There have been eight

Minor leagues 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 Nort ...

teams that have represented the city of

Americus, Georgia Americus is the county seat of Sumter County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,230. It is the principal city of the Americus Micropolitan Statistical Area, a micropolitan area that covers Schley ...

. Since classification of the minors began, seven of them have been labeled as class D loops and one played in an independent league.

History

Americus Pallbearers

The Americus Pallbearers became a founding member of the original

Georgia State League The Georgia State League was an American Class D minor league in professional baseball that existed in 1906, 1914, 1920–1921 and 1948–1956. During its last incarnation, it existed alongside two nearby Class D circuits, the Georgia–Florida Le ...

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

. The Pallbearers finished dead-last in the six-team league, with a record of 13–32, a full 22 games behind the first place Waycross Machinists. The league folded at the end of the season, and Americus was without a professional team in 1907.

Americus Muckalees

The Americus Muckalees were members of the

Empire State League The Empire State League was a Minor league baseball circuit which operated in the 1913 in baseball, 1913 season. It was a Class-D, six-team league, with teams based exclusively in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, U.S. In 1914, the league evolved ...

1913 Events January * January – Joseph Stalin travels to Vienna to research his ''Marxism and the National Question''. This means that, during this month, Stalin, Hitler, Trotsky and Tito are all living in the city. * January 3 &ndash ...

and continued playing from

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January *January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 * ...

when the six-team circuit was renamed the Georgia State League. In 1913, the Muckalees ended in fourth place with a 45–54 record, games behind first place Valdosta Millionaires. Then, in 1914 the Americus team became the first champion team in Georgia State League history. But the resurgence of the league did not even last two years. The circuit started 1915 as the Georgia State League and was renamed the

Florida–Alabama–Georgia League The Georgia State League was an American Class D minor league baseball, minor league in professional baseball that existed in 1906, 1914, 1920–1921 and 1948–1956. During its last incarnation, it existed alongside two nearby Class D circuits, t ...

(FLAG League), which operated in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, on June 15. The Americus Muckalees (11–18) then were forced to move to Florida and changed its name to Gainesville Sharks (18–24), ending fifth with a combined 29–42 record, 16 games out of the first place spot.

Americus Cardinals

The Americus Cardinals operated in the

Georgia–Florida League The Georgia–Florida League was a minor baseball league that existed from 1935 through 1958 (suspending operations during World War II) and in 1962–1963. It was one of many Class D circuits that played in the Southeastern United States during t ...

from

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

through

1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

. During that span, Americus had affiliation agreements with the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

(1936),

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

(1937) and Washington Senators (1938). The team had records of 59–57 in 1935 (3rd place), 58–58 in 1936 (3rd), 50–71 in 1937 (6th), and 65–61 in 1938 (3rd), reaching the postseason in 1938, but lost in the first round of the playoffs.

Americus Pioneers

1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...

, the Cardinals changed its name to the Americus Pioneers and continued to operate in the Georgia–Florida League until

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

, first as a

affiliate (1939–1940) and then with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

(1942). This time the team suffered four losing seasons, going 63–76 in 1939 (7th place), 67–72 in 1940 (5th), 56–81 in 1941 (6th) and 49–77 in 1942 (7th).

Americus Phillies

After a long absence, in

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

the franchise returned to the Georgia–Florida League as the Americus Phillies, playing there uninterrupted until the

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

season as a

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

affiliated team. In its first season, Americus won the title in the eight-team league after sporting an 87–37 record, having games of advantage over second place

Moultrie Packers The Moultrie Packers were a class D, and class A minor league baseball team, based in Moultrie, Georgia, founded by J.S. Dillard. History Moultrie teams played in the Dixie League from 1916 to 1917 and the Georgia–Florida League from 1935 t ...

. The team won the first round of the playoffs, but lost the final series to Moultrie. Americus declined the next two years, ending with records of 65–74 in 1947 (6th place) and 50–89 in 1948 (8th). Then, they went 71–67 in 1948 (4th) and 70–67 in 1950 (4th). Both times they reached the postseason, losing in the first round and the league finals, respectively.

