Sainte-Chloé Imperials
| Sainte-Chloé Imperials | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Information | ||||
| League | Arucian Baseball League (West Division) | |||
| Location | Port de la Sainte | |||
| Ballpark | Stade Impérial (III) | |||
| Year founded | April 11, 1867 | |||
| Nickname(s) | Les Premières; L’Or | |||
| Arucian Series championships | 1906, 1912, 1914, 1917, 1923, 1929, 1931, 1937, 1939, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1961, 1971, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1981, 1985, 1991, 1998, 2001, 2006, 2018 (27) | |||
| Former name(s) | Club de Baseball Impérial | |||
| Former ballparks | Stade Impérial (I) Stade Impérial (II) | |||
| Colors | Yellow White Black | |||
| Playoff berths | 59 | |||
| Retired numbers | 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 24, 29, 43, 57, 66, 99 | |||
| Ownership | Imperial Athletics Corporation | |||
| Manager | Clement Peletier | |||
| President | Victor Saint-Chloe | |||
| Media | RIR | |||
| Uniforms | ||||
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The Sainte-Chloé Imperials are a Chloéois professional baseball team and sports franchise based in the city of Port de la Sainte. The Imperials compete in the Arucian Baseball League as a member of the West Division. They are one of the two premier baseball teams in the city, with the other being the Sainte-Chloé Sunshine. Although historically based in the northern party of the city, since 1998 they have played in Stade Impérial located in the southern part of the city closer to the River Jaune. The team was originally founded as the first amateur baseball club in Sainte-Chloé, the Club de Baseball Impérial, in 1867. In 1875, the club professionalised and took the nickname "Imperials" as their official name, and became one of the four orignal founding teams in the Arucian Baseball League in 1876. Although not the first professional team, the team claims to be the oldest continiously operating baseball franchise in the world.
The team is owned by the Imperial Athletics Corporation, a company run by the Saint-Chloe family, with the current principal owner being Victor Saint-Chloe. The family has owned the team's operation since the first professionalisation in the 1870s, and created the company in 1943 in order to oversee the operation of a softball team called the Impériales (in Estmerish Lady Imperials). The Corporation also owns an Esporting team of the same name and the Sainte-Chloé Champions, a UFSC team. Collectively, the franchise is by far the wealthiest sporting organisation on the island of Sainte-Chloé. In the Arucian Baseball League, the team is one of the wealthiest franchises and largest fanbases, and consistently has one of the best rates of game attendance.
The Imperials are said to be the best-performing franchise in the history of the Arucian Baseball League and in the Asterias as a whole, and hold the record for Arucian Series wins (27), Arucian Series appearances (48), and playoff appearances (59), as well as for number of games won. The team is also known for its historic rivalry with the nearby Épernon Frères, against whom they won the first Arucian Series in 1906. The team most recently won the Aurcian Series in 2018 against the Eldmarsk Hammarvik Bats, but lost in the 2019 Series against the Mont-Éclair Blues.