The Columbus Mudcats were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Double-A Southern League from 1969 to 1990. They were located 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 ...

, and played their home games 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, it is currently home to the Columbus Chatt-a-Hoots as of 2021 . The exterior of the ...

. Founded as the Columbus White Sox in 1969, they were named for their

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), ...

affiliate, the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

. They became the Columbus Astros in 1970 upon affiliating with the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

. The Astros won their lone Southern League championship in 1986. Columbus rebranded as the Mudcats in 1989 for their final two years in Columbus. The Southern League franchise was relocated to

Zebulon, North Carolina Zebulon is the easternmost town in Wake County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 6,903 at the 2020 census. Zebulon is part of the Research Triangle metropolitan region. Five County Stadium, home to the Carolina Mudcats minor lea ...

, after the 1989 season where it continued as the

Carolina Mudcats The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, and play their home games a ...

. Simultaneous to the move, Columbus became home to a Class A team of 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 ...

called the Columbus Indians.

History

From 1964 to 1966,

, was home to the

Columbus Confederate Yankees The Columbus Confederate Yankees were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Double-A Southern League from 1964 to 1966. They were located in Columbus, Georgia, and played their home games at Golden Park. Their seemingly contradictory ...

of the Double-A Southern League. After the 1966 season, the Southern League contracted from eight teams to six and Columbus left the circuit. Columbus returned to the Southern League in 1969 as the

Columbus White Sox The Columbus Mudcats were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Double-A Southern League from 1969 to 1990. They were located in Columbus, Georgia, and played their home games at Golden Park. Founded as the Columbus White Sox in 1969, ...

in an affiliation with the

. As did the Confederate Yankees, the Columbus White Sox played their home games at

. They became known as the Columbus Astros in 1970 when their affiliation changed to the

. The 1979 Astros qualified for the Southern League playoffs by winning the Second Half East Division title. They won the East Division title over the

Charlotte O's The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

, 2–0, but lost the Southern League championship to the

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

, 3–1. Columbus returned to the playoffs in 1982, but they were defeated in the division series by the

Jacksonville Suns The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

, who had won both halves of the season. They won the 1985 first half title, but lost the East Division championship to second-half winners Charlotte. The Astros returned to the playoffs in 1986 by virtue of a second half win. They took the East Division title from the

Jacksonville Expos Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, 3–1, before winning the Southern League championship over the

Huntsville Stars The Huntsville Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Huntsville, Alabama, from 1985 to 2014. They competed in the Southern League as the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics from 1985 to 1998 and Mil ...

, 3–1. Columbus became known as the Mudcats in 1989. The 1990 season was their final year in Columbus. Team owner Steve Byrant relocated the team to

, where it continued in the Southern League as the

. Columbus did not go without professional baseball—a Class A team of the

called the Columbus Indians began play at Golden Park in 1991.

References

{{reflist

External links

Statistics from ''Baseball-Reference''Statistics from ''Stats Crew''
1969 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) 1990 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Baseball teams established in 1969 Baseball teams disestablished in 1990 Defunct Southern League (1964–present) teams Chicago White Sox minor league affiliates Houston Astros minor league affiliates Sports in Columbus, Georgia Defunct baseball teams in Georgia