South Atlantic League (1956-1963)
Southern League (1964-1967)
Tombstone
Born: June 14, 1956 – The Montgomery Rebels relocate to Knoxville, TN1NO BYLINE. “Knoxville Entry Made Official”. The Journal (Knoxville, TN). June 15, 1956
Moved: October 1967 (Savannah Senators)
First Game: June 15, 1956 (L 4-3 & L 11-2 @ Jacksonville Braves)
Last Game: September 3, 1967 (L 4-0 vs. Charlotte Hornets)
South Atlantic League Champions: None
Southern League Champions: None
Stadium
Bill Meyer Stadium
Opened: 1953
Demolished: 2003
Ownership & Affiliation
Owners:
- 1956-1966: Neal Ridley, John Duncan Sr., et al.
- 1967: Joe Buzas
Major League Affiliations:
- 1956: None
- 1957-1958: Baltimore Orioles
- 1959-1964: Detroit Tigers
- 1965-1967: Cincinnati Reds
Background
This is but one of many iterations of the Knoxville Smokies, a traditional name for the Marble City’s various minor league baseball teams dating back to the mid-1920’s. This edition of the Smokies arrived in June 1956 after the owners of the Montgomery Rebels of the South Atlantic League bailed out in midseason. The Rebels owners sold the club to a Knoxville group headed by local attorney John Duncan.
Over the next decade, the Smokies saw action as a farm club of the Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers and Cincinnati Reds. The glory years came from 1959 to 1964 when the Tigers stocked Knoxville with a procession of top flight prospects (see below), many of whom became key contributors to Detroit’s 1968 World Series championship team.
The Smokies also featured a trio of significant managers during this era. Future Hall-of-Famer Earl Weaver was named player-manager late in the 1956 season. Red Sox legend Johnny Pesky helmed the Smokies in 1959. Don Zimmer managed the club for part of the 1967 season.
Future Stars
Key players to trod the basepaths in Knoxville during this era included:
- Pitcher Milt Pappas (Smokies ’57), who went on to win 209 Major League victories
- Infielder Dick McAuliffe (Smokies ’59-’60)
- 1968 World Series MVP Mickey Lolich (Smokies ’59-’61)
- Pitcher Pat Dobson (Smokies ’61 & ’63-’64)
- Pitcher Ross Grimsley (Smokies ’61)
- 11-time American League All-Star catcher Bill Freehan (Smokies ’61)
- Outfielder Jim Northrup (Smokies ’62-’63)
- Outfielder Willie Horton (Smokies ’63)
- 1968 & 1969 American League Cy Young Award winner Denny McLain (Smokies ’63)
- Outfielder Mickey Stanley (Smokies ’63-’64)
- Hal McRae (Smokies ’67)
One notable Smokie who never made the Majors was 19-year old Steve Dalkowski. A fireballing left-hander with no control, Dalko walked 95 batters in just 42 innings in the summer of 1958. He also struck out 82. Ron Shelton, a fellow Orioles prospect six years younger Dalkowski, would go on to become a Hollywood screenwriter and director. In Shelton’s beloved film Bull Durham the character of Nuke Laloosh, played by Tim Robbins, was based on Dalkowski.
The End
Longtime club President Neal Ridley grew exhausted with the Smokies and handed the franchise back to the league in October 1966. Knoxville drew just 28,000 fans for a 70-game home slate in 1966. Southern League President Sam C. Smith, Jr. worked throughout the winter to try and revive the Knoxville club. His first effort fell through when a local civic group in Knoxville considered and ultimately rejected an offer to run the club. In January 1967, Knoxville found a (temporary) savior in veteran minor league operator Joe Buzas of New Jersey. Buzas agreed to operate the team in 1967 and Cincinnati agreed to stay on as parent club for third summer.
Buzas, who lived in New Jersey and simultaneously ran a Boston Red Sox farm club in Pittsfield, Massachusetts during the summer of 1967, quickly soured on Knoxville. Before the season was out, he speculated openly in the press about moving the Smokies. The shift was made official in October 1967 when Buzas moved the club to Savannah, Georgia ahead of the 1968 season.
The Southern League returned in Knoxville in 1972 when former Smokies boss Neal Ridley, optimism seemingly restored after a five-year layoff, re-entered the league with the Knoxville Sox.
Trivia
After the 1969 Major League Baseball season, pitchers Denny McLain of the Detroit Tigers and Mike Cuellar of the Baltimore Orioles tied in the voting for the American League Cy Young Award. Both pitchers played for the 1963 Knoxville Smokies.
Knoxville Smokies Shop
Editor's Pick
Dalko
The Untold Story of Baseball’s Fastest Pitcher
By Bill Dembski, Alex Thomas & Brian Vikander
What the Washington Post called “baseball’s greatest what-If story” is one of a superhuman, once-in-a-generation gift, a near-mythical talent that refused to be tamed. Gripping and tragic, Dalko is the definitive story of Steve “White Lightning” Dalkowski, baseball’s fastest pitcher ever. Dalko explores one man’s unmatched talent on the mound and the forces that kept ultimate greatness always just beyond his reach.
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FWIL FAVORITE
In Memoriam
Pitcher Steve Dalkowski (Smokies ’58) died of COVID-19 complications on April 19, 2020 at age 80. New York Times obituary.
Galleries
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One Response
As a youngster I spent many summer nights at Municipal, then Bill Meyer Stadium. In 1998 I was fortunate enough to become the PA announcer at Bill Meyer. I have continued that position with the Smokies and hope to make it back to Knoxville in 2025. Great memories and fun times.