The Missoula Timberjacks were a mid-20th century Pioneer League franchise that served as a farm club of the Washington Senators and Cincinnati Reds between 1956 and 1960. The club was brought to town by veteran Montana baseball executive and UFO enthusiast Nick Mariana and helped to develop the careers of Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Kaat and long-time Major League manager and executive Jack McKeon.
The small city of Huron, South Dakota hosted a short-season Class A farm team of the Chicago Cubs during the summers of 1969 and 1970. The Huron Cubs developed six future Major League ballplayers, headlined by pitcher Rick Reuschel, who would go on to win 214 Major League games over 19 seasons and earn enshrinement in the Chicago Cubs Hall-of Fame.
The Tigers were Tacoma, Washington’s Pacific Coast League entry for fifteen summers between 1980 and 1994. Contrary to what a modern day reader might deduce from the name, the Tacoma Tigers never served as a farm team of Major League Baseball’s Detroit Tigers. Rather, after cycling through four different identity changes during the 1970’s the team’s local owners decided in 1980 to turn back the clock and honor the Tacoma minor league clubs that traditionally played under the Tigers name in various leagues between 1901 and 1951.
The Lakeland Magic were the NBA G-League minor league affiliate of the Orlando Magic for six seasons between 2017-2023. The team played at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland, an hour south of Orlando on I-4. The Magic won the G-League championship during the abbreviated 2020-21 season that was severely disrupted by COVID-19, but made no appearances in Lakeland that year, as all games were played in pandemic isolation in Bay Lake, Florida. The Orlando Magic moved their G-League operation out of Lakeland to Kissimmee, Florida in 2023.
The Terre Haute Huts of 1955-1956 were the last professional baseball team to make their home in Terre Haute, Indiana. Between 1919 and 1956, The Wabash Valley metropolis was a long-time fixture in the so-called Three-I League (short for Illinois-Indiana-Illinois) between 1919 and 1956. The Huts would end that era with a whimper, withdrawing from the league in midseason on July 3rd, 1956.
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