The Sumter Chicks were a minor league baseball team based in

Sumter, South Carolina Sumter ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Sumter County, South Carolina, United States. The city makes up the Sumter, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area. Sumter County, along with Clarendon and Lee counties, form the core of Sumter–Lee ...

, United States that played in the

Tri-State League The Tri-State League was the name of six different circuits in American minor league baseball. History The first league of that name played for four years (1887–1890) and consisted of teams in Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia. The second league ...

in 1949 and 1950.

History

The Sumter Chicks were preceded by the Sumter Game Cocks, who played as members of the South Carolina League in 1907 and 1908. Sumter won the league championship in both seasons. It was reported that Sumter defeated

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

2–1 in 10–innings on July 24, 1908. It was noted in the Chester newspaper, on July 28, 1908, that "some of the fans were greatly disappointed at the very rude manner in which they were treated while in Sumter last week." On July 27, 1908, Sumter was in 1st place with a 39–26 record, with the season soon to conclude, as reported in newspaper standings. The Chester Lantern newspaper stated "we want justice" in the final standings, due to Orageburg's poor play against Sumter, due to the "desire of Orangeburg that Sumter should win the pennant this year." The Sumter Gamecocks ended the 1908 South Carolina League season with a record of 41–27, winning their second consecutive championship. The Chester Collegians (40–30) finished 2.0 games behind the 1st place Gamecocks, followed by the Rock Hill Catawbas (28–40) and Orangeburg Cotton Pickers (27–39) in the 1908 final standings. The Chicks played at Riley Park.

Tony Daniels Tony Daniels is a Canadian voice actor. He is well known for providing the voices of Uncle Flippy in ''JoJo's Circus'', as well as Jedite and Wiseman in the original English dub of ''Sailor Moon''. He is also known for providing the voice of G ...

and

Wes Livengood Wesley Amos Livengood (July 18, 1910 – September 2, 1996) was an American professional baseball player, scout and manager, including some time spent as a minor league player-manager. A right-handed pitcher born in Salisbury, North Carolina, ...

played for them. The 1949 season attendance was 55,309, last in the 8–team Tri-State League. In 1950, attendance dropped to 30,324, again lowest in the league. In 1952, the Chicks and the Florence Steelers were replaced by the Greenwood Tigers and

Greenville Spinners The Greenville Spinners was a primary name of the minor league baseball teams located in Greenville, South Carolina between 1907 and 1962. Greenville teams played as members of the South Carolina League in 1907, Carolina Association (1908–19 ...

in the Tri-State League. In 1970, the Sumter Indians resumed minor league play as members of the

Western Carolinas League The Western Carolinas League was a Class D level (1948–52; 1960–62) and a low Class A level (1963–79) full-season league in American minor league baseball. The Western Carolinas League changed its name prior to the 1980 season and has been ...

The ballpark

Sumter teams played at Riley Park. Riley Park is still in use today as home to the University of South Carolina Sumter Fire Ants and

Morris College Morris College (MC) is a private, Baptist historically black college in Sumter, South Carolina. It was founded and is operated by the Baptist Educational and Missionary Convention of South Carolina. History Morris College was founded in 1908 ...

Hornet baseball teams. The Sumter Chicks (1949-1950) of the

, Sumter Indians (1970) and Sumter Astros (1971) of the

and the Sumter Braves (1985-1990) and Sumter Flyers (1991) of the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

all played at Riley Park. The ballpark is located at Church Street & DuBose Street, Sumter, South Carolina, 29150.

Notable alumni

(1949) *

(1949, MGR)

Year–by–year records

References

External links

Sumpter - Baseball Reference
Baseball teams established in 1949 Baseball teams disestablished in 1950 1949 establishments in South Carolina 1950 disestablishments in South Carolina Sumter, South Carolina Defunct minor league baseball teams Defunct baseball teams in South Carolina Defunct Tri-State League teams {{SouthCarolina-baseball-team-stub