South Atlantic League (1904-1963)

Tombstone

Formed:
Re-Branded: 1964 (Southern League)
Level:

First Game:
Last Game:

Seasons:
States & Provinces: 7
(AL, FL, GA, NC, SC, TN and VA)

Leadership

Trophy Case

 

Background

For our purposes, the original South Atlantic League was a collection of Southern minor league baseball loops that played from 1904 to 1963 with several interruptions:

  • The South Atlantic League was inactive in the summer of 1918
  • League returned in 1919 as the “South Atlantic Association” playing under that name through the summer of 1930.
  • The league went dark again at the height of the Great Depression, sitting out five summers from 1931 to 1935.
  • Returned as the South Atlantic League from 1936 to 1942, before shutting down for three summers during WWII.
  • Revived again in 1946 and played under the South Atlantic League banner until 1963.

During the league’s final season of play under the South Atlantic League name in 1963, baseball reorganized its minor league system. Officials implemented the AAA, AA, A and Rookie classifications familiar to modern fans.  (Previously, leagues were ranked as Class A, B, C and D).   The South Atlantic League was ranked as a “AA” league – two steps below the Major Leagues – in 1963.

Prior to the 1964 season, the South Atlantic League re-branded itself as the Southern League.  In that sense, the league still exists, as the Southern League thrives to this day as a AA circuit.  For information on Southern League franchises from 1964 onwards, visit our Southern League page here.

In 1980, the former Western Carolinas League changed its name to the South Atlantic League, reviving the old name which had been dormant for 16 years.  The modern-day South Atlantic League is a single-A league which does not include old South Atlantic League of 1904-1963 in its official history.  For the modern day South Atlantic League, click here.

 

South Atlantic League Franchise List

Franchise Years Active South Atlantic League Champions
Albany Babies 1911-1916 None
Asheville Tourists 1924-1930 1928
Ashville Tourists 1959-1963 1961
Augusta Dollies 1919 None
Augusta Georgians 1920-1921 None
Augusta Orphans 1911 None
Augusta Rams 1953-1954 None
Augusta Tigers 1936-1942 & 1946-1952 & 1955-1958 1939-1946-1955
Augusta Tourists 1904-1911 & 1914-1917 1916
Augusta Tygers 1922-1929 1924
Augusta Wolves 1930 None
Augusta Yankees 1962-1963 1963
Charleston ChaSox 1959 None
Charleston Gulls 1919 None
Charleston Palmettos 1920 None
Charleston Pals 1921-1923 1922
Charleston Rebels 1940-1942 & 1946-1953 None
Charleston Seagulls 1904-1909 & 1911 & 1913-1917 1907
Charleston White Sox 1960-1961 None
Charlotte Hornets 1919-1930 1923
Charlotte Hornets 1954-1963 1957
Chattanooga Lookouts 1909 1909
Chattanooga Lookouts 1963 None
Columbia Comers 1912 & 1914-1917 & 1919-1923 & 1925-1930 1915-1917-1919-1920-1921
Columbia Commies 1911 None
Columbia Gamecocks 1905-1910 None
Columbia Gems 1956-1957 None
Columbia Reds 1938-1942 & 1946-1955 1941-1953
Columbia Reds 1960-1961 None
Columbia Senators 1936-1937 None
Columbia Skyscrapers 1904 None
Columbus Cardinals 1946-1955 None
Columbus Foxes 1909-1917 1910-1911
Columbus Foxes 1956-1957 None
Columbus Pirates 1959 None
Columbus Redbirds 1936-1942 1936-1940
Gastonia Comets 1923 None
Gastonia Pirates 1959 1959
Greenville Spinners 1919-1930 1926-1927-1930
Greenville Spinners 1938-1942 & 1946-1950 1948
Greenville Spinners 1961-1962 None
Jacksonville Braves 1953-1960 1956
Jacksonville Jays 1904-1910 1908
Jacksonville Jets 1961 None
Jacksonville Roses 1917 None
Jacksonville Tarpons 1911-1916 1912
Jacksonville Tars 1936-1942 & 1946-1952 None
Knoxville Appalachians 1909 None
Knoxville Smokies 1925-1929 1929
Knoxville Smokies 1956-1963 None
Lynchburg White Sox 1962-1963 None
Macon Brigands 1905-1907 1905
Macon Dodgers 1956-1960 1958
Macon Highlanders 1904 1904
Macon Peaches 1908-1915 None
Macon Peaches 1923-1930 None
Macon Peaches 1936-1942 & 1946-1955 1938-1949-1950
Macon Peaches 1962-1963 1962
Macon Tigers 1915-1917 None
Montgomery Grays 1952-1953 1952
Montgomery Rebels 1916 None
Montgomery Rebels 1951 1951
Montgomery Rebels 1954-1956 None
Nashville Volunteers 1963 None
Portsmouth-Norfolk Tides 1961-1962 None
Savannah A's 1954-1955 1954
Savannah Colts 1913-1915 1913-1914
Savannah Indians 1906-1912 1906
Savannah Indians 1936-1942 & 1946-1953 1937-1947
Savannah Pathfinders 1904-1905 None
Savannah Pirates 1960 1960
Savannah Redlegs 1956-1958 None
Savannah Reds 1959 None
Savannah White Sox 1962 None
Spartanburg Pioneers 1919-1921 None
Spartanburg-Charleston Rebels 1940 None
Spartanburg Spartans 1922-1929 1925
Spartanburg Spartans 1938-1939 None

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Comments

2 Responses

  1. I would like to know the original source for the name Columbia Commies in 1911. I’ve seen other modern books, articles, and web sites that listed that team name but no references from the 1910s. The newspapers around South Carolina during that time referred to the 1911 Columbia SAL team as the “Comers” which was originally a shortened form of “Commissioners”. The “Columbia Comers” was the name of Columbia professional baseball teams from 1911 through the 1930 season.
    Also,the Columbia team was called the Gamecocks for only three and one half years. The name “Skyscrapers” was changed to “Gamecocks” mid-season in June of 1904, and that was the team name through the 1907 season. The 1908 team was referred to as the “Chicks” and the 1909-1910 teams were called the “Palmettos”.

    1. Hi Paul,

      BaseballReference.com is the source for most of the league directory research. Based on what you’ve said here, it’s worth doing some extra digging on this one when time permits.

      Drew

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