Savannah Cardinals

South Atlantic League (1984-1995)

Background

The Savannah Cardinals were a Class A farm of the St. Louis Cardinals for 12 seasons.

Savannah joined the modern-day South Atlantic League in late 1983 when the league’s Macon franchise moved to town to replace the departing Savannah Braves (1971-1983) of the Class AA Southern League. The Cards set up shop in 60-year old Grayson Stadium, the ballpark where the first racially integrated game in the old South Atlantic League (1904-1963) took place on April 14th, 1953. That event failed to mark a tipping point in the Georgia city’s race relations, however. Grayson remained segregated as a matter of practice into the 1960’s, resulting in civic actions by the NAACP and the mid-season departure of Savannah’s Sally League ball club in 1962.

African-American Ownership

In 1985, Thomas Lewis of Inter-Urban Broadcasting purchased the Savannah Cardinals for $285,000. The deal made Lewis the first black owner of a professional baseball team since the demise of the Negro Leagues in the 1950’s. Lewis posted his 25-year old daughter, Tracy Lewis, to serve as Savannah’s President & General Manager in 1986. The younger Lewis split her time between Savannah and working in the family’s radio station business in New Orleans and St. Louis. Inter-Urban’s radio station holdings included Savannah station WSAI, which broadcast the Cardinals’ games at the time.

Tracy Lewis’ historic status as a young, female, African-American baseball executive made her the subject of profiles in People, Jet, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune and other national media outlets. The coverage intensified in the spring of 1987. Long-time Los Angeles Dodgers General Manager Al Campanis told Nightline’s Ted Koppel during a nationally broadcast interview that black people “may not have some of the necessities to be, let’s say, a field manager or, perhaps, a general manager.” The Dodgers promptly fired Campanis. Tracy Lewis, as the lone black executive in the game at the time, was called upon to respond in numerous interviews.

The Lewis family sold the club to Savannah’s Major League parent club, the St. Louis Cardinals, in November 1987 after two years of operation.

Back-to-Back Championships

The SavCards appeared in the Sally League championship series three times between 1990 and 1994, winning back-to-back league crowns in 1993 and 1994.

Despite serving a relatively long 12-year run as a St. Louis farm club, Savannah developed notably few future Major League stars during the Cardinals era. Outfielder Bernard Gilkey (Savannah ’86) and pitcher Donovan Osborne (Savannah ’90) were among the most successful Savannah products at the Major League level.

Cardinals to Sand Gnats

The St. Louis Cardinals relationship ended with the 1995 season. The Los Angeles Dodgers took over as Savannah’s parent club in 1996 and with the transition came a re-branding of the team. Savannah Sand Gnats emerged from a list of five finalists for a new team name, beating out Hammerheads, Sea Turtles, Shadows and Thrashers.

The Sand Gnats played on at Grayson Stadium for 20 more seasons. The former Cardinals/Sand Gnats franchise moved to South Carolina in 2016 and is known today as the Columbia Fireflies.

Savannah Cardinals Shop

In Memoriam

Team owner Tom Lewis (Savannah ’86-’87) died of a heart attack on December 18, 2011 at age 75.

Links

“Black Exec Does A Class A Job“, Stan Grossfeld, The Chicago Tribune, June 28, 1987

South Atlantic League Media Guides

South Atlantic League Programs

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