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Tobacco State League

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Tobacco State League
ClassificationClass D (1946–1950)
SportMinor League Baseball
First season1946
Ceased1950
PresidentJ.E.L. Wade (1946)
Arthur T. Moore (1947–1950)
No. of teams13
CountryUnited States of America
Most titles2
Red Springs Red Robins
Related
competitions		Bi-State League

The Tobacco State League was a Class D level American minor baseball league that played for five seasons (1946–1950) in Organized Baseball in the state of North Carolina. The Red Springs Red Robins won two league championships.

History

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The Tobacco State League was one of many low-level minor leagues that flourished immediately after World War II before disbanding in the 1950s. Founded as a six-team circuit in 1946, the league sported eight teams for the final four years of its existence, although one of its teams, the charter member Smithfield-Selma Leafs, was forced to drop out during the closing weeks of the TSL's final 1950 season. With the exceptions of Lumberton (Chicago Cubs) and Red Springs (Philadelphia Athletics), its members were unaffiliated with Major League Baseball farm systems.

Member teams

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Tobacco State League Teams

Standings & statistics

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1946 Tobacco League Standings
Team standings W L PCT GB Managers
Sanford Spinners 71 48 .597 - Gaither Riley / Zeb Harrington
Clinton Blues 70 48 .593 0.5 Willie Duke / Van Lingle Mungo
Smithfield-Selma Leafs 58 62 .483 13.5 Mike Balas
Angier-Fuquay Springs Bulls 57 62 .479 14.0 Paul Dunlap / Gaither Riley
Wilmington Pirates 52 66 .441 18.5 Stan Katkaveck / Gus Brittain
Dunn-Erwin Twins 48 70 .407 22.5 James Guinn /
Alton Stephenson / Dwight Law

Playoffs: Angier-Fuquay 4 games, Sanford 2; Clinton 4 games, Springfield 1.
Finals: Angier-Fuquay 4 games, Clinton 3.

1946 league leaders
Player Team Stat Tot Player Team Stat Tot
Willie Duke Clinton BA .393 Robert Keane Clinton W 23
Lonnie H. Smith Clinton Runs 117 George Bortz Sanford SO 193
Leo Niezgoda Smith/Selma Hits 173 Robert Keane Clinton PCT .852; 23-4
Orville Nesselrode Sanford RBI 150
Orville Nesselrode Sanford HR 30
1947 Tobacco State League standings
Team standings W L PCT GB Attend Managers
Sanford Spinners 86 39 .688 - 37,517 Zeb Harrington
Lumberton Cubs 71 49 .592 12.5 50,758 Red Lucas
Wilmington Pirates 68 57 .544 18.0 63,219 Nate Andrews
Dunn-Erwin Twins 62 62 .500 23.5 49,262 Jack Bell / Bill Auerette
Warsaw Red Sox 59 64 .480 26.0 36,865 James Milner
Clinton Blues 56 67 .455 29.0 36,778 Robert Hall /
Van Lingle Mungo / Survern Wright
Red Springs Red Robins 47 78 .480 39.0 21,000 Red Norris
Smithfield-Selma Leafs 46 79 .368 40.0 28,847 Mike Balas / Joe Eonta

Playoffs: Sanford 4 games, Wilmington 3; Lumberton 4 games, Dunn-Erwin 1.
Finals: Sanford 4 games, Lumberton 3.

1947 league leaders
Player Team Stat Tot Player Team Stat Tot
Jimmy Wilson Sanford BA .385 Lewis Cheshire Wilmington W 19
Jimmy Wilson Sanford Runs 133 Carl Johnson Warsaw SO 225
Jimmy Wilson Sanford Hits 205 John McFadden Sanford ERA 2.44
Orville Nesselrode Sanford RBI 166 John McFadden Sanford PCT .750 15-5
Orville Nesselrode Sanford HR 32
1948 Tobacco State League standings
Team standings W L PCT GB Attend Managers
Sanford Spinners 80 56 .588 - 29,374 Zeb Harrington
Wilmington Pirates 76 62 .551 5.0 77,842 Jim Staton
Red Springs Red Robins 75 62 .547 5.5 28,410 Red Norris
Smithfield-Selma Leafs 73 65 .529 8.0 36,552 Sam Narron / Virgil Payne
Warsaw Red Sox 71 67 .514 10.0 32,482 Sam Gibson / Verne Blackwell
Clinton Blues 70 67 .511 10.5 39,498 Marvin Lorenz
Lumberton Cubs 55 81 .404 25.0 38,772 Charlie Jamin
Dunn-Erwin Twins 49 89 .355 32.0 26,475 Carl McQuillen /
Babe Bost / Gaither Riley

Playoffs: Sanford 4 games, Smithfield-Selma 1; Red Springs 4 games, Wilmington 3.
Finals: Red Springs 4 games, Sanford 1.

