Union City Dodgers

The Union City Greyhounds became members of the Kentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League in 1935.[1] Their home games were played at Turner Memorial Field in Union City, Tennessee.[2] They lost their inaugural Opening Day game on May 22 to the Portageville Pirates, 3–2, on the road.[3] The Greyhounds got their first win two games later on May 24, defeating the Pirates, 4–2.[4] They ended their first season in second place with a 49–43 (.533) record but missed the playoffs having not won either half the league's split season.[5]

In 1936, the Greyhounds became an affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals.[6] They succeeded in winning the second half and posting a full-season record of 73–45 (.619), tied with the Paducah Indians for first place.[7] They then met the first-half champion Indians in the playoffs.[7] After Union City won the first game, 6–2, on September 15, Paducah refused to continue the series, claiming the Greyhounds had two ineligible players on their roster.[8] The championship was subsequently awarded to Union City, and Paducah's manager and seven players who refused to play were banned from professional baseball.[9]

Red Schoendienst of the 1942 Greyhounds was inducted in National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989.[10]

Finishing the 1937 season in first place at 73–46 (.613), Union City again qualified for the playoffs, but they were eliminated in the semifinals, 3–0, by the Mayfield Clothiers.[11] Union City left the St. Louis organization after 1937 and became and affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds in 1938.[12][13] In contrast to the previous campaign, the 1938 team finished last of eight teams at 45–85 (.346).[14]

They returned to the Cardinals organization in 1939,[15] but the team again placed last with a record of 44–82 (.349).[16] Slightly improved teams placed sixth at 60–65 (.480) in 1940 and fifth at 62–64 (.492) in 1941.[17][18] Having lost some US$3,500 due to low attendance brought on by poor play, Union City announced it would drop out of the KITTY League after their game on June 19, 1942.[19] The Bowling Green Barons were also forced to withdraw, and the remaining clubs voted to discontinue the circuit on June 19.[20] The Greyhounds decided against playing their final game after receiving word from St. Louis that their players would not be compensated for the game.[21] The club was last of six teams with a 9–35 (.205) record in the abandoned season.[22] Over eight seasons of competition, the Greyhounds accumulated a regular season record of 415–495 (.456).

The KITTY League was nonoperational from 1943 to 1945 during World War II.[23] It and the Greyhounds were revived in 1946.[1] With no major league affiliation, Union City opened the 1946 season on May 7 with a 7–3 loss to the Fulton Chicks before a home crowd of 1,230 people at Turner Memorial Field.[24] At the end of the season, the team was seventh out of eight teams at 52–72 (.419).[25]

The Greyhounds entered into an affiliation with the Cleveland Indians in 1947.[26] The team placed seventh at 51–74 (.408).[27] The 1948 team, managed by ex-major leaguer Tony Rensa finished second with a 79–46 (.632) record, qualifying for one of four playoff spots.[28][29] They defeated the Owensboro Oilers, 3–2, in the semifinals before sweeping the Madisonville Miners in four games to win their second KITTY League championship.[29] The 1949 club just missed the postseason with a 65–60 (.520) record, placing fifth.[30]

Union City severed its ties with Cleveland after the 1949 season and had no affiliation in 1950.[31] They placed seventh at 43–72 (.374) in 1950 and sixth at 43–72 (.374) in 1951.[32][33] The 1952 Greyhounds qualified for the playoffs with a fourth-place 63–56 (.529) record.[34] They won the semifinals over the Fulton Lookouts, 3–2, but fell in the championship finals to Madisonville, 3–0.[34]

In 1953, the team became an affiliate of the Brooklyn Dodgers and changed their name to the Union City Dodgers.[35] After placing last (51–69; .425) in their first season with Brooklyn,[36] the 1954 Dodgers won the first half title and paced the league with a 76–40 (.655) record.[37] Under manager Earl Naylor,[38] they defeated Madisonville, 4–2, to win a third KITTY League championship.[37]

The Dodgers played their final game on August 29, 1955, losing to the Mayfield Clothiers, 6–3, in a game that was called after seven innings due to rain.[39] They posted a season record of 50–57 (.467), placing fourth out of six teams.[40] The KITTY League did not reform for the 1956 season, and Union City did not field another professional team afterwards.[23][41] Over their second stretch of 10 years, the Greyhounds/Dodgers accumulated a 587–609 (.491) record. Over all 19 seasons, Union City's all-time record was 1,002–1–104 (.476).