Classification | Class D (1946–1950) |
---|---|
Sport | Minor League Baseball |
First season | 1946 |
Ceased | 1950 |
President | J.E.L. Wade (1946) Arthur T. Moore (1947–1950) |
No. of teams | 13 |
Country | United States of America |
Most titles | 2 Red Springs Red Robins |
Related competitions | Bi-State League |
The Tobacco State League was a Class D level American minor baseball league that played for five seasons (1946–1950) in Organized Baseball in the state of North Carolina. The Red Springs Red Robins won two league championships.
The Tobacco State League was one of many low-level minor leagues that flourished immediately after World War II before disbanding in the 1950s. Founded as a six-team circuit in 1946, the league sported eight teams for the final four years of its existence, although one of its teams, the charter member Smithfield-Selma Leafs, was forced to drop out during the closing weeks of the TSL's final 1950 season. With the exceptions of Lumberton (Chicago Cubs) and Red Springs (Philadelphia Athletics), its members were unaffiliated with Major League Baseball farm systems.
Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sanford Spinners | 71 | 48 | .597 | - | Gaither Riley / Zeb Harrington |
Clinton Blues | 70 | 48 | .593 | 0.5 | Willie Duke / Van Lingle Mungo |
Smithfield-Selma Leafs | 58 | 62 | .483 | 13.5 | Mike Balas |
Angier-Fuquay Springs Bulls | 57 | 62 | .479 | 14.0 | Paul Dunlap / Gaither Riley |
Wilmington Pirates | 52 | 66 | .441 | 18.5 | Stan Katkaveck / Gus Brittain |
Dunn-Erwin Twins | 48 | 70 | .407 | 22.5 | James Guinn / Alton Stephenson / Dwight Law |
Playoffs: Angier-Fuquay 4 games, Sanford 2; Clinton 4 games, Springfield 1.
Finals: Angier-Fuquay 4 games, Clinton 3.
Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Willie Duke | Clinton | BA | .393 | Robert Keane | Clinton | W | 23 | |
Lonnie H. Smith | Clinton | Runs | 117 | George Bortz | Sanford | SO | 193 | |
Leo Niezgoda | Smith/Selma | Hits | 173 | Robert Keane | Clinton | PCT | .852; 23-4 | |
Orville Nesselrode | Sanford | RBI | 150 | |||||
Orville Nesselrode | Sanford | HR | 30 |
Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Attend | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sanford Spinners | 86 | 39 | .688 | - | 37,517 | Zeb Harrington |
Lumberton Cubs | 71 | 49 | .592 | 12.5 | 50,758 | Red Lucas |
Wilmington Pirates | 68 | 57 | .544 | 18.0 | 63,219 | Nate Andrews |
Dunn-Erwin Twins | 62 | 62 | .500 | 23.5 | 49,262 | Jack Bell / Bill Auerette |
Warsaw Red Sox | 59 | 64 | .480 | 26.0 | 36,865 | James Milner |
Clinton Blues | 56 | 67 | .455 | 29.0 | 36,778 | Robert Hall / Van Lingle Mungo / Survern Wright |
Red Springs Red Robins | 47 | 78 | .480 | 39.0 | 21,000 | Red Norris |
Smithfield-Selma Leafs | 46 | 79 | .368 | 40.0 | 28,847 | Mike Balas / Joe Eonta |
Playoffs: Sanford 4 games, Wilmington 3; Lumberton 4 games, Dunn-Erwin 1.
Finals: Sanford 4 games, Lumberton 3.
Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jimmy Wilson | Sanford | BA | .385 | Lewis Cheshire | Wilmington | W | 19 | |
Jimmy Wilson | Sanford | Runs | 133 | Carl Johnson | Warsaw | SO | 225 | |
Jimmy Wilson | Sanford | Hits | 205 | John McFadden | Sanford | ERA | 2.44 | |
Orville Nesselrode | Sanford | RBI | 166 | John McFadden | Sanford | PCT | .750 15-5 | |
Orville Nesselrode | Sanford | HR | 32 |
Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Attend | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sanford Spinners | 80 | 56 | .588 | - | 29,374 | Zeb Harrington |
Wilmington Pirates | 76 | 62 | .551 | 5.0 | 77,842 | Jim Staton |
Red Springs Red Robins | 75 | 62 | .547 | 5.5 | 28,410 | Red Norris |
Smithfield-Selma Leafs | 73 | 65 | .529 | 8.0 | 36,552 | Sam Narron / Virgil Payne |
Warsaw Red Sox | 71 | 67 | .514 | 10.0 | 32,482 | Sam Gibson / Verne Blackwell |
Clinton Blues | 70 | 67 | .511 | 10.5 | 39,498 | Marvin Lorenz |
Lumberton Cubs | 55 | 81 | .404 | 25.0 | 38,772 | Charlie Jamin |
Dunn-Erwin Twins | 49 | 89 | .355 | 32.0 | 26,475 | Carl McQuillen / Babe Bost / Gaither Riley |
Playoffs: Sanford 4 games, Smithfield-Selma 1; Red Springs 4 games, Wilmington 3.
Finals: Red Springs 4 games, Sanford 1.
Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hargrove Davis | Wilmington | BA | .366 | Aaron Osofsky | Smithfield-Selma | W | 24 | |
Jimmy Wilson | Sanford | Runs | 145 | John Cheshire | Wilmington | SO | 258 | |
Jimmy Wilson | Sanford | Hits | 212 | John Cheshire | Wilmington | ERA | 2.35 | |
Orville Nesselrode | Sanford | RBI | 159 | Aaron Osofsky | Smithfield-Selma | PCT | .828 24-5 | |
Orville Nesselrode | Sanford | HR | 27 |
Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Attend | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dunn-Erwin Twins | 81 | 54 | .600 | - | 39,335 | Jim Staton |
Red Springs Red Robins | 76 | 59 | .563 | 5.0 | 33,303 | Red Norris |
Lumberton Auctioneers | 75 | 61 | .551 | 6.5 | 60,038 | Charles Lucas / James Guinn |
Sanford Spinners | 71 | 62 | .530 | 9.0 | 36,046 | Zeb Harrington |
Smithfield-Selma Leafs | 70 | 65 | .519 | 11.0 | 41,618 | Virgil Payne / Claude Weaver / Paul Kluk |
Fayetteville Scotties | 61 | 76 | .445 | 21.0 | 56,999 | Zip Payne / Joe Roseberry / Nicholas Rhabe / John Helms |
Clinton Sampson Blues | 60 | 78 | .435 | 22.5 | 37,496 | Marvin Lorenz |
Wilmington Pirates | 49 | 88 | .358 | 33.0 | 49,009 | Ab Tiedemann / John Edens / Gus Brittain / Hargrove Davis |
Playoffs: Dunn-Erwin 4 games, Lumberton 1; Red Springs 4 games, Sanford 2.
Finals: Red Springs 4 games, Dunn Erwin 1.
Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Joe Roseberry | Fayetteville | BA | .409 | Clarence Condit | Dunn-Erwin | W | 20 | |
Granville Denning | Dunn-Erwin | Runs | 118 | Clarence Condit | Dunn-Erwin | SO | 264 | |
Nicholas Perchia | Clinton | Runs | 118 | Leslie Price | Clinton | ERA | 2.19 | |
Granville Denning | Dunn-Erwin | Hits | 185 | John Bennett | Smithfield-Selma | PCT | .769 10-3 | |
Granville Denning | Dunn-Ervin | RBI | 119 | |||||
Joseph Stern | Clin/Lumb | HR | 15 | |||||
John Helms | Fayetteville | HR | 15 |
Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Attend | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lumberton Auctioneers | 92 | 43 | .682 | - | 42,796 | John Streza |
Sanford Spinners | 90 | 44 | .672 | 1.5 | 19,686 | Zeb Harrington |
Red Springs Red Robins | 68 | 61 | .527 | 21.0 | 26,198 | Ducky Detweiler |
Rockingham Eagles | 63 | 69 | .477 | 27.5 | 31,806 | Jack Bell / Turkey Tyson |
Clinton Sampson Blues | 61 | 72 | .459 | 30.0 | 29,060 | Alvin Kluttz / Nicholas Rhabe / Marvin Lorenz |
Wilmington Pirates | 56 | 75 | .427 | 34.0 | 35,950 | Bill Hamons / Red Teague / Steve Collins |
Dunn-Erwin Twins / Whiteville Tobs | 39 | 92 | .298 | 51.0 | 20,839 | Jim Staton |
Smithfield-Selma Leafs | 49 | 62 | .441 | NA | 19,369 | Marvin Lorenz |
Playoffs: Rockingham 4 games, Lumberton 2; Stanford 4 games, Red Springs 0;
Finals: Rockingham 4 games, Stanford 3
Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Granville Denning | Whiteville | BA | .374 | Hoyt Clegg | Sanford | W | 24 | |
Granville Denning | Whiteville | Hits | 176 | Richard Causey | Sanford | SO | 148 | |
Pierre Ethier | Lumberton | Runs | 146 | Clayton Andrews | Sanford | ERA | 2.63 | |
Mike Milosevich | Lumberton | RBI | 121 | John Lagan | Lumberton | PCT | .875 21-3 | |
Mike Milosevich | Lumberton | HR | 14 |
U.S. Route 701 is an auxiliary route of US 1 in the U.S. states of South Carolina and North Carolina. The U.S. Highway runs 171.45 miles (275.92 km) from US 17 and US 17 Alternate in Georgetown, South Carolina north to US 301, North Carolina Highway 96, and Interstate 95 (I-95) near Four Oaks, North Carolina. US 701 serves the Pee Dee region of South Carolina and the southern and central portions of Eastern North Carolina. The highway connects Georgetown and Conway in South Carolina with the North Carolina cities of Whiteville, Elizabethtown, Clinton, and a short distance north of its terminus, Smithfield. US 701 has four business routes in North Carolina, including those through Tabor City, Whiteville, Clarkton, and Clinton.
The Piedmont League was a minor league baseball league that operated from 1920 through 1955. The league operated principally in the Piedmont plateau region in the eastern United States.
North Carolina Highway 55 (NC 55) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It serves as a traffic artery connecting Durham with Cary and numerous small cities and towns in The Triangle on its way toward the Pamlico Sound. A portion of NC 55 extends through Research Triangle Park. NC 55 is a major artery in the central part of The Triangle region, and is a four lane, divided highway between Durham and Cary and Apex. NC 55 is also a divided highway between Apex and Fuquay-Varina.
The Coastal Plain League was a Minor league baseball affiliated circuit which, except for the war years (1942–1945), operated in North Carolina between 1937 and 1952. It was classified as a "D" league. It grew out of a semi-pro league that operated from 1935 to 1936 under the same Coastal Plain League name. Today, the summer collegiate baseball league has adopted the Coastal Plain League moniker.
The Durham and Southern Railway operated 56.8 miles (91.4 km) of railroad from Dunn to Durham, North Carolina, USA. It was originally chartered as the Cape Fear and Northern Railway by Holly Springs resident George Benton Alford in 1892 and construction began in 1898. The name was changed to Durham and Southern in 1906. In 1979 it became part of the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad a predecessor to the CSX system. The tracks between Apex and Erwin Junction were removed in 1981 and the Dunn to Erwin segment was sold to the Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad who operated it as a separate entity, the Dunn-Erwin Railway, until merging it into their operations in 1990. The closure of the cotton and denim mill in Erwin in 2000 led to the abandonment of these tracks and the conversion of the right-of-way to a rail trail. The Durham to Apex segment remains in use by CSX.
