The history of minor league baseball in Thomasville part 5: Going out on top

THOMASVILLE — The city was at a loss for baseball. Despite the Dodgers often being a subpar team, the people of Thomasville at least had baseball to entertain them. On top of that, the Rose City was home to the Orioles spring training facility, a place that was largely credited with the rebirth of Baltimore’s farm system. Now, there was no team with Thomasville scrawled across their uniforms.

BACK ON TOP: The 1963 Thomasville Tigers won the league pennant for the second year in a row.

However, that would all change in 1962 when the Georgia-Florida League that had folded just three years earlier, made a comeback. It wasn’t a strong one, as the league only boasted four teams, though they did make a push.

The league was now a Class A minor league and all of its teams had Major League affiliates. The Moultrie Colt .22s, an affiliate of the Houston Colt .45’s, the Dublin Braves, who were affiliated with Milwaukee, and the Brunswick Cardinals, whose affiliation resided in St. Louis with the Cardinals.

Of course, Thomasville also joined the fray as the Thomasville Tigers returned to the Rose City as the Detroit affiliate. The season began with a mid week game on April 25, 1962, and over the next five months the Tigers went on a tear. Led by first basemen Rich Reese and Don Pepper along with second baseman Martin Richardson, the Tigers infield was impenetrable, allowing the fewest runs in the league with 541 on the season. Reese and Pepper, neither of which spent the entire ’62 season with the Tigers, posted a fielding percentage of over .980. Richardson led the team in games played, stepping onto the diamond for all but three of the Tigers games that season. He secured 277 assists in his 114 games and turned 51 double plays.

The Tigers pitching was also stellar. Led by lefty Charlie Haygood, the Tigers bullpen posted a collective ERA of 3.93 and allowed only 382 hits in 875 innings pitched and recorded 781 K’s. Haygood led the pack and the league with 14 wins on the season and had a team best ERA of 2.08.

Richardson also set the bar at the plate for the Tigers with a .411 slugging percentage and was the only Tiger with over 100 hits on the season with 116. The Tigers were incredibly consistent when it came to getting on base. They had eight players with an on-base-percentage above .400 and Reese led the way at .441.

Thomasville took the regular season pennant in 1962 with a record of 76-41. However, despite the Tigers being the second most successful regular season team in Thomasville minor league history and vastly better than the other Tiger teams to come before them, they were not crowned champions. Though the league returned, there were no playoffs and no championship series. So, the Tigers had to settle for the regular season pennant.

In 1963, the race for the top spot in the league was much closer. The Tigers offense declined in ’63. They were the worst scoring offense in the league, though second baseman Jim Glover did everything he could at the plate to help Thomasville. Glover didn’t just play more games than any other Tiger in 1963 with 119, he led the team in at-bats, runs, RBI’s, and home runs. Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that Glover struck out just 61 times in 493 plate appearances.

The Tigers pitching staff kept up their performance with a solid season. Robert Eaton led the way with a team leading 12 wins, allowing just 57 runs in 125 innings pitched. As a bullpen, the Tigers hurlers pitched 14 shutouts in the ’63 season with a collective 2.74 ERA .

The Tigers were good in ’63, but Moultrie was hot on their tail.

The Colt .22’s were a force to be reckoned with, hosting a pair of solid starting pitchers in Bobby Black and Frank Thomas and an offense led by Dennis Willett, who boasted a team leading 130 hits and 73 runs. The .22’s were also led by the powerful bat of Charles Murray, who led the team with 15 homers.

The race for the Georgia-Florida League pennant was tight but Thomasville came out just three games ahead of Moultrie, defending their place at the top of the league.

Unfortunately, 1963 would mark the end of the Georgia-Florida League and the last time Thomasvillians would enjoy minor league baseball.

But the spirit of America’s favorite past-time continues to burn bright in the hearts of the citizens of the Rose City. Thomas County Central, Thomasville High School, and Brookwood carry on the tradition of taking the diamond to represent the city of Thomasville. Whether it’s a Bulldog, a Yellow Jacket, or a Warrior, they continue a tradition that was set way back when. Back when there was no Monday Night Football and the uniforms of the heroes of the diamond sagged around their waste. Back when baseball fields were wherever you could find space enough to hit a ball. Back when minor league baseball was king in Thomasville.

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