Appalachian League

Appalachian League

Appalachian League logo
Sport	Baseball
Founded	1937
No. of teams	10
Country	USA
Most recent champion(s)	Greeneville Astros
Official website	Official Website

The Appalachian League of Professional Baseball is a Rookie-class minor league baseball league that began play in 1937 with one year of inactivity in 1956. From 1937 to 1962, it was a Class D League. Teams are located in the Appalachian regions of Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia and Tennessee. The league's season starts in June, after major league teams have signed players that they selected in the annual amateur draft, and ends in September.

Along with the Pioneer League, it forms the second-lowest rung on the minor league ladder. Although classified as a Rookie league, the level of play is slightly higher than that of the two "complex" Rookie leagues, the Gulf Coast League and Arizona League. Unlike these two leagues, Appalachian League games charge admission and sell concessions.

Earlier incarnations of the league operated, more centrally around Tennessee, from 1911 to 1914 and 1921 to 1925 at the Class D level.

History

The original Appalachian League only existed for four seasons from 1911-1914 and all teams were independent with no MLB affiliation. The teams that were a part of this were: Asheville Moonshiners, Bristol Boosters, Cleveland Counts, Johnson City Soldiers, Knoxville Appalachians, and Morristown Jobbers.

The second Appalachian League existed for five seasons from 1921-1925, and again only had independent teams. These teams were the Bristol State-Liners, the Cleveland Manufacturers, the Greeneville Burley Cats, the second iteration of the Johnson City Soldiers, the Kingsport Indians, and the Knoxville Pioneers. 1921 was the first appearance of 2 locations which have present-day teams in the Appalachian League – Kingsport, Tennessee, with the present-day Kingsport Mets; and Greeneville, Tennessee, with the present-day Greeneville Astros.

The third Appalachian league was shifted to D-level minor league, the lowest level in the pre - 1963 MLB. It started in 1937 and had four teams - the Elizabethton Betsy Red Sox, the third iteration of the Johnson City Soldiers, the Newport Canners, and the Pennington Gap Lee Bears.

Current teams

Division	Team	MLB Affiliation	City	Stadium	Capacity
East	Bluefield Blue Jays	Toronto Blue Jays	Bluefield, West Virginia and Bluefield, Virginia	Bowen Field	3,000
	Burlington Royals	Kansas City Royals	Burlington, North Carolina	Burlington Athletic Stadium	3,500
	Danville Braves	Atlanta Braves	Danville, Virginia	American Legion Field	2,588
	Princeton Rays	Tampa Bay Rays	Princeton, West Virginia	H. P. Hunnicutt Field	3,000
	Pulaski Yankees	New York Yankees	Pulaski, Virginia	Calfee Park	2,500
West	Bristol Pirates	Pittsburgh Pirates	Bristol, Virginia	Boyce Cox Field at DeVault Memorial Stadium	2,000
	Elizabethton Twins	Minnesota Twins	Elizabethton, Tennessee	Joe O'Brien Field	2,000
	Greeneville Astros	Houston Astros	Greeneville, Tennessee	Pioneer Park	4,000
	Johnson City Cardinals	St. Louis Cardinals	Johnson City, Tennessee	Howard Johnson Field	3,800
	Kingsport Mets	New York Mets	Kingsport, Tennessee	Hunter Wright Stadium	2,000

Current team rosters

Main article: Appalachian League rosters

Complete team list (1911-14)

Harriman Boosters (1911–14, as Bristol Boosters in 1911-13) Johnson City Soldiers (1911–13) Knoxville Reds (1911–14, as Knoxville Appalachians in 1911)

Middlesboro Colonels (1911–14, as Asheville Moonshiners in 1911-12) Morristown Jobbers (1913–14, as Cleveland Counts in 1911-13; moved to Morristown during 1913 season) Rome Romans (1911–13, as Morristown Jobbers in 1911-12)

Complete team list (1921-25)

Bristol State Liners (1921–25) Greeneville Burley Cubs (1921–25) Johnson City Soldiers (1921–24)

Kingsport Indians (1921–25) Knoxville Pioneers (1921–24) Morristown Roosters (1923–25, as Cleveland Manufacturers in 1921-22)

