| Columbia Senators | |
|---|---|
| |
| Minor league affiliations | |
| Previous classes |
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| League | Sally League (1936–1942; 1946–1957; 1960–1961) |
| Major league affiliations | |
| Previous teams |
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| Minor league titles | |
| League titles | 1941; 1953 |
| Team data | |
Previous names |
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Previous parks | Capital City Park |
TheColumbia Senators was the first name of an Americanminor league baseball franchise representingColumbia, South Carolina, in theoriginal South Atlantic League. Currently, Columbia is home of theColumbia Fireflies in theSouth Atlantic League.
Columbia was represented in the SAL — popularly called the "Sally League" — as early as 1892 as theSenators, a reference to the city's status as capital ofSouth Carolina. It fielded Sally League teams from 1904–1917, 1919–1923 and 1925–1930 under nicknames such as theSkyscrapers, Gamecocks, Comers andCommies. The SAL did not operate during 1918 at the height of World War I, and from 1931–1935 during the worst years of theGreat Depression. When the league revived in 1936, the Columbia Senators also returned to the field. The team played at Capital City Park.
The franchise was renamed the Reds in 1938 when theCincinnati Reds ofMajor League Baseball became its parent team. The team would be known as theReds from 1938–1942, 1946–1955 and 1960–1961.
The SAL shut down again during World War II, but returned toprofessional baseball in 1946, and was upgraded from Class B to Class A, then a mid- to higher-level classification. The Columbia Reds continued as a Cincinnati affiliate through 1955, but, unlike its MLB parent, the team did not change its name toRedlegs during the mid-1950s. Some of Cincinnati's biggest stars of the 1950s (includingBaseball Hall of FamerFrank Robinson, sluggerTed Kluszewski and longtime pitcher/broadcasterJoe Nuxhall) came through Columbia on their way to Major League prominence. However, in 1956 Cincinnati shifted its Sally League affiliate toSavannah, and theKansas City Athletics replaced them in Columbia with the team renamed theColumbia Gems. The Gems lasted only two seasons before the league contracted from eight to six teams and both Columbia andColumbus, Georgia, lost their franchises for 1958.
Columbia was without professional baseball until 1960, when the Reds came back from Savannah for two seasons before affiliating with theMacon Peaches in 1962. It never returned to the original Sally League (which was promoted toDouble-A in 1963 and reorganized as theSouthern League in 1964) but joined the modern Class ASouth Atlantic League in 1983 with theColumbia Mets (1983–1992) and theCapital City Bombers (1993–2004).
The Columbia Reds captured two league playoff championships (1941; 1953) during their history. The 1952 edition, managed byErnie White, won 100 of 154 regular season games, but was toppled in the first playoff round by Macon.
Hall of Fame alumni
Notable alumni