Tampa Tarpons (1957–1988)

Last updated
Tampa Tarpons
TampaTarpons1957.gif
Minor league affiliations
Previous classes
League Florida State League
Major league affiliations
Previous teams
Minor league titles
League titles 3 (1957, 1959, 1961)
Team data
Previous names
  • Tampa White Sox (1988)
Previous parks
 Al Lopez Field

The Tampa Tarpons were a minor league baseball team based in Tampa, Florida. Their home ballpark was Al Lopez Field, and they were a member of the Class A Florida State League (FSL) from 1957 until 1988, mostly as an affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. In 1988, they were sold, relocated, and renamed the Sarasota White Sox. During their run in Tampa, they won three FSL league championships, in 1957, 1959 and 1961.

Contents

For the 2018 season, the FSL Tampa Yankees revived the name when they were rebranded as the Tampa Tarpons.

History

Tampa has had a long history of minor league baseball, beginning in 1919, when the original Tampa Smokers began play as charter members of the Florida State League. The Smokers moved to the Florida International League before both the league and the team folded in 1954, temporarily leaving Tampa without a professional baseball team. The city built Al Lopez Field in 1954, and the Tampa Tarpons became the ballpark's first tenant when they began play there in 1955 as a new member of the Class D Florida State League. [1]

The Tarpons were an independent minor league team until 1957, when they became an affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. In 1961, they began a long affiliation with the Cincinnati Reds. They won three league championships, in 1957, 1959 and 1961. [2] In 1964 minor league baseball was realigned, and the Florida State League became a Class A league (now Class A-Advanced).

During the 1980s talk spread of a major league team coming to the Tampa Bay Area, which would threaten the viability of the Tarpons and other minor league teams in the region. [3] Prior to the 1988 season the Reds moved their spring training from Tampa to Plant City, Florida, and moved their Class A franchise to Greensboro, North Carolina (the Greensboro Hornets). The Chicago White Sox subsequently moved their Class A affiliation to Tampa for the 1988 season, amid rumors that the major league White Sox would be moving to the area soon thereafter. That season the club, renamed the Tampa White Sox, drew 55,900 fans, seventh in the 14-team FSL, and went 35–35 in the first half before they won the western division second-half title at 36–24. They fell in the second round of the playoffs to the St. Lucie Mets 2 games to 0. The club was managed by Marv Foley and had one FSL All-Star, pitcher Jerry Kutzler. Foley won FSL Manager of the Year honors. [4]

After the 1988 season, owner Mitchell Mick sold his franchise to the Chicago White Sox, who relocated the club to Sarasota, Florida as the Sarasota White Sox. [5] The franchise exchanged major league affiliates and nicknames several times before 2010, when they became an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates and were moved and renamed the Bradenton Marauders.

Meanwhile, Tampa was without professional baseball until the Tampa Yankees re-joined the Florida State League in 1994. After the 2017 season, that team rebranded itself as the Tarpons. [6]

Notable Tarpon alumni

Many former Tarpons went on to play in the major leagues, including important members of Cincinnati's Big Red Machine of the 1970s. In 1961 Pete Rose led the Tarpons to a FSL championship with a .331 batting average and 30 triples – still a FSL record. [7] Other Reds players from that era who started with the Tarpons include Ken Griffey, Sr., Johnny Bench, Dan Driessen, Rawly Eastwick, and Dave Concepcion. When the Reds won their next world series in 1990 with manager (and Tampa native) Lou Piniella, they again had several former Tarpons on the roster, including Tom Browning, Rob Dibble, and Paul O'Neill.

Another notable Tarpon was Randy Poffo, whose brief minor league baseball career ended in 1974 after batting .232 as a 21-year-old outfielder. [8] Poffo would later have much more success as a professional wrestler after adopting the stage name Randy "The Macho Man" Savage.

Notable Tarpon players and coaches

Tampa Bay Rays connections

In 2006 the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, embarked on a rebranding effort that would include a name change; they considered adopting the Tampa Bay Tarpons name in honor of the minor league team before making the less radical step of shortening their nickname to simply the Rays in 2008. [9] [10] The (Devil)-Rays have worn Tampa Tarpons uniforms for several "Turn Back the Clock" games:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida State League</span> Baseball league in Florida, US

The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues. The league temporarily operated for the 2021 season as the Low-A Southeast before reassuming its original moniker in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Complex League</span> American minor baseball league

The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the lowest rung on the North American minor-league ladder.

The Orlando "Rays" and several different minor league baseball teams have called the city of Orlando, Florida home between 1919 and 2003. Most have played in the Florida State League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daytona Tortugas</span> Minor league baseball team

The Daytona Tortugas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Daytona Beach, Florida, and play their home games at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. Opened in 1914, the park seats 4,200 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jupiter Hammerheads</span> Minor league baseball team

The Jupiter Hammerheads are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Opened in 1998, the park seats 6,871 people. They share the facility with the Palm Beach Cardinals, also of the Florida State League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clearwater Threshers</span> Minor league baseball team

The Clearwater Threshers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Clearwater, Florida, and have played their home games at BayCare Ballpark since 2004. They previously played at Jack Russell Memorial Stadium from 1985 to 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lakeland Flying Tigers</span> Minor league baseball team

The Lakeland Flying Tigers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Lakeland, Florida, and play their home games at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarasota Reds</span> Minor league baseball team

