This ball club was 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. The glory years came from 1959 to 1964 when the Detroit Tigers stocked Knoxville with a procession of top flight prospects, many of whom became key contributors to Detroit’s 1968 World Series championship team.
The Pittsfield-Berkshire Red Sox, also known simply as the Pittsfield Red Sox, were a Class AA farm club of the Boston Red Sox for five seasons during the late 1960’s. When the team arrived from Reading, Pennsylvania in late 1964 it marked the return of professional baseball to the Western Massachusetts city after a 13-year absence. George “Boomer” Scott won the Eastern League triple crown in 1965 while leading Pittsfield-Berkshire to the league pennant, but amazingly lost out on the league’s Most Valuable Player award to his teammate, journeyman catcher Owen Johnson.
The Johnstown Red Sox were a Boston Red Sox farm club that operated for just one season during the summer of 1961. The Sox finished fourth in the 6-team Eastern League with a 61-79 record. Nine members of the 1961 Johnstown Red Sox eventually made it to the Majors. By far the most successful was knuckleball artist Wilbur Wood, who was promoted to the Majors in Boston by mid-summer. Owner Joe Buzas moved the franchise to York, Pennsylvania after the 1961 season.
Eastern League (1983-1994) Born: October 1982 – The Bristol Red Sox relocate to New Britain, CT Re-Branded: November 15, 1994 (Hardware City Rock Cats) First
Pro baseball returned to Savannah, Georgia in the spring of 1968 after a six-year absence. The new club was the Savannah Senators, Class AA affiliate of the American League’s Washington Senators. The Sens muddled through a pair of losing Southern League seasons at Grayson Stadium in 1968 and 1969. Savannah’s Major League affiliation changed hands after the 1969 season, shifting from Washington to the Cleveland Indians. The franchise played as the Savannah Indians in 1970 before shifting again in 1971 to become the Savannah Braves.
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