The Virginia League of 1948–1951 was a Class D level American minor baseball league. The league was the last of five professional baseball circuits to be known by that name dating to 1894. The post-World War II league revived the previous incarnation of the Virginia League that had ceased operation after concluding the 1942 season.
The Statesville Owls were a minor league baseball team located in Statesville, North Carolina. Statesville minor league teams played a member of the North Carolina Association (1900), Tar Heel League (1939–1940), North Carolina State League,, Tar Heel League (1953), Western Carolina League (1960–1962) and Western Carolinas League, winning three league championships.
The Greenville Greenies was the primary moniker of the minor league baseball teams based in Greenville, North Carolina between 1928 and 1951. Greenville teams played as members of the Eastern Carolina League from 1928 to 1929 and Coastal Plain League from 1934 to 1941 and 1946 to 1951.
The Sanford Spinners were a professional minor league baseball team based in Sanford, North Carolina. The Spinners played as members of the Class D level Bi-State League in 1941 and 1942 and the Tobacco State League from 1946 to 1950, winning league championships in 1942 and 1946. The Spinners hosted minor league home games at Temple Park.
The Lumberton Cubs were a minor league baseball team based in Lumberton, North Carolina. From 1947 to 1950, Lumberton teams played exclusively as members of the Class D level Tobacco State League, winning the league pennant in 1950. The franchise played as the Lumberton Auctioneers in 1949 and 1950. Lumberton hosted home games at Lumberton Armory Field.
The Red Springs Red Robins were a minor league baseball team based in Red Springs, North Carolina. From 1947 to 1950, the Red Springs Red Robins played exclusively as members of the Class D level Tobacco State League, winning league championships in 1948 and 1949. The Red Robins were a minor league affiliate of the Philadelphia Athletics for their duration. The 1969 Red Springs Twins succeeded the Red Robins, playing as members of the Class A level Carolina League.
The Clinton Sampson Blues was the final nickname of the minor league baseball teams based in Clinton, North Carolina and within Sampson County, North Carolina. From 1946 to 1950, the Clinton based teams played exclusively as members of the Class D level Tobacco State League, hosting home games at the Clinton High School Park. The franchise first played as the "Clinton Blues" from 1946 to 1948. The Clinton Blues were a minor league affiliate of the Detroit Tigers in 1948.
The Dunn–Erwin Twins were a minor league baseball teams based in Dunn, North Carolina in partnership with Erwin, North Carolina. From 1946 to 1950, the Dunn–Erwin teams played exclusively as members of the Class D level Tobacco State League and hosted home games at the Dunn High School Park.
The Whiteville Tobs were a minor league baseball team based in Whiteville, North Carolina. In 1950, the Tobs played a partial season as members of the Class D level Tobacco State League in the final season of the league, hosting home games at Legion Memorial Field.
The Rockingham Eagles were a minor league baseball team based in Rockingham, North Carolina who won the league championship in their only season of play. In 1950, the Eagles played as members of the Class D level Tobacco State League, winning the league championship in the last season of play for the league. The Rockingham Baseball Park served as home to the Eagles.
The Smithfield–Selma Leafs were a minor league baseball team based in Smithfield, North Carolina, in partnership with Selma, North Carolina. From 1946 to 1950, the Smithfield–Selma Leafs teams played exclusively as members of the Class D level Tobacco State League and hosted home games Legion Park in Smithfield.
The Angier–Fuquay Springs Bulls were a minor league baseball team based in Angier, North Carolina in partnership with the Fuquay Mineral Spring area. In 1946, the Bulls played as members of the Class D level Tobacco State League, winning the league championship in their only season of minor league play. The Bulls hosted home minor league games at the Angier Baseball Park.
The Warsaw Red Sox were a minor league baseball team based in Warsaw, North Carolina. From 1947 to 1948, the Warsaw Red Sox played exclusively as members of the Class D level Tobacco State League, hosting home minor league games at Warsaw Park.