There have been eight

Minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

teams that have represented the city of

Americus, Georgia Americus is the county seat of Sumter County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,230. It is the principal city of the Americus Micropolitan Statistical Area, a micropolitan area that covers Schley an ...

. Since classification of the minors began, seven of them have been labeled as class D loops and one played in an independent league.

History

Americus Pallbearers

The Americus Pallbearers became a founding member of the original

Georgia State League The Georgia State League was an American Class D minor league in professional baseball that existed in 1906, 1914, 1920–1921 and 1948–1956. During its last incarnation, it existed alongside two nearby Class D circuits, the Georgia–Florida Le ...

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

. The Pallbearers finished dead-last in the six-team league, with a record of 13–32, a full 22 games behind the first place Waycross Machinists. The league folded at the end of the season, and Americus was without a professional team in 1907.

Americus Muckalees

The Americus Muckalees were members of the Empire State League in

1913 Events January * January 5 – First Balkan War: Battle of Lemnos (1913), Battle of Lemnos – Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it will not ven ...

and continued playing from

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 ...

when the six-team circuit was renamed the Georgia State League. In 1913, the Muckalees ended in fourth place with a 45–54 record, games behind first place Valdosta Millionaires. Then, in 1914 the Americus team became the first champion team in Georgia State League history. But the resurgence of the league did not even last two years. The circuit started 1915 as the Georgia State League and was renamed the Florida–Alabama–Georgia League (FLAG League), which operated in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, on June 15. The Americus Muckalees (11–18) then were forced to move to Florida and changed its name to Gainesville Sharks (18–24), ending fifth with a combined 29–42 record, 16 games out of the first place spot.

Americus Cardinals

The Americus Cardinals operated in the

Georgia–Florida League The Georgia–Florida League was a minor baseball league that existed from 1935 through 1958 (suspending operations during World War II) and in 1962–1963. It was one of many Class D circuits that played in the Southeastern United States during ...

from

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

through

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

. During that span, Americus had affiliation agreements with the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

(1936),

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

(1937) and Washington Senators (1938). The team had records of 59–57 in 1935 (3rd place), 58–58 in 1936 (3rd), 50–71 in 1937 (6th), and 65–61 in 1938 (3rd), reaching the postseason in 1938, but lost in the first round of the playoffs.

Americus Pioneers

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

, the Cardinals changed its name to the Americus Pioneers and continued to operate in the Georgia–Florida League until

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

, first as a

affiliate (1939–1940) and then with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

(1942). This time the team suffered four losing seasons, going 63–76 in 1939 (7th place), 67–72 in 1940 (5th), 56–81 in 1941 (6th) and 49–77 in 1942 (7th).

Americus Phillies

After a long absence, in

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

the franchise returned to the Georgia–Florida League as the Americus Phillies, playing there uninterrupted until the

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

season as a

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

affiliated team. In its first season, Americus won the title in the eight-team league after sporting an 87–37 record, having games of advantage over second place

Moultrie Packers The Moultrie Packers were a class D, and class A minor league baseball team, based in Moultrie, Georgia, founded by J.S. Dillard. History Moultrie teams played in the Dixie League from 1916 to 1917 and the Georgia–Florida League from 1935 t ...

. The team won the first round of the playoffs, but lost the final series to Moultrie. Americus declined the next two years, ending with records of 65–74 in 1947 (6th place) and 50–89 in 1948 (8th). Then, they went 71–67 in 1948 (4th) and 70–67 in 1950 (4th). Both times they reached the postseason, losing in the first round and the league finals, respectively.

Americus Rebels

In 1951, the Phillies were replaced by the Americus Rebels, though the team lasted only one year in the GFL. Americus finished sixth with a 55–70 mark, games out of contention.

Americus-Cordele Orioles

The franchise returned to the league in

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

, this time as the Americus-Cordele Orioles affiliated team of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

. Americus finished last of the eight teams with a 51–88 mark and games out from first place.

Americus Arrows

Americus also was represented in the independent

Southeastern League The Southeastern League was the name of four separate baseball leagues in minor league baseball which operated in the Southeastern and South Central United States in numerous seasons between 1897 and 2003. Two of these leagues were associated wit ...

during its

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

season. Playing as the Americus Arrows, the team were 10–17 before folding on July 15. Since then, no other team based in Americus has participated in professional baseball.

MLB alumni

Pete Center Marvin Earl "Pete" Center (April 22, 1912 – August 8, 2004) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher who appeared in 77 Major League games over all or part of four seasons (1942–1943; 1945–1946) for the Clevelan ...

Ellis Clary Ellis Clary (September 11, 1916 – June 2, 2000), nicknamed "Cat", was an American professional baseball player, coach and scout. Born in Valdosta, Georgia, he threw and batted right-handed, stood tall, and weighed 160 pounds (73 kg). He ...

