The Wilson Tobs were a

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

club based in

Wilson, North Carolina Wilson is a city in and the county seat of Wilson County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, 23rd-most populous city in North Carolina. Located about east of the capital city of Raleigh, North Car ...

and played periodically between 1908 and 1973. The Tobs nickname was a shortened form of the word "tobacconists". From 1908 to 1910, the team was officially known as the Wilson Tobacconists and played in the Eastern Carolina League. The club won the league's championship in 1909 and they were in the championship series in 1908, when play was suspended due to a tropical storm. They then next spent eight seasons in the

Virginia League The Virginia League was a minor league baseball affiliation which operated in Virginia and North Carolina from 1906 to 1928. It was classified as a "C" league from 1906 to 1919 and as a "B" league from 1920 to 1928, folding in June. The most fa ...

. During the 1920–1922 and 1924–1927 seasons the team was known as the Wilson Bugs. They won the Virginia League championship in 1922 and 1923. From 1939 to 1952, the renamed Wilson Tobs were also a member of the Class D

Coastal Plain League The Coastal Plain League (CPL) is a wood-bat collegiate summer baseball league, featuring college players recruited from throughout the nation. The league takes its name from the Class D level Coastal Plain League which operated in the area f ...

, winning that league's championship in 1941. The 1941 Tobs were recognized as one of the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time. In 1942, the team played in the Bi-State League. The team also played in the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

from 1956 to 1968, winning the league championship in 1959, 1961, and 1963. The 1966 team had future Hall of Fame member

Rod Carew Rodney Cline Carew (born October 1, 1945) is a Panamanian-American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a second baseman, first baseman and designated hitter from 1967 to 1985 for the Minneso ...

in their line-up. Wilson returned to the Carolina League for one season in 1973 as the Wilson Pennants. Currently, a summer collegiate baseball team plays at Fleming Stadium as the Wilson Tobs.

Notable Wilson Alumni

Hall of Fame Alumni *

(1966) Inducted, 1990 Notable Alumni *

Ted Abernathy Ted Wade Abernathy (March 6, 1933 – December 16, 2004) was an American professional baseball player and right-handed pitcher. He appeared in 681 games in Major League Baseball (MLB), 647 as a relief pitcher, for seven different clubs over all ...

(1973) *

Donn Clendenon Donn Alvin Clendenon (July 15, 1935 – September 17, 2005) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from to . He is most notable for his performance during the 1969 World Series when he ...

(1959) 1969 World Series Most Valuable Player * Ripper Collins (1923) 3 x MLB All-Star; 1934 NL Home Run Leader * Jack Fisher (1958) * Jimmie Hall (1957) 2 x MLB All-Star * Pat Kelly (1964-1965) MLB All-Star *

Jack McKeon John Aloysius McKeon (; born November 23, 1930), nicknamed "Trader Jack," is an American former manager and front-office executive in Major League Baseball (MLB). In , at age 72, he won a World Series as manager of the Florida Marlins. Two ful ...

(1960-1961, MGR) Manager: 2003 World Series Champion - Florida Marlins *

Charlie Manuel Charles Fuqua Manuel Jr. (born January 4, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. During his playing career, he appeared over parts of six Major League Baseball seasons for the Minnesota Twins and Los Angel ...

(1965-1966) Manager: 2008 World Series Champion - Philadelphia Phillies *

George Mitterwald George Eugene Mitterwald (born June 7, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player, coach (baseball), coach and manager (baseball), manager. He played in 887 Major League Baseball games played, games for the Minnesota Twins and Chic ...

(1966) * William D. Mullins (1957) member of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

Cal Ripken Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr. (born August 24, 1960), nicknamed "the Iron Man", is an American former baseball shortstop and third baseman who played his entire 21-season career in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1981–2001). ...

(1958) * Rich Rollins (1960) 2 x MLB All-Star * Lee Stange (1960) * Bob Veale (1959) 2 x MLB All-Star; threw a no-hitter for Wilson in 1959

Seasons

References

{{Reflist Baseball teams established in 1908 Defunct minor league baseball teams Professional baseball teams in North Carolina Pittsburgh Pirates minor league affiliates Minnesota Twins minor league affiliates Washington Senators (1901–1960) minor league affiliates Baltimore Orioles minor league affiliates Philadelphia Phillies minor league affiliates Carolina League teams 1908 establishments in North Carolina 1973 disestablishments in North Carolina Wilson, North Carolina Defunct baseball teams in North Carolina Bi-State League teams Baseball teams disestablished in 1973 Eastern Carolina League teams Coastal Plain League (minor league) teams