The Columbia Senators was the first name of an American minor league baseball franchise representing

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-largest ...

, in the original South Atlantic League. Currently, Columbia is home of the

Columbia Fireflies The Columbia Fireflies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Columbia, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball. Their home stadium is Segra Park. The team was previously known as the ...

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 ...

History before 1938

Columbia was represented in the SAL — popularly called the "Sally League" — as early as 1892 as the ''Senators'', a reference to the city's status as capital of

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. It fielded Sally League teams from 1904–1917, 1919–1923 and 1925–1930 under nicknames such as the ''Skyscrapers, Gamecocks, Comers'' and ''Commies''. The SAL did not operate during 1918 at the height of World War I, and from 1931–1935 during the worst years of the Great Depression. When the league revived in 1936, the Columbia Senators also returned to the field. The team played at Capital City Park. The franchise was renamed the Reds in 1938 when the Cincinnati Reds of

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), ...

became its parent team. The team would be known as the Reds from 1938–1942, 1946–1955 and 1960–1961.

Longtime Cincinnati farm team

The SAL shut down again during World War II, but returned to

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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

in 1946, and was upgraded from Class B to Class A, then a mid- to higher-level classification. The Columbia Reds continued as a Cincinnati affiliate through 1955, but, unlike its MLB parent, the team did not change its name to ''Redlegs'' during the mid-1950s. Some of Cincinnati's biggest stars of the 1950s (including Baseball Hall of Famer

Frank Robinson Frank Robinson (August 31, 1935 – February 7, 2019) was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams, from to . The only player to be named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of both ...

, slugger Ted Kluszewski and longtime pitcher/broadcaster

Joe Nuxhall Joseph Henry Nuxhall (; July 30, 1928 – November 15, 2007) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, primarily for the Cincinnati Reds. Immediately after retiring as a player, he became a radio broadcaster for the Reds f ...

) came through Columbia on their way to Major League prominence. However, in 1956 Cincinnati shifted its Sally League affiliate to Savannah, and the

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 sea ...

replaced them in Columbia with the team renamed the ''Columbia Gems.'' The Gems lasted only two seasons before the league contracted from eight to six teams and both Columbia and

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 ...

, lost their franchises for 1958. Columbia was without professional baseball until 1960, when the Reds came back from Savannah for two seasons before affiliating with the

Macon Peaches The Macon Peaches was the predominant name of the American minor league baseball franchise representing Macon, Georgia, during the 20th century. Although Macon did not field teams during and immediately after World War I, the height of the Great ...

in 1962. It never returned to the original Sally League (which became the Double-A Southern League in 1964) but joined the modern Class A

in 1983 with the

Columbia Mets Located in Columbia, South Carolina, the Columbia Mets were affiliated with the New York Mets from 1983 to 1992. A member of the South Atlantic League, they became the Capital City Bombers in 1993. They played in Capital City Stadium. Year by yea ...

(1983–1992) and the

Capital City Bombers Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

(1993–2004). The Columbia Reds captured two league playoff championships (1941; 1953) during their history. The 1952 edition, managed by

Ernie White Ernest Daniel White (September 5, 1916 – May 22, 1974) was an American professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from to and from to . A native of Pacolet Mills, South Carolina, he threw left-handed, batted right ...

, won 100 of 154 regular season games, but was toppled in the first playoff round by Macon.

Notable alumni (1936–1961)

Hall of Fame alumni *

(1954-1955) Inducted, 1982 Notable alumni *

Bobby Adams Robert Henry Adams (December 14, 1921 – February 13, 1997) was an American professional baseball third baseman and second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball from 1946 through 1959 for the Cincinnati Reds / Redlegs, Chicago White Sox, ...

Joe Adcock Joseph Wilbur Adcock (October 30, 1927 – May 3, 1999) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1950 to 1966, most prominently as a member of the Milwaukee Braves teams ...

Jack Baldschun Jack Edward Baldschun (born October 16, 1936) is an American former professional baseball player. He was a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) for all or part of nine seasons (1961–67; 1969–70), for the Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinn ...

* Frank Baumholtz * Jimmy Bloodworth * George Brunet *

Vic Davalillo Víctor José Davalillo Romero (born July 30, 1936) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball outfielder. He played for 30 years in the U.S., Mexico, and his homeland, compiling more than 4,100 base hits total. Davalillo (pronounced da-va-L ...

Sammy Ellis Samuel Joseph Ellis (February 11, 1941 – May 13, 2016) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, California Angels, and Chicago White Sox. Ellis was an MLB All-Star in 19 ...

* Kirby Higbe * Ted Kluszewski * Roy McMillan *

Bob Nieman Robert Charles Nieman (January 26, 1927 – March 10, 1985) was an American professional baseball player and scout. An outfielder, he spent all or parts of a dozen Major League Baseball seasons with the St. Louis Browns (1951–52), Detroit Tig ...

* Don Pavletich * Harry Perkowski *

Wally Post Walter Charles Post (July 9, 1929 – January 6, 1982) was a right fielder in Major League Baseball.

Chico Ruiz Hiraldo "Chico" Ruiz Sablón (December 5, 1938 – February 9, 1972) was a Cuban-American professional baseball player. An infielder, Ruiz played in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds and California Angels from 1964 through 1971. He w ...

Al Silvera Aaron Albert Silvera (August 26, 1935 – July 24, 2002) was an American professional baseball player, an outfielder who played parts of two seasons for the Cincinnati Reds, Cincinnati Redlegs of Major League Baseball in –. Early and personal l ...

Johnny Temple John Ellis Temple (August 8, 1927 – January 9, 1994) was a Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Redlegs/Reds (1952–59; 1964); Cleveland Indians (1960–61), Baltimore Orioles (1962) and Houston Colt .45s (1962–63). Tem ...

* Gene Thompson * Clyde Vollmer *

Herm Wehmeier Herman Ralph Wehmeier (February 18, 1927 – May 21, 1973) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds (1945 and 1947–54), Philadelphia Phillies (1954–56), St. Louis Cardinals (1956–58) and D ...

References

* {{refend

External links

Baseball Reference
Professional baseball teams in South Carolina Boston Bees minor league affiliates Cincinnati Reds minor league affiliates Defunct minor league baseball teams Kansas City Athletics minor league affiliates Philadelphia Athletics minor league affiliates Sports in Columbia, South Carolina 1936 establishments in South Carolina Baseball teams established in 1936 Baseball teams disestablished in 1961 1961 disestablishments in South Carolina South Atlantic League (1904–1963) teams Defunct South Atlantic League teams

History before 1938

Longtime Cincinnati farm team

Notable alumni (1936–1961)

See also

References

External links