The Lexington Bees, previously known as the Lexington Giants, 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

Kentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League The Kentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League (or ''KITTY League'') was a Class D level minor league baseball circuit that went through six different periods of play between 1903 and 1955. The League hosted teams in 29 cities from the states of Ill ...

(KITTY League) from 1935 to 1938. They were located in

Lexington, Tennessee Lexington is a city in Henderson County, Tennessee, United States. It is midway between Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, lying south of Interstate 40, which connects the two cities. Its population was 7,956 at the ...

, and played their home games at

Lexington Park Lexington Park was the name of a former minor league baseball park in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was the home of the St. Paul Saints from 1897 through 1956, when it was replaced by the first version of Midway Stadium. Lexington Park was commissi ...

. The team was known as the Giants from 1935 to 1937. They were renamed the Bees when they became an affiliate of the

Boston Bees The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). Then in 1966 they were relocated to Atlanta, whe ...

in 1938.

History

The team began competition in 1935 as the Lexington Giants playing at

. They were managed by

player-manager A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

John Antonelli. The Giants won their inaugural season opener on May 22 by defeating the

Jackson Generals The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (SL) as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs (1998–2006), Seattle Mari ...

, 10–7. On June 30, Lester Gray 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 the Portageville Pirates in a 7–0 road win. The Giants won the first half of the KITTY League's split season, which qualified them for the postseason championship playoffs. Though Jackson and the Union City Greyhounds ended the second half in first and second place, respectively, the league refused to award either team the second half title because they exceeded the limit of veteran players on their rosters. The second half title was then awarded to third-place Portageville. Lexington refused to play Portageville for the KITTY League championship, believing they were not entitled to the second half title. As a result, no playoff games were held, and the league declared no champion. The Giants' season record was 43–46 (.483). The 1936 Giants, managed by Antonelli and Rip Fanning, compiled a 68–52 (.567) record, but did not win either half of the season. Fanning led the 1937 team to a record of 60–61 (.496), again not winning either half of the season. In 1938, the team changed its name to the Lexington Bees when they became 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 ...

of the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

. Fanning led the Bees to a 66–59 (.528) record and third-place finish, which qualified them for the playoffs. They were eliminated in the first round by the Jackson Generals, three games to zero. Their final game was a 9–0 road loss on September 19. Lexington did not field another team in 1939. Over four years of competition, their composite record was 237–218 (.521).

Season-by-season results

Notable players

Four Lexington players also played in

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 ...

during their careers. They, along with their seasons in Lexington, were: * John Antonelli (1935–1936) *

Johnny Beazley John Andrew Beazley (May 25, 1918 – April 21, 1990) was a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Braves. As a rookie in 1942, Beazley went 21–6 with a 2.13 ERA for the Cardinals, as h ...

(1937) *

Sol Carter Solomon Mobley "Sol" Carter (December 23, 1908 – December 23, 2006) was a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1931 season. He batted and threw right-handed. In two appearances, Carter pos ...

(1937) *

Al Javery Alva William Javery (June 5, 1918 – August 16, 1977) was an American professional Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1940 to 1946, spending all seven seasons with the Boston Bees / Braves. He became a key part of the rotation during ...

(1938)

References

{{reflist

External links

Statistics from ''Baseball-Reference''Statistics from ''Stats Crew''
1935 establishments in Tennessee 1938 disestablishments in Tennessee Baseball teams established in 1935 Baseball teams disestablished in 1938 Boston Braves minor league affiliates Defunct baseball teams in Tennessee Defunct minor league baseball teams Kentucky-Illinois-Tennessee League Professional baseball teams in Tennessee Henderson County, Tennessee