Altoona has a storied past in baseball. In 1884 Altoona fielded a team in the Union Association. Babe Ruth played at Cricket Field in 1924. Cricket Field was also used as a neutral site for home games of the Homestead Grays in the 1930's. Besides Babe Ruth other Baseball Hall of Famers to play here were: Leroy (Satchel) Paige, Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, and Willie Foster. Altoona has also had a number of its native sons play Major League Baseball. The most prominent were Perce (Pat) Malone who appeared in three World Series and James (Ripper) Collins who led the National League in homeruns in 1934, made 3 All-Star teams and appeared in three World Series. Other Altoona natives to play in the Majors were: Walt Thomas, Jim Ritz, Tommy Irwin, Thomas Healy, John Gochnaur, Alexander Donoghue, John Ake, and Bob Ramazzotti. Since 1999, Altoona has been the proud home of the Altoona Curve who are the Double- A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates.