The Columbus Foxes were a minor league baseball team that played in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

. USA.

History

The team originally played in the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

from 1909 to 1917, then reformed in the

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 ...

from 1926 to 1932. It resurfaced as a

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 ...

' affiliate known first as the Columbus Red Birds and then the Columbus Cardinals from 1936 to 1955 in the South Atlantic League. As the Red Birds, it won two league championships, first in 1936 under manager

Eddie Dyer Edwin Hawley Dyer (October 11, 1899 – April 20, 1964) was an American left-handed pitcher, manager and farm system official in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1922–1944 and 1946–1950. In , Dyer's first season at the he ...

, and second in 1940 under manager

Clay Hopper Robert Clay Hopper (October 3, 1902 – April 17, 1976) was an American professional baseball player and manager in minor league baseball. Hopper played from 1926 through 1941 and continued managing through 1956. Managing the Montreal Royals ...

. The team name returned to the Foxes after the Cardinals left in 1956 and became affiliated with 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 ...

in 1956, the Cardinals again in 1957, and the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

in 1958. The team played in the

Alabama–Florida League The Alabama–Florida League was a low-level circuit in American minor league baseball that existed from 1936 through 1939 and 1951 through 1962. In 1940–1941 and from 1946–1950. The absence of clubs based in Florida caused the league to chan ...

in 1958. As a

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 ...

' affiliate in 1959, they were known as the Columbus Pirates. It moved to

Gastonia, North Carolina Gastonia is the largest city in and county seat of Gaston County, North Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest satellite city of the Charlotte area, behind Concord. The population was 80,411 at the 2020 census, up from 71,741 in 2010 ...

, on July 6, 1959, and became the

Gastonia Pirates The Gastonia Pirates were a minor league baseball team, based in Gastonia, North Carolina, between 1959 and 1972. The club was a Class-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates and played primarily in the Western Carolinas League. The club was origin ...

The ballpark

Beginning in 1926, the Foxes played at

Golden Park Golden Park is a 5,000-seat baseball stadium in Columbus, Georgia, United States, that opened in 1951. Located on the Chattahoochee River in Downtown Columbus, Georgia, Downtown Columbus, it is currently home to the Columbus Chatt-a-Hoots as of 2 ...

, located at 100 4th Street Columbus, Georgia 31901. Golden Park is still in use today and was renovated and used in the

1996 Olympic Games The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

for softball.

Notable alumni

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
alumni

Walter Alston Walter Emmons Alston (December 1, 1911 – October 1, 1984), nicknamed "Smokey", was an American baseball player and manager in Major League Baseball He is best known for managing the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1954 through 1976, and sig ...

(1939) inducted, 1983 *

Bob Gibson Robert Gibson (born Pack Robert Gibson; November 9, 1935October 2, 2020) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1959–1975). Nicknamed "Gibby" and "Hoot" ( ...

(1957) inducted, 1981 *

Enos Slaughter Enos Bradsher Slaughter (April 27, 1916 – August 12, 2002), nicknamed "Country", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) right fielder. He played for 19 seasons on four major league teams from 1938 to 1942 and 1946 to 1959. He is noted prima ...

(1936) inducted, 1985

Notable alumni

Luis Arroyo Luis Enrique "Tite" Arroyo, (February 18, 1927 – January 13, 2016) was a Major League Baseball pitcher from 1955 to 1963. Arroyo was the first Puerto Rican player to appear for the New York Yankees and was a key part of their pennant winning s ...

(1954) 2 x MLB All-Star *

Jackie Brandt John George Brandt Jr. (born April 28, 1934), is an American former professional baseball outfielder, who played in the major leagues for the St. Louis Cardinals (), New York / San Francisco Giants (–), Baltimore Orioles (–), Philadelphia Ph ...

(1954) 2 x MLB All-Star *

Hub Collins Hubert B. "Hub" Collins (April 15, 1864 – May 21, 1892) was an American professional baseball player. He was a second baseman and left fielder in Major League Baseball from 1886 to 1892 with the Louisville Colonels and Brooklyn Bridegrooms/Gro ...

(1885) 1890 NL Hits Leader; Died Age 28 *

(1936, MGR) Manager: 1946 World Series Champion

Lenny Green Leonard Charles Green (January 6, 1933 – January 6, 2019) was an American professional baseball baseball player, player. The outfielder played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 12 seasons for the Baltimore Orioles (1957–59; 1964), Washington ...

(1956) *

Jim Hearn James Tolbert Hearn (April 11, 1921 – June 10, 1998) was an American professional baseball player, a pitcher in Major League Baseball for 13 seasons (1947–59). The right-hander was listed as tall and . Career Born in Atlanta, Hearn attended ...

(1942) MLB All-Star; 1950 NL ERA Title *

Ray Jablonski Raymond Leo Jablonski (December 17, 1926 – November 25, 1985) was an American third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for all or parts of eight MLB seasons between 1953 and 1960. A National League All-Star, Jablonski appeared in 812 ...

(1950) MLB All-Star *

Oscar Judd Thomas William Oscar Judd (February 14, 1908 – December 27, 1995) was a Canadian-born professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies. Listed at and , he threw and batte ...

(1936) MLB All-Star * Eddie Kazak (1946) MLB All-Star * George Kissell (1954) *

Clyde Kluttz Clyde Franklin Kluttz (December 12, 1917 – May 12, 1979) was an American professional baseball player, scout and front-office executive. In Major League Baseball, Kluttz was a catcher for the Boston Braves (1942–45), New York Giants (1945– ...

(1940) *

Denny Lyons Dennis Patrick Aloysius Lyons (March 12, 1866 – January 2, 1929) was an American Major League Baseball player. He played third base for the Providence Grays (1885), Philadelphia Athletics (1886–90), St. Louis Browns (1891), New York Gia ...

(1885) *

Skeeter Newsome Lamar Ashby "Skeeter" Newsome (October 18, 1910 — August 31, 1989) was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for the Philadelphia Athletics (1935–39), Boston Red Sox (1941–45) and Philadelphia Phillies (1946–47). Bo ...

(1956) *

Rip Repulski Eldon John "Rip" Repulski (October 4, 1928 – February 10, 1993) was an American professional baseball player, an outfielder in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals (1953–56), Philadelphia Phillies (1957–58), Los Angeles Dodgers ...

(1949-1950) MLB All-Star *

Dick Sisler Richard Alan Sisler (November 2, 1920 – November 20, 1998) was an American player, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball. The son of Hall of Fame first baseman and two-time .400 hitter George Sisler, Dick Sisler's younger brother Dave was ...

(1941) MLB All-Star *

Dave Wickersham David Clifford Wickersham (September 27, 1935 – June 18, 2022) was an American baseball pitcher who played ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Kansas City Athletics, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Ka ...

(1959)

References

External links

Baseball Reference
Baltimore Orioles minor league affiliates Defunct minor league baseball teams South Atlantic League (1904–1963) teams St. Louis Cardinals minor league affiliates Pittsburgh Pirates minor league affiliates Los Angeles Dodgers minor league affiliates Sports in Columbus, Georgia Baseball teams established in 1909 Sports clubs disestablished in 1959 1909 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) 1959 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Defunct baseball teams in Georgia Defunct South Atlantic League teams Baseball teams disestablished in 1959 {{ColumbusGA-stub

History

The ballpark

Notable alumni

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ... alumni

Notable alumni

References

External links

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
alumni