The Welch Miners were a Minor League Baseball team based in

Welch, West Virginia Welch is a city located in McDowell County in the State of West Virginia, United States. The population was 3,590 at the 2020 census, however the 2021 census estimate put the population at 1,914, due to the McDowell Prison complex in the north ...

. The team operated from 1937 through 1942 in the Mountain State League and in the

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 1946 to 1955. Over the course of nineteen seasons, the Welch Miners were affiliated with the

Boston Braves The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...

(1942, 1952),

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

(1947–1950, 1953–1955), and

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

(1951). The team won consecutive league titles in 1952 and 1953, and moved to

Marion, Virginia Marion is a town in, and the county seat of, Smyth County, Virginia, United States. It is positioned upon Interstate 81, in the Blue Ridge portion of the Southern Appalachian mountains in Southwest Virginia. The town is named for American Revoluti ...

, during the 1955 season, changing their name to the Marion Athletics.

Notable alumni

Vern Bickford Vernon Edgell Bickford (August 17, 1920 – May 6, 1960) was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed starting pitcher, he played six seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston/ Milwaukee Braves from 1948 to 1953 in th ...

(1939–1942) MLB All-Star *

Dave Bristol James David Bristol (born June 23, 1933) is an American former manager in Major League Baseball in the 1960s and 1970s. He managed the Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Atlanta Braves, and San Francisco Giants during this period. Success in th ...

(1951) *

Max Butcher Albert Maxwell Butcher (September 21, 1910 – September 15, 1957) was an American major league baseball pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates from 1936–45. Career Butcher was the opposing pitcher on ...

(1946) * Sam Gray (1939)

Team history

Sources

BR - Appalachian LeagueBR - Mountain State League
Defunct minor league baseball teams Defunct Appalachian League teams Defunct baseball teams in West Virginia Professional baseball teams in West Virginia Boston Braves minor league affiliates Philadelphia Athletics minor league affiliates Cincinnati Reds minor league affiliates 1937 establishments in West Virginia 1955 disestablishments in West Virginia Mountain State League teams Baseball teams established in 1937 Baseball teams disestablished in 1955 {{WestVirginia-baseball-team-stub