Sumter Chicks

The Sumter Chicks were a minor league baseball team based in Sumter, South Carolina, United States that played in the Tri-State League in 1949 and 1950.

Sumter Chicks
Minor league affiliations
Previous classes
Previous leagues
South Carolina League (1907–1908)
Tri-State League (1949–1950)
Major league affiliations
Previous teams
None
Minor league titles
League titles (2)1907, 1908
Team data
Previous names
  • Sumter Game Cocks (1907–1908)
  • Sumter Chicks (1949–1950)
Previous parks

History

The Sumter Chicks were preceded by the Sumter Game Cocks, who played as members of the South Carolina League in 1907 and 1908. Sumter won the league championship in both seasons.[1][2]

It was reported that Sumter defeated Chester 2–1 in 10–innings on July 24, 1908. It was noted in the Chester newspaper, on July 28, 1908, that "some of the fans were greatly disappointed at the very rude manner in which they were treated while in Sumter last week."[3]

On July 27, 1908, Sumter was in 1st place with a 39–26 record, with the season soon to conclude, as reported in newspaper standings. The Chester Lantern newspaper stated "we want justice" in the final standings, due to Orageburg's poor play against Sumter, due to the "desire of Orangeburg that Sumter should win the pennant this year."[3]

The Sumter Gamecocks ended the 1908 South Carolina League season with a record of 41–27, winning their second consecutive championship. The Chester Collegians (40–30) finished 2.0 games behind the 1st place Gamecocks, followed by the Rock Hill Catawbas (28–40) and Orangeburg Cotton Pickers (27–39) in the 1908 final standings.[4][5][6][1]

The Chicks played at Riley Park. Tony Daniels and Wes Livengood played for them.[7]

The 1949 season attendance was 55,309, last in the 8–team Tri-State League.[8][1] In 1950, attendance dropped to 30,324, again lowest in the league.[9] In 1952, the Chicks and the Florence Steelers were replaced by the Greenwood Tigers and Greenville Spinners in the Tri-State League.[10]

In 1970, the Sumter Indians resumed minor league play as members of the Western Carolinas League.[2]

The ballpark

Sumter teams played at Riley Park. Riley Park is still in use today as home to the University of South Carolina Sumter Fire Ants and Morris College Hornet baseball teams. The Sumter Chicks (1949-1950) of the Tri-State League, Sumter Indians (1970) and Sumter Astros (1971) of the Western Carolinas League and the Sumter Braves (1985-1990) and Sumter Flyers (1991) of the South Atlantic League all played at Riley Park. The ballpark is located at Church Street & DuBose Street, Sumter, South Carolina, 29150.[7][11][12]

Notable alumni

Year–by–year records
YearRecordFinishManagerNotes
190744–231stGuy GunterLeague champions
190841–271stFred DingleLeague champions
194965–806thWes Livengood / Glen SchaefferDid not qualify
195053–918thCharles Biggs / Vance CarlsonDid not qualify

[1]

References
  1. The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Lloyd Johnson & Miles Wolff, editors (Third ed.). Baseball America. 2007. ISBN 978-1932391176.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. "Sumter, South Carolina Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com.
  3. J.T, Bigham (June 4, 2019). "The Lantern, Chester S.C.- July 28, 1908".
  4. "1908 South Carolina League (SCL) minor league baseball Standings on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  5. "1908 Chester Statistics".
  6. "1908 South Carolina League". Baseball-Reference.com.
  7. "Sumter, South Carolina Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com.
  8. "1949 Sumter Chicks minor league baseball Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  9. "1950 Tri-State League (TSL) Minor League Baseball on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  10. "1952 Tri-State League". Baseball-Reference.com.
  11. "USC Sumter Athletics - University of South Carolina Sumter". uscfireants.com.
  12. "Sports - Morris College". www.morris.edu.


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