Mountain States League (1948–1954)

The Mountain States League was a Class D and Class C minor league baseball league which operated in the United States from 1948 to 1954. The league was a Class D level league, becoming a Class C league during its final season in 1954. The league disbanded on July 20, 1954. The cities of Harlan, Kentucky, and Morristown, Tennessee, were represented for the full seven–year existence of the circuit.

History A total of 16 teams competed in the Mountain States League. In 1954, the Morristown Red Sox team disbanded on May 15, and was replaced when the Maryville-Alcoa Twins moved to Morristown on June 19. Both the Morristown Twins and Lexington Colts disbanded on July 7.

Virgil Q. Wacks served as president for the duration of the league.

Cities represented Big Stone Gap, VA: Big Stone Gap Rebels 1949–1953 Harlan, KY: Harlan Smokies 1948–1954 Hazard, KY: Hazard Bombers 1948–1952 Jenkins, KY: Jenkins Cavaliers 1948–1951 Kingsport, TN: Kingsport Cherokees 1953–1954 Knoxville, TN: Knoxville Smokies 1953 Lexington, KY: Lexington Colts 1954 Maryville, TN & Alcoa, TN: Maryville-Alcoa Twins 1953–1954 Middlesboro, KY: Middlesboro Athletics 1949–1954 Morristown, TN: Morristown Red Sox 1948–1954; Morristown Twins 1954 Newport, TN: Newport Canners 1948–1950 Norton, VA: Norton Braves 1951–1953 Oak Ridge, TN: Oak Ridge Bombers 1948; Oak Ridge Pioneers 1954 Pennington Gap, VA: Pennington Gap Miners 1948–1951

Standings & statistics 1948 Mountain States League - schedule Team standingsWLPCTGBAttend Managers Morristown Red Sox7046.603–37,744 James Grigg Oak Ridge Bombers / Hazard Bombers6543.602422,533 Hobe Brummitt Pennington Gap Miners5954.5229½14,988 Joe Santomauro / Buford Rhea Newport Canners5859.49612½30,054 Michael Balla / Cy Whaley Harlan Smokies5663.47115½46,187 Bill Sisler / Frank Wilson / Michael GodaJenkins Cavaliers3578.31033½23,276Ray Russell / Jackson Bell / Brent Mays Oak Ridge moved to Hazard June 10 Playoffs: Morristown 3 games, Newport 2; Hazard 3 games, Pennington Gap 0. Finals: Morristown 3 games, Hazard 2.

+Player statistics Player TeamStat TotPlayerTeamStatTot Cy Whaley NewportBA.382Mike ClarkNewportW20 Eduardo DeHogues MorristownRuns109Dennis ReederOak Ridge/HazardSO196 Eduardo DeHogues MorristownHits145Dennis Reeder Oak Ridge/HazardERA2.20 Jacob Stirn MorristownRBI101Dennis Reeder Oak Ridge/HazardPCT.773 17–5 Jacob Stirn MorristownHR12 Eduardo DeHogues MorristownHR12

1949 Mountain States League - schedule Team standingsWLPCTGBAttend Managers Harlan Smokies8341.669–49,615 George Motto Morristown Red Sox7252.5811144,362 James Grigg Middlesboro Athletics6956.55214½25,833 Hobe Brummitt / Ted Russ / James Burns Jenkins Cavaliers6361.5082019,654 Joe Vitter Pennington Gap Miners6263.49621½14,820Lew Flick / Burgess Wolfenbarger Newport Canners5966.47224½14,148 Cy Whaley Big Stone Gap Rebels5570.44028½37,751Rudolph Parsons / Dale Markert / Fred Marsh Hazard Bombers3589.2824823,543Fred Marsh /George Mitrus / Hobe Brummitt Playoffs: Harlan 3 games, Middlesboro 1; Morristown 3 games, Jenkins 2. Finals: Harlan 3 games, Morristown 2.

+Player statistics Player TeamStat TotPlayerTeamStatTot Kelly Lunn Pennington GapBA.358Frank C. WilsonHarlanW27 Robert Grose Pennington GapRuns127 Frank C. Wilson HarlanSO176 Kelly Lunn Pennington GapHits179 Frank C. Wilson HarlanERA2.77 Kelly Lunn Pennington GapRBI126 Frank C. Wilson HarlanPCT.771 27–8 Jack Hall JenkinsHR18

1950 Mountain States League - schedule Team standingsWLPCTGBAttend Managers Harlan Smokies8144.648–41,707 Rex Carr Hazard Bombers7649.608555,184Max Macon Big Stone Gap Rebels7551.5956½38,878Jack Rothrock Middlesboro Athletics5967.46822½20,248 James Burns Jenkins Cavaliers5866.46822½13,880Bob Bowman /Wayne Stewart / Bill Scopetone Morristown Red Sox5667.4552430,448 Fred Hartman / Pinky Doyle Newport Canners5174.4083020,920Robert Mitchell / Matthew Zidich Pennington Gap Miners4482.34937½11,164Lew Flick /Michael Brelich / Vince Pankovits Playoffs: Harlan 3 games, Big Stone Gap 1; Middlesboro 3 games, Hazard 0. Finals: Harlan 3 games, Middlesboro 0.

