The Savannah Pathfinders was the original name of the 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 ...

franchise that represented

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

, during the 20th century. While Savannah's minor league teams sported at least ten nicknames during the century, the predominant nickname was the Savannah Indians, which was used for 27 seasons (1906–1912; 1926–1928; 1936–1942; 1946–1954; 1970). The name was not derived from an association with the

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

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 ...

franchise until , when Savannah served as the MLB Indians' Double-A

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. In 1955–1960, 1962, and from 1968–1995, the Savannah team was named after its Major League parent. After 1926, the club played at Grayson Stadium. For much of their existence, the Indians played in what became the Double-A Southern League, known before 1964 as the original

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

or "Sally" League. In 1926–1928, they competed in the Southeastern League. The Sally League franchise was founded as the ''Pathfinders'' in 1904 and dubbed the ''Colts'' from 1913–1915. From 1971–1983, Savannah's Southern League team was called the Savannah Braves, reflecting its link to the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

' organization. When this franchise relocated to Greenville in 1984, it was replaced by the Savannah Cardinals of the contemporary Single-A

; the Savannah team, known as the '' Savannah Sand Gnats'' since 1996, moved to Columbia, South Carolina in 2016, and was in turn replaced by a new, independent franchise, the Savannah Bananas. Between 1904 and 1970, Savannah won seven Sally League championships.

Notable alumni (1904–1970)

* Joe Astroth * Joe Azcue * Gene Bearden * Lou Brissie * Jack Brohamer * Don Buford * Leo Cárdenas *

Donn Clendenon Donn Alvin Clendenon (July 15, 1935 – September 17, 2005) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from to . He is most notable for his performance during the 1969 World Series when he ...

* Ripper Collins * Dave DeBusschere * Art Ditmar * Bob Elliott * Nick Etten *

Curt Flood Curtis Charles Flood Sr. (January 18, 1938 – January 20, 1997) was an American professional baseball center fielder and activist. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Redlegs, St. Louis Cardinals, and Washin ...

* Toby Harrah * Shoeless Joe Jackson * Ken Johnson * Alex Kellner * Al McBean * Gene Michael * Bugs Raymond * Cookie Rojas * Connie Ryan *

Bob Watson Robert José Watson (April 10, 1946May 14, 2020) was an American professional baseball player, Coach (baseball), coach and General manager (baseball), general manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and left fielder from ...

References