The Morristown Cubs were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Class D

Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wood bats, its season runs from ...

from 1959 to 1961. They were located in

Morristown, Tennessee Morristown is a city in and the county seat of Hamblen County, Tennessee, United States. Morristown also extends into Jefferson County on the western and southern ends. The city's population was recorded to be 30,431 at the 2020 United States cen ...

, and 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 Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. Morristown won the Appalachian League pennant in 1959.

History

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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

, began in 1910 when the Morristown Jobbers became charter members of the

Southeastern League The Southeastern League was the name of four separate baseball leagues in minor league baseball which operated in the Southeastern and South Central United States in numerous seasons between 1897 and 2003. Two of these leagues were associated wit ...

. The Jobbers continued in the

in 1911 and, with the exception of a brief absence in the first month of the 1913 campaign, played each season through 1914. From 1923 to 1925, the city's entry in the league was called the Morristown Roosters. In 1948, the Morristown Red Sox became charter members of the Mountain States League in which they played through 1954. The Red Sox folded early in the 1954 season and were replaced in the league by the

Morristown Reds The Morristown Reds were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Class C (baseball), Class C Mountain States League (1948–54), Mountain States League (MSL) in 1954 as an affiliate of the Cincinnati Redlegs. They were located in Morristown ...

. After four years without a team, the Morristown Cubs joined the Appalachian League in 1959 as a Class D

affiliate of the

. As had the city's previous teams, the Cubs played at Sherwood Park. The team was managed in its first season by

Red Hayworth Myron Claude "Red" Hayworth (May 14, 1916 – November 2, 2006) was an American professional baseball player, manager, coach and scout. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from to , most notably as a member of the only St. Louis Brow ...

, who had played with the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

in 1944 and 1945. Their scheduled June 25 season opener on the road with the

Johnson City Phillies Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

was postponed due to wet grounds. They lost the next day's game at home, 7–4, versus the Phillies. The Cubs won their first game on June 28, besting the

Bluefield Orioles Bluefield may refer to: *Bluefield, Virginia, US *Bluefield, West Virginia, US *Nvidia BlueField, a line of computer hardware See also *Bluefields Bluefields is the capital of the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, South Caribbean Autonomo ...

, 13–6, on the road. Morristown captured the Appalachian League pennant with a 41–27 (.603) record. The feat was accomplished on the last day of the season when the Cubs split their doubleheader with Johnson City and the second-place

Salem Rebels Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

lost to the Lynchburg Senators. The next two iterations of the team were less successful. In 1960, Morristown finished fourth of six teams at 32–35 (.478). The 1961 team was fifth of eight teams with a record of 34–36 (.486). The Cubs played their final game on August 31, defeating Johnson City at home, 8–7, in 14 innings. The city did not field another team after the 1961 season.

Season-by-season results

Notable players

Six Cubs also played in at least one game in

during their careers. These players and their seasons with Morristown were: * Ron Campbell (1960) * Ossie Chavarría (1959) *

Ken Hubbs Kenneth Douglass Hubbs (December 23, 1941 – February 13, 1964) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a second baseman for the Chicago Cubs from to . Hubbs died at age 22 when the private plane he w ...

(1959) * Jake Jaeckel (1960) * Pat Jarvis (1960) *

Nelson Mathews Nelson Elmer Mathews (born July 21, 1941) is a retired American professional baseball outfielder who appeared in the Major Leagues (MLB) from 1960 to 1965 for the Chicago Cubs and Kansas City Athletics. Born in Columbia, Illinois, he graduated fr ...

(1959)

References

{{reflist

External links

Statistics from ''Baseball-Reference''Statistics from ''Stats Crew''
1959 establishments in Tennessee 1961 disestablishments in Tennessee Baseball teams established in 1959 Baseball teams disestablished in 1961 Chicago Cubs minor league affiliates Defunct Appalachian League teams Defunct baseball teams in Tennessee Morristown, Tennessee Professional baseball teams in Tennessee