The Elizabethton Phils 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 that played 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 ...

from 1937 to 1942 and 1945 to 1951. They were located in

Elizabethton, Tennessee Elizabethton () is a city in, and the county seat of Carter County, Tennessee, United States. Elizabethton is the historical site of the first independent American government (known as the Watauga Association, created in 1772) located west of ...

, and played their home games at

Cherokee Park Cherokee Park is a municipal park located in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, and is part of the Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy. It was designed in 1891 by Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of landscape architecture along with 18 of ...

. The team was originally known as the Elizabethton Betsy Red Sox for their affiliation with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

(1937–1940). They retained the moniker in 1941 when they served as a

farm club In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

for the

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 ...

and in 1942 with no

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 ...

affiliate. After two years of inactivity due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the team was revived as the Elizabethton Betsy Cubs for their affiliation 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 ...

(1945–1948), the Elizabethton Betsy Local during two years as an independent club (1949–1950), and the Phils in affiliation with the

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 ...

(1951). Over 13 seasons, Elizabethton compiled an all-time regular season record of 811–702 (.536). The Red Sox qualified for postseason playoffs on nine occasions and won the Appalachian League championship in 1939 and 1941. Their all-time postseason record was 24–24 (.500).

History

Betsy Red Sox (1937–1942)

The Red Sox became the first

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 ...

team to hail from

, when they joined the Class D

in 1937. The team's moniker was a combination of the city's nickname, "Betsy Town", and that of their

affiliate, the

. Elizabethton won its opening game on the road, defeating the Johnson City Soldiers, 10–7, on May 21. They played their first home game at

before a crowd of around 1,000 people on May 27, defeating Johnson City, 9–5. They went on to win the first half of the season and finish their inaugural campaign with a league-best 57–45 (.559) record. In the playoffs for the Appalachian League championship, Elizabethton was defeated by the Pennington Gap Lee Bears, 3–2, in the best-of-five series. The 1938 team again paced the league with a first-place 65–36 (.644) record, but were eliminated in the semifinals by the

Greeneville Burley Cubs The Greeneville Burley Cubs were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Class D Appalachian League from 1921 to 1925 and 1938 to 1942. They were located in Greeneville, Tennessee, and played their home games at Greeneville City Park in ...

, 2–0. The 1939 Red Sox finished atop the standings having posted a 71–48 (.597) season. They defeated Greeneville in the semifinals, 2–1, before winning their first Appalachian League championship over the

Kingsport Cherokees Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It lies along the Holston River and had a population of 55,442 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city in the Kingsport–Bristol metropolitan area, wh ...

, 3–1. In 1940, Elizabethton returned to the playoffs with a second-half title and a first-place 84–33 (.718) mark. They beat Kingsport in the opening round, 2–0, but lost the finals to the

Johnson City Cardinals The Johnson City Cardinals were a Minor League Baseball team based in Johnson City, Tennessee. The team was affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals organization from 1975 through 2020 and played in the Rookie League, Rookie-level Appalachian Leagu ...

, 3–0. Elizabethon's affiliation with the Boston Red Sox ended after the 1940 season, but they retained the Red Sox nickname after affiliating with the

for 1941. They repeated with a second-half title and a 73–45 (.619) record, the league's best. After defeating the

Newport Canners The Newport Canners were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Class D (baseball), Class D Appalachian League from 1937 to 1942 and the Mountain States League (1948–1954), Mountain States League from 1948 to 1950. They were located in ...

, 3–2, in the semifinals, the Red Sox won their second AL championship by sweeping Johnson City, 3–0. The Brooklyn affiliation ended after the 1941 season, and the Red Sox were unaffiliated with a Major League Baseball team in 1942. On June 9, Pat McGlothin pitched a

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 Newport in a 2–0 win at Cherokee Park. They ended the season in second place at 60–47 (.561), 11 games out of first. They best Johnson City, 2–1, in the semifinals, but lost the AL championship to the Bristol Twins, 2–0. Over six years of competition in the Appalachian League, the Red Sox accumulated a 410–254 (.617) record. The city did not field a team from 1943 to 1944.

