The Mobile Bears were 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 ...

team based in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

. The franchise was a member of the old

Southern Association The Southern Association (SA) was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class B (1902-19 ...

, a high-level circuit that folded after the 1961 season. Mobile joined the SA in 1908 as the ''Sea Gulls'', but changed its name to the ''Bears'' in 1918, and the nickname stuck. The club played in the Association until July 1931, when it moved to

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

. Almost exactly 13 years later, in July 1944, the Bears returned to Mobile when the

Knoxville Smokies The Knoxville Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The team was based in Kodak, Tennessee, a Knoxville suburb, fr ...

franchise shifted back from Tennessee. (A club known as the ''Mobile Shippers'' competed in the Class B

Southeastern League The Southeastern League was the name of four separate baseball leagues in minor league baseball which operated in the Southeastern and South Central United States in numerous seasons between 1897 and 2003. Two of these leagues were associated w ...

from 1937 to 1942.) The Bears then continued in the SA (classified as a Double-A league in 1946) through its final season. During the 1940s and 1950s, the club was a longtime

farm system 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 ...

affiliate of 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 ...

, then the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

. The Bears played in 5,000-seat Hartwell Field located on Virginia Street in midtown. The nickname "Bears" lived on in modified form with the

Mobile BayBears The Mobile BayBears were a Minor League Baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The team, which played in the Southern League, served as the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres (1997–2006), Arizona Diamondbacks (2007–2 ...

of the Double-A Southern League, who played 23 seasons (1997–2019) in Mobile before relocating to metropolitan

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...

. The Bears won the

Dixie Series The Dixie Series was an interleague postseason series between the playoff champions of Minor League Baseball's Southern Association (SA) and Texas League (TL). The best-of-seven series was held at the conclusion of each season from 1920 to 195 ...

, a postseason interleague championship between the champions of the Southern Association and the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

, in 1922 and 1955.

References

External links

Baseball Reference
Brooklyn Dodgers minor league affiliates Cleveland Guardians minor league affiliates Chicago White Sox minor league affiliates Kansas City Athletics minor league affiliates New York Mets minor league affiliates St. Louis Cardinals minor league affiliates Defunct minor league baseball teams Sports clubs and teams in Mobile, Alabama Professional baseball teams in Alabama Defunct Southern League (1964–present) teams Southern League (1885–1899) teams Defunct Southern Association teams Defunct Southeastern League teams Defunct Cotton States League teams Defunct Interstate League teams Defunct Gulf League teams Baseball teams established in 1886 Baseball teams disestablished in 1970 1886 establishments in Alabama 1970 disestablishments in Alabama Defunct baseball teams in Alabama {{Alabama-baseball-team-stub