Palmetto League Explained

Palmetto League
Sport:Minor League Baseball
President:Charles H. Garrison (1931)
Inaugural:1931
Teams:4
Continent:or
Continents:-->
Folded:July 23, 1931
Most Champs:1
Augusta Wolves (1931)
Classification:Class D (1931)

The Palmetto League was a Class D level baseball minor league that played in 1931. The four–team Palmetto league had teams based in South Carolina and Georgia. The Palmetto League permanently folded midway through the 1931 season with the Augusta Wolves in 1st place.

History

The Palmetto League formed for the 1931 season as a Class D level minor league. Under the direction of league president Charles H. Garrison, the Palmetto League began play as a four–team league, hosting franchises from Anderson, South Carolina (Anderson Electrics), Augusta, Georgia (Augusta Wolves), Florence, South Carolina (Florence Pee Deans) and Greenville, South Carolina (Greenville Spinners). The Palmetto League played a split–season. After the first half of the season was completed, the Anderson Electricians moved to Spartanburg, South Carolina and played as the Spartanburg Spartans.[1] [2] [3]

The Palmetto League's first season of play began on Monday, April 27, 1931. After the season began, Anderson (14–40) moved to Spartanburg on June 29, 1931, playing their first home game in Spartanburg on July 2, 1931. The Augusta Wolves won the 1st half of the season.[4]

On July 23, 1931, the Palmetto League folded with Augusta in 1st place of the second half standings. The Augusta Wolves led the final overall Palmetto League standings with a 53–23 record, 9.0 games ahead of the 2nd place Florence Pee Deans (44–32), followed by the Greenville Spinners (37–39) and the Anderson Electrics/Spartanburg Spartans (28–58) who finished 30.0 games behind. Notably, Bill McGhee of Augusta hit .405 for the season, to lead the league.[5] [4] [1] [6]

When the Palmetto League permanently folded on July 23, 1931, the league cited "financial difficulties" as the contributing factor.[7] [4]

Palmetto League teams

Team nameCity representedBallparkYear(s) active
Anderson ElectriciansAnderson, South CarolinaUnknown[8]
Augusta WolvesAugusta, GeorgiaMunicipal Stadium[9]
Florence Pee DeansFlorence, South CarolinaUnknown[10]
Greenville SpinnersGreenville, South CarolinaSpinner's Park[11]
Spartanburg SpartansSpartanburg, South CarolinaDuncan Park[12]

Standings and statistics

1931 Palmetto League !Team standings!!W!!L!!PCT!!GB!! Managers
Augusta Wolves5323.697Cat Milner
Florence Pee Deans4432.5799.0Frank Walker / Carl East
Greenville Spinners 3739.48716.0Nelson Leach / Sherry Smith
Anderson Electrics /
Spartanburg Spartans
2858.32630.0Joe Guyon/
Ken McNeill / Frank Walker
Anderson (14–10) moved to Spartanburg on June 29, 1931. First home game July 2, 1931.
Player statistics!Player!! Team!!Stat!! Tot!!!!Player!!Team!!Stat!!Tot
Bill McGheeAugustaBA.405Jinx HarrisAugustaW17
Zachery SmithAugustaRuns85Jinx HarrisAugustaSO119
Bill McGheeAugustaHits133Jim D. RyanAugustaPct.846; 11–2
Bill McGheeAugustaRBI73
Charlie EnglishFlorenceHR11
[1]

Notes and References

  1. Book: The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball . Lloyd . Johnson . Miles . Wolff . Third . . 2007 . 978-1932391176.
  2. Web site: Palmetto League. Kevin. Reichard. November 5, 2008.
  3. Web site: 1931 Palmetto League. Baseball-Reference.com.
  4. Web site: 1931 Palmetto League (PL) on StatsCrew.com. www.statscrew.com.
  5. Web site: 1931 Palmetto League (PL) Standings on StatsCrew.com. www.statscrew.com.
  6. Web site: 1931 Palmetto League (PL) Leaders on StatsCrew.com. www.statscrew.com.
  7. Web site: Minor League Baseball. New Georgia Encyclopedia.
  8. Web site: Unknown in Anderson, SC history and teams on StatsCrew.com. www.statscrew.com.
  9. Web site: Municipal Stadium in Augusta, GA history and teams on StatsCrew.com. www.statscrew.com.
  10. Web site: Unknown in Florence, SC history and teams on StatsCrew.com. www.statscrew.com.
  11. Web site: Spinner's Park in Greenville, SC history and teams on StatsCrew.com. www.statscrew.com.
  12. Web site: Duncan Park in Spartanburg, SC history and teams on StatsCrew.com. www.statscrew.com.