The Tampa Smokers was a name used between 1919 and 1954 by a series of

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

teams based in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough ...

. The nickname was a nod to the local cigar industry, which was the most important industry in Tampa during the years in which the Smokers were active. During periods in which the name was not used by a professional team, various local semi-pro and amateur teams took up the Smokers name.

Team history

Florida State League / Southeastern League (1919 – 1930)

The original Tampa Smokers were a charter franchise of the original

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A followi ...

, which started play in 1919. The name reflected the importance of the

cigar A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder l ...

industry to the Tampa area.Morelli, Keith (June 22, 2011)
"Rays eliminate cigar from Tampa Smokers throwback jersey".
''The Tampa Tribune''. Retrieved August 29, 2011. In 1928, the team was officially known as the Tampa Krewes, a reference to Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, the organization which organizes the local

Gasparilla Pirate Festival The Gasparilla Pirate Festival is a large parade and a host of related community events held in Tampa, Florida almost every year since 1904. The theme of the festivities is a friendly invasion by the mythical pirate José Gaspar (also known as Gasp ...

. In 1929, the club moved to 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 ...

and restored the Smokers nickname, but it ceased operations when the league folded following the 1930 season.

West Coast Baseball League (1932)

In 1932, the Smokers briefly returned as a charter member of the West Coast Baseball League, which was composed of teams based in peninsular Florida. The club disbanded again when the league collapsed after a single season.

Florida International League (1946 – 1954)

The name was revived professionally in 1946, when the Tampa Smokers became a charter member of the

Florida International League The Florida International League was a lower- to mid-level circuit in American and Cuban minor league baseball that existed from 1946 through July 27, 1954. It was designated Class C for its first three seasons, then upgraded to Class B in 1949 fo ...

, a Class C circuit which was notable for fielding a team in

Havana, Cuba Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

."The Tampa Smokers" - Cigar City Magazine
/ref> This incarnation of the Smokers became one of the first three

racially integrated Racial integration, or simply integration, includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation). In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity ...

teams in Florida when they signed

Afro-Cuban Afro-Cubans or Black Cubans are Cubans of West African ancestry. The term ''Afro-Cuban'' can also refer to historical or cultural elements in Cuba thought to emanate from this community and the combining of native African and other cultural el ...

outfielder Claro Duany in 1952.McCarthy, Kevin (1996)
''Baseball in Florida''
p. 97. Pineapple Press. Retrieved August 29, 2011. The Smokers folded along with the Florida International League after the 1954 season, and the name has not been used professionally since.McCarthy, Kevin (1996)
''Baseball in Florida''
pp. 217–220. Pineapple Press. Retrieved August 29, 2011. The importance of the cigar industry to Tampa's economy had waned by the 1950s, so when minor league baseball returned to the city in 1957, the new team was called the "

Tampa Tarpons The Tampa Tarpons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Tampa, Florida. The Tarpons play their home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field, which is ...

Semi-pro and amateur baseball

During times when there was no professional baseball team known as the Tampa Smokers (such as the early 1900s and the period from the mid-1930s to the mid-1940s), the name was used by various

semi-pro ''Semi-Pro'' is a 2008 American sports comedy film. The film was directed by Kent Alterman in his directorial debut, written by Scot Armstrong, and produced by Jimmy Miller. It stars Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André Benjamin and Maura Tier ...

and amateur squads, especially local all-star teams composed of the best Tampa-area players. Alumni of Smokers squads regularly reunited for exhibition games during the 1950s and 1960s, usually against the Tampa Tarpons. These games were played at

Al López Field Al López Field was a spring training and Minor League baseball ballpark in West Tampa, Tampa, Florida, United States. It was named for Al López, the first Tampa native to play Major League Baseball (MLB), manage an MLB team, and be enshrined i ...

, the Tarpons' home ballpark which was built in 1955 and named after the Smokers' (and Tampa's) most famous baseball figure.

Ballparks

The minor league Smokers played their home games at

Plant Field Plant Field was the first major athletic venue in Tampa, Florida. It was built in 1899 by Henry B. Plant on the grounds of his Tampa Bay Hotel to host various events and activities for guests, and it consisted of a large field ringed by an oval r ...

, which was located just across the Hillsborough River from

downtown Tampa Downtown Tampa is the central business district of Tampa, Florida, United States, and the chief financial district of the Tampa Bay Area. It is second only to Westshore regarding employment in the area. Companies with a major presence downtown ...

. Plant Field had been built by

Henry B. Plant Henry Bradley Plant (October 27, 1819 – June 23, 1899), was a businessman, entrepreneur, and investor involved with many transportation interests and projects, mostly railroads, in the southeastern United States. He was founder of the Plant Sys ...

as part of his

Tampa Bay Hotel Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough Coun ...

resort, and the Smokers shared the large multi-use facility with everything from auto racing to the

Florida State Fair The Florida State Fair is held annually at the Florida State Fairgrounds in East Lake-Orient Park, Florida. The official state fair of Florida, it includes indoor and outdoor exhibits, rides and shows. It is a chance for the state to showcase it ...

. Semi-pro and amateur versions of the Smokers played at smaller ballfields around town, often Cuscaden Park in

Ybor City Ybor City ( ) is a historic neighborhood just northeast of downtown Tampa, Florida, United States. It was founded in the 1880s by Vicente Martinez-Ybor and other cigar manufacturers and populated by thousands of immigrants, mainly from Cuba, Spai ...

or Macfarlane Park in

West Tampa West Tampa is one of the oldest neighborhoods within the city limits of Tampa, Florida, United States. It was an independently incorporated city from 1895 until 1925, when it was annexed by Tampa. West Tampa is located west of the Hillsborough ...

