The Clarksdale Planters are a defunct minor league baseball team that was based in

Clarksdale, Mississippi Clarksdale is a city in and the county seat of Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. It is located along the Sunflower River. Clarksdale is named after John Clark, a settler who founded the city in the mid-19th century when he establishe ...

. They played under different names over their 13 nonconsecutive seasons, including the Ginners (1934–1936, 1941), the Red Sox (1937–1940), and finally the Planters (1947–1951). The team started out in the

East Dixie League The East Dixie League was an American professional minor league baseball league that operated for two seasons from 1934 to 1935 as a Class C level league. History The East Dixie League was created when the Dixie League split up into the East ...

from 1934 to 1935, and later joined the

Cotton States League The Cotton States League''Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: The Official Record of Minor League Baseball'' – Lloyd Johnson, Steve McDonald, Miles Wolff (editors). Publisher: Baseball America, 1997. Format: Paperback, 672pp. Language: Englis ...

from 1937 to 1941, and 1947 to 1951. Clarksdale ceased to have a team for five seasons (1942–1946). However, the team returned in 1947 under the Planters name. The team was classified as a Class-C team for all of their 13 years. Clarksdale was affiliated with the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

for one season (1936), and the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

for two seasons (1938–1939).

Early history

Clarksdale, Mississippi has a

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

history stretching back to 1904. That season, the Clarksdale baseball club of the

Delta League The Delta League was a Class D (baseball), Class D level minor league baseball league that played in the 1904 season. The six–team Delta League consisted of franchises based in Mississippi. The Delta League permanently folded after completing th ...

began its one-year run. They were classified as Class D. The team featured

Harry Kane Harry Edward Kane (born 28 July 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Tottenham Hotspur and captains the England national team. A prolific goalscorer with strong link play, Kane is regarded as one of ...

and

Beals Becker David Beals Becker (July 5, 1886 – August 16, 1943) was an outfielder in Major League Baseball from 1908 to 1915. Biography Becker was born in El Dorado, Kansas in 1886. He attended Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Missouri and is the ...

who were the only two players on the club that played or went on to play in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. After the 1904 season, the Clarksdale club ceased operations. In 1913, Clarksdale included in Cotton States League, who at this time were classified as a Class-D league. The team played under the name the Clarksdale Swamp Angels and featured three players,

Clarence Kraft Clarence Otto Kraft (June 9, 1887 – March 26, 1958) was an American Major League Baseball player. He played in three games for the Boston Braves in , but only appeared once in the field (at first base). He went 1-for-3 at the plate with one stri ...

, John Merritt, and Claude Thomas, who had or went on to have major league experience. Like the first professional team in Clarksdale, the Swamp Angels folded after one season. In 1921, Clarksdale was again a home to a professional baseball team. This time the Clarksdale Cubs would play for three seasons before folding. Their first season, 1921, the Cubs played in the Mississippi State League. The next two seasons, however, the Cubs played in the Cotton States League. Over their three-year stint, the Cubs were classified as a Class-D team. The 1921 team featured major leaguers

Happy Foreman August G. Foreman (July 20, 1899 – February 13, 1953) was a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played between and for the Chicago White Sox (1924) and Boston Red Sox (1926). Listed at 5' 7", 160 lb., he batted and threw left-hand ...

and

Earl Webb William Earl Webb (September 17, 1897 – May 23, 1965) was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball, playing from 1925 to 1933. He played for five teams, including the Boston Red Sox for three years. He batted left-handed, and threw rig ...

Ginners and Red Sox

In 1934, the

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, who were playing in the East Dixie League, moved to Clarksdale, Mississippi during the season and the team was renamed the "Ginners". That season, the team went 47–82. Bill Marshall and Doc Land, who both played limited time in the major leagues over their careers, tied for the most

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

on the Ginners with 147. Doc Land led the team in doubles with 32, Carl Fairly led the team in triples with 12, and Frank Myers led the team in

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

with five. Pitching leaders included George Mills and Roy Mackey in

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with 10, Mackey in losses, and Mackey in

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

with 209. Until 1936, the Clarksdale club played as the Planters, however, in 1937 the team was renamed the Red Sox.

Year-by-year results

References

General references * Inline citations {{reflist Defunct baseball teams in Mississippi Defunct minor league baseball teams Baseball teams established in 1946 Baseball teams disestablished in 1951 Boston Red Sox minor league affiliates Cleveland Guardians minor league affiliates Defunct Cotton States League teams 1934 establishments in Mississippi 1951 disestablishments in Mississippi