* Chuck Cottier *

Jack Cusick John Peter Cusick (June 12, 1928 - November 17, 1989) was a right-handed shortstop in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs and Boston Braves (baseball), Boston Braves. Signed as an amateur free agent out of high school by the Philadelphia P ...

Bill DeKoning William Callahan DeKoning (December 19, 1918 – July 26, 1979) was a Major League Baseball catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of ...

Bernie DeViveiros Bernard John DeViveiros (April 19, 1901 – July 5, 1994) was a Major League Baseball shortstop who played for the Chicago White Sox in and the Detroit Tigers in . In 1951, DeViveiros wrote a section on base running in The Sporting News The ...

* Bob Geary *

Greek George Charles Peter "Greek" George (December 25, 1912 in Waycross, Georgia – August 15, 1999 in Metairie, Louisiana) was a catcher in Major League Baseball. He played from 1935 to 1945. He attended college at Oglethorpe University Oglethorpe ...

* Bill Glynn * Ray Hamrick *

Stew Hofferth Stewart Edward Hofferth (January 27, 1913 – March 7, 1994) was an American professional baseball baseball player, player. The catcher appeared in 136 Major League Baseball games played over three seasons for the 1944–46 Boston Braves (baseball ...

* Mickey Kreitner * Guy Lacy *

Angelo LiPetri Michael Angelo LiPetri (July 6, 1929 – November 17, 2016) was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher who stood tall and weighed , he appeared in ten Major League Baseball games for the 1956 Philadelphia Phillies season ...

Alex McColl Alexander Boyd McColl Red"(March 29, 1894 – February 6, 1991) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Washington Senators in and . McColl made his MLB debut at the age of 39, one of 8 pitchers in MLB history to debut at 39 or o ...

* Jerry McQuaig *

Cliff Melton Clifford George Melton (January 3, 1912 – July 28, 1986) was an American professional baseball left-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Giants over parts of eight seasons spanning 1937–44. Listed at , ...

Hillis Layne Ivoria Hillis Layne (February 23, 1918 – January 12, 2010) was an American third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Washington Senators (1901–60), Washington Senators in parts of three seasons spanning 1941–1945. Listed at 6 ...

* Red Marion *

Mike Milosevich Michael Milosevich (January 13, 1915 – February 3, 1966) was a shortstop in Major League Baseball player who played from 1944 to 1945 for the New York Yankees. Listed at , , he batted and threw right-handed In human biology, handedness is ...

Les Moss John Lester Moss (May 14, 1925 – August 29, 2012) was an Americans, American professional baseball player, Coach (baseball), coach, Scout (sports), scout and Manager (baseball), manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the S ...

Bitsy Mott Elisha Matthew Mott (June 12, 1918 – February 25, 2001), known as Bitsy Mott, was a backup infielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Philadelphia Phillies. Listed at , , he batted and threw right-handed. Born in Arcadia, Florida, ...

Glen Moulder Glen Hubert Moulder (September 28, 1917 – November 27, 1994) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Brooklyn Dodgers (1946), St. Louis Browns (1947) and Chicago White Sox (1948). Moulder batted and threw right-handed. He was bor ...

* Ed Murphy *

Dixie Parker Douglas Woolley Parker (April 24, 1895 – May 15, 1972) was a catcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Philadelphia Phillies during the 1923 season. Listed at 5' 11", Weight: 160 lb., Parker batted and threw right handed. He was ...

* Hal Quick *

Jack Sanford John Stanley Sanford (May 18, 1929 – March 7, 2000) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through . Sanford was notable for the meteoric start to his career when, he led ...

* LeGrant Scott *

Dick West Walter Richard West Sr. (1912–1996, Southern Cheyenne), was a painter, sculptor, and educator. He led the Art Department at Bacone College from 1947 to 1970. He later taught at Haskell Institute for several years. Jones, Ruthe BlalockWest, Walte ...

Lefty West Weldon Edison "Lefty" West (September 3, 1915 – July 23, 1979) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the St. Louis Browns in 1944 and 1945. West made his big league debut on April 30, 1944 at the age of 28. He spent 11 games with t ...

Leonard Martin Leonard Jack Martin (24 November 1901 – 25 December 1967) was a British sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fi ...

References

External links

Baseball Reference: Americus, Georgia – Minor League City Encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Americus Defunct minor league baseball teams Baltimore Orioles minor league affiliates Brooklyn Dodgers minor league affiliates Chicago Cubs minor league affiliates Philadelphia Phillies minor league affiliates St. Louis Cardinals minor league affiliates Washington Senators minor league affiliates Professional baseball teams in Georgia (U.S. state) Southeastern League teams Defunct baseball teams in Georgia Defunct Georgia State League teams Baseball teams disestablished in 2002 Baseball teams established in 1906