Tobacco State League

From BR Bullpen

The Tobacco State League was a class D league which lasted from 1946 through 1950.

Throughout the five-season run, there were fifteen cities that participated in the league; all were from North Carolina. Five of the teams did not miss a season, fielding a team for each year of the league's existance. Those five were Clinton, Dunn-Erwin, Sanford, Smithfield-Selma and Wilmington.

Three of the teams could be labeled as twin-cities as Dunn-Erwin, Smithfield-Selma and Angier-Fuquay Springs pooled their efforts to put a squad together.

The Sanford Spinners, one of the teams that fielded a team for each year of the league's existance, won the 1946, '47 & '48 league championships, as well as the playoff titles in 1947-48. Zeb Harrington was the team's manager during this run.

The Tobacco League's attendance was reasonably stable for leagues and teams of that era. Over their five-year run the league drew some 1,317,988 fans through the gates. In 1948, there were 353,844 paying customers before dropping off in 1950 to just 225,704, the league's final season. During the league's existance, Wilmington had the best one-year draw at the gate, 77,842 paid, in 1948.

Cities Represented[edit]

Teams & Statistics[edit]

1946[edit]

1946 Tobacco League - schedule
President: J.E.L. Wade

Team Standings W L PCT GB Managers
Sanford Spinners 71 48 .597 - Gaither Riley / Zeb Harrington
Clinton Blues 70 48 .593 .5 Willie Duke / Van Lingle Mungo
Smithfield-Selma Leafs 58 62 .483 13.5 Michael Balla
Angier-Fuquay Springs Bulls 57 62 .479 14 Paul Dunlap / Gaither Riley
Wilmington Pirates 52 66 .441 18.5 Stan Katkaveck / Gus Brittain
Dunn-Erwin Twins 48 70 .407 22.5 Guinn / Stephenson / Law

Attendance: Wilmington 57,615; Dunn-Erwin, 47,174
Playoffs:Angier-Fuquay 4 games, Sanford 2; Clinton 4 games, Springfield 1.
Finals: Angier-Fuquay 4 games, Clinton 3.

Player Statistics
Player Team Stat Tot Player Team Stat Tot
Willie Duke Clinton BA .393 Robert Keane Clinton W 23
Lonnie H. Smith Clinton Runs 117 George Bortz Sanford SO 193
Leo Niezgoda Smith/Selma Hits 173 Robert Keane Clinton PCT .852; 23-4
Orville Nesselrode Sanford RBI 150
Orville Nesselrode Sanford HR 30

1947[edit]

1947 Tobacco State League
President: Arthur T. Moore

Team Standings W L PCT GB Attend Managers
Sanford Spinners 86 39 .688 - 37,517 Zeb Harrington
Lumberton Cubs 71 49 .592 12.5 50,758 Red Lucas
Wilmington Pirates 68 57 .544 18 63,219 Nate Andrews
Dunn-Erwin Twins 62 62 .500 23.5 49,262 Jack Bell / Bill Auerette
Warsaw Red Sox 59 64 .480 26 36,865 James Milner
Clinton Blues 56 67 .455 29 36,778 Hall / Mungo / Wright
Red Springs Red Robins 47 78 .480 39 21,000 Red Norris
Smithfield-Selma Leafs 46 79 .368 40 28,847 Michael Balla / Joe Eonta

Playoffs:Sanford 4 games, Wilmington 3; Lumberton 4 games, Dunn-Erwin 1.
Finals: Sanford 4 games, Lumberton 3.

Player Statistics
Player Team Stat Tot Player Team Stat Tot
Jimmy Wilson Sanford BA .385 Lewis Cheshire Wilmington W 19
Jimmy Wilson Sanford Runs 133 Carl Johnson Warsaw SO 225
Jimmy Wilson Sanford Hits 205 John McFadden Sanford ERA 2.44
Orville Nesselrode Sanford RBI 166 John McFadden Sanford PCT .750 15-5
Orville Nesselrode Sanford HR 32

1948[edit]

1948 Tobacco State League
President: Arthur T. Moore

Team Standings W L PCT GB Attend Managers
Sanford Spinners 80 56 .588 - 29,374 Zeb Harrington
Wilmington Pirates 76 62 .551 5 77,842 Jim Staton
Red Springs Red Robins 75 62 .547 5.5 28,410 Red Norris
Smithfield-Selma Leafs 73 65 .529 8 36,552 Sam Narron / Virgil Payne
Warsaw Red Sox 71 67 .514 10 32,482 Sam Gibson / Verne Blackwell
Clinton Blues 70 67 .511 10.5 39,498 Marvin Lorenz
Lumberton Cubs 55 81 .404 25 38,772 Charlie Jamin
Dunn-Erwin Twins 49 89 .355 32 26,475 McQuillen / Bost / Riley

Playoffs: Sanford 4 games, Smithfield-Selma 1; Red Springs 4 games, Wilmington 3.
Finals: Red Springs 4 games, Sanford 1.

