The Palatka Azaleas were a minor league baseball team, based in

Palatka, Florida Palatka () is a city in and the county seat of Putnam County, Florida, Putnam County, Florida, United States. Palatka is the principal city of the Palatka Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is home to 72,893 residents. The Palatka micropolitan ...

, that existed from 1936 to 1939 and from 1946 to 1953. The Azaleas were members of the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

. In 1936, they were affiliated with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

, in 1937 they were affiliated 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 ...

, and in 1949 they were affiliated with the

Tampa Smokers The Tampa Smokers was a name used between 1919 and 1954 by a series of minor league baseball, minor league baseball teams based in Tampa, Florida. The nickname was a nod to the History of Ybor City, local cigar industry, which was the most impor ...

. In 1956, a Palatka team began play again and evolved into the Palatka Redlegs.

The Ballpark

Palatka teams played at the Azalea Bowl in Forrester Field, which is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The address is 1600 Twigg Street. The park, with the original grandstand demolished, is still in use today as home to the Palatka High School Panthers.

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

conducted clinics at the field in the late 1930s.

Notable alumni

* Myril Hoag (1946) MLB All-Star * Bernie Neis (1936) *

Bob Swift Robert Virgil Swift (March 6, 1915 – October 17, 1966) was an American professional baseball player, coach, manager and scout. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher, standing tall and weighing . He threw and batted right-handed. S ...

(1936-1937) *

Sam Zoldak Samuel Walter Zoldak, nicknamed Sad Sam, (December 8, 1918 – August 25, 1966) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine seasons in the American League with the St. Louis Browns, Cleveland ...

(1938)

Year-by-year records

References

Defunct Florida State League teams Baseball teams established in 1936 Baseball teams disestablished in 1953 Detroit Tigers minor league affiliates New York Yankees minor league affiliates Defunct baseball teams in Florida 1936 establishments in Florida 1953 disestablishments in Florida Palatka, Florida {{Florida-baseball-team-stub