Georgia State League

The Georgia State League was an American Class D minor league in professional baseball that existed in 1906, 1914, 1920–1921 and 1948–1956. During its last incarnation, it existed alongside two nearby Class D circuits, the Georgia–Florida League and the Georgia–Alabama League.

The 1906 version of the league began with six teams, but two clubs were forced to disband and a third to relocate before the league folded on July 9. Then, in 1914 the Empire State League based in Georgia renamed itself Georgia State League. The six-team 1914 league played a full schedule and crowned a champion, the Americus Muckalees. But the resurgence of the league did not even last two years. The circuit started 1915 as the Georgia State League and was renamed the Florida–Alabama–Georgia League (the "FLAG League"), which operated in the state of Florida, on June 15.

After World War I, the league—again featuring half a dozen member clubs—was revived for two full campaigns. In 1920, it was dominated by legendary minor league slugger Ike Boone, who batted .403 and led the GSL in hits, runs and home runs.

The Georgia State League revived in 1948 during the post-World War II boom in minor league baseball. It expanded from six to eight teams in 1949, and by 1952 had begun to attract working agreements with Major League Baseball farm systems. But as the low minors began to experience falling attendance during the 1950s, the GSL began to suffer. Its Statesboro Pilots club disbanded on July 1, 1955, leaving the league with only five teams. The 1956 Georgia State League began and finished the season with a full complement of six teams, but the league did not answer the bell for 1957.

Member teams

1906

Albany Americus Pallbearers Brunswick

Columbus River Snipes Cordele

Valdosta Stars Waycross Machinists

1914

Americus Muckalees Brunswick Pilots

Cordele Ramblers Thomasville Hornets

Valdosta Millionaires Waycross Grasshoppers/Moguls

1920–1921

Carrollton Cedartown Cedars

Griffin LaGrange

Lindale Pepperells Rome

1948–1956

Baxley Red Sox Baxley-Hazlehurst Red Sox Douglas Rebels Douglas Reds Douglas Trojans Dublin Green Sox Dublin Irish

Eastman Dodgers Fitzgerald Pioneers Hazlehurst-Baxley Cardinals Hazlehurst-Baxley Tigers Jesup Bees Sandersville Giants Sandersville Wacos

Sparta Saints Statesboro Pilots Thomson Orioles Tifton Blue Sox Vidalia Indians Vidalia-Lyons Twins

League champions

1914 Americus Muckalees 1920 Carrollton 1921 Lindale Pepperells 1948 Fitzgerald Pioneers

1949 Tifton Blue Sox 1950 Eastman Dodgers 1951 Douglas Trojans 1952 Vidalia Indians

1953 Hazlehurst-Baxley Cardinals 1954 Vidalia Indians 1955 Douglas Trojans and Sandersville Giants 1956 Douglas Reds

References

• Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, editors: The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997.