Player Statistics
Player Team Stat Tot Player Team Stat Tot
Hargrove Davis Wilmington BA .366 Aaron Osofsky Smithfield-Selma W 24
Jimmy Wilson Sanford Runs 145 John Cheshire Wilmington SO 258
Jimmy Wilson Sanford Hits 212 John Cheshire Wilmington ERA 2.35
Orville Nesselrode Sanford RBI 159 Aaron Osofsky Smithfield-Selma PCT .828 24-5
Orville Nesselrode Sanford HR 27

1949[edit]

1949 Tobacco State League - schedule
President: Arthur T. Moore

Team Standings W L PCT GB Attend Managers
Dunn-Erwin Twins 81 54 .600 - 39,335 Jim Staton
Red Springs Red Robins 76 59 .563 5 33,303 Red Norris
Lumberton Auctioneers 75 61 .551 6.5 60,038 Charles Lucas / James Guinn
Sanford Spinners 71 62 .530 9 36,046 Zeb Harrington
Smithfield-Selma Leafs 70 65 .519 11 41,618 Payne / Weaver / Kluk
Fayetteville Scotties 61 76 .445 21 56,999 Payne / Roseberry / Rhabe / Helms
Clinton Sampson Blues 60 78 .435 22.5 37,496 Marvin Lorenz
Wilmington Pirates 49 88 .358 33 49,009 Tiedemann / Edens / Brittain / Davis / Edens

Playoffs: Dunn-Erwin 4 games, Lumberton 1; Red Springs 4 games, Sanford 2.
Finals: Red Springs 4 games, Dunn Erwin 1.

Player Statistics
Player Team Stat Tot Player Team Stat Tot
Joe Roseberry Fayetteville BA .409 Clarence Condit Dunn-Erwin W 20
Granville Denning Dunn-Erwin Runs 118 Clarence Condit Dunn-Erwin SO 264
Nicholas Perchia Clinton Runs 118 Leslie Price Clinton ERA 2.19
Granville Denning Dunn-Erwin Hits 185 John Bennett Smithfield-Selma PCT .769 10-3
Granville Denning Dunn-Ervin RBI 119
Joseph Stern Clin/Lumb HR 15
John Helms Fayetteville HR 15

1950[edit]

1950 Tobacco State League - schedule
President: Arthur T. Moore

Team Standings W L PCT GB Attend Managers
Lumberton Auctioneers 92 43 .682 - 42,796 John Streza
Sanford Spinners 90 44 .672 1.5 19,686 Zeb Harrington
Red Springs Red Robins 68 61 .527 21 26,198 Ducky Detweiler
Rockingham Eagles 63 69 .477 27.5 31,806 Jack Bell / Turkey Tyson
Clinton Sampson Blues 61 72 .459 30 29,060 Kluttz / Rhabe / Lorenz
Wilmington Pirates 56 75 .427 34 35,950 Hamons / Teague / Collins
Dunn-Erwin Twins/Whiteville Tobs # 39 92 .298 51 20,839 Jim Staton
Smithfield-Selma Leafs + 49 62 .441 NA 19,369 Marvin Lorenz

# Dunn-Erwin (11-34) transferred to Whiteville June 16
+ Smithfield Selma disbanded August 16
Playoffs: Rockingham 4 games, Lumberton 2; Stanford 4 games, Red Springs 0;
Finals: Rockingham 4 games, Stanford 3;

Player Statistics
Player Team Stat Tot Player Team Stat Tot
Granville Denning Whiteville BA .374 Hoyt Clegg Sanford W 24
Granville Denning Whiteville Hits 176 Richard Causey Sanford SO 148
Pierre Ethier Lumberton Runs 146 Clayton Andrews Sanford ERA 2.63
Mike Milosevich Lumberton RBI 121 John Lagan Lumberton PCT .875 21-3
Mike Milosevich Lumberton HR 14

League Records 1946-1950[edit]

Batting
Player Team Stat Tot Yr Player Team Stat Tot Yr
Orville Nesselrode Sanford GA 141 48 Joe Roseberry Fayetteville BA .408 49
Jimmy Wilson Sanford AB 605 48 Pierre Ethier Lumberton Runs 146 50
Jimmy Wilson Sanford H 212 48 Orville Nesselrode Sanford Rbi 166 47
Orville Nesselrode Sanford 2B 46 48 Joe Mangini Red Springs 3B 24 48
Orville Nesselrode Sanford HR 32 47 Orville Nesselrode Sanford EBH 77 48
Orville Nesselrode Sanford TB 334 48 John Piccone Clinton Sac 21 48
Jimmy Wilson Sanford SB 66 47 Billy Kay Clinton BB 180 50
Tom McGhee Warsaw SO 117 47
Pitching
Player Team Stat Tot Yr Player Team Stat Tot Yr
Aaron Osofsky Smithfield/Selma GA 41 48 Howard Auman Sanford CG 28 46
Aaron Osofsky Smithfield/Selma W 24 48 Hoyt Clegg Sanford W 24 50
Aaron Osofsky Smithfield/Selma IP 271 48 Wallace Ammons Red Springs L 17 48
John Logan(21-3) Lumberton Pct .875 50 Hampton Conn Warsaw L 17 47
Clarence Condit Dunn-Erwin SO 264 49 Hugh Holder Red Springs BB 176 50
Leslie Price Clinton Era 2.19 49


Source[edit]

The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: Second and Third Editions

Retrieved from "https://www.baseball-reference.com/bpv/index.php?title=Tobacco_State_League&oldid=1298466"