The Danville Leafs were a professional minor league baseball team that played in the city of

Danville, Virginia Danville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States, located in the Southside Virginia region and on the fall line of the Dan River. It was a center of tobacco production and was an area of Confederate activity ...

. During 1935–1942, they were also known as the Danville-Schoolfield Leafs.

History

Professional baseball first made its appearance in Danville in 1905 when the town fielded a team, the Tobacconists, in the short-lived Class C Virginia–North Carolina League. Several other professional teams came and went in the town but it was not until 1925 that the name "Leafs" was first used. The name refers to the famous tobacco leaf markets of the town. The Leafs, who played in the

Piedmont League The Piedmont League was a minor league baseball league that operated from 1920 through 1955. The league operated principally in the Piedmont plateau region in the eastern United States. Teams The following teams were members of the Piedmont ...

, relocated during the 1926 season, again leaving Danville without professional baseball. A new Leafs team was formed in 1934 as a member of the Class D

Bi-State League The Bi-State League was an American baseball minor league formed in 1934 with teams in Virginia and North Carolina. The league held together for nine seasons, being represented by ten cities from North Carolina and eight from Virginia. Only the ...

. The team remained a part of that league, which included teams from towns along both sides of the North Carolina-Virginia border, for five seasons. The Leafs won pennants in 1934 and 1935. In 1945, another incarnation of the Danville Leafs took the field as members of the newly formed

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

. They were a member of the New York Giants (

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

) farm system. The team existed through the 1958 season. In 1945, Danville

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Art Fowler John Arthur Fowler (July 3, 1922 – January 29, 2007) was an American pitcher and pitching coach in Major League Baseball. The , right-hander was signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent before the 1944 season. He played for the C ...

led the league with 23 wins. He went on to have a long major league career as both a player and coach. In 1953, Leafs' pitcher Ramon Monzant (23-6, 232 strikeouts) won the Carolina League Most Valuable Player award. He went on to spend a few seasons with the Giants.

Willie McCovey Willie Lee McCovey (January 10, 1938 – October 31, 2018), nicknamed "Stretch", "Mac" and "Willie Mac", was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1959 to 1980, most notably as a mem ...

played first base for the 1956 Danville Leafs. He hit .310 with 29 home runs and 89 rus batted in. One of his teammates that season, outfielder

Leon Wagner Leon Lamar Wagner (May 13, 1934 – January 3, 2004) was an American professional baseball left fielder who played Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants (–, ), St. Louis Cardinals (), Los Angeles Angels (–), Cleveland Indi ...

(.330, 51 home runs, 166 runs batted in), also had an outstanding big league career. The team was the first in the Carolina League to become racially integrated when Percy Miller Jr. joined the team in 1951. Professional baseball returned to Danville in 1993 when the Pulaski Braves of the rookie level Appalachian League relocated to Danville as the

Danville Braves The Danville Braves were a Minor League Baseball team in Danville, Virginia. They were an Advanced Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League and were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves. The Braves have played home games at American Legion Post 3 ...

. A farm team of the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

, the team has been the starting point for many players who have gone on to the major leagues.

Notable players

Sparky Adams Earl John "Sparky" Adams (August 26, 1894 – February 24, 1989) was a professional Major League Baseball player who played with the Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, and Cincinnati Reds. At , Adams was the smallest Major Le ...

(1920) *

(1945) *

(1957) inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986 * Ray Morgan (1911) *

Manny Mota Manuel Rafael Mota Geronimo, more commonly known as Manny Mota (born February 18, 1938), is a Dominican former Major League Baseball outfielder who played 20 seasons for the San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates and Montreal Expos, as well a ...

(1958) MLB All-Star * Bob Schmidt (1955) MLB All-Star *

Joe Stripp Joseph Valentine Stripp (February 3, 1903 – June 10, 1989) was an American professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Brooklyn Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Boston Bees between 1928 ...

(1924) * Tony Taylor (1956) 2 x MLB All-Star *

(1956) 3 x MLB All-Star * Bill White (1953) 8 x MLB All-Star * Hal Woodeshick (1955) MLB All-Star

Notes

References

{{reflist Danville, Virginia Defunct Carolina League teams Boston Red Sox minor league affiliates New York Giants minor league affiliates Defunct baseball teams in Virginia Baseball teams established in 1905 1905 establishments in Virginia Washington Senators minor league affiliates San Francisco Giants minor league affiliates Bi-State League teams Baseball teams disestablished in 1958 1958 disestablishments in Virginia Piedmont League teams Virginia League teams