Tombstone
Born: 1985 – Re-branded from Gastonia Expos
Affiliation Change: 1986 (Gastonia Tigers)
First Game: April 10, 1985 (L 9-4 @ Macon Pirates)
Last Game: August 31, 1985 (L 7-1 @ Greensboro Hornets)
South Atlantic League Championships: None
Stadium
Ownership
Owner: Jack Farnsworth
Major League Affiliation: Co-op
Attendance
Background
The 1985 Gastonia Jets were a minor league baseball One-Year Wonder in the Class A South Atlantic League.
The club formed out of necessity during the winter of 1984-85 after Gastonia’s previous Major League patron, the Montreal Expos, pulled out of town after two seasons. Unable to secure a new Player Development Contract with a Major League club, long-time Gastonia franchise owner Jack Farnsworth elected to run the team as a Co-op operation in 1985, drawing minor league players from a half dozen different Major League organizations. The club took the name ‘Jets’ to reflect its newly independent status.
Co-op teams, while rare, were not unheard of in Minor League Baseball during the 1970’s and 1980’s. They were usually lousy though and the Gastonia Jets were no exception. The ball club finished with the worst record in the 10-team Sally League in 1985 at 44-93.
Two members of the Jets, both pitchers, ultimately made it to the Major Leagues. 19-year old Ken Hill (3-6, 4.96 ERA) was sent to Gastonia by the Detroit Tigers organization. Hill would go on to win 117 games in a 14-year Major League career from 1988 to 2001. With the Montreal Expos, he would lead the National League in wins (16) during the strike-shortened 1994 season.
21-year old Dave Meade (3-10, 4.37 ERA) came over from the Houston Astros organization. Meade appeared in 67 Major League games for the Astros in 1987 and 1988 before arm troubles cut short his career.
The Major League organization that supplied the most players to the Gastonia Jets in 1985 was the Detroit Tigers. Following the 1985 season, the Tigers signed on as Gastonia’s formal parent club and the co-op model was abandoned. The Jets became the Gastonia Tigers for the 1986 season.
Gastonia Jets Shop
In Memoriam
Team owner Jack Farnsworth died on March 6, 1998 at age 81. After re-establishing baseball in Gastonia with the Cardinals in 1977, Farnsworth owned the local franchise until 1988.
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