The Fort Smith Twins (also known as the Fort Smith Giants) were a minor league baseball team in

Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the third-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 89,142. It is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

that existed in various incarnations from 1887 through 1953, playing a total of 36 seasons. From 1911 onward, the teams played in the

Western Association The Western Association was the name of five different leagues formed in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries. The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Weste ...

. Beginning in 1921, the teams played most of their home games at Andrews Field in downtown Fort Smith on land now owned by the

Fort Smith National Cemetery Fort Smith National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located at Garland Avenue and Sixth Street in Fort Smith, Sebastian County, Arkansas. It encompasses , and as of the end of 2005, had 13,127 interments. History Fort Smith was a ...

. Baseball Hall of Fame inductee

Chick Hafey Charles James "Chick" Hafey (February 12, 1903 – July 2, 1973) was an American player in Major League Baseball (MLB). Playing for the St. Louis Cardinals (1924–1931) and Cincinnati Reds (1932–1935, 1937), Hafey was a strong line-drive hitt ...

played for Fort Smith in 1923.

Hugo Bezdek Hugo Francis Bezdek (April 1, 1884 – September 19, 1952) was a Czech American athlete who played American football and was a coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He was the head football coach at the University of Oregon (1906, 1913– ...

managed the Fort Smith Soldiers for part of the 1909 season.

Notable Fort Smith alumni

Hall of Fame Alumni *

(1923) Inducted, 1971 Notable alumni * Mickey Doolin (1923) *

Harry Feldman Harry Feldman (November 10, 1919 – March 16, 1962) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the New York Giants from 1941 to 1946. Early and personal life Feldman was born and grew up in the Bronx, and was Jewish, the son o ...

(1938) *

Jake Flowers D'Arcy Raymond "Jake" Flowers (March 16, 1902 – December 27, 1962) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. A reserve infielder, primarily a second baseman and shortstop, he appeared in 583 Major League games over ten ...

(1924) *

Ival Goodman Ival Richard Goodman (July 23, 1908 – November 25, 1984) was an All-Star right fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Cincinnati Reds (1935–1942) and Chicago Cubs (1943–1944). Goodman, who batted left-handed and threw right-h ...

(1931) 2 x MLB All-Star *

Luke Hamlin Luke Daniel Hamlin (July 3, 1904 – February 18, 1978) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers (1933–34), Brooklyn Dodgers (1937–41), Pittsburgh Pirates (1942), and Phila ...

(1929) *

Ducky Holmes James William "Ducky" Holmes (January 28, 1869 – August 6, 1932) was an outfielder in Major League Baseball. He played ten seasons in the National League and American League with the Louisville Colonels (1895–97), New York Giants (1897), S ...

(1922) *

Buddy Kerr John Joseph "Buddy" Kerr (November 6, 1922 – November 7, 2006) was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball. From 1943 through 1951, Kerr played for the New York Giants (1943–1949) and Boston Braves (1950–1951). A native of Astoria, Ne ...

(1941) MLB All-Star *

Pepper Martin Johnny Leonard Roosevelt "Pepper" Martin (February 29, 1904 – March 5, 1965) was an American professional baseball player and minor league manager. He was known as the "Wild Horse of the Osage" because of his daring, aggressive baserunning ab ...

(1925) 4 x MLB All-Star *

Gus Mancuso August Rodney Mancuso (December 5, 1905 – October 26, 1984), nicknamed "Blackie", was an American professional baseball player, coach, scout and radio sports commentator. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball with the St. Louis Car ...

(1926) 2 x MLB All-Star * Heinie Mueller (1920) *

Flint Rhem Charles Flint Rhem (January 24, 1901 – July 30, 1969), born in Rhems, South Carolina, was a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals (1924–28, 1930–32, 1934 and 1936), Philadelphia Phillies (1932–33) and Boston Braves (1934–35). Before hi ...

(1924) * Earl Smith (1916) * Al Todd (1929) *

Gee Walker Gerald Holmes "Gee" Walker (March 19, 1908 – March 20, 1981) was a Major League Baseball outfielder. During his fifteen-year career he played with the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Re ...

(1928) MLB All-Star * Jo-Jo White (1929-1930)

References

Baseball Reference
Baseball teams established in 1887 Baseball teams disestablished in 1953 Defunct Western Association teams Defunct Arkansas State League teams Defunct Oklahoma-Arkansas-Kansas League teams Defunct South Central League teams Defunct Missouri Valley League teams Defunct Southwestern League teams Cleveland Guardians minor league affiliates New York Giants minor league affiliates Detroit Tigers minor league affiliates St. Louis Browns minor league affiliates St. Louis Cardinals minor league affiliates Professional baseball teams in Arkansas 1887 establishments in Arkansas 1953 disestablishments in Arkansas Fort Smith, Arkansas Defunct baseball teams in Arkansas {{Arkansas-baseball-team-stub