January 16, 1995, the Bulldogs announced their plans to move the franchise to London, and thus began the era of the London Bulldogs. Along with this announcement, Don Baylor announced his retirement as a player and began his career as the new manager of the Bulldogs. The new look Bulldogs began play that spring playing in Wembley Stadium as a member of the newly formed European Union Baseball League, a league that proved to eventually pave the way for the Modern Weaver League franchises in Europe. 

New York NUKES (1997-Present)

During their two seasons there, the Bulldogs were a hit with the London fans despite continuing their mediocre ways in the win-loss column. So when the Weaver League announced plans to end it's hiatus and resume play for the 1997 season, the London fans were outraged when Bulldogs owner Jim Lockwood announced that once again the franchise was on the move, this time to New York City to become the NUKES. Riots broke out in the city before Weaver League Commissioner Charles Polanski announced plans for a replacement franchise for the city.

The move to New York coincided with the emergence of the franchise as a new power to be reconed with in the Weaver League in 1997. During their first season in the Big Apple, the NUKES, led by newly acquired superstar center fielder Ty Cobb, tore through the newly created Lockwood Division and took the division title.  In the playoffs, the NUKES took their revenge on former San Francisco Seals owner Charles Polanski by ripping his current team, the Honolulu Volcanos in a four game sweep in the Inferno League Championship Series to advance to the fifth Weaver Series, where they succomed to the Rio de Janeiro Capybaras in six games.

The NUKES continued their dominance over the Inferno League in 1998, taking their second consecutive Lockwood Division Championship and defeating the Amity White Sharks in the ILCS in five games. Waiting to play the NUKES in Weaver Series VI were the Havana Cigars. The Cigars took an early 3-1 lead in the series, and it looked like the NUKES would be the runner up for back to back seasons, but the team rallied for three consecutive victories to win the franchises' first Weaver Cup of Ultimate Power! 

The 1999 season was a major league flop for a NUKES team with sky high expectations after winning it all in '98. Every regular member of the NUKES lineup and most of the starting pitching staff were injured for signifcant periods of time at some point during the season. The NUKES finished with their first sub .500 record since moving to New York and temporarily relinqueshed their Lockwood Division title to Kabul. It would prove to be a short departure from the postseason.

The team returned to form in 2000 and reclaimed the Lockwood Division with a 99-63 record. Gary Sheffield led the IL with 137 RBI and just missed having a 40-40 season by one stolen base. Ty Cobb enjoyed another fine season, leading the league in runs scored with 146 and hits with 241, but he lost the IL Batting Title by .001 to Mel Ott of the Cheyenne Scalpers. There would be little to celebrate in the postseason though as the NUKES were stomped by the eventual Weaver Cup Champion Honolulu Volcanos in a four game sweep.

2001 was a season of contrasts for the NUKES. The team started the season in a horrible funk, which led them into the cellar of the Lockwood Division for the first time since the franchise moved to New York. The acquisiton of starting pitchers Tom Gordon and Lord Byron II from London before midseason proved to spark the team to an tremendous run to their fourth Lockwood Division Title in five seasons, finishing with a 95-67 record. Standing in their path to the Weaver Series was the Amity White Sharks, a juggernaut during 2001 going 127-35! The NUKES kept the series close, winning Games 1 and 4 behind strong starts by Randy Johnson. But in the end the Sharks were just too much for the NUKES this season, taking the series in six games.