Classification | |
---|---|
Sport | Baseball |
Founded | 1904 |
Ceased | 1963 |
Replaced by | Southern League |
Country | United States |
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 dissolved after the 1963 season and was refounded as the Southern League.
The original South Atlantic League was founded in 1904 by Charles W. Boyer and J.B. Lucy as a Class C league, equivalent to an Advanced Rookie league in the pre-2021 minor league scheme. [1] After a year of dormancy in 1918, it continued at that classification from 1919 to 1920 before being elevated to Class B (equivalent to short-season Class A before 2021 and a Class A league today)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 along with the other Class A leagues. [2] The circuit reorganized as the Southern League in 1964. To distance itself from its history at lower classifications, 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 four separate baseball leagues in minor league baseball which operated in the Southeastern and South Central United States in numerous seasons between 1897 and 2003. 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 is a Minor League Baseball league that has operated in the Southern United States since 1964. Along with the Eastern League and Texas League, it is one of three circuits playing at the Double-A level, which is two grades below Major League Baseball (MLB).
The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues. The league temporarily operated for the 2021 season as the High-A East before reassuming its original moniker in 2022.
The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They are located in Charleston, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs' home stadium is Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. Charleston is the only team in league history to win three consecutive Carolina League championships.
The Southern Association' (SA) 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 B (1901), Class A (1902–1935), Class A1 (1936–1945), and Double-A (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.
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 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.
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 is a neologism created by the Regional Plan Association for an area of the Southeastern United States that contains parts of the states of Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, and North Carolina. The region includes the Atlanta, Birmingham, Charlotte, Memphis, Nashville, Research Triangle (Raleigh–Durham), Upstate South Carolina (Greenville–Spartanburg–Anderson), and Greensboro–Winston-Salem–High Point metropolitan areas. The megaregion generally follows the Interstate 85/20 corridor. According to Georgia Tech, the Piedmont Atlantic represents over 12 percent of the total United States population and covers over 243,000 square miles (630,000 km2) of land.
The Columbia Comers were a minor league baseball team, based in Columbia, South Carolina and played in the South Atlantic League.
The Gastonia Cardinals were a minor league baseball team based in Gastonia, North Carolina on two separate occasions, playing as a minor league affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals in both instances.
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.
The Columbia Fireflies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Columbia, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball. Their home stadium is Segra Park. The team was previously known as the Savannah Sand Gnats (1995–2015); they relocated from Savannah, Georgia, after the 2015 season. They are the only professional baseball team in Columbia, and the first since the Capital City Bombers moved to Greenville, South Carolina, after the 2004 season.
The Gastonia Rockets were a minor league baseball team based in Gastonia, North Carolina, United States. The Rockets played as members of the Class B level Tri-State League in 1952 and 1953, winning the 1952 league pennant before the team folded following the 1953 season. The Rockets were a minor league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and hosted home games at Sims Legion Park, which is still in use today.