The Bristol Twins 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 located in

Bristol, Virginia Bristol is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 17,219. It is the Twin cities (geographical proxi ...

, that operated 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 ...

between the 1940 and 1955 seasons. During their history, Twins were an affiliate team of the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

(1942–1951),

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

(1952–1953) and

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

(1954–1955). The team played their home games at Shaw Stadium. In its sixteen seasons of existence, the Bristol Twins advanced to the playoffs series at total of fourteen times, winning the championship in 1942 and 1950.

The Ballpark

The Twins played at Shaw Stadium, located at 1501 Euclid Street, on Gate City Highway. The ballpark had a capacity of 3,500. The site is now a factory.

Notable alumni

Billy Gardner William Frederick Gardner (July 19, 1927 – January 3, 2024) was an American professional baseball player, coach, and manager. During his ten-season active career in Major League Baseball (MLB), Gardner was a second baseman for the New York G ...

(1945) *

Art Fowler John Arthur Fowler (July 3, 1922 – January 29, 2007) was an American pitcher and pitching coach in Major League Baseball. The , right-hander was signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent before the 1944 season. He played for the ...

(1944) * Charlie Fox (1942, 1947) * Ron Necciai (1952) *

Bobby Thomson Robert Brown Thomson (October 25, 1923 – August 16, 2010) was an American professional baseball player, nicknamed "the Staten Island Scot". He was an outfielder and right-handed batter for the New York Giants (1946–53, 1957), Milwaukee Brave ...

(1942) 3 x MLB All-Star

Seasons

Fact

* Ron Necciai pitched for Bristol before joining the Pittsburgh Pirates. On May 13, 1952 Necciai

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safel ...

27 batters while throwing a 7–0

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 the Welch Miners. Four of the Welch hitters did reach base, including one runner each via a

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an "inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults over ...

, an

error An error (from the Latin , meaning 'to wander'Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “error (n.), Etymology,” September 2023, .) is an inaccurate or incorrect action, thought, or judgement. In statistics, "error" refers to the difference between t ...

, a

hit batsman In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provide ...

and a

passed ball In baseball, a catcher is charged with a passed ball when he fails to hold or control a legally pitched ball that, with ordinary effort, should have been maintained under his control, and, as a result of this loss of control, the batter or a run ...

charged to Twins'

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

Harry Dunlop on a swinging third strike. This resulted in a four-strikeout ninth inning. In his next start Necciai threw a 24-strikeout two-hitter, posting a 4-0 record with a 0.42

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

and 109 strikeouts in 43 innings of work.

Sources

{{Reflist Defunct baseball teams in Virginia Defunct Appalachian League teams Defunct minor league baseball teams New York Yankees minor league affiliates Pittsburgh Pirates minor league affiliates New York Giants minor league affiliates 1940 establishments in Virginia 1955 disestablishments in Virginia