Betsy Cubs (1945–1948)

The Elizabethton Appalachian League franchise was revived in 1945 as the Elizabethton Betsy Cubs, an affiliate of the

. Though they finished last of four teams with a 38–68 (.358) record, every team participated in the postseason playoffs. The Cubs lost to the Bristol Twins, 3–1, in the semifinals. Elizabethton improved to third of eight clubs in 1946 with a 68–57 (.544) mark. They swept Bristol in the semifinals, 3–0, but lost the AL title to the New River Rebels, 4–2, in the finals. On May 25, 1947, Robert Knaub and Jack Bunger pitched a combined no-hitter against the Kingsport Indians. Kingsport managed to score three runs in the first inning, which were charged to Bunger, who started the game and walked five batters before being relieved by Knaub in the first. Knaub held the Indians hitless until the game was called on account of rain after six innings with the Cubs ahead, 5–3. Elizabethton just missed the playoffs in 1947 (62–64; .492) and 1948 (64–61; .512) with fifth-place finishes.

Betsy Local (1949–1950)

The Chicago Cubs withdrew from the Appalachian League after 1948, so Elizabethton continued as an unaffiliated team in 1949. Competing as the Elizabethton Betsy Local, the team finished seventh of eight clubs at 40–76 (.345). They missed a contracted two-team playoff championship in 1950, finishing fourth at 72–52 (.581).

Phils (1951)

After two seasons as an independent club, the team affiliated with the

for 1951, becoming the Elizabethton Phils. They qualified for the playoffs with a 57–70 (.449) season, but were eliminated in the semifinals by the

, 2–0. The Phils lost their final game before their home crown, 7–1, on September 8. Over their second stretch in the Appalachian League, Elizabethton accumulated a record of 401–448 (.472). Over all 13 seasons, their all-time record was 811–702 (.536). The city went without a team for 36 years until the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

placed the

Elizabethton Twins The Elizabethton Twins were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They were located in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and were named for their Major League Baseball, major league aff ...

in the Appalachian League as a

Rookie-level 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 L ...

affiliate in 1974.

Season-by-season results

Notable players

Twelve players also played in at least one game in

during their careers. These players and their seasons with Elizabethton were: * Bob Borkowski (1946) *

Jim Brosnan James Patrick Brosnan (October 24, 1929 – June 28, 2014) was an American baseball player and author who played in Major League Baseball in 1954 and from 1956 through 1963. A right-handed pitcher, he appeared in 385 games, largely in relief, f ...

(1947) *

Don Elston Donald Ray Elston (April 6, 1929 – January 2, 1995) was an American relief pitcher who appeared in 450 games in Major League Baseball, all but one of them as a member of the Chicago Cubs (1953, 1957–1964). Elston batted and threw right-hand ...

(1948) * Lew Flick (1938–1942) * Bert Hodges (1937–1939) * Fred Marsh (1942) * Pat McGlothin (1942) * Paul Minner (1942) * Lou Rochelli (1940) *

Andy Seminick Andrew Wasal Seminick (September 12, 1920 – February 22, 2004) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies between 1943 and 1951, and the Cincinnati Reds/Redlegs ...

(1941–1942) *

Ray Semproch Roman Anthony Semproch (January 7, 1931 – October 27, 2024), also known as Baby and Ray, was an American right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1958 to 1961 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Ange ...

(1951) *

Lee Tate Lee Willie Tate (born March 18, 1932) is an American former professional baseball player. The shortstop had a 15-year (1951–1965) career in minor league baseball, appearing briefly in the Major Leagues for parts of the and seasons for the ...

(1951)

References

{{reflist

External links

Statistics from ''Baseball-Reference''Statistics from ''Stats Crew''
1937 establishments in Tennessee 1951 disestablishments in Tennessee Baseball teams established in 1937 Baseball teams disestablished in 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers minor league affiliates Defunct Appalachian League teams Defunct baseball teams in Tennessee Defunct minor league baseball teams Philadelphia Phillies minor league affiliates Professional baseball teams in Tennessee