The Sarasota Reds were a professional minor league baseball team, located in Sarasota, Florida, as a member of the Florida State League. The team originally started play in Sarasota as the Sarasota White Sox in 1989. They remained in the city for the next 21 seasons, going through a series of name changes due to their affiliation changes. They were known as the White Sox from 1989–1993, as the Sarasota Red Sox from 1994–2004, and the Reds from 2004–2009. In Sarasota, the team played in Payne Park (1989) and then Ed Smith Stadium (1990–2009). They won two division championships, in 1989 and 1992, and made playoff appearances in 1989, 1991, 1992, 1994, and 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tampa Tarpons</span> Minor league baseball team

The Tampa Tarpons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Tampa, Florida. The Tarpons play their home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field, which is also the spring training home of the New York Yankees and incorporates design elements from old Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, including identical field dimensions. They competed at the Class A-Advanced level from 1994 to 2020 before being reclassified Low Single-A in 2021. Since their inception, the club has won five league championships, in 1994, 2001, 2004, 2009, and 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al Lopez Field</span> Former baseball stadium in Tampa, Florida

Al López Field was a spring training and Minor League baseball ballpark in West Tampa, Tampa, Florida, United States. It was named for Al López, the first Tampa native to play Major League Baseball (MLB), manage an MLB team, and be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Al López Field was built in 1954 and hosted its first spring training in 1955, when the Chicago White Sox moved their training site to Tampa from California. Al López became the White Sox's manager in 1957, and for the next three springs, he was the home manager in a ballpark named after himself. The Cincinnati Reds replaced the White Sox as Al López Field's primary tenant in 1960 and would return every spring for almost 30 years. The Tampa Tarpons, the Reds' Class-A minor league affiliate in the Florida State League, played at the ballpark every summer from 1961–1987, and many members of the Reds' Big Red Machine teams of the 1970s played there early in their professional baseball careers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Petersburg Saints</span> Minor league baseball team

The St. Petersburg Saints were a minor league baseball team that operated out of St. Petersburg, Florida. The team began as a semi-pro team and as early as October 1908, the semi-pro Saints played the Cincinnati Reds in a post-season exhibition game. By 1914, the Saints were receiving regular coverage in the local press.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bradenton Marauders</span> Minor league baseball team

The Bradenton Marauders are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Bradenton, Florida, and play their home games at LECOM Park, which also serves as the Pirates' spring training facility.

Baseball in the Tampa Bay area, both amateur and professional, has had a long and storied history, even though the Tampa Bay Rays are one of the two youngest franchises in Major League Baseball, the other being the Arizona Diamondbacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tampa Bay Rays</span> Major League Baseball franchise in St. Petersburg, Florida

The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. The Rays are one of two major league clubs based in Florida, alongside the National League (NL)’s Miami Marlins. Since its inception, the team's home ballpark has been Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlotte Stone Crabs</span> Minor league baseball team

The Charlotte Stone Crabs were a Minor League Baseball team located in Port Charlotte, Florida, from 2009 to 2020. They competed in the Florida State League (FSL) as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball (MLB) team. They played their home games at Charlotte Sports Park and were named for the Florida stone crab, which is indigenous to the Charlotte County region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlotte Rangers</span> Minor league baseball team

The Charlotte Rangers, based in Port Charlotte, Florida, were an American minor league baseball team that existed from 1987 through 2002. The team played at Charlotte County Stadium as a Class A Florida State League affiliate of the Texas Rangers, who at the time made their spring training base in Port Charlotte.

The Fort Lauderdale Yankees, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, were an American Minor League Baseball franchise that existed from 1962 through 1992. The team was a member of the Florida State League (FSL) as an affiliate of the New York Yankees and won seven FSL championships during its 31 years of existence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tampa Smokers</span> American minor league baseball teams

The Tampa Smokers was a name used between 1919 and 1954 by a series of minor league baseball teams based in Tampa, Florida. The nickname was a nod to the local cigar industry, which was the most important industry in Tampa during the years in which the Smokers were active. During periods in which the name was not used by a professional team, various local semi-pro and amateur teams took up the Smokers name.

The Sarasota Gulls were a minor league baseball team, based in Sarasota, Florida, as a member of the early Florida State League. The team played in 1926 as the Gulls, however the following season they played as the Sarasota Tarpons. They were the first team to represent Sarasota inside of Florida State League. The city would not host another FSL team until the Sarasota Sun Sox arrived in 1961. The team folded in 1928, when the FSL went on a hiatus.

References

  1. ↑ "Tampa Tarpons Move Into First". The Evening Independent. May 6, 1968. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Past Champions: Florida State League Champions". www.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=l123. milb.com. 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  3. ↑ Fry, Darrell (July 2, 1988). "Tarpons, Cards react differently to White Sox Series: fsl". St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Farm System - Rockies Scouting Department" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2004-05-30.
  5. ↑ "Tampa Tarpons sold, moving to Sarasota". St. Petersburg Times. November 19, 1988. p. 5.C. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  6. ↑ Hill, Benjamin (December 11, 2017). "With Tarpons, Tampa throws back to the future". milb.com. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  7. ↑ Putterbaugh, Travis (May 10, 2010). "Remembering the Tampa Tarpons". Tampa Sports History. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Randy Poffo career minor league statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  9. ↑ ""Name Could Be Big Change" - St. Pete Times, Jan 15, 2006".
  10. ↑ Rays usher in new era with new identity | MLB.com: News
  11. ↑ "Ocala Star-Banner - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  12. ↑ Bill Chastain (2006-06-24). "Notes: Rays sport throwback duds: Club dons unis of '75 Tarpons for Turn Back the Clock Night". MLB.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Rays will turn back the clock on Aug. 13" - St. Pete Times, July 1, 2010
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.