Ranking just below the top major and minor leagues in the first half of the twentieth century was another group of quality circuits. The Southern Association, which was formed in 1901 and had teams in several prominent Southern cities, was part of that group. In the mid 1930s, league directors decided to make the old Southern League, which had enjoyed an off-and-on existence since 1885, part of the Southern Association.
This work is a complete history of the Southern Association, beginning with 1885, the year the Southern League began, and ending with 1961, the year it went out of business. Each chapter covers one year of the Southern Association’s history and contains an essay describing a team, player, or trend in that particular year, and a list of teams in order of winning percentage. Details provided for each team include its record, winning percentage, the number of games it finished behind first place, its manager, and a list of its known players, their positions and statistics. The statistics for hitters include games played, at bats, runs, hits, RBIs, doubles, triples, home runs, walks, strikeouts, stolen bases, and batting average. Pitchers are listed separately and listed in order of games won. Statistics for pitchers include wins, losses, winning percentage, games played and started, complete games, shutouts, innings pitched, hits allowed, walks, strikeouts, and ERAs.

Award-winning author Marshall D. Wright is a sports statistician and archivist. He lives in Quincy, Massachusetts and is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research and Society International of Hockey Research.

Marshall D. Wright
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 607
Bibliographic Info: tables, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2002
pISBN: 978-0-7864-1291-4
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3228-5
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments     v

Introduction     1

Prelude—Baseball Down South     3

1885—First Pitch     5

1886—Failed Franchises     12

1887—The Pelicans Arrive     19

1888—Two League Team     26

1889—Fourth of July League     30

1892—Second Season     35

1893—Expansion     41

1894—Broken Promise     50

1895—Atlanta Crackers     56

1896—Abner Powell     61

1898—Complete Collapse     67

1899—Western Assistance     73

1901—Rebirth     77

1902—Second Look     83

1903—Thrice a Bridesmaid     91

1904—The Ragged Regiment     98

1905—Quarantine     105

1906—30–Game Winner     111

1907—Double Shutout     117

1908—Percentage Points     123

1909—Dixie Championship     130

1910—New Orleans Pelicans     137

1911—Good Field, No Hit     143

1912—Second Tier     149

1913—Photo Finish     155

1914—Postseason Challenge     162

1915—The Travelers Return     169

1916—Tom Rogers and Johnny Dodge     176

1917—Tailender     183

1918—First Casualty     190

1919—Hub Perdue     197

1920—Dixie Series     203

1921—Memphis Chicks     210

1922—Rube Robinson     217

1923—Tie Game     224

1924—Edged Out     231

1925—Minor League Legend     240

1926—Larry Gilbert     247

1927—Elliott Bigelow     254

1928—Barons’ Barrage     261

1929—Released     268

1930—Let There Be Light     275

1931—Publicity Stunt     282

1932—Overruled     289

1933—Losing Pitcher     296

1934—Promoted     303

1935—Contact Hitter     310

1936—Special Status     317

1937—Little Rock Travelers     324

1938—All Star Classic     331

1939—Four-Way Finish     338

1940—Nashville Vols     345

1941—Les Fleming     352

1942—Dixie Kings     361

1943—Pete Gray     370

1944—Relocated     379

1945—Three-Base Hit     389

1946—Nine in a Row     400

1947—Mobile Bears     411

1948—Sulphur Dell     420

1949—Tussle with Tulsa     430

1950—Narrow Decisions     439

1951—Turnaround     448

1952—Chattanooga Lookouts     457

1953—Field to Hill     467

1954—Robert Lennon     477

1955—Star of Stars     487

1956—Ten Plus Ten     497

1957—Lack of Support     506

1958—Dixie’s Last Dance     516

1959—Birmingham Barons     526

1960—Near Collapse     536

1961—Lights Out     546

Postlude—The New Southern     557

Selected Bibliography     559


Index     561

“recommended”—Choice.