The Cleveland Counts 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 ...

team that played in the Class D

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a Collegiate summer baseball, 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 wooden ...

from 1911 to 1913. They were located in

Cleveland, Tennessee Cleveland is the county seat of, and largest city in, Bradley County, Tennessee. The population was 47,356 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Cleveland metropolitan area, Tennessee (consisting of Bradle ...

. Team president Walter E. Rodgers surrendered the franchise to the league on June 4, 1912, after which it was transferred to

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 lies within the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, Ridge and Valley regi ...

, as the Morristown Jobbers.

History

The Counts were formed as charter members of the

in 1911. They played their first game on May 22, a 6–1 loss to the Johnson City Soldiers, before a home crowd of around 500 people. After six further loses, the Counts recorded their first win on May 30, defeating the Knoxville Appalachians, 2–1. Cleveland ended their inaugural season in fifth place, out of six teams, with a 39–56 (.411) record. On August 21, 1912, James Gudger pitched a 2–0

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

against Johnson City. The 1912 team improved to 51–51 (.500), a fourth place finish. On June 4, 1913, team and league president Walter E. Rodgers surrendered the Counts to the league fearing the circuit would soon collapse due to the recent withdrawal of the Bristol Boosters. The league operated the team until it was transferred to

, as the Morristown Jobbers on June 7. Cleveland played its final games on May 30 as part of a doubleheader with the Rome Romans, winning the first game, 8–0, and losing the second, 6–0. The four remaining games of the series were rained out. The Counts were in second place at 10–8 as of June 4. Combined, the Cleveland/Morristown team finished third at 55–46 (.545). The city did not field another

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. Moder ...

team until the Cleveland Manufacturers joined the Appalachian League in 1921.

Season-by-season results

Notable players

Seven Counts also played at least one game in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

during their careers. These players and their seasons with Cleveland were: *

Davey Crockett Colonel David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American politician, militia officer and frontiersman. Often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier", he represented Tennessee in the United States Ho ...

(1911–1912) *

Tiny Graham Dawson Francis "Tiny" Graham (September 9, 1892 – December 29, 1962) was a Major League Baseball first baseman who played for the Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds ...

(1913) *

Dan Griner Donald Dexter Griner (March 7, 1888 – June 3, 1950) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), Nation ...

(1912) *

Harry Hedgpeth Harry Malcolm Hedgpeth (September 4, 1888 – July 30, 1966) was a Major League Baseball pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward th ...

(1911) *

Cliff Markle Clifford Monroe (Cliff) Markle (May 3, 1894 – May 24, 1974), was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played with the New York Yankees and the Cincinnati Reds. He batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Dravosburg, Pennsylvania and d ...

(1913) * Buck Thrasher (1911–1913) * Fritz Von Kolnitz (1913)

References

{{reflist

External links

Statistics from ''Baseball-Reference''Statistics from ''Stats Crew''
1911 establishments in Tennessee 1913 disestablishments in Tennessee Baseball teams established in 1911 Baseball teams disestablished in 1913 Cleveland, Tennessee Defunct Appalachian League teams Defunct baseball teams in Tennessee Professional baseball teams in Tennessee