View source for Camden Riversharks

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox baseball team
|name             = Camden Riversharks
|founded          = [[2001 in baseball|2001]]
|folded           = [[2015 in baseball|2015]]
|city             = [[Camden, New Jersey]]
|ballpark         = [[Campbell's Field]]
|logo             = RiversharksBaseball.PNG
|cap_logo         = SharksCap.PNG
|league           = [[Atlantic League of Professional Baseball]]
|division         = Liberty Division
|former_leagues   = 
|former_names     = <!-- Camden Riversharks (2001–2015) -->
|nicknames        = The Sharks, <br>South Jersey's Home Team
|uniform          = 
|retired_numbers  = 16, 42
|colors           = Dark blue, light blue, gray, white<ref>{{cite web |title=Atlantic League of Professional Baseball Official Colors (1998 through present) |url=https://www.trucolor.net/portfolio/atlantic-league-of-professional-baseball-official-colors-1998-through-present/ |website=TruColor.net |access-date=22 October 2025}}</ref><br>
{{color box|#003A70}} {{color box|#418FDE}} {{color box|#97999B}}  {{color box|#FFFFFF}}
|former_ballparks = 
|league_champs    = (0)
|division_champs  = 
|owner            = [[Opening Day Partners]]
| general_manager = Lindsay Rosenberg
|manager          = [[Chris Widger]]
|media            = Camden Courier-Post, meridix.com (Internet Radio Broadcast)
}}

The '''Camden Riversharks''' were an [[United States|American]]  professional baseball team based in [[Camden, New Jersey]], from 2001 to 2015. They were a member of the Liberty Division of the [[Atlantic League of Professional Baseball]], then unaffiliated with [[Major League Baseball]]. The Riversharks played their home games at [[Campbell's Field]], which was situated at the base of the [[Benjamin Franklin Bridge]].  Due to its location on the [[Delaware River]], the ballpark offered a clear view of the [[Philadelphia]] skyline. The "Riversharks" name referred to the location of Camden on the Delaware River, and the primary logo incorporated the Benjamin Franklin Bridge that links Camden to Philadelphia.

On October 21, 2015, the Camden Riversharks announced they would cease operations immediately due to the inability to reach an agreement on lease terms with the owner of Campbell's Field, the Camden County Improvement Authority (the authority had purchased Campbell's Field from Rutgers University two months prior).<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://riversharks.com/team/news/?article_id=114|title=Farewell Fans|website=Riversharks.com|publisher=Camden Riversharks|date=September 21, 2015|access-date=November 5, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023183527/http://www.riversharks.com/team/news/?article_id=114#|archive-date=October 23, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.facebook.com/atlanticleague/photos/a.422607451111415.88535.376636555708505/971405329564955/?type=3&theater |title=...the Camden Riversharks will cease baseball operations immediately... |website=Facebook |publisher=Atlantic League Of Professional Baseball |date=September 21, 2015 |url-status=live |url-access=limited |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/376636555708505/971405329564955 |archive-date=February 26, 2022 }}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |first=Greg |last=Adomaitis |title=Riversharks leaving Camden after 15 years due to lease issues |newspaper=[[The Star-Ledger]] |url=http://www.nj.com/camden/index.ssf/2015/10/riversharks_out_of_camden_following_lease_issues.html |date=October 21, 2015 |access-date=December 5, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |first=Jim |last=Walsh |title=Play ball? Campbell's Field outlook hazy |newspaper=[[Courier-Post]] |url=http://www.courierpostonline.com/story/news/2016/04/13/campbells-field-camden-baseball/82998644/ |date=April 13, 2016 |access-date=December 5, 2016}}</ref> 

The Riversharks were replaced by the [[New Britain Bees]], a separate franchise for the 2016 season.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-new-britain-riversharks-1023-20151022-story.html|title=Atlantic League Baseball: Camden Is Out, New Britain Is In|first=Don|last=Stacom|newspaper=[[Hartford Courant]]|date=October 22, 2015|access-date=October 23, 2015}}</ref>

== History of Camden baseball ==
[[File:Riversharks Game as PATCO Train Passes by on Bridge.jpg|thumb|Camden Riversharks game in 2009. A [[PATCO Speedline|PATCO]] train crossing the Ben Franklin Bridge|left|350px]]
The Riversharks were not the first baseball team to call Camden home. The '''Camden Merritt''', named for former state senator Albert Merritt,<ref>{{cite press release |title=Governor Breaks Ground for Ballpark |url=https://www.nj.gov/transportation/about/press/2000/061500.shtm |website=State of New Jersey |publisher=Office of the Governor |access-date=June 4, 2022 |date=June 15, 2000}}</ref> of the Interstate Association played there in 1883, and disbanded the same year.<ref>{{cite web |title=New Jersey Sports Teams of the Past |work=Titans101.com |url=http://www.titans101.com/njpast.htm |access-date=May 27, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060427221508/http://www.titans101.com/njpast.htm# |archive-date=April 27, 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Another team from the '''Tri-State League''' played in Camden in 1904, and they too disbanded, during the season. The inception of the Riversharks in 2001 was the first professional baseball team in Camden since the 1904 season.

==Logos and uniforms==
[[File:Camden Riversharks for June 12, 2009 Game.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Ticket stub for Camden-Somerset game of June 12, 2009]]
The team colors of the Camden Riversharks were navy blue, Columbia blue, and white. The Riversharks' last logo, introduced in 2005 with a new ownership group, consisted of a shark biting a baseball bat superimposed over a stylized depiction of the [[Benjamin Franklin Bridge]]. The Riversharks' former logo, used from 2001 to 2005, consisted of a navy blue ring with a shark centered above the wordmark superimposed over it.