Americus Rebels

In 1951, the Phillies were replaced by the Americus Rebels, though the team lasted only one year in the GFL. Americus finished sixth with a 55–70 mark, games out of contention.

Americus-Cordele Orioles

The franchise returned to the league in

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

, this time as the Americus-Cordele Orioles affiliated team of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

. Americus finished last of the eight teams with a 51–88 mark and games out from first place.

Americus Arrows

Americus also was represented in the independent

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 w ...

during its

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

season. Playing as the Americus Arrows, the team were 10–17 before folding on July 15. Since then, no other team based in Americus has participated in professional baseball.

MLB alumni

Pete Center Marvin Earl "Pete" Center (April 22, 1912 – August 8, 2004) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher who appeared in 77 Major League games over all or part of four seasons (1942–1943; 1945–1946) for the Clevelan ...

Ellis Clary Ellis Clary (September 11, 1916 – June 2, 2000), nicknamed "Cat", was an American professional baseball player, coach and scout. Born in Valdosta, Georgia, he threw and batted right-handed, stood tall, and weighed 160 pounds (73 kg). He ...

Chuck Cottier Charles Keith Cottier (January 8, 1936 – February 1, 2021) was an American second baseman, manager, coach, and scout in Major League Baseball (MLB). Born in Delta, Colorado, Cottier graduated from Grand Junction High School, where he lette ...

Jack Cusick John Peter Cusick (June 12, 1928 - November 17, 1989) was a right-handed shortstop in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs and Boston Braves. Signed as an amateur free agent out of high school by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1946, Cusick w ...

Bill DeKoning William Callahan DeKoning (December 19, 1918 – July 26, 1979) was a Major League Baseball catcher who played in three games for the New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metr ...

* Bernie DeViveiros * Bob Geary * Greek George * Bill Glynn * Ray Hamrick * Stew Hofferth * Mickey Kreitner *

Guy Lacy Osceola Guy Lacy (June 12, 1897 – November 19, 1953) was a second baseman in Major League Baseball. He played for the 1926 Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardi ...

* Angelo LiPetri * Alex McColl * Jerry McQuaig * Cliff Melton * Hillis Layne *

Red Marion John Wyeth "Red" Marion (March 14, 1914 – March 13, 1975) was briefly an outfielder in American Major League Baseball and a longtime manager at the minor league level. A native of Richburg, South Carolina, he was the older brother of Marty Mari ...

Mike Milosevich Michael Milosevich (January 13, 1915 – February 3, 1966) was a shortstop in Major League Baseball player who played from 1944 to 1945 for the New York Yankees. Listed at , , he batted and threw right-handed. External links

* 1915 births ...

* Les Moss *

Bitsy Mott Elisha Matthew Mott (June 12, 1918 – February 25, 2001), known as Bitsy Mott, was a backup infielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Philadelphia Phillies. Listed at , , he batted and threw right-handed. Career Born in Arcadia, Flo ...

* Glen Moulder * Ed Murphy * Dixie Parker * Hal Quick * Jack Sanford * LeGrant Scott * Dick West *

Lefty West Weldon Edison "Lefty" West (September 3, 1915 – July 23, 1979) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the St. Louis Browns in 1944 and 1945. West made his big-league debut on April 30, 1944 at the age of 28. He spent 11 games with ...

* Leonard Martin

References

External links

Baseball Reference: Americus, Georgia – Minor League City Encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Americus Defunct minor league baseball teams Baltimore Orioles minor league affiliates Brooklyn Dodgers minor league affiliates Chicago Cubs minor league affiliates Philadelphia Phillies minor league affiliates St. Louis Cardinals minor league affiliates Washington Senators (1901–1960) minor league affiliates Professional baseball teams in Georgia (U.S. state) Southeastern League teams Defunct baseball teams in Georgia (U.S. state) Defunct Georgia State League teams Baseball teams disestablished in 2002 Baseball teams established in 1906