Harlan Smokies

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]: 86  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.

Harlan Smokies
Minor league affiliations
Class
  • Rookie (1963, 1965)
  • Class D (1961–1962)
  • Class C (1954)
  • Class D (1948–1953)
League
Major league affiliations
Team
Minor league titles
League titles 1949, 1950, 1952
Team data
Name
  • Harlan Red Sox (1965)
  • Harlan Yankees (1963)
  • Harlan Smokies (1948–1954, 1961–1962)
BallparkBrowning-Leonard Park[1]

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
Season Nickname Affiliation Record (win %) Finish Manager Playoffs (games) Attendance Ref.
1948Smokies—56–63 (.471)5th of 6Bill Sisler
Frank Wilson
Michael Goda		did not qualify46,187[2]: 424 
1949Smokies—83–41 (.669)1st of 8George Mottodefeated Middlesboro Athletics (3–1)
defeated Morristown Red Sox (3–2)		49,615[2]: 434 
1950Smokies—81–44 (.648)1st of 8Rex Carrdefeated Big Stone Gap Rebels (3–1)
defeated Middlesboro Athletics (3–0)		41,707[2]: 445 
1951Smokies—82–43 (.656)3rd of 8Bones Sanders
John Streza		lost to Hazard Bombers (0–3)35,657[2]: 454 
1952SmokiesBoston Braves73–45 (.619)2nd of 6Rex Carrdefeated Big Stone Gap Rebels (3–2)
defeated Morristown Red Sox (3–0)		32,579[2]: 464 
1953Smokies—53–72 (.424)7th of 8Cliff Melton
Barry Cox
James Grigg		did not qualify20,630[2]: 472 
1954Smokies—39–33 (.542)2nd of 6Bill Steinecke†unknown[2]: 477 
1961SmokiesChicago White Sox &
New York Yankees		35–34 (.507)3rd of 8Frank Parenti
Ed Lyons		none held19,466[2]: 512 
1962Smokies25–45 (.357)6th of 6Chips Sobek
Lamar North		none held16,056[2]: 516 
1963YankeesNew York Yankees28–39 (.418)6th of 6Gary Blaylocknone held13,134[2]: 523 
1965Red SoxBoston Red Sox33–37 (.471)4th of 6Rac Slidernone held23,190[2]: 531 

† In 1954, the Mountain States League disbanded in July,[14] thus no playoffs were held.

References
  1. "Browning-Leonard Park in Harlan, KY". StatsCrew.com. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  2. The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Lloyd Johnson & Miles Wolff, editors (Third ed.). Baseball America. 2007. ISBN 1932391177.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  3. "1948 Harlan Smokies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  4. "1949 Harlan Smokies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  5. "1950 Harlan Smokies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  6. "1951 Harlan Smokies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  7. "1952 Harlan Smokies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  8. "1953 Harlan Smokies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  9. "1954 Harlan Smokies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  10. "1961 Harlan Smokies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  11. "1962 Harlan Smokies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  12. "1963 Harlan Yankees Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  13. "1965 Harlan Red Sox Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  14. "Mountain States League Calls It Quits". The Jackson Sun. Jackson, Tennessee. AP. July 21, 1954. p. 10. Retrieved February 25, 2021 – via newspapers.com.

Further reading
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