The Carthage Pirates was a primary name of the minor league baseball teams based in Carthage, Missouri from 1938 to 1941 and 1946 to 1951. Carthage won three league titles playing as members of the Arkansas-Missouri League from 1938 to 1940, the 1941

Western Association The Western Association was the name of five different leagues formed in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries. The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Western ...

and the Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League from 1946 to 1951. Carthage hosted home minor league games at Carl Lewton Stadium.

History

Carthage was initially a Class D level affiliate of the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

that played in the

Arkansas–Missouri League The Arkansas–Missouri League was a Class D level league in Minor League Baseball that operated from 1936 to 1940. The league was previously known as the Arkansas State League. Cities represented * Bentonville, Arkansas: Bentonville Mustangs 1 ...

from 1938 to 1940. The Arkansas–Missouri League existed for only two full seasons, with the Pirates winning the league title each of those years. The league formally disbanded on July 1, 1940. When this occurred, the Pirates held a 10 1/2 game lead on first place in the league standings. The team then folded with the league. The franchise then became the Class C level Carthage Browns in 1941 after the St. Joseph Ponies relocated to Carthage on June 3, 1941. They 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 ...

, playing as members of the

. From 1946 to 1948, the Carthage "Cardinals" were a minor league affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals playing as members of the Class D level Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League. The franchise remained in the league thougu 1951, becoming the Carthage "Cubs," an affiliate of 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 ...

. The Cubs won the league title in 1951.

The ballpark

Carthage teams played home minor league games at Carl Lewton Stadium. Sadly, this ballpark is closing as of February 2023. The Stadium's namesake was a local umpire and educator.

Notable alumni

Cloyd Boyer Cloyd Victor Boyer Jr. (September 1, 1927 – September 20, 2021) was an American right-handed pitcher and pitching coach in Major League Baseball who played between 1949 and 1955 for the St. Louis Cardinals (1949–52) and Kansas City Athletic ...

(1946) * Dennis Burns (1941) * Frank Mancuso (1941) * Bob Speake (1949)

Season–by–season

References

Baseball teams established in 1938 Sports clubs and teams disestablished in 1951 Defunct baseball teams in Missouri Pittsburgh Pirates minor league affiliates Chicago Cubs minor league affiliates St. Louis Cardinals minor league affiliates St. Louis Browns minor league affiliates 1938 establishments in Missouri 1941 disestablishments in Missouri Defunct minor league baseball teams Jasper County, Missouri Defunct Arkansas-Missouri League teams Baseball teams disestablished in 1951 {{Missouri-baseball-team-stub

History

The ballpark

Notable alumni

Season–by–season

See also

References