+Player statistics Player TeamStat TotPlayerTeamStatTot Max MaconHazardBA.392 Nick Bunato MiddlesboroW22 Joseph Christian HarlanRuns127 Nick Bunato MiddlesboroSO132 Joseph Christian HarlanHits173 Michael Hudak Big Stone GapERA2.89 Joe Riola MorristownRBI130 Michael Hudak Big Stone GapPCT.875 21–3 Joseph Christian HarlanHR27

1951 Mountain States League - schedule Team standingsWLPCTGBAttend Managers Hazard Bombers9333.738–35,129Max Macon Morristown Red Sox8639.6886½22,184James BurnsHarlan Smokies8243.65610½35,657 Bones Sanders / John Streza Middlesboro Athletics5966.47233½19,228 Ted Russ / George Kennis Pennington Gap Miners5471.43238½14,994 Vince PankovitsNorton Braves5372.42439½12,314Bob Bowman /George Sifft / George Motto Big Stone Gap Rebels4975.3954313,737Ham Schulte / Lew Flick Jenkins Cavaliers24101.19268½12,250 James Grigg / Tom McBride Playoffs: Hazard 3 games, Harlan 0; Morristown 3 games, Middlesboro 0. Finals: Hazard 3 games, Morristown 0.

+Player statistics Player TeamStat TotPlayerTeamStatTot Orville Kitts MorristownBA.424 Dan Hayling HazardW24Max MaconHazardRuns139Johnny PodresHazardSO228 Len Feriancek Pennington GapHits216Johnny PodresHazardERA1.67 Max MaconHazardRBI148Johnny PodresHazardPCT.875 21–3 Bill Halstead Pennington GapHR34

1952 Mountain States League - schedule Team standingsWLPCTGBAttend Managers Hazard Bombers8732.731–14,600Mervin Dornburg Harlan Smokies7345.61913½32,579 Rex Carr Morristown Red Sox6158.5132610,597 James Burns Big Stone Gap Rebels5760.4872911,161 Len Cross Middlesboro Athletics4772.3954015,364Leon Culberson / Red Goff / Joe McManus Norton Braves3088.25456½10,025 George Motto /Bill Fitchko / Mark Muslin Playoffs: Morristown 3 games, Hazard 1; Harlan 3 games, Big Stone Gap 2. Finals: Harlan 3 games, Morristown 0.

+Player statistics Player TeamStat TotPlayerTeamStatTot Orville Kitts MorristownBA.372 Michael DelPiano HarlanW22 Ken Johnson HazardRuns146 Michael DelPiano HarlanSO144 Len Cross Big Stone GapHits138 Rafael Codinachs MiddlesboroERA2.78 Joe McManus MiddlesboroHits138 McKinley Mosley HazardPCT1.000 10–0 Len Cross Big Stone GapRBI125 Ken Johnson HazardBB197 Len Cross Big Stone GapHR40 1953 Mountain States League - schedule Team standingsWLPCTGBAttend Managers Maryville-Alcoa Twins7846.629–25,000Jim Poole Knoxville Smokies7055.5608½36,255Vince Pankovits Kingsport Cherokees6956.5529½46,717Muscle Shoals Morristown Red Sox6462.5081537,384Napoleon Reyes Norton Braves6363.5001621,873Walt Dixon Big Stone Gap Rebels5570.44023½8,230 Kelly Lunn Harlan Smokies5372.42425½20,630 Cliff Melton / Barry Cox / James Grigg Middlesboro Athletics4876.3873012,600 Julian Morgan / Ben Pardue Playoffs: Maryville-Alcoa 3 games, Kingsport 2; Knoxville 3 games, Morristown 1. Finals: Knoxville 3 games, Maryville-Alcoa 1.

+Player statistics Player TeamStat TotPlayerTeamStatTot Muscle ShoalsKingsportBA.427 Jim Tugerson KnoxvilleW29 Hugh Hamil Maryville-AlcoaRuns165 Jim Tugerson KnoxvilleSO286 Walt DixonNortonHits197 Raymond Johnston Maryville-AlcoaERA1.90 Willie KirklandMaryville-AlcoaRBI164 Ned Jilton KingsportPCT.864 19–3 Walt DixonNortonHR37 1954 Mountain States League''' - schedule Team standingsWLPCTGBAttend Managers Middlesboro Athletics4834.585–9,031Walt Dixon Harlan Smokies3933.542410,000Bill Steinecke Kingsport Cherokees4140.5066½33,000Muscle Shoals Oak Ridge Pioneers3543.4491118,286Bert Niehoff Morristown Red Sox77.500NANANapoleon Reyes Lexington Colts 3036.455NA4,000Zeke Bonura Maryville-Alcoa Twins / Morristown Twins2936.446NA9,559 Tuck McWilliams Morristown disbanded May 15; Maryville–Alcoa moved to Morristown June 19, then disbanded July 7; Lexington disbanded July 20.The league disbanded July 20.

+Player statistics Player TeamStat TotPlayerTeamStatTot Ray Adams Oak RidgeBA.352 Norman Hughes HarlanW16 Aldo Salvent KingsportRuns84 Norman Hughes HarlanSO85 Ray Adams Oak RidgeHits112 Raymond Johnston Oak RidgeERA2.28 Walt DixonMiddlesboroRBI80Don Vaughn Maryville–Alcoa/MorristownPCT.917 11–1 Muscle Shoals KingsportHR18

References

Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, eds., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball'', 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007.