The Columbia Senators was the first name of an American

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 ...

franchise representing

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

, in the original South Atlantic League. Currently, Columbia is home of the

Columbia Fireflies The Columbia Fireflies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Columbia, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball. Their home stadium is Segra Park. The team was previously known as the ...

in 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 ...

History before 1938

Columbia was represented in the SAL — popularly called the "Sally League" — as early as 1892 as the ''Senators'', a reference to the city's status as capital of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. It fielded Sally League teams from 1904–1917, 1919–1923 and 1925–1930 under nicknames such as the ''Skyscrapers, Gamecocks, Comers'' and ''Commies''. The SAL did not operate during 1918 at the height of World War I, and from 1931–1935 during the worst years of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. When the league revived in 1936, the Columbia Senators also returned to the field. The team played at Capital City Park. The franchise was renamed the Reds in 1938 when the

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

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 ...

became its parent team. The team would be known as the Reds from 1938–1942, 1946–1955 and 1960–1961.

Longtime Cincinnati farm team

The SAL shut down again during World War II, but returned to

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 ...

in 1946, and was upgraded from Class B to Class A, then a mid- to higher-level classification. The Columbia Reds continued as a Cincinnati affiliate through 1955, but, unlike its MLB parent, the team did not change its name to ''Redlegs'' during the mid-1950s. Some of Cincinnati's biggest stars of the 1950s (including

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

Frank Robinson Frank Robinson (August 31, 1935 – February 7, 2019), nicknamed "the Judge", was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams over 21 seasons: the Cincinnati Reds (1956–196 ...

, slugger

Ted Kluszewski Theodore Bernard Kluszewski (September 10, 1924 – March 29, 1988), nicknamed "Big Klu", was an American professional baseball player, best known as a power-hitting first baseman for the Cincinnati Reds teams of the 1950s. He played from 1947 th ...

and longtime pitcher/broadcaster

Joe Nuxhall Joseph Henry Nuxhall (; July 30, 1928 – November 15, 2007) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, primarily for the Cincinnati Reds. Immediately after retiring as a player, he became a radio broadcaster for the Reds f ...

) came through Columbia on their way to Major League prominence. However, in 1956 Cincinnati shifted its Sally League affiliate to

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

, and the

Kansas City Athletics The Kansas City Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1955 to 1967, having previously played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the Philadelphia Athletics. After moving in 1967, the team became the ...

replaced them in Columbia with the team renamed the ''Columbia Gems.'' The Gems lasted only two seasons before the league contracted from eight to six teams and both Columbia and

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee ...

, lost their franchises for 1958. Columbia was without professional baseball until 1960, when the Reds came back from Savannah for two seasons before affiliating with the

Macon Peaches The Macon Peaches was the predominant name of the American minor league baseball franchise representing Macon, Georgia, during the 20th century. Although Macon did not field teams during and immediately after World War I, the height of the Great ...

in 1962. It never returned to the original Sally League (which was promoted to Double-A in 1963 and reorganized as the Southern League in 1964) but joined the modern Class A

in 1983 with the Columbia Mets (1983–1992) and the

Capital City Bombers Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

(1993–2004). The Columbia Reds captured two league playoff championships (1941; 1953) during their history. The 1952 edition, managed by

Ernie White Ernest Daniel White (September 5, 1916 – May 22, 1974) was an American professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from to and from to . A native of Pacolet Mills, South Carolina, he threw left-handed, batted right ...

, won 100 of 154 regular season games, but was toppled in the first playoff round by Macon.

Notable alumni (1936–1961)

Hall of Fame alumni *

(1954-1955) Inducted, 1982 Notable alumni *

Bobby Adams Robert Henry Adams (December 14, 1921 – February 13, 1997) was an American professional baseball third baseman and second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball from 1946 through 1959 for the Cincinnati Reds / Redlegs, Chicago White Sox, ...

Joe Adcock Joseph Wilbur Adcock (October 30, 1927 – May 3, 1999) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1950 to 1966, most prominently as a member of the Milwaukee Braves team ...

