The Newport Canners 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 the Mountain States League from 1948 to 1950. They were located in

Newport, Tennessee Newport is a city in and the county seat of Cocke County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 6,945 at the 2010 census, down from 7,242 at the 2000 census. The estimated population in 2018 was 6,801. Newport is located along the Pige ...

, and played their home games at City Memorial Park. The team's games were temporarily transferred to

Maryville, Tennessee Maryville is a city in and the county seat of Blount County, Tennessee. Its population was 31,907 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History The Great Indian Warpath (which was used to build the route U.S. Route 411, US-411) was long ...

, for approximately two weeks late in the 1940 season. The Canners were unaffiliated with a

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 ...

team during six of their nine seasons but had affiliations with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

in 1939 and the Washington Senators in 1940 and 1942. Over all nine seasons of competition, their all-time regular season win–loss record was 426–553 (.435).

History

First stretch (1937–1942)

The Canners 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 was named for the nearby Stokely Brothers cannery. They opened their inaugural season with a 17–10 road victory over the Pennington Gap Lee Bears on May 22. Their first home game was played at the new City Memorial Park on May 26. The home team outscored Pennington Gap, 20–6. Despite a good start to the season, Newport failed to win either half of the league's split schedule with a record of 49–56 (.467), placing last of four teams. The next two seasons were the two lowest in franchise history. The 1938 Canners posted a fifth-place 42–66 (.389) record, while the 1939 club finished last of six teams at 30–89 (.252) as an affiliate of the

. In 1940, Newport entered into an affiliation with the Washington Senators. Following a season of poor attendance, league directors voted on July 30 to transfer the franchise to

, for the remainder of the season. Their games were subsequently transferred back to Newport on the week of August 11. The Newport/Maryville team compiled a 56–63 (.471) record and earned a spot in the postseason playoffs, but they lost to 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 ...

in the opening round, two games to one. RedLucasGoudeycard

Returning permanently to Newport as an unaffiliated team in 1941, the Canners finished with a franchise-best 66–52 (.559) mark, again qualifying for the playoffs. Newport was eliminated in the semifinals by the Elizabethton Betsy Red Sox, 3–2. The Canners reaffiliated with Washington for the 1942 season. On June 14, Greeneville surrendered its franchise to the league due to poor attendance, and league directors subsequently voted to drop Newport due to its distance from the remaining clubs and so as to maintain an even four-team league. The club maintained their expulsion was against the league's constitution, and remained in the circuit until being forced out on June 26. Their final game that day was a 12–0 home loss to the Union City Dodgers. Their season record was 19–28 (.404). Over six years of competition in the Appalachian League, the Canners accumulated a 258–354 (.422) record. The city did not field another team from 1943 to 1947.

Second stretch (1948–1950)

In 1948, the Newport Canners were revived as members of the Class D Mountain States League. Their first game was a 6–4 loss to the

Morristown Red Sox The Morristown Red Sox were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Class D/ Class C Mountain States League (MSL) from 1948 to 1954. They were located in Morristown, Tennessee, and played their home games at Sherwood Park. They won the ...

on the road on May 1. They ended the season in fourth place with a 58–59 (.496) record and qualified for the playoffs. Newport was eliminated by Morristown, 3–2, in the semifinals. The 1949 team placed sixth of eight teams with a 59–66 (.472) season. Canners right-hander Jose Aguiar pitched two

no-hitters 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 ...

in 1950. The first occurred on June 23 against the Big Stone Gap Rebels, a 7–0 win in the second game of a seven-inning doubleheader. He tossed a second no-hit game on August 19, beating Morristown 9–0 in the first game of a doubleheader. The Canners ended the season in seventh place at 51–74 (.408). Through three years in the Mountain States League, Newport accumulated a 168–199 (.458) record. Over all nine seasons of competition, their all-time regular season win–loss record was 426–553 (.435).

Season-by-season results

Notable players

Eight Canners also played in at least one game in

during their careers. These players and their seasons with Newport were: * Ed Butka (1940) *

Rod Graber Rodney Blaine Graber (June 20, 1930 – December 5, 2014SABR February 2016 Biographical Information Newsletter) was a former Major League Baseball center fielder. He was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cleveland Indians in 1949. He did not ...

(1948) *

Red Lucas Charles Fred "Red" Lucas (April 28, 1902 – July 9, 1986) was an American professional baseball pitcher and pinch hitter. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1923 to 1938 for the New York Giants, Boston Braves, Cincinnati Reds, and Pi ...

(1942) *

Red Marion John Wyeth "Red" Marion (March 14, 1914 – March 13, 1975) was briefly an outfielder in American Major League Baseball and a longtime manager at the minor league level. A native of Richburg, South Carolina, he was the older brother of Marty Mari ...

(1940–1941) *

Jack Merson John Warren Merson (January 17, 1922 – April 28, 2000) was an American professional baseball player. The second baseman and third baseman appeared in 125 games in the Major Leagues for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Boston Red Sox—124 of th ...

(1940) *

Al Kvasnak Alexander Kvasnak (; January 11, 1921 – September 26, 2002) was an American Major League Baseball outfielder who played for the Washington Senators in . In 1941, Kvasnak hit .340 and led the Appalachian League with 49 stolen bases. His perfor ...

(1941) *

Art Ruble William Arthur Ruble (March 11, 1903 – November 1, 1983) was a professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Speed", he was an outfielder over parts of two seasons (1927, 1934) with the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies. For his career, he ...

(1939) *

Tom Saffell Thomas Judson Saffell (July 26, 1921 – September 10, 2012) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Athletics. Early life Saffell grew up in Etowah, T ...

(1941)

References

{{reflist

External links

Statistics from ''Baseball-Reference''Statistics from ''Stats Crew''
1937 establishments in Tennessee 1950 disestablishments in Tennessee Baseball teams established in 1937 Baseball teams disestablished in 1950 Newport, Tennessee Defunct Appalachian League teams Defunct baseball teams in Tennessee Defunct Mountain States League (1948–1954) teams Professional baseball teams in Tennessee