Sport | Baseball |
---|---|
Founded | 1904 |
Ceased | 1963 |
Replaced by | Southern League |
Country | United States |
Classification |
The South Atlantic League, nicknamed the SALLY League, was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the Southern United States intermittently from 1904 to 1963. Initially Class C league, it was elevated to Class B in 1921, Class A in 1946, and Double-A in 1963. The circuit was renamed the Southern League in 1964, and the league elected to maintain a new set of records from that season onward.
The original South Atlantic League was founded in 1904 by Charles W. Boyer and J.B. Lucy as a Class C league. [1] After a year of dormancy in 1918, it continued at that classification from 1919 to 1920 before being elevated to Class B in 1921. [2] The Great Depression caused the league to shut down from 1931 to 1935, [1] but it returned at Class B from 1936 to 1942. [2] Three more years of dormancy occurred during World War II, but the SALLY League was revived as a Class A circuit from 1946 to 1962. [2]
In 1963, it was reclassified as a Double-A league. [2] The circuit was renamed the Southern League in 1964 to separate it from its history at lower classifications. To further differentiate itself, the newly-named league elected to start with a clean slate and not maintain records prior to the 1964 season. Thusly, the 51-year history of the league was retired with the South Atlantic League name. [1]
In 1980, the Western Carolinas League resurrected the name as it became the current South Atlantic League. [1] [2]
League champions were determined by different means throughout the league's history. [3] Playoffs were held in most seasons, while in others the champions were simply the regular season pennant winners. [3]
The Southeastern League was the name of three baseball circuits in minor league baseball which operated in the Southeastern and South Central United States. Two of these leagues were associated with organized baseball; the third and most recent incarnation was an independent league that operated for two seasons in 2002–03.
The Southern League was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the Southern United States from 1964 to 2020. Along with the Eastern League and Texas League, it was one of three circuits playing at the Double-A level, which is two grades below Major League Baseball. Its headquarters were in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta, Georgia. The league was replaced by Double-A South.
The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, was a Minor League Baseball league with teams along the Atlantic coastline of the United States from New Jersey to the South Carolina-Georgia border. It was a Class A league that played a full season, and its teams are composed of players generally in their first or second year of professional play.
The Tennessee Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in the Knoxville, Tennessee, metropolitan area. The team, which plays in the Double-A South, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. Smokies Stadium, the team's ballpark, is located in the suburb of Kodak, and seats up to 8,000 fans. The team was based in Knoxville and called the Knoxville Smokies among other names for many years before moving to Kodak and changing its name prior to the 2000 season. The team's nickname refers to the Great Smoky Mountains mountain range which permeates the region; mountains in the chain are often clouded in a hazy mist that may appear as smoke rising from the forest. The team will be moving back to Knoxville for the 2024 season.
The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Low-A East. They are located in Charleston, South Carolina, and are the Low-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs' home stadium is Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park.
The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Class A1 (1936–1945) and Class AA (1946–1961). Although the SA was known as the Southern League through 1919, the later Double-A Southern League was not descended from the Southern Association; the modern SL came into existence in 1964 as the successor to the original South Atlantic ("Sally") League before ceasing to exist as a part of Major League Baseball's reorganization of Minor League Baseball in 2021.
The Western Carolinas League was a Class D and a low Class A (1963–79) full-season league in American minor league baseball. The WCL changed its name prior to the 1980 season and has been known since as the South Atlantic League, a highly successful low Class A circuit with teams up the Eastern Seaboard from Georgia to New Jersey.
The Tri-State League was the name of six different circuits in American minor league baseball.
Sims Legion Park is a 3,000-seat baseball stadium located in Gastonia, North Carolina. It hosts the Gastonia Grizzlies of the Coastal Plain League, as well as American Legion baseball. It was reported in October 2020 that the Grizzlies are moving to Spartanburg, South Carolina starting with the 2021 season.
The Columbus Mudcats were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Double-A Southern League from 1969 to 1990. They were located in Columbus, Georgia, and played their home games at Golden Park. Founded as the Columbus White Sox in 1969, they were named for their Major League Baseball affiliate, the Chicago White Sox. They became the Columbus Astros in 1970 upon affiliating with the Houston Astros. The Astros won their lone Southern League championship in 1986. Columbus rebranded as the Mudcats in 1989 for their final two years in Columbus.
The Southeastern Greyhound Lines, a highway-coach carrier, was a Greyhound regional operating company, based in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, from 1931 until 1960, when it became merged with the Atlantic Greyhound Lines, a neighboring operating company, thereby forming the Southern Division of The Greyhound Corporation, called also the Southern Greyhound Lines.
The Atlantic Greyhound Lines, a highway-coach carrier, was a Greyhound regional operating company, based in Charleston, West Virginia, USA, from 1931 until 1960, when it became merged with the Southeastern Greyhound Lines, a neighboring operating company, thus forming the Southern Division of The Greyhound Corporation, which division became called also the Southern Greyhound Lines (GL).
The Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion (PAM) is a neologism created by the Regional Plan Association for an area of the Southeastern United States that includes the Atlanta, Birmingham, Charlotte, Memphis, Nashville, Research Triangle (Raleigh-Durham), and Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point metropolitan areas. The megaregion generally follows the Interstate 85/20 corridor. According to Georgia Tech, PAM represents over 12 percent of the total United States population and covers over 243,000 square miles (630,000 km2) of land.
The Negro Southern League (NSL) was one of the several Negro baseball leagues created during the time organized baseball was segregated. The NSL was organized as a minor league in 1920 and lasted until 1936. It was considered a major league for the 1932 season and it was also the only organized league to finish its full schedule that season. Prior to the season, several established teams joined the NSL, mainly from the collapsed Negro National League.
The Columbia Comers were a minor league baseball team, based in Columbia, South Carolina and played in the South Atlantic League.
The Columbia Senators was the first name of an American minor league baseball franchise representing Columbia, South Carolina, in the original South Atlantic League. Currently, Columbia is home of the Columbia Fireflies in the South Atlantic League.
The Southern League was a Class B and Class C minor league baseball league which operated intermittently in the Southern United States from 1885 to 1899. Financial problems plagued the league and its member teams throughout their existence. It was not unusual for teams to depart the league during the season or for the league to cease operations without completing the season. It was this lack of financial support which ultimately caused the league to permanently disband in 1889. In 1901, a new league, called the Southern Association, was created from its remnants.