Lakeland Pilots
The Lakeland Pilots were a Florida International League (1946–1950, 1952) and Florida State League (1953-1955) baseball team based in Lakeland, Florida, United States. They played their home games at Henley Field. In 1954, they won their sole league championship, under the guidance of managers James Bello and Rip Sewell. Notable alumni * Luke Hamlin (1949) * Roy Hughes (1951) * Rip Sewell Truett Banks "Rip" Sewell (May 11, 1907 – September 3, 1989) was a right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played 13 years in the major leagues with the Detroit Tigers (1932) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1938–1949). Sewell was ... (1954) References {{Florida International League , state=collapsed Baseball teams established in 1946 Defunct minor league baseball teams Defunct Florida State League teams Sports in Lakeland, Florida Defunct baseball teams in Florida 1946 establishments in Florida 1955 disestablishments in Florida Baseball teams disestablishe ...
[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  

Florida State League
The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues. The league temporarily operated for the 2021 season as the Low-A Southeast before reassuming its original moniker in 2022. Each league member is affiliated with a Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and most play in their affiliate's spring training facility. History The league originated in 1919 with teams in Bartow, Bradenton, Lakeland, Orlando, Sanford, and Tampa, Florida. The league closed down in 1928 and resumed play in 1936. It has continued uninterrupted, except for a four-year (1942–1945) suspension during World War II. Initially, the FSL was classified as a Class D circuit. It was elevated to Class C from 1921 to 1924 before reverting to Class D from 1925 ...
[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  

Florida International League
The Florida International League was a lower- to mid-level circuit in American and Cuban minor league baseball that existed from 1946 through July 27, 1954. It was designated Class C for its first three seasons, then upgraded to Class B in 1949 for the final 5½ years of its existence. History The FIL featured teams located in the largest metropolitan centers in Florida and Cuba. Its longest serving clubs were located in Miami (usually nicknamed the Sun Sox), Tampa (named the Smokers, after the city's large cigar business) and West Palm Beach (called the Indians, though the team was never affiliated with the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball). All played during the 8½ seasons of the FIL's existence. Perhaps its most notable member club, however, was the Havana Cubans, an affiliate of the Washington Senators, in Havana, Cuba. The Cubanos were the sole FIL club outside Florida and played in the loop from 1946–1953. They won five consecutive regular season titles from ...
[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  

Henley Field Ball Park
Henley Field is a historic site in Lakeland, Florida. Built in 1922, it is located at 1125 North Florida Avenue. Clare Henley, for whom the park was named in 1942, encouraged its construction in an effort to persuade a professional baseball team to train there. On May 23, 1997, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Henley Field is located adjacent to Bryant Stadium, a football stadium. Henley Field was used as the home ballpark of the fictional Class D Tampico Stogies in the 1987 HBO movie '' Long Gone'' which starred William Petersen and Virginia Madsen. During the film the stadium was known as Smythe Field. The ballpark was renovated prior to the 2002 season at a cost of $250,000. Henley was renovated to enable the Lakeland Tigers to play at the historic ballpark during the 2002 season. while their home field, Joker Marchant Stadium (which is also the current spring training home of the Detroit Tigers), was renovated during the 2002 season. On Sep ...
[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  

Lakeland, Florida
Lakeland is the most populous city in Polk County, Florida, part of the Tampa Bay Area, located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa. According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal city of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. European-American settlers arrived in Lakeland from Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina in the 1870s. The city expanded in the 1880s with the arrival of rail service, with the first freedmen railway workers settling here in 1883.Kimberly C. Moore, "Confederate vets, former slaves form Lakeland’s history"
''The Ledger'', 09 May 2018; accessed 27 June 2018 They and European immigrants also came ...
[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  

Rip Sewell
Truett Banks "Rip" Sewell (May 11, 1907 – September 3, 1989) was a right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played 13 years in the major leagues with the Detroit Tigers (1932) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1938–1949). Sewell was selected four times to the National League All-Star team (1943–1946) and is credited with inventing the "Eephus pitch." Early years Born in Decatur, Alabama, Sewell attended Vanderbilt University in the 1930–31 school year, where he played college football on scholarship for coach Dan McGugin. However, Sewell only played on the freshman team and left because of the academic requirements. He signed with the Nashville Vols, who then sold his contract to the Detroit Tigers for $10,000. He played only one season (1932) with the Tigers, appearing mostly in relief. Sewell later recalled that he was shipped to the minor leagues in Toronto the day after Jimmie Foxx hit one of Sewell's best pitches over the left field wall. The fight with G ...
[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  

