Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Western League)

Last updated
Colorado Springs Sky Sox
1950 – 1958
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Class-level
Previous Class A
Minor league affiliations
Previous leagues
 Western League
Major league affiliations
Previous Chicago White Sox
Minor league titles
Pennants (3)
  • 1953
  • 1955
  • 1958
Team data
NicknameColorado Springs Sky Sox
Ballpark Spurgeon Stadium

The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado, from 1950 to 1958. The team played in the Class A Western League as a farm team for the Chicago White Sox. [1]

Minor League Baseball hierarchy of professional baseball leagues affiliated with Major League Baseball

Minor League Baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball (MLB) and provide opportunities for player development and a way to prepare for the major leagues. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses. Most are members of the umbrella organization known as Minor League Baseball (MiLB), which operates under the Commissioner of Baseball within the scope of organized baseball. Several leagues, known as independent baseball leagues, do not have any official links to Major League Baseball.

Colorado Springs, Colorado Home rule municipality in Colorado, United States

Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality that is the largest city by area in Colorado as well as the county seat and the most populous municipality of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in the east central portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located 60 miles (97 km) south of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver.

The Western League was the name of several leagues in American minor league baseball. First, its earliest progenitor, which existed from 1885 to 1899, was the predecessor of the American League. Later, during the 20th century, there were four incarnations of the Western League, including a Class D loop that played from 1939–41 and an independent loop that began play in 1995. This article, however, concentrates on the two Class A leagues that played from 1900–37 and from 1947–58.

The Sky Sox, named for their association with the White Sox, won the league pennant in 1953, 1955, and 1958. [2] [3] [4]

When the Western League folded at the end of the 1958 season, the club also ceased operations. The Pikes Peak region was without professional baseball for 30 years until 1988, when the Hawaii Islanders of the Pacific Coast League relocated to Colorado Springs and became the second incarnation of the Sky Sox; they moved after 2018 to become the Triple-A San Antonio Missions. [1]

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Pikes Peak is the highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in North America. The ultra-prominent 14,115-foot (4,302.31 m) fourteener is located in Pike National Forest, 12 miles (19 km) west of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. The mountain is named in honor of American explorer Zebulon Pike. The summit is higher than any point in the United States east of its longitude.

The Hawaii Islanders were a minor league baseball team based in Honolulu, Hawaii, that played in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League for 27 seasons, from 1961 through 1987.

The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern, and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball. It is officially named the Pacific Coast League of Professional Baseball Clubs, Inc. Its headquarters are in Round Rock, Texas.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Colorado Springs, Colorado Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  2. ↑ "1953 Western League". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  3. ↑ "1955 Western League". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  4. ↑ "1958 Western League". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
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