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Harlan Smokies

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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]

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.

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

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

Results by season

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Season Nickname Affiliation Record (win %) Finish Manager Playoffs (games) Attendance Ref.
1948 Smokies — 56–63 (.471) 5th of 6 Bill Sisler
Frank Wilson
Michael Goda		 did not qualify 46,187 [2]: 424 
1949 Smokies — 83–41 (.669) 1st of 8 George Motto defeated Middlesboro Athletics (3–1)
defeated Morristown Red Sox (3–2)		 49,615 [2]: 434 
1950 Smokies — 81–44 (.648) 1st of 8 Rex Carr defeated Big Stone Gap Rebels (3–1)
defeated Middlesboro Athletics (3–0)		 41,707 [2]: 445 
1951 Smokies — 82–43 (.656) 3rd of 8 Bones Sanders
John Streza		 lost to Hazard Bombers (0–3) 35,657 [2]: 454 
1952 Smokies Boston Braves 73–45 (.619) 2nd of 6 Rex Carr defeated Big Stone Gap Rebels (3–2)
defeated Morristown Red Sox (3–0)		 32,579 [2]: 464 
1953 Smokies — 53–72 (.424) 7th of 8 Cliff Melton
Barry Cox
James Grigg		 did not qualify 20,630 [2]: 472 
1954 Smokies — 39–33 (.542) 2nd of 6 Bill Steinecke † unknown [2]: 477 
1961 Smokies Chicago White Sox &
New York Yankees		 35–34 (.507) 3rd of 8 Frank Parenti
Ed Lyons		 none held 19,466 [2]: 512 
1962 Smokies 25–45 (.357) 6th of 6 Chips Sobek
Lamar North		 none held 16,056 [2]: 516 
1963 Yankees New York Yankees 28–39 (.418) 6th of 6 Gary Blaylock none held 13,134 [2]: 523 
1965 Red Sox Boston Red Sox 33–37 (.471) 4th of 6 Rac Slider none held 23,190 [2]: 531 

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

References

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  1. ^ "Browning-Leonard Park in Harlan, KY". StatsCrew.com. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (Third ed.). Baseball America. ISBN 1932391177.
  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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