Virginia League (1948–51)
The Virginia League of 1948–51 was a Class D American minor baseball league and the fifth of five professional baseball circuits to be known by that name dating to 1894. The post-World War II loop revived a previous incarnation of the Virginia League that ceased operation after September 7, 1942.
History
The 1948–51 league played each of its four seasons with six member clubs. League headquarters were in Petersburg, Virginia, with teams in North Carolina as well as Virginia. Most of the teams were not affiliated with Major League Baseball farm systems; however, the Washington Senators of the American League (who used Nationals as one of their nicknames for many years) sponsored the Emporia team from 1948 to 1950. The New York Yankees (Blackstone) and St. Louis Cardinals (Lawrenceville) also had affiliates in the Virginia League in 1948.[1]
Among the handful of future Major Leaguers who played in the Virginia League of 1948–51, the most notable and only All-Star was shortstop Eddie Kasko, a member of the 1961 National League squad (and a future MLB manager and executive), who played for the 1950 Suffolk Goobers.
Member teams
- Blackstone Barristers
- Edenton Colonials
- Elizabeth City Albemarles
- Emporia Nationals/Emporia Rebels
- Franklin Cubs/Franklin Kildees
- Hopewell Blue Sox
- Lawrenceville Cardinals/Lawrenceville Robins
- Petersburg Generals/Colonial Heights-Petersburg Generals
- Suffolk Goobers
League champions
- 1948: Blackstone
- 1949: Petersburg
- 1950: Emporia
- 1951: Elizabeth City
References
- ↑ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007