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.
| 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 |
History edit
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.
Member teams edit
- Angier, NC & Fuquay Springs, NC: Angier-Fuquay Springs Bulls 1946 (Champions, 1946)
- Clinton, NC: Clinton Blues1946–1948; Clinton Sampson Blues 1949–1950
- Dunn, NC & Erwin, NC: Dunn-Erwin Twins 1946–1950
- Fayetteville, NC: Fayetteville Scotties 1949
- Lumberton, NC: Lumberton Cubs 1947–1948; Lumberton Auctioneers 1949–1950
- Red Springs, NC: Red Springs Red Robins 1947–1950 (Champions, 1948, 1949)
- Rockingham, NC: Rockingham Eagles 1950 (Champions, 1950)
- Sanford, NC: Sanford Spinners 1946–1950 (Champions, 1947)
- Smithfield, NC & Selma, NC: Smithfield-Selma Leafs 1946–1950
- Warsaw, NC: Warsaw Red Sox 1947–1948
- Whiteville, NC: Whiteville Tobs 1950
- Wilmington, NC: Wilmington Pirates 1946–1950
Standings & statistics edit
| 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 |
References edit
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, N.C.: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
- Holaday, Chris (2016). The Tobacco State League; A North Carolina Baseball History, 1946–1950. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-6670-9.
- ^ The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Lloyd Johnson & Miles Wolff, editors (Third ed.). Baseball America. 2007. ISBN 978-1932391176.
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