Complete team list (1937-55, 1956-present)

Bluefield Blue Jays (Bluefield Blue-Grays in 1946-55; as Bluefield Dodgers in 1957; 1957-2010 as Bluefield Orioles) Bristol Twins (1940–55) Bristol Pirates (2014–present, as Bristol Tigers from 1969–94, as Bristol White Sox from 1995-2013) Burlington Royals (1969–84, 1986–present, as Pulaski Phillies in 1969-77; as Paintsville Highlanders in 1978; as Paintsville Yankees in 1979-82; as Paintsville Brewers in 1983-84; suspended operations in 1985; as Burlington Indians in 1986-2006) Covington Astros (1965–76, as Harlan Red Sox in 1965; as Covington Red Sox in 1966) Danville Braves (1982–present, as Pulaski Braves in 1982-92) Elizabethton Twins (1969, 1971–present, as Wytheville Senators in 1969; suspended operations in 1970; as Wytheville Braves in 1971-73) Erwin Mountaineers (1940) Greeneville Burley Cubs (1938–42) Greeneville Astros (1988–present, as Martinsville Phillies in 1988-98; as Martinsville Astros 1999-2003) Johnson City Cardinals (1937–55, 1957–61, as Johnson City Soldiers in 1937-38; as Johnson City Cardinals in 1939-55; as Johnson City Phillies from 1957–60) Johnson City Cardinals (1961–present, as Harlan Smokies in 1961-62; as Harlan Yankees in 1963; as Johnson City Yankees in 1964-74) Kingsport Pirates (1955, 1957, 1959–63, as Kingsport Cherokees in 1955; as Kingsport Orioles in 1957; suspended operations in 1958; as Kingsport Senators in 1959) Kingsport Mets (1969–82, 1984–present, as Kingsport Royals in 1969-73; as Kingsport Braves in 1974-79; suspended operations in 1983) Lynchburg Senators (1959)

Marion A's (1946–55, as Welch Miners in 1946-55; moved to Marion during 1955 season) Marion Mets (1965–76) Martinsville Phillies (1988-1998) Middlesboro Cubsox (1961–63, as Middlesboro Senators in 1961-62) Morristown Cubs (1937–55, 1957–60, as Elizabethton Betsy Red Sox in 1937-42; as Erwin Aces in 1943; as Erwin Cubs in 1944; as Elizabethton Betsy Cubs in 1945-48; as Elizabethton Betsy Local in 1949-50; as Elizabethton Phils in 1951; as Pulaski Phillies in 1952-55; as Pulaski Cubs in 1957-58) New River Rebels (1946–50) Newport Canners (1937–42) Pennington Gap Miners (1937–40, as Pennington Gap Lee Bears in 1937-38; as Pennington Gap Bears in 1939) Princeton Rays (1988–present, as Princeton Pirates in 1988-89; as Princeton Patriots in 1990; as Princeton Reds in 1991-96, as Princeton Devil Rays in 1997-2008) Pulaski Counts (1946–50) Pulaski Yankees (1982–95, 1997-2006, 2008-present as Pikeville Brewers in 1982; as Pikeville Cubs in 1983-84; as Wytheville Cubs 1985-89; as Huntington Cubs in 1990-94; as River City Rumblers in 1995; suspended operations in 1996; as Pulaski Rangers in 1997-2002; as Pulaski Blue Jays in 2003-2006; suspended operations in 2007; as Pulaski Mariners in 2008-14) Salem Rebels (1955, 1957–67) Wytheville Reds (1938–55, 1957–65, 1967, as Kingsport Cherokees in 1938-41; as Kingsport Dodgers in 1942; as Kingsport Cherokees in 1943-52; as Wytheville Statesmen in 1953-55; as Wytheville Cardinals in 1957-59; as Wytheville Senators in 1960; as Wytheville Twins in 1961-63; as Wytheville A's in 1964; as Wytheville Senators in 1965; suspended operations in 1966)

See also

• List of Appalachian League champions
• Sports league attendances

External links

• Official Appalachian League Website
• Appalachian League Baseball