Jack Baldschun Jack Edward Baldschun (October 16, 1936 – June 6, 2023) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He was a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) for all or part of nine seasons (1961–67; 1969–70), for the Philadelphia Phillie ...

Frank Baumholtz Frank Conrad Baumholtz (October 7, 1918 – December 14, 1997) was an American professional baseball and basketball player. He was an outfielder for Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds (1947–49), Chicago Cubs (1949 and 1951–55) and Phila ...

Jimmy Bloodworth James Henry Bloodworth (July 26, 1917 – August 17, 2002) was an American professional baseball second baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Senators (1901–1960), Washington Senators (1937 and 1939–41), Detroi ...

George Brunet George Stuart Brunet (June 8, 1935 – October 25, 1991) was an American professional baseball pitcher who also went on to a Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame career in Mexico. Brunet pitched for nine different Major League clubs during ...

Vic Davalillo Víctor José Davalillo Romero (31 July 1939 – 6 December 2023) was a Venezuelan professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Mexican League as an outfielder from 1963 to 1982. Davalillo (pronounced da-va-LE ...

Sammy Ellis Samuel Joseph Ellis (February 11, 1941 – May 13, 2016) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, California Angels, and Chicago White Sox. Ellis was an MLB All-Star in 196 ...

Kirby Higbe Walter Kirby Higbe (April 8, 1915 – May 6, 1985) was an American right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1937 to 1950. Best known for his time with the Brooklyn Dodgers, he was a two-time National League (NL) All-Star ...

Roy McMillan Roy David McMillan (July 17, 1929 – November 2, 1997) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from 1951 to 1966, most prominently as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, wh ...

Bob Nieman Robert Charles Nieman (January 26, 1927 – March 10, 1985) was an American professional baseball player and scout. An outfielder, he spent all or parts of a dozen Major League Baseball seasons with the St. Louis Browns (1951–52), Detroit Tig ...

Don Pavletich Donald Stephen Pavletich (July 13, 1938 – March 5, 2020) was an American professional baseball player. He was a catcher and first baseman for the Cincinnati Redlegs / Reds (1957, 1959 and 1962–68), Chicago White Sox (1969) and Boston Red Sox ...

Harry Perkowski Harry Walter Perkowski (September 6, 1922 – April 20, 2016) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played between 1947 and 1955 for the Cincinnati Reds / Redlegs (1947, 1949–54) and Chicago Cubs (1955). Listed at , , he batted and threw ...

* Wally Post *

Chico Ruiz Hiraldo Sablón Ruiz (December 5, 1938 – February 9, 1972), known in the United States as Chico Ruiz, was a Cuban-American professional baseball player. An infielder, Ruiz played in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds and California ...

Al Silvera Aaron Albert Silvera (August 26, 1935 – July 24, 2002) was an American professional baseball player, an outfielder who played parts of two seasons for the Cincinnati Redlegs of Major League Baseball in –. Early and personal life Silvera was ...

Johnny Temple John Ellis Temple (August 8, 1927 – January 9, 1994) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a second baseman from 1952 to 1964, most prominently as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, where ...

* Gene Thompson *

Clyde Vollmer Clyde Frederick Vollmer (September 24, 1921 – October 2, 2006) was an American professional baseball outfielder who played in 685 games in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Washington Senators and Boston Red Sox. During th ...

Herm Wehmeier Herman Ralph Wehmeier (February 18, 1927 – May 21, 1973) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds (1945 and 1947–54), Philadelphia Phillies (1954–56), St. Louis Cardinals (1956–58) and ...

References

* {{refend

External links

Baseball Reference
Professional baseball teams in South Carolina Boston Braves minor league affiliates Cincinnati Reds minor league affiliates Defunct minor league baseball teams Kansas City Athletics minor league affiliates Philadelphia Athletics minor league affiliates Sports in Columbia, South Carolina 1936 establishments in South Carolina Baseball teams established in 1936 Baseball teams disestablished in 1961 1961 disestablishments in South Carolina South Atlantic League (1904–1963) teams Defunct South Atlantic League teams

History before 1938

Longtime Cincinnati farm team

Notable alumni (1936–1961)

See also

References

External links