Players

In all their incarnations, the Tampa Smokers featured many local ballplayers, including many Latin players from

and

, and usually had strong community support. Their most famous alumnus was

Al López Alfonso Ramón López (August 20, 1908 – October 30, 2005) was a Spanish-American professional baseball catcher and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Brooklyn Robins / Dodgers, Boston Bees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Cle ...

, who grew up in Ybor City and signed with the Smokers in 1925, when he was just 16 years old. Lopez played for his hometown team for two seasons and eventually became the first Tampa native to play in the major leagues, the first to be a major league baseball manager, and the first to be inducted into the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

. Several other future or former MLB players played for the Smokers at some point during their career, including

Camilo Pascual Camilo Alberto Pascual Lus (born January 20, 1934) is a Cuban former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. During an 18-year baseball career (1954–71), he played for the original modern Washington Senators franchise (which became the Mi ...

, Tommy Leach, and Hall of Famer

Joe Medwick Joseph Michael Medwick (November 24, 1911 – March 21, 1975), nicknamed "Ducky" and "Muscles", was an American Major League Baseball player. A left fielder with the St. Louis Cardinals during the " Gashouse Gang" era of the 1930s, he also pla ...

, who served as the team's

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...

in the early 1950s after finishing his major league career. Another notable Smoker alumnus was

Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame The Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame (''Salón de la Fama del Béisbol Cubano'') is a hall of fame that honors eminent baseball players from Cuban baseball. Established in 1939 to honor players, managers, and umpires in the pre-revolution Cuban League ...

Manuel Cueto Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name) * Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manu ...

Notable alumni

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
alumni

Max Carey Maximillian George Carnarius (January 11, 1890 – May 30, 1976), known as Max George Carey, was an American professional baseball center fielder and manager. Carey played in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1910 through 192 ...

(1924) Inducted, 1961 *

(1928-1929) Inducted, Cuban HOF (1950) * Travis Jackson (1949) Inducted, 1982 * Al Lopez (1925-1926) Inducted, 1977 *

(1952) Inducted, 1968

Notable alumni

Red Barrett Charles Henry "Red" Barrett (February 14, 1915 – July 28, 1990) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played 11 total career seasons in the National League. He played for the Cincinnati Reds, Boston Braves and St. Louis Cardinals. He pitched ...

(1920) MLB All-Star * Ben Chapman (1951, MGR) 4 x MLB All-Star *

Wes Ferrell Wesley Cheek Ferrell (February 2, 1908 – December 9, 1976) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball from 1927 through 1941. Primarily a starting pitcher, Ferrell played for the Cleveland Indians (192 ...

(1949) 2 x MLB All-Star * Tommy Leach (1920-1922, 1926-1927, MGR) *

(1952) 7 x MLB All-Star

Contemporary links

Tampa Bay Smokers softball team

The Tampa Bay Smokers, a men's

fast-pitch softball Fastpitch softball, also known as fastpitch or fastball, is a form of softball played by both women and men. While the teams are most often segregated by sex, coed fast-pitch leagues also exist. Fast pitch is considered the most competitive for ...

team founded in 1995 and based in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, won multiple Amateur Softball Association of America and

International Softball Congress The International Softball Congress (ISC) is a non-profit association for the promotion and administration of men's and boys fastpitch softball throughout North America with athletes coming from all over the world. The ISC was formed in 1958 as ...

championships., Jr. The Tampa Bay Smokers produced one of the best won-;pst records of all times during their run between 1994 through 2005, averaging a .900 regular season win percentage and a tourney record even better, going undefeated in championship play in 1996, 1998 and 2005. they lost one game in championship play in 1997. They were led by Peter Porcelli, overall coaching record for the Smokers and 3 other teams he coached had teams in the top ten in the world seven times in ten years.

Tampa Bay Rays throwback uniforms

On July 2, 2011, the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

wore Tampa Smokers

throwback uniforms Throwback uniforms, throwback jerseys, retro kits or heritage guernseys are sports uniforms styled to resemble the uniforms that a team wore in the past. One-time or limited-time retro uniforms are sometimes produced to be worn by teams in games ...

to honor the 1951 Florida International League championship team."Smokers win FIL Pennant" - Sarasota Herald Tribune, Aug. 20. 1951
/ref> In a controversial move, the Rays chose to remove the image of a cigar which had underlined the word "Smokers" across the front of the old team's jerseys, calling the resulting "stogie-free" logo a "slightly more contemporary version".

References

{{Florida International League , state=collapsed Sports in the Tampa Bay area History of Tampa, Florida Defunct minor league baseball teams Defunct Florida State League teams Sports teams in Tampa, Florida Defunct baseball teams in Florida Baseball teams disestablished in 1954 Baseball teams established in 1919

Team history

Florida State League / Southeastern League (1919 – 1930)

West Coast Baseball League (1932)

Florida International League (1946 – 1954)

Semi-pro and amateur baseball

Ballparks

Players

Notable alumni

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ... alumni

Notable alumni

Contemporary links

Tampa Bay Smokers softball team

Tampa Bay Rays throwback uniforms

See also

References

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
alumni