In the United States, minor league baseball has a long and illustrious history. The AA class Southern League, whose member teams consistently draw close to two and a half million fans each season, is one of the more successful leagues today. Here’s some background on the Southern League’s forerunners, as well as some facts about the league today.
The modern Southern League has its origins in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The first baseball league was founded in 1885 and lasted fourteen years before disbanding. The Southern Association was founded in 1901 to promote what would later be known as A-class baseball. The rival South Atlantic League began operations in the same regional locations just a few years later.
Until 1961, when the Southern Association folded, the two leagues coexisted. The remaining South Atlantic League was granted AA status two years later, and the decision was made to reclaim the old Southern League title, which had been abandoned in 1899. Since the 1964 season, the reconstituted Southern League has kept track of its league records.
The Southern League began with an eight-team roster spread across five Southern states in its inaugural season. During those early years, the League had a 140-game season schedule, which culminated in an all-star game. Many of the original fields and stadiums were unsuitable for sporting events, which limited the ability of families to support local teams. When Billy Hitchcock became the second Southern League president in the early 1970s, this began to change.
A greater emphasis on the quality of club venues and general playing conditions for each team in the league resulted in structural improvements in some areas and the construction of entirely new facilities in others. Playoff games were also introduced during this time period, giving fans yet another reason to show up and cheer on their favorite teams. The end result was a significant increase in Southern League game attendance. For the first time ever, total attendance for League games surpassed one million by the end of the 1970s.
The Southern League has consistently provided a training ground for players who have gone on to become major league players over the years. Vida Blue, Reggie Jackson, and Tony La Russa were all members of Southern League teams in the 1960s. In the 1970s, players like Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker continued the trend. During the 1980s, the Southern League was the home of early successes for Cal Ripken, Jr., Randy Johnson, and Mark McGwire. Adam Dunn, Miguel Tejada, Dontrelle Willis, and Chipper Jones are among the notable major league players who began their careers in the Southern League.
During the 1990s, continued improvements in facilities and the expansion of the Southern League’s number of teams allowed annual attendance to surpass two million. None of the current roster of teams’ stadiums are older than twenty years, with several of them having opened around the turn of the century. The former East and West Divisions were realigned as the North and South Divisions in 2004, due to the geographic locations of the current roster of teams. The Southern League is poised for more growth as it continues to provide family entertainment to an ever-increasing number of fans, with a bright future and a solid reputation.