Western Carolinas League (1970)
Tombstone
Born: December 1, 1969 – The Monroe Indians relocate to Sumter, SC
Affiliation Change: 1971 (Sumter Astros)
First Game: April 20, 1970 (W 10-4 @ Greenwood Braves)
Last Game: August 26, 1970 (W 8-6 vs. Gastonia Pirates)
Western Carolinas League Championships: None
Stadium
Ownership & Affiliation
Owner: Joe Buzas
Major League Affiliation: Cleveland Indians
Attendance
Background
The Sumter Indians were a South Carolina minor league baseball team that played for only one season in the summer of 1970. Sumter was a new addition to the six-team Western Carolinas League, replacing a faltering Indians farm club that split the 1969 season between the small North Carolina cities of Statesville and Monroe. The Indians were the first pro baseball team to call Sumter home since the Sumter Chicks of 1949-1950.
Notable players included 18-year old third baseman Buddy Bell and 21-year old pitcher Jim Kern. Both became Major League All-Stars for the Cleveland Indians and later for the Texas Rangers.
Attendance was miserable with fewer than 300 spectators per game for the first two months of the 1970 season according to The Sumter Daily Item. Following the 1970 season the Indians withdrew from Sumter and were replaced by the Houston Astros for the 1971 season. The Astros also lasted just one season and Sumter went without pro baseball again from 1972 until 1985.
Links
###
