- Memphis Chicks
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Memphis Chicks
1901–1997
(1901-60 and 1978-97)
Memphis, Tennessee
Team Logo
Cap InsigniaClass-level - AA (1946-60 and 1978-97)
- B (1901)
A (1902-45)
Minor league affiliations - Southern League (1978-97)
- Southern Association (1912-60)
Major league affiliations - Seattle Mariners (1997)
- San Diego Padres (1995-96)
Kansas City Royals (1984-94)
Montreal Expos (1978-83)
St. Louis Cardinals (1960)
Boston Red Sox (1958)
Chicago Cubs (1957)
Chicago White Sox (1948-56)
Brooklyn Dodgers (1939)
Name - Memphis Egyptians (1901-08)
Memphis Turtles (1909-11)
Memphis Chickasaws (1912-60)
Ballpark - Tim McCarver Stadium (1978-97)
- Russwood Park (1912-59)
Minor league titles Dixie Series titles 1952 League titles 1930, 1932, 1952, 1956 The Memphis Chicks (originally short for Chickasaws) were an American minor league baseball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Chicks were charter members of the Southern Association (Class B, 1901; Class A, 1902–35; Class A1, 1936–45; Class AA, 1946–61) from 1901 until November 18, 1960, when the club folded and was transferred to Macon, Georgia for 1961.
The Chicks suffered a major blow in the spring of 1960 when their venerable ballpark, Russwood Park, was destroyed by fire after a Chicago White Sox-Cleveland Indians exhibition game on Easter Sunday, April 17th. The team had opened the season in Nashville and was scheduled to play their home opener in two days. The team played in temporary facilities, including a high school football stadium, for the rest of the season but drew only 48,000 fans for the entire season.
After the 1961 season, the entire Southern Association shut down. Memphis was without baseball until 1968, when a AA Texas League team, the Memphis Blues, came to town as a farm team of the New York Mets. The new team played in a converted American Legion stadium that was renamed Blues Stadium.
After six seasons, the Blues moved up to the AAA International League from 1974–76, but were inactive in 1977. In 1978, two AA Eastern League franchises were transferred to the AA Southern League and placed in Memphis and Nashville. The Memphis franchise was renamed the Chicks, Nashville's team was named the Sounds. Blues Stadium was renamed Tim McCarver Stadium in honor of native son and major league ballplayer and later broadcaster Tim McCarver.
The reborn Chicks were highly successful affiliates of the Montreal Expos, Kansas City Royals, San Diego Padres, and Seattle Mariners for the next 20 years. In 1998, the Chicks moved to Jackson, TN and became the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx, AA affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. This left Memphis without a baseball team only for a few months, as Memphis, with the promise of a yet another new stadium, AutoZone Park, was awarded a AAA franchise, which became the Memphis Redbirds, AAA affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Contents
Notable alumni
- Bo Jackson (This was his first pro baseball team after he initially rejected the NFL)
- Tim Raines
- Felipe Alou (managed 1978)
- Luke Appling (managed 1951, 1952, 1959)
- Jeff Conine
- David Cone
- Terry Francona
- Tom Gordon
- Charlie Lea
- Derrek Lee
- Brian McRae
- Brent Mayne
- Tim Raines
- Scott Sanderson
- Bryn Smith
- Tim Wallach
See also
References
External links
Preceded by
Oklahoma City IndiansBoston Red Sox
AA affiliate
1958Succeeded by
Reading Red Sox
(1962)Categories:- Defunct minor league baseball teams
- Defunct Southern League baseball teams
- Former Boston Red Sox minor league affiliates
- Sports in Memphis, Tennessee
- Baseball teams in Tennessee
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