The Memphis Chicks were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the

Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cla ...

from 1901 to 1960. They were located in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, and played their home games at Russwood Park. Known originally as the Memphis Egyptians and Memphis Turtles before becoming the Memphis Chickasaws, often shortened to Chicks, they were charter members of the

History

Memphis was the home of several

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 ...

teams since as early as 1877. The city's first Minor League Baseball team was the Memphis Reds of the

League Alliance The League Alliance was the first semi-affiliated minor league baseball league. Proposed by Al Spalding on January 15, 1877. Independent baseball teams were to affiliate with National League teams, which would honor their respective contracts. The ...

. In 1885, another

Reds Reds may refer to: General * Red (political adjective), supporters of Communism or socialism * Reds (January Uprising), a faction of the Polish insurrectionists during the January Uprising in 1863 * USSR (or, to a lesser extent, China) during th ...

team joined the original Southern League. They were followed in that league by the Grays (1886), Browns (1887), Grays (1888), and an unnamed team in 1889. Later entries in the league were the

Giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) *Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...

(1892), Fever Germs (1893), and Giants/Lambs (1894–95). The Memphis Eclipses and Memphis Eurekas played in the

Negro league The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

Southern League of Colored Base Ballists in 1886. The Memphis Egyptians were established as charter members of the

in 1901. The league was originally a Class B circuit, but was reclassified as Class A (1902–1935), Class A1 (1936–1945), and Double-A (1946–61) over Memphis' 61-year membership. The Egyptians won the Southern Association pennant in 1903 and 1904. In 1909, the Egyptians became known as the Turtles. 1921 Memphis Chicks

In 1912, the club adopted its best-known and longest-used moniker, the

Chickasaws The Chickasaw ( ) are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. Their traditional territory was in the Southeastern United States of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee as well in southwestern Kentucky. Their language is classified as ...

, which was often shortened to Chicks. The Chickasaws won six pennants (1921, 1924, 1930, 1933, 1953, and 1955) and one playoff championship (1952). During this time, they competed in four

Dixie Series The Dixie Series was an interleague postseason series between the playoff champions of Minor League Baseball's Southern Association (SA) and Texas League (TL). The best-of-seven series was held at the conclusion of each season from 1920 to 1 ...

, a postseason championship series between the champions of the Southern Association and the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. They lost three series to the

Fort Worth Panthers A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

(1921, 1924, and 1930), but won the 1952 series against the

Shreveport Sports The Shreveport Sports were a professional Minor League Baseball team based in Shreveport, Louisiana, in the United States. The Sports fielded a team from 1925 to 1935, 1938 to 1942, 1946 to 1957, and 1959 to 1961. They were affiliated with the C ...

, 4–2. The Chickasaws' first

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), ...

affiliation was in 1939 with the Brooklyn Dodgers. They were later affiliated with 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 ...

(1948–1956), Chicago Cubs (1957),

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

(1958), and

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 ha ...

(1960). Three Chicks won the Southern Association Most Valuable Player Award: Coaker Triplett (1937), Pete Gray (1944), and Ed White (1955). The 1921 and 1924 Chicks were recognized as being among the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time. The Chicks suffered a major blow in the spring of 1960 when their venerable ballpark, Russwood Park, was destroyed by fire after an exhibition game between the Chicago White Sox and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

Sunday, April 17. The team played in temporary facilities, including a high school football stadium, for the rest of the season but drew only 48,000 fans. Mayor Henry Loeb tried to keep the team in Memphis, but the US$326,000 price tag for a new 7,500 seat ballpark was too much. On November 11, 1960, the franchise was forfeited to the league. In 1961, 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 ...

of Macon, Georgia, took Memphis' place in the circuit. After the 1961 season, the entire Southern Association shut down. After the loss of the Chickasaws, Memphis became host to the

Memphis Blues The Memphis blues is a style of blues music created from the 1910s to the 1930s by musicians in the Memphis area, such as Frank Stokes, Sleepy John Estes, Furry Lewis and Memphis Minnie. The style was popular in vaudeville and medicine shows a ...

, a Double-A team of the Texas League, in 1968. The team played in a converted American Legion stadium that was renamed Blues Stadium. After six seasons, the Blues moved up to the Triple-A International League from 1974 to 1976, but folded after the 1976 season. In 1978, a new Memphis Chicks team was created as an expansion franchise of the Double-A Southern League. They played their home games at Blues Stadium, which was renamed

Tim McCarver Stadium Tim McCarver Stadium was a stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. It was primarily used for baseball and was the home of the Memphis Blues (1968–1976), the Memphis Chicks (1978–1997), and the Memphis Redbirds (1998–1999). The ballpar ...

in honor of

Tim McCarver James Timothy McCarver (born October 16, 1941) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from to , most prominently as a member of the St. Louis Cardina ...

, a Memphis native, former Chickasaw, and major league ballplayer. They remained in Memphis through 1997. With the arrival of the

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

, a Triple-A Pacific Coast League expansion team, the Southern League Chicks franchise moved to

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

and became the

West Tenn Diamond Jaxx The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (SL) as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs (1998–2006), Seattle Mari ...

in 1998.

References

External links

Statistics from Baseball-Reference
{{Authority control 1901 establishments in Tennessee 1960 disestablishments in Tennessee Baseball teams disestablished in 1960 Baseball teams established in 1901 Boston Red Sox minor league affiliates Brooklyn Dodgers minor league affiliates Chicago Cubs minor league affiliates Chicago White Sox minor league affiliates Defunct baseball teams in Tennessee Defunct Southern Association teams Professional baseball teams in Tennessee St. Louis Cardinals minor league affiliates Chicks

History

See also

References

External links