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The Southern Association (SA) was a higher-level
minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...
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 (1902-1904), Class A (1905–1935), Class A1 (1936–1945), and Double-A (1946–1961). Although the SA was known as the Southern League through 1919, the later Double-A Southern League was not descended from the Southern Association; the modern SL came into existence in 1964 as the successor to the original ''South Atlantic'' ("Sally") League. A stable, eight-team loop, the Southern Association's member teams typically included the Atlanta Crackers,
Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The Baron ...
,
Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...
, Little Rock Travelers, Memphis Chicks, Nashville Vols, and
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. The eighth club was usually either the Knoxville Smokies, Mobile Bears, or Shreveport Sports. The Association was formed from the remnants of the Southern League (1885–1899) by Abner Powell, Newt Fisher, and Charley Frank.


Resisted integration

After
Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first Black American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the Baseball color line, ...
broke the color barrier in
1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...
with the
Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club ( Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; pi ...
of the
International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...
, the Southern Association continued to adhere to the
Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced racial segregation, " Jim Crow" being a pejorative term for an African American. The last of the ...
segregation laws of the time. Only one
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ever played a meaningful game during this time: Nat Peeples of the 1954 Atlanta Crackers, the only black player in the league's history. On April 9–10, 1954, Peeples played in two road games in Mobile, and went hitless in four at bats. He was demoted to the already-integrated, Single-A Jacksonville Braves of the Sally League before the Crackers played a home game. The Southern Association then played the rest of its history, through the end of 1961, as a racially segregated league. Partly due to this, its Major-League parent clubs were among the last to integrate during the 1950s, a period when African-Americans and Latin-American players of African descent were beginning to dominate Major League Baseball. By the end of the 1950s, the SA was the target of a boycott by activists of the Civil Rights Movement.


Disbanded in 1961

In its last three years, the Southern Association was plagued by frequent franchise shifts. Little Rock moved to Shreveport after the 1958 season, and New Orleans moved to Little Rock after the 1959 season. Memphis' park burned down just before the 1960 season, forcing the Chicks to play in several temporary facilities before moving to
Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Situated near the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is southeast of Atlanta and near the ...
, for 1961. The league finally ceased operation after the 1961 season. Member cities slowly began to join remaining leagues, which were racially integrated. The Atlanta club moved up to the Triple-A
International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...
in 1962. Little Rock followed suit (as the renamed
Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners and play in the Texas League. Hi ...
), moving to the International circuit in 1963 and the
Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...
from 1964 to 1965, before making a permanent home in the Double-A
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 1966. Macon, a longtime member of the Sally League, returned to that circuit in 1962. After a one-year hiatus, Nashville and Chattanooga joined the Sally League in 1963. Later in the decade, Birmingham (1964) and Mobile (1966) joined the Southern League, and Memphis and Shreveport (both in 1968) entered the Texas circuit.


Member teams

* Atlanta Crackers (1902–1961) – at times known as the ''Firemen'' and various other names depending on which newspaper was covering them *
Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The Baron ...
(1901–1961) – at times known as the ''Iron Barons'' *
Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...
(1901–1902; 1910–1943; 1944–1961) * Knoxville Smokies (1931–1944) * Little Rock Travelers (1901–1909; 1915–1956; 1957-1958; 1960–1961) * Macon Peaches (1961) * Memphis Chicks (1901–1960) – short for "Chickasaws" and at times known as the ''Turtles'' and ''Egyptians'' * Mobile Bears (1908–1931; 1944–1961) – known as the ''Marines'' in 1931 * Montgomery Rebels (1903–1914; 1943; 1956) – at times known as the ''Black Sox, Senators, Climbers,'' and ''Billikens'' * Nashville Vols (1901–1961) *
New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...
(1901–1959) * Selma Christians (1901) * Shreveport Sports (1901–1907; 1959–1961) – at times known as the ''Giants'' and ''Pirates''


Champions

While a league pennant winner was crowned each season, some seasons (1928 and 1932–61) also concluded with either the top two or four teams in the league competing in playoffs to determine a league champion. These playoffs varied between being best-of-five and best-of-seven contests. The Atlanta Crackers, termed by some 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 ...
of the minors," won the Southern Association pennant 13 times, the most among all teams. They are followed by the
New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...
, with nine pennants. As far as playoff championships are concerned, the Nashville Vols captured the most, with nine—dominating the league with six straight championships from 1939 to 1944. They are followed by Atlanta, with six playoff titles. Combining both pennants and playoffs, the Crackers won the most (21), with the Vols trailing them with 17. On the other hand, the
Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...
, charter members of the association, won only one title during their 54 years in the league—with that coming during the Southern Association's final, 1961 campaign.


Most Valuable Player Award

The Most Valuable Player Award was given to honor the best player in the league from 1936 to 1961.


Southern Professional Football League

In both 1940 and 1944 league leaders tried to start a minor football league, with plan to draw crowds of 15,000 to 20,000, but both attempts were cancelled at the early stages.


References

;General * ;Specific {{Authority control Southern Association Baseball leagues in Alabama Baseball leagues in Arkansas Baseball leagues in Georgia (U.S. state) Baseball leagues in Louisiana Baseball leagues in Tennessee Sports leagues established in 1901 Sports leagues disestablished in 1961 1901 establishments in the United States 1961 disestablishments in the United States