The Belleville Stags were a minor league baseball team based in

Belleville, Illinois Belleville is a city and the county seat of St. Clair County, Illinois, coterminous with the now defunct Belleville Township. It is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville and the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows. The p ...

from 1947 to 1949. The Belleville Stags were charter members of the Class D level Illinois State League and remained a franchise when the league changed names to the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League in 1949, which later evolved to become today's

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

. Winners of the 1947 league championship, the Stags were named and supported by their namesake,

Stag Beer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family (biology), family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, inclu ...

. The Stags were a minor league affiliate of the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

in 1947 and 1948 and

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

in 1949.

History

Minor league baseball in Belleville, Illinois began in 1947, when the Belleville Stags became a charter member of the Class D level Illinois State League. In 1947 league play, the Stags joined the Centralia Cubs, Mattoon Indians, Marion Indians, Mount Vernon Braves, and

West Frankfort Cardinals The West Frankfort Cardinals were an American minor league baseball team based in West Frankfort, Illinois. From 1947 to 1950, the West Frankfort Cardinals were charter members of the Illinois State League in 1947 to 1948 and the Mississippi–Oh ...

as charter members of the six–team Illinois State League. All the league teams were new franchises. The use of the "Stags" moniker by Belleville was in reference to the team being sponsored by

. Their home ballpark, Belleville Athletic Field, was also referred to as "Stag Park" while the team played there. In their first season of play, the 1947 Belleville Stags won the Illinois State League championship in the first season of the Class D level league. The Stags, playing as a minor league affiliate of the St. Louis Browns, finished the regular season with a 75–37 record to place 1st in the standings under manager Walter DeFreitas. The league had no playoffs as Belleville finished 15.0 games ahead of the 2nd place Centralia Cubs in the final standings. Belleville had season home attendance of 18,539, playing home games at Belleville Athletic Field. Belleville continued play in the 1948 Illinois State League. The Stags finished with a record of 51–67 to place 5th in the standings under managers Gerald Nemitz and Shan Deniston. Belleville finished 33.0 games behind the 1st place West Frankfort Cardinals in the final standings of the six–team league. Belleville drew 6,085 fans for the season. 1958

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall ...

winner and World Series MVP

Bob Turley Robert Lee Turley (September 19, 1930 – March 30, 2013), known as Bullet Bob, was an American professional baseball player and financial planner. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a pitcher from 1951 through 1963. After his retir ...

pitched for the 1948 Belleville Stags, pitching to a 9–3 record. Belleville played their final season in 1949. The Stags continued play as the Illinois State League changed names to become the Class D level Mississippi–Ohio Valley League. The name change occurred after the Paducah Chiefs franchise replaced the Marion Indians in the six–team league. The Belleville Stags became an affiliate of the New York Yankees and finished last in the league standings. The Stags finished with a record of 43–76, playing under managers Lee Mueller, Joseph Yurkovich, Addie Nesbit and Malcolm Mick. Belleville's Bunny Mick led the league in batting average, hitting .354. Belleville finished 22.0 games behind the 1st place Centralia Cubs. After drawing 13,500 for the 1949 season, Belleville permanently folded after the 1949 season and were replaced in the 1950 Mississippi–Ohio Valley League by the Vincennes Velvets. The "Stags" had played as an independent local team before the minor league team, and they reformed to play as a local independent team into the 1950s after the demise of the professional franchise. Today, the "Belleville Stags" moniker has been adopted by a local "vintage" baseball team, members of the Vintage Baseball Association. Belleville, Illinois has not hosted another minor league team.

The ballpark

The Belleville Stags played home games at the Belleville Athletic Field. As the team was sponsored by

, the ballpark was also referred to as "Stag Park." The ballpark was located at 901 South Illinois Street at Cleveland Avenue (Route 159 & IL 13), Belleville, Illinois. Today, the site houses an auto dealership.

Timeline

Year–by–year records

Notable alumni

Mike Blyzka Michael John Blyzka (December 25, 1928 – October 13, 2004) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles (–). Listed at , 190 lb., Blyzka batted and threw right-handed. He served in the ...

(1948) * John Gabler (1949) * Frank Saucier (1948) *

(1948) 3 x MLB All-Star; 1958 World Series MVP; 1958

* Bud Thomas (1947) *

Jack Urban Jack Elmer Urban (December 5, 1928 – June 26, 2006) was an American professional baseball pitcher who appeared in 69 games in the Major Leagues, 37 as a starter, for the Kansas City Athletics (–) and St. Louis Cardinals (). Listed as tall ...

(1949)

References

External links

Baseball Reference
{{Midwest League Defunct Midwest League teams New York Yankees minor league affiliates St. Louis Browns minor league affiliates Belleville, Illinois 1947 establishments in Illinois 1949 disestablishments in Illinois Illinois State League Mississippi-Ohio Valley League Defunct minor league baseball teams Baseball teams established in 1947 Baseball teams disestablished in 1949 Professional baseball teams in Illinois Defunct baseball teams in Illinois Defunct sports teams in Illinois Illinois State League teams