Luke Hamlin
Luke Daniel Hamlin (July 3, 1904 – February 18, 1978) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers (1933–34), Brooklyn Dodgers (1937–41), Pittsburgh Pirates (1942), and Philadelphia Athletics (1944). Born in Ferris Center, Michigan, Hamlin won the nickname "Hot Potato" because of his tendency to juggle the ball while getting ready to pitch. He pitched two years with the Tigers, going 3–3 in 23 games for the Bengals. After two years out of the major leagues, Hamlin returned in 1937 with the Dodgers, where he played five seasons from 1937 to 1941. His best year was 1939 when he went 20–13 and had 10 complete games in innings pitched. Hamlin's 20 wins was 4th best in the National League, his WHIP was 1.146 (3rd in the NL), and he also finished #10 in the National League Most Valuable Player voting in 1939. He had another strong year in 1940 with a 3.06 earned run average for an Adjusted ERA+ of 131 (4th ...
[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  

Roy Hughes (baseball)
Roy John "Sage" Hughes (January 11, 1911 – March 5, 1995) was an American professional baseball infielder, who played in Major League Baseball with the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns, Philadelphia Phillies, and Chicago Cubs. Hughes started six games at shortstop for the Cubs during the 1945 World Series, handling 31 total chances without an error, turned two double plays, and batted .294 with five hits, including a double, in 17 at bats. That season, Hughes had been the Cubs' utility infielder, with Lennie Merullo at shortstop, however Hughes got the nod as the team's midfielder in all but one game of the 1945 World Series, won in seven games by the Detroit Tigers. His ninth-inning single in Game 7 was the last hit by a Cubs player in a World Series game until Chicago made it to the 2016 World Series. Born in Cincinnati, Hughes stood tall, weighed and batted and threw right-handed. Including minor league service, his professional career spanned 18 seasons (1933–194 ...
[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  

Baseball Teams Established In 1946
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding team, called the pitcher, throws a ball that a player on the batting team, called the batter, tries to hit with a bat. The objective of the offensive team (batting team) is to hit the ball into the field of play, away from the other team's players, allowing its players to run the bases, having them advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called " runs". The objective of the defensive team (referred to as the fielding team) is to prevent batters from becoming runners, and to prevent runners' advance around the bases. A run is scored when a runner legally advances around the bases in order and touches home plate (the place where the player started as a batter). The principal objective of the batting team is to have a ...
[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  

Defunct Minor League Baseball Teams
Defunct (no longer in use or active) may refer to: * ''Defunct'' (video game), 2014 * Zombie process or defunct process, in Unix-like operating systems See also * * :Former entities * End-of-life product * Obsolescence Obsolescence is the state of being which occurs when an object, service, or practice is no longer maintained or required even though it may still be in good working order. It usually happens when something that is more efficient or less risky r ...

Defunct Florida State League Teams
Defunct (no longer in use or active) may refer to: * ''Defunct'' (video game), 2014 * Zombie process or defunct process, in Unix-like operating systems See also * * :Former entities * End-of-life product * Obsolescence Obsolescence is the state of being which occurs when an object, service, or practice is no longer maintained or required even though it may still be in good working order. It usually happens when something that is more efficient or less risky r ...

Sports In Lakeland, Florida
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, through casual or organized participation, improve participants' physical health. Hundreds of sports exist, from those between single contestants, through to those with hundreds of simultaneous participants, either in teams or competing as individuals. In certain sports such as racing, many contestants may compete, simultaneously or consecutively, with one winner; in others, the contest (a ''match'') is between two sides, each attempting to exceed the other. Some sports allow a "tie" or "draw", in which there is no single winner; others provide tie-breaking methods to ensure one winner and one loser. A number of contests may be arranged in a tournament producing a champion. Many sports leagues make an annual champion by arranging games in a r ...
[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  

Defunct Baseball Teams In Florida
Defunct (no longer in use or active) may refer to: * ''Defunct'' (video game), 2014 * Zombie process or defunct process, in Unix-like operating systems See also * * :Former entities * End-of-life product * Obsolescence Obsolescence is the state of being which occurs when an object, service, or practice is no longer maintained or required even though it may still be in good working order. It usually happens when something that is more efficient or less risky r ...