1948 league leaders
Player Team Stat Tot Player Team Stat Tot
Hargrove Davis Wilmington BA .366 Aaron Osofsky Smithfield-Selma W 24
Jimmy Wilson Sanford Runs 145 John Cheshire Wilmington SO 258
Jimmy Wilson Sanford Hits 212 John Cheshire Wilmington ERA 2.35
Orville Nesselrode Sanford RBI 159 Aaron Osofsky Smithfield-Selma PCT .828 24-5
Orville Nesselrode Sanford HR 27
1949 Tobacco State League standings
Team standings W L PCT GB Attend Managers
Dunn-Erwin Twins 81 54 .600 - 39,335 Jim Staton
Red Springs Red Robins 76 59 .563 5.0 33,303 Red Norris
Lumberton Auctioneers 75 61 .551 6.5 60,038 Charles Lucas / James Guinn
Sanford Spinners 71 62 .530 9.0 36,046 Zeb Harrington
Smithfield-Selma Leafs 70 65 .519 11.0 41,618 Virgil Payne /
Claude Weaver / Paul Kluk
Fayetteville Scotties 61 76 .445 21.0 56,999 Zip Payne / Joe Roseberry /
Nicholas Rhabe / John Helms
Clinton Sampson Blues 60 78 .435 22.5 37,496 Marvin Lorenz
Wilmington Pirates 49 88 .358 33.0 49,009 Ab Tiedemann / John Edens /
Gus Brittain / Hargrove Davis

Playoffs: Dunn-Erwin 4 games, Lumberton 1; Red Springs 4 games, Sanford 2.
Finals: Red Springs 4 games, Dunn Erwin 1.

1949 league leaders
Player Team Stat Tot Player Team Stat Tot
Joe Roseberry Fayetteville BA .409 Clarence Condit Dunn-Erwin W 20
Granville Denning Dunn-Erwin Runs 118 Clarence Condit Dunn-Erwin SO 264
Nicholas Perchia Clinton Runs 118 Leslie Price Clinton ERA 2.19
Granville Denning Dunn-Erwin Hits 185 John Bennett Smithfield-Selma PCT .769 10-3
Granville Denning Dunn-Ervin RBI 119
Joseph Stern Clin/Lumb HR 15
John Helms Fayetteville HR 15
1950 Tobacco State League standings
Team standings W L PCT GB Attend Managers
Lumberton Auctioneers 92 43 .682 - 42,796 John Streza
Sanford Spinners 90 44 .672 1.5 19,686 Zeb Harrington
Red Springs Red Robins 68 61 .527 21.0 26,198 Ducky Detweiler
Rockingham Eagles 63 69 .477 27.5 31,806 Jack Bell / Turkey Tyson
Clinton Sampson Blues 61 72 .459 30.0 29,060 Alvin Kluttz /
Nicholas Rhabe / Marvin Lorenz
Wilmington Pirates 56 75 .427 34.0 35,950 Bill Hamons /
Red Teague / Steve Collins
Dunn-Erwin Twins /
Whiteville Tobs		 39 92 .298 51.0 20,839 Jim Staton
Smithfield-Selma Leafs 49 62 .441 NA 19,369 Marvin Lorenz

Playoffs: Rockingham 4 games, Lumberton 2; Stanford 4 games, Red Springs 0;
Finals: Rockingham 4 games, Stanford 3

1950 league leaders
Player Team Stat Tot Player Team Stat Tot
Granville Denning Whiteville BA .374 Hoyt Clegg Sanford W 24
Granville Denning Whiteville Hits 176 Richard Causey Sanford SO 148
Pierre Ethier Lumberton Runs 146 Clayton Andrews Sanford ERA 2.63
Mike Milosevich Lumberton RBI 121 John Lagan Lumberton PCT .875 21-3
Mike Milosevich Lumberton HR 14

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References

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  • Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, N.C.: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
  • Holaday, Chris (2016). The Tobacco State League; A North Carolina Baseball History, 1946–1950. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-6670-9.
  1. ^ Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (Third ed.). Baseball America. ISBN 978-1932391176.
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