Harlan Smokies Explained

Harlan Smokies
Allyears:1948–1954, 1961–1963, 1965
City:Harlan, Kentucky
Ballpark:Browning-Leonard Park[1]
Leaguechamps:1949, 1950, 1952

Harlan Smokies was the primary name of a minor league baseball team based in Harlan, Kentucky. The team complete for a total of 11 seasons during 1948–1965, first in the Mountain States League and later in the Appalachian League.[2] The team was known as the Harlan Yankees in 1963 and Harlan Red Sox in 1965, due to affiliations with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball.

The Smokies qualified for the Mountain States League postseason in four consecutive seasons, 1949–1952, and were league champions in three of those years (1949, 1950, and 1952).

Notable players

Multiple players with Harlan also made appearances in Major League Baseball:

Results by season

SeasonNicknameAffiliationRecord (win %)FinishManagerclass=unsortablePlayoffs (games)Attendanceclass=unsortableRef.
1948 Smokies 5th of 6 Bill Sisler
Frank Wilson
Michael Goda
did not qualify 46,187
1949 Smokies 1st of 8 George Motto defeated Middlesboro Athletics (3–1)
defeated Morristown Red Sox (3–2)
49,615
1950 Smokies 1st of 8 Rex Carr defeated Big Stone Gap Rebels (3–1)
defeated Middlesboro Athletics (3–0)
41,707
1951 Smokies 3rd of 8 Bones Sanders
John Streza
lost to Hazard Bombers (0–3) 35,657
1952 Smokies 2nd of 6 Rex Carr defeated Big Stone Gap Rebels (3–2)
defeated Morristown Red Sox (3–0)
32,579
1953 Smokies 7th of 8 Cliff Melton
Barry Cox
James Grigg
did not qualify 20,630
1954 Smokies 2nd of 6 unknown
1961 Smokies 3rd of 8 none held 19,466
1962 Smokies 6th of 6 Chips Sobek
Lamar North
none held 16,056
1963 Yankees New York Yankees 6th of 6 none held 13,134
1965 Red Sox 4th of 6 none held 23,190
In 1954, the Mountain States League disbanded in July,[14] thus no playoffs were held.

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Browning-Leonard Park in Harlan, KY . StatsCrew.com . February 25, 2021.
  2. Book: The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball . Lloyd . Johnson . Miles . Wolff . Third . . 2007 . 1932391177.
  3. Web site: 1948 Harlan Smokies Statistics. Baseball-Reference.com.
  4. Web site: 1949 Harlan Smokies Statistics. Baseball-Reference.com.
  5. Web site: 1950 Harlan Smokies Statistics. Baseball-Reference.com.
  6. Web site: 1951 Harlan Smokies Statistics. Baseball-Reference.com.
  7. Web site: 1952 Harlan Smokies Statistics. Baseball-Reference.com.
  8. Web site: 1953 Harlan Smokies Statistics. Baseball-Reference.com.
  9. Web site: 1954 Harlan Smokies Statistics. Baseball-Reference.com.
  10. Web site: 1961 Harlan Smokies Statistics. Baseball-Reference.com.
  11. Web site: 1962 Harlan Smokies Statistics. Baseball-Reference.com.
  12. Web site: 1963 Harlan Yankees Statistics. Baseball-Reference.com.
  13. Web site: 1965 Harlan Red Sox Statistics. Baseball-Reference.com.
  14. News: Mountain States League Calls It Quits . . . . 10 . July 21, 1954 . February 25, 2021 . newspapers.com.