Harlan Smokies was the primary name of a minor league baseball team based in Harlan, Kentucky. The team complete for a total of 11 seasons during 1948–1965, first in the Mountain States League and later in the Appalachian League.[2]: 86 The team was known as the Harlan Yankees in 1963 and Harlan Red Sox in 1965, due to affiliations with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball.
| Harlan Smokies | |
|---|---|
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| Minor league affiliations | |
| Class |
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| League |
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| Major league affiliations | |
| Team |
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| Minor league titles | |
| League titles | 1949, 1950, 1952 |
| Team data | |
| Name |
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| Ballpark | Browning-Leonard Park[1] |
The Smokies qualified for the Mountain States League postseason in four consecutive seasons, 1949–1952, and were league champions in three of those years (1949, 1950, and 1952).
Notable players
editMultiple players with Harlan also made appearances in Major League Baseball:
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Results by season
edit| Season | Nickname | Affiliation | Record (win %) | Finish | Manager | Playoffs (games) | Attendance | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Smokies | — | 56–63 (.471) | 5th of 6 | Bill Sisler Frank Wilson Michael Goda |
did not qualify | 46,187 | [2]: 424 |
| 1949 | Smokies | — | 83–41 (.669) | 1st of 8 | George Motto | defeated Middlesboro Athletics (3–1) defeated Morristown Red Sox (3–2) |
49,615 | [2]: 434 |
| 1950 | Smokies | — | 81–44 (.648) | 1st of 8 | Rex Carr | defeated Big Stone Gap Rebels (3–1) defeated Middlesboro Athletics (3–0) |
41,707 | [2]: 445 |
| 1951 | Smokies | — | 82–43 (.656) | 3rd of 8 | Bones Sanders John Streza |
lost to Hazard Bombers (0–3) | 35,657 | [2]: 454 |
| 1952 | Smokies | Boston Braves | 73–45 (.619) | 2nd of 6 | Rex Carr | defeated Big Stone Gap Rebels (3–2) defeated Morristown Red Sox (3–0) |
32,579 | [2]: 464 |
| 1953 | Smokies | — | 53–72 (.424) | 7th of 8 | Cliff Melton Barry Cox James Grigg |
did not qualify | 20,630 | [2]: 472 |
| 1954 | Smokies | — | 39–33 (.542) | 2nd of 6 | Bill Steinecke | † | unknown | [2]: 477 |
| 1961 | Smokies | Chicago White Sox & New York Yankees |
35–34 (.507) | 3rd of 8 | Frank Parenti Ed Lyons |
none held | 19,466 | [2]: 512 |
| 1962 | Smokies | 25–45 (.357) | 6th of 6 | Chips Sobek Lamar North |
none held | 16,056 | [2]: 516 | |
| 1963 | Yankees | New York Yankees | 28–39 (.418) | 6th of 6 | Gary Blaylock | none held | 13,134 | [2]: 523 |
| 1965 | Red Sox | Boston Red Sox | 33–37 (.471) | 4th of 6 | Rac Slider | none held | 23,190 | [2]: 531 |
† In 1954, the Mountain States League disbanded in July,[14] thus no playoffs were held.
References
edit- ^ "Browning-Leonard Park in Harlan, KY". StatsCrew.com. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (Third ed.). Baseball America. ISBN 1932391177.
- ^ "1948 Harlan Smokies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "1949 Harlan Smokies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "1950 Harlan Smokies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "1951 Harlan Smokies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "1952 Harlan Smokies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "1953 Harlan Smokies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "1954 Harlan Smokies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "1961 Harlan Smokies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "1962 Harlan Smokies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "1963 Harlan Yankees Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "1965 Harlan Red Sox Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Mountain States League Calls It Quits". The Jackson Sun. Jackson, Tennessee. AP. July 21, 1954. p. 10. Retrieved February 25, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
Further reading
edit- Hagerty, Tim (November 4, 2015). "Meet the man who played for 50 minor league teams and never reached the majors". Sporting News. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
Harlan, Ky. held 'Bill Sisler Day' in 1948 after he multitasked as the Harlan Smokies' pitcher/manager/general manager/groundskeeper who also organized the name-the-team contest.
External links
edit- Harlan Smokies history at harlancountysports.com