The Riversharks' primary caps were navy blue with a Columbia blue visor and the "shark-fin" cap logo centered on the front. The home jerseys were white with navy blue piping and feature the "Sharks" wordmark across the front in white with navy blue and Columbia blue outline. The away jerseys were gray with the "Camden" wordmark centered across the jersey in navy blue with Columbia blue outline.

==Season-by-season records==
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="5"  style="background:#001542; color:white;"|Camden Riversharks - 2001 to 2015<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mbpfaus.net/~pfau/al-info.html |title=Atlantic League Information |website=The North Brunswick Pfaus |access-date=June 4, 2022}}</ref>
|-
!Season
!W - L Record
!Winning Percentage
!Finish
!Playoffs
|-
|2001 || 49–77 || .389 || 3rd in South Division ||Did not qualify for the playoffs
|-
|2002 || 71–54 || .568 || 2nd in South Division || 1–2 (lost division final)
|-
|2003 || 78–48 || .619 || 1st in South Division || 0–2 (lost division final)
|-
|2004 || 76–49 || .608 || 1st in South Division || 0–3 (lost league championship)
|-
|2005 || 80–60 || .571 || 1st in South Division ||Did not qualify for the playoffs
|-
|2006 || 61–65 || .484 || 4th in South Division ||Did not qualify for the playoffs
|-
|2007 || 67–59 || .532 || 2nd in South Division || 1–2 (lost division final)
|-
|2008 || 67–73 || .479 || 3rd in Liberty Division || 1–3 (lost league championship)
|-
|2009 || 62–78 || .443 || 4th in Liberty Division ||Did not qualify for the playoffs
|-
|2010 || 62–77 || .446 || 4th in Liberty Division ||Did not qualify for the playoffs
|- 
|2011 || 57–67 || .460 || 4th in Liberty Division ||Did not qualify for the playoffs
|-
|2012 || 62–77 || .446 || 4th in Liberty Division ||Did not qualify for the playoffs
|-
|2013 || 54–86 || .386 || 4th in Liberty Division ||Did not qualify for the playoffs
|-
|2014 || 43–80 || .350 || 3rd in Liberty Division ||Did not qualify for the playoffs
|-
|2015 || 56–83 || .403 || Tied for 3rd with Bridgeport || Did not qualify for the playoffs
|- style="background:#f2f2f2; font-weight:bold"
|Totals (2001–2015) ||945–1033 ||.477 ||-|| 7–12
|}

== Retired numbers ==
; 42 ([[Jackie Robinson]]): [[Second baseman]], Retired throughout professional baseball on April 15, 1997

; 16 (Brad Strauss): [[First baseman|1B]] / [[Third baseman|3B]] / [[Outfielder|OF]] / [[Designated hitter|DH]], Retired by the Riversharks on August 12, 2007<ref>{{cite news |first=Natalie |last=Filomeno |url=http://www.riversharks.com/news/?news_id=668 |title=Camden Drops Final Home Game, 5-2, on Brad Strauss Night |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608062413/http://www.riversharks.com/news/?news_id=668# |archive-date=June 8, 2011 |website=Riversharks.com |publisher=Camden Riversharks |date=September 13, 2007 |access-date=September 28, 2008 |quote=The team retired the No. 16 worn by second baseman Brad Strauss, a former star at Haddon Township High in Camden County.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/S/brad-strauss.shtml |title=Brad Strauss stats |website=The Baseball Cube |date=September 13, 2007 |access-date=September 28, 2008}}</ref>

==Notable alumni==
*[[Kim Batiste]]
*[[Danny Bautista]]
*[[Alberto Castillo (catcher)|Alberto Castillo]]
*[[Mike Costanzo]]
*[[Ben Davis (baseball)|Ben Davis]]
*[[Stephen Drew]]
*[[Pedro Feliz]]
*[[Brian Lawrence]]
*[[José Lima]]
*[[Blaine Neal]]
*[[Craig Paquette]]
*[[Valentino Pascucci]]
*[[René Rivera]]
*[[Félix Rodríguez (baseball)|Félix Rodríguez]]
*[[Ted Silva]]
*[[Josh Towers]]
*[[Wilson Valdez]]
*[[Jered Weaver]]
*[[Delwyn Young]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050207180236/http://riversharks.com/ Camden Riversharks] official website

{{s-start-collapsible|header={{s-ach|ach}}}}
{{s-bef|before = [[Newark Bears]]<br/>North Division<br/>2007}}
{{s-ttl|title = Liberty Division Champions<br>Camden Riversharks|years = 2008}}
{{s-aft|after= [[Southern Maryland Blue Crabs]]<br>2009}}
{{s-bef|before = [[Somerset Patriots]]<br>2003}}
{{s-ttl|title = South Division Champions<br>Camden Riversharks|years = 2004}}
{{s-aft|after= [[Somerset Patriots]]<br>2005}}
{{s-end}}

{{Atlantic League}}
{{NewJerseysports}}
{{Philadelphia Sports}}
{{Defunct Philadelphia sports teams}}

[[Category:Camden Riversharks| ]]
[[Category:Sports in Camden, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Defunct Atlantic League of Professional Baseball teams]]
[[Category:Defunct baseball teams in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Opening Day Partners]]
[[Category:Professional baseball teams in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Baseball teams established in 2001]]
[[Category:Baseball teams disestablished in 2015]]
[[Category:Sports in Philadelphia]]
[[Category:2001 establishments in New Jersey]]
[[Category:2015 disestablishments in New Jersey]]