Columbia was represented in the SAL — popularly called the "Sally League" — as early as 1892 as the Senators, a reference to the city's status as capital of South Carolina. It fielded Sally League teams from 1904–1917, 1919–1923 and 1925–1930 under nicknames such as the Skyscrapers, Gamecocks, Comers and Commies. The SAL did not operate during 1918 at the height of World War I, and from 1931–1935 during the worst years of the Great Depression. When the league revived in 1936, the Columbia Senators also returned to the field. The team played at Capital City Park.
The franchise was renamed the Reds in 1938 when the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball became its parent team. The team would be known as the Reds from 1938–1942, 1946–1955 and 1960–1961.
Longtime Cincinnati farm teamedit
The SAL shut down again during World War II, but returned to professional baseball in 1946, and was upgraded from Class B to Class A, then a mid- to higher-level classification. The Columbia Reds continued as a Cincinnati affiliate through 1955, but, unlike its MLB parent, the team did not change its name to Redlegs during the mid-1950s. Some of Cincinnati's biggest stars of the 1950s (including Baseball Hall of FamerFrank Robinson, slugger Ted Kluszewski and longtime pitcher/broadcaster Joe Nuxhall) came through Columbia on their way to Major League prominence. However, in 1956 Cincinnati shifted its Sally League affiliate to Savannah, and the Kansas City Athletics replaced them in Columbia with the team renamed the Columbia Gems. The Gems lasted only two seasons before the league contracted from eight to six teams and both Columbia and Columbus, Georgia, lost their franchises for 1958.
Columbia was without professional baseball until 1960, when the Reds came back from Savannah for two seasons before affiliating with the Macon Peaches in 1962. It never returned to the original Sally League (which became the Double-ASouthern League in 1964) but joined the modern Class A South Atlantic League in 1983 with the Columbia Mets (1983–1992) and the Capital City Bombers (1993–2004).
The Columbia Reds captured two league playoff championships (1941; 1953) during their history. The 1952 edition, managed by Ernie White, won 100 of 154 regular season games, but was toppled in the first playoff round by Macon.
Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN978-0-9637189-8-3.
External linksedit
Baseball Reference
April 15, 2024
columbia, senators, first, name, american, minor, league, baseball, franchise, representing, columbia, south, carolina, original, south, atlantic, league, currently, columbia, home, columbia, fireflies, south, atlantic, league, 1936, 1961, columbia, reds, 1938. The Columbia Senators was the first name of an American minor league baseball franchise representing Columbia South Carolina in the original South Atlantic League Currently Columbia is home of the Columbia Fireflies in the South Atlantic League Columbia Senators1936 1961 As Columbia Reds 1938 1942 1946 1955 1960 1961 as Columbia Senators 1936 1937 as Columbia Gems 1956 1957 Columbia South CarolinaMinor league affiliationsPrevious classesClass A 1946 1957 1960 1961 Class B 1936 1942 LeagueSally League 1936 1942 1946 1957 1960 1961 Major league affiliationsPrevious teamsCincinnati Reds Redlegs 1938 1942 1946 1955 1960 1961 Kansas City Athletics 1956 1957 Boston Bees 1937 Philadelphia Athletics 1936 Minor league titlesLeague titles1941 1953Team dataPrevious namesReds 1938 1942 1946 1955 1960 1961 Gems SenatorsPrevious parksCapital City ParkContents 1 History before 1938 2 Longtime Cincinnati farm team 3 Notable alumni 1936 1961 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksHistory before 1938 editColumbia was represented in the SAL popularly called the Sally League as early as 1892 as the Senators a reference to the city s status as capital of South Carolina It fielded Sally League teams from 1904 1917 1919 1923 and 1925 1930 under nicknames such as the Skyscrapers Gamecocks Comers and Commies The SAL did not operate during 1918 at the height of World War I and from 1931 1935 during the worst years of the Great Depression When the league revived in 1936 the Columbia Senators also returned to the field The team played at Capital City Park The franchise was renamed the Reds in 1938 when the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball became its parent team The team would be known as the Reds from 1938 1942 1946 1955 and 1960 1961 Longtime Cincinnati farm team editThe SAL shut down again during World War II but returned to professional baseball in 1946 and was upgraded from Class B to Class A then a mid to higher level classification The Columbia Reds continued as a Cincinnati affiliate through 1955 but unlike its MLB parent the team did not change its name to Redlegs during the mid 1950s Some of Cincinnati s biggest stars of the 1950s including Baseball Hall of Famer Frank Robinson slugger Ted Kluszewski and longtime pitcher broadcaster Joe Nuxhall came through Columbia on their way to Major League prominence However in 1956 Cincinnati shifted its Sally League affiliate to Savannah and the Kansas City Athletics replaced them in Columbia with the team renamed the Columbia Gems The Gems lasted only two seasons before the league contracted from eight to six teams and both Columbia and Columbus Georgia lost their franchises for 1958 Columbia was without professional baseball until 1960 when the Reds came back from Savannah for two seasons before affiliating with the Macon Peaches in 1962 It never returned to the original Sally League which became the Double A Southern League in 1964 but joined the modern Class A South Atlantic League in 1983 with the Columbia Mets 1983 1992 and the Capital City Bombers 1993 2004 The Columbia Reds captured two league playoff championships 1941 1953 during their history The 1952 edition managed by Ernie White won 100 of 154 regular season games but was toppled in the first playoff round by Macon Notable alumni 1936 1961 editHall of Fame alumni Frank Robinson 1954 1955 Inducted 1982Notable alumni Bobby Adams Joe Adcock Jack Baldschun Frank Baumholtz Jimmy Bloodworth Columbia Senators George Brunet Columbia Gems Vic Davalillo Sammy Ellis Kirby Higbe Columbia Senators Ted Kluszewski Roy McMillan Bob Nieman Joe Nuxhall Don Pavletich Harry Perkowski Wally Post Chico Ruiz Al Silvera Johnny Temple Gene Thompson Clyde Vollmer Herm WehmeierSee also editCapital City Bombers Columbia MetsReferences editJohnson Lloyd Wolff Miles eds 1997 The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball 2nd ed Durham North Carolina Baseball America ISBN 978 0 9637189 8 3 External links editBaseball Reference Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Columbia Senators amp oldid 1219057133 Longtime Cincinnati farm team, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
