Pine Bluff Locomotives

After a 40-year absence, professional baseball returned to Pine Bluff, AR with the 1996 Pine Bluff Locomotives in the Big South League. Managed by Bobby Clark, the club went 21-15 in both halves, finishing second in the first half to the Tennessee Tomahawks and tying the Columbia Mules for the second-half title, before falling in the playoffs to the Greenville Bluesmen. The team drew 35,693 fans, 5th in the six-team league. Les Lancaster (12-2, 3.03) led the league in wins, was third in ERA and won both the MVP and Pitcher of the Year honors. Joining him as Pine Bluff representatives on the All-Star team were C Jason Townley (a league-best .362 average, .618 slugging) and OF Tom McKinnon (.351, a league-high 64 runs and 99 hits, .571 slugging). The club lasted just one year, not returning for the '97 campaign.