The New River Rebels were a
minor league baseball team representing
Narrows, Virginia
Narrows, named for the narrowing of the New River (Kanawha River), New River that flows through the town, is a town in Giles County, Virginia, Giles County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,029 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 ce ...
and
Pearisburg, Virginia
Pearisburg is a town in Giles County, Virginia. The population was 2,786 at the time of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Giles County. Pearisburg is part of the Blacksburg– Christiansburg Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Pea ...
. From 1946 to 1950, the New River Rebels were a member of the
Class D level
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 ...
, winning league championships in 1946 and 1947. New River hosted home minor league games at Ragsdale Field in Narrrows. The New River Rebels were a minor league affiliate of 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 ...
in 1946.
History
Minor league baseball began in
Narrows, Virginia
Narrows, named for the narrowing of the New River (Kanawha River), New River that flows through the town, is a town in Giles County, Virginia, Giles County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,029 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 ce ...
and neighboring
Pearisburg, Virginia
Pearisburg is a town in Giles County, Virginia. The population was 2,786 at the time of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Giles County. Pearisburg is part of the Blacksburg– Christiansburg Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Pea ...
, when the New River Rebels joined the eight–team
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 ...
in 1946. The league expanded from a four–team league, adding four additional teams in 1946, including the New River Rebels. The New River ballclub was founded by player/owner Shannon Hardwick.
"I was interested in being in professional baseball, so I went to Columbus, Ohio, after I got out of the Navy in November of 1945," Hardwick, an area native, reflected in 1996. "The national baseball association was meeting there and I applied for the franchise and was successful in getting it for the New River Valley. A group of us incorporated, and I served as the business manager for the first three years."
In their first season of play, the 1946 New River Rebels won the league championship as an affiliate of 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 ...
, playing under manager Jack Crosswhite. The Rebels completed the regular season with a record of 83–40, finishing ahead of league members
Bluefield Blue-Grays (52–72),
Bristol Twins
The Bristol Twins were a Minor League Baseball team located in Bristol, Virginia, that operated in the Class D Appalachian League between the 1940 and 1955 seasons.
During their history, Twins were an affiliate team of the New York Giants (1942†...
(72–51),
Elizabethton Betsy Cubs (68–57),
Johnson City Cardinals
The Johnson City Cardinals were a Minor League Baseball team based in Johnson City, Tennessee. The team was affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals organization from 1975 through 2020 and played in the Rookie-level Appalachian League. The team won ...
(64–60),
Kingsport Cherokees (55–70),
Pulaski Counts (65–58) and
Welch Miners (33–84).
During their first season, on July 19, 1946, New River played against the league all–stars in the All–Star game, due to the Rebels being in 1st place in Appalachian League standings at the break. The New River Rebels defeated the Appalachian League All-Stars 9–8 in the game, hosted at Ragsdale Field. The Rebels would remain in first place at the conclusion of the 1946 regular season.
In the 1946 playoffs, the New River Rebels defeated the Pulaski Counts 3 games to 2. In the league Finals, the New River Rebels defeated the Elizabethton Betsy Cubs 4 games to 2 and captured the 1946 Appalachian League Championship. In their initial season, the 1946 New River Rebels drew 39,037 fans, an average of 635 per home game. Owner Shannon Hardwick was also a pitcher, helping the 1946 Rebels with a 24–3 record and a 3.53 earned run average. His 1946 record also included a 19–game win streak.
The 1947 New River Rebels defended their Appalachian League Championship. The Rebels finished the regular season with a record of 64–60, to place 3rd in the standings, continuing play under manager Jack Crosswhite. In the playoffs, the New River Rebels defeated the Bluefield Blue-Grays 3 games to 1. In the 1947 Finals, the New River Rebels defeated the Pulaski Counts 4 games to 2 to claim their second consecutive championship. The season attendance was 39,596.
Playing under returning manager Jack Crosswhite in 1948 and 1949, the team finished with a 48–78 record to place 7th in 1948 and compiled a record of 52–69 to place 5th in 1949. The team missed the Appalachian League playoffs in both seasons.
The 1950 season was the New River Rebels final season in the Appalachian League. New River finished their final season of play with a record of 31–95 to place 8th, last in the league. The managers were Floyd Brooks and Worlise Knowles. Their attendance was 24,000 for the season, an average of 381. As attendance and sponsorship had both declined, the franchise folded.
The New River Rebels folded after the 1950 season, the cities have not hosted another minor league team.
"Even though it didn't last too long there are some great memories," reflected team owner/player Shannon Hardwick.
The ballpark
The New Rivers Rebels teams played minor league home games at Ragsdale Field. The ballpark was located at 125 Woodland Avenue in Narrows, Virginia, where the
Narrows High School football stadium stands today. In was noted the baseball home plate was located where the stadium scoreboard currently stands.
Timeline
Year-by-year records
Notable alumni
*
Bob Bowman (1946)
*
Harry Bushkar (1946)
See also
New River Rebels players
References
{{reflist
External links
Baseball Reference
Defunct minor league baseball teams
Defunct Appalachian League teams
Defunct baseball teams in Virginia
Professional baseball teams in Virginia
Baseball teams established in 1946
Baseball teams disestablished in 1950
Chicago White Sox minor league affiliates
Giles County, Virginia