
The Columbus Confederate Yankees were a
Minor League Baseball team that played in the
Double-A Southern League from 1964 to 1966. They were located in
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it o ...
, and played their home games at
Golden Park. Their seemingly contradictory nickname came from
Georgia's former membership in the
Confederacy
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...
and for their
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...
affiliate, the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...
, as it was common for Yankees affiliates to share the big league club's moniker.
Over three seasons of competition, Columbus played in 415 regular season games and compiled a win–loss record of 206–209. They won the
Southern League championship in 1965.
History
The Columbus Confederate Yankees were charter members of the
Southern League, which began play in 1964.
As the
Double-A affiliate of the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...
, they were
managed by former
major league 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 catcher ...
Rube Walker.
The team finished its first year of play with a 64–74 record in seventh place.
The 1965 club was managed by
Loren Babe, an ex-Yankee
third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system u ...
.
On July 19, the Confederate Yankees hosted the 1965
Southern League All-Star Game
The Southern League All-Star Game was an annual baseball game sanctioned by Minor League Baseball between professional players from the teams of the Double-A Southern League. Each division, North and South, fielded a team composed of players in ...
. With 4,091 people in attendance at Golden Park, they defeated a team of the league's All-Stars, 4–3.
Two members of the Columbus pitching staff threw
no-hitter
In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher w ...
s that season. The first occurred on June 30 when
Mike Jurewicz no-hit the
Charlotte Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...
in the second game of a seven-inning
doubleheader.
The second happened on August 13 when Rich Beck pitched seven no-hit innings against the
Lynchburg White Sox.
[ The 1965 SL pennant race was a close one: going into the final weekend, the ]Asheville Tourists
The Asheville Tourists are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Asheville, North Carolina.
Asheville teams have played under the Tourists moniker in differe ...
led Columbus by a single game, with a three-game series set for Golden Park to determine the title. After splitting the first two games, Columbus won the finale, 7–0, with Rich Beck tossing a two-hit shutout, handing Columbus the Southern League pennant with a 79–59 first-place finish; technically, the Yankees were in a virtual first-place tie with Asheville, but the Tourists (80–60) played two more games, and thus had a lower winning percentage. The pennant-winning season meant that the Confederate Yankees were the league champions, as there was no postseason in the Southern League at that time.[
In 1966, their final season of play, the Confederate Yankees were managed by Jack Reed, an ]outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...
with the 1961 World Series champion Yankees. They ended the season in seventh place at 63–76. During the off-season, the Southern League contracted from eight teams to six and Columbus left the circuit; they would return in 1969 as a White Sox affiliate.
Season-by-season results
Players
Twenty-three Confederate Yankees also played in at least one game for a Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...
(MLB) team during their careers. These players and their years with Columbus were:[
*]Stan Bahnsen
Stanley Raymond Bahnsen (born December 15, 1944) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, Montreal Expos, California Angels, and Phi ...
(1965)
*Rich Barry
Richard Donovan Barry (September 12, 1940 – October 9, 2021) was an American professional baseball player who appeared in 20 games in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1969, primarily as an outfielder. The native of B ...
(1964–1965)
* Rich Beck (1965)
*Bill Bethea
William Lamar Bethea (born January 1, 1942), nicknamed "Spot", is a retired Americans, American professional baseball baseball player, player who appeared in ten games in the Major League Baseball, Major Leagues as an infielder for the Minnesota T ...
(1965)
*Gil Blanco
Gilbert Henry Blanco (born December 15, 1945) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. Blanco was signed by the New York Yankees in 1964. He pitched for the Yankees in and the Kansas City Athletics in . In 28 Major League games, nine ...
(1966)
*Jim Brenneman
James Leroy Brenneman (February 13, 1941 – March 10, 1994) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. Brenneman played for the New York Yankees in the baseball season. In three career games, he had a 0–0 record, with an 18.00 ERA. He batted and thr ...
(1966)
* Tom Dukes (1964)
* Frank Fernández (1964–1965)
* Mike Ferraro (1965)
* Mike Hegan (1964–1965)
* Bill Henry (1966)
* Elvio Jiménez (1966)
* Mike Jurewicz (1965–1966)
* Jerry Kenney (1966)
* Dave McDonald (1966)
* John Miller (1965–1966)
* Cecil Perkins (1965–1966)
* Fritz Peterson (1965)
*Roger Repoz
Roger Allen Repoz (born August 3, 1940) is an American former professional baseball outfielder, who played for nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Kansas City Athletics and California Angels. He also played five ...
(1964)
* Ellie Rodríguez (1966)
*Steve Whitaker
Steve Whitaker (26 June 1955 – 22 February 2008) was a British artist best known as the colourist on the reprint of ''V for Vendetta''.
David Lloyd, the artist on ''V for Vendetta'', said Whitaker "was not only one of the finest colourists B ...
(1965–1966)
* Roy White (1964–1965)
*Dooley Womack
Horace Guy "Dooley" Womack (born August 25, 1939) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. A right-hander, he played all or part of five seasons in Major League Baseball from 1966 to 1970 for the New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Sea ...
(1964)
References
External links
Statistics from ''Baseball-Reference''
{{s-end
1964 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
1966 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
Baseball teams established in 1964
Baseball teams disestablished in 1966
Defunct Southern League (1964–present) teams
New York Yankees minor league affiliates
Sports in Columbus, Georgia
Defunct baseball teams in Georgia