Vidalia Indians

The Vidalia Indians were a minor league baseball team based in Vidalia, Georgia from 1952 to 1956. The Indians followed the Vidalia-Lyons Twins, who played form 1948 to 1950. The Indians and Twins both played as members of the Class D level Georgia State League. The Vidalia Indians won Georgia State League championships in 1952 and 1954. The team folded, along with the league, following the 1956 season.[1]

Vidalia Indians
1948–1956
(1948–1950, 1952–1956)
Vidalia, Georgia
Minor league affiliations
Previous classesClass D (1948–1950, 1952–1956)
Previous leagues
Georgia State League (1948–1950, 1952–1956)
Major league affiliations
Previous teams
Minor league titles
League titles 2 1952, 1954
Team data
Previous names
  • Vidalia-Lyons Twins (1948–1950)
  • Vidalia Indians (1952–1956)
Previous parks
Vidalia Municipal Stadium (1948-1950, 1952–1956)

The Vidalia Indians were an affiliate of the Cleveland Indians from 1952 to 1956.

History

Vidalia was home to the Vidalia-Lyons Twins, sharing the team in partnership with nearby Lyons, Georgia. The Twins played in the newly reformed six–team Class D level Georgia State League from 1948 to 1950. The team was named the "Twins" because of the close proximity of Vidalia and Lyons. The Vidalia-Lyons Twins advanced to the Georgia State League Finals in 1949. The Twins finished the 1948 regular season with a 54–66 record, placing 5th. The 1949 Twins finished in 4th place with a 72–65 record. In 1950, the Twins had a 56–83 record, placing 7th in the final standings.[2][3][4]

After not fielding a team in 1951, the Vidalia Indians rejoined the 1952 Class D Georgia State League as an affiliate of the Cleveland Indians.[5]

The Vidalia Indians captured the 1952 Georgia State League championship. Vidalia finished 66–58, placing 3rd in the 1952 regular season under Manager Frank "Bull" Hamons, finishing 9.0 games behind the 1st place Eastman Dodgers. After beating the Hazlehurst-Baxley Cardinals 4 games to 2, the Vidalia Indians defeated the Douglas Trojans 4 games to 2 in the league finals to win the championship. The 1952 season attendance for Vidalia was 37,485, an average of 605 per home game.[6][5][7]

In the 1953 season, the Indians finished last. Placing in 8th place in the eight–the team league, the Indians had a 41–82 record under managers Frank Hamons, Jake Daniel and Don Cross. The Indians finished 42.0 games behind 1st place Baxley-Hazlehurst Red Sox in the regular season standings.[8][9][10]

In 1954, Vidalia rebounded from the last place finish and won their second Georgia State League Championship. The Indians finished in 1st place in the regular season, with a 85–44 record under manager James Beavers, 0.5 games ahead of the Douglas Trojans. In the 1954 playoffs, after defeating the Statesboro Pilots 4 games to 2, Vidalia swept the Douglas Trojans 4 games to 0 in the league finals. During their championship season of 1954, the Indians had season attendance of 53,334.[11][12][13]

In 1955, Vidalia finished with a 56–54 record, in 4th place, 7.0 games behind the Douglas Trojans, to qualify for the playoffs. The Indians lost in the first round of the playoffs under player/manager Ed Levy. In the playoffs,the Douglas Trojans defeated the Vidalia Indians 3 games to 1 as Gary Bell finished 7–5 with a 3.33 ERA.[14][15]

In their final season, the Indians finished 3rd in the 1956 regular season with a 63–57 record, 14.0 games behind the Douglas Reds, playing under manager Mark Wylie. In the first round of the playoffs, the Douglas Reds beat the Vidalia Indians 3 games to 2. Dick Stigman was 17–9 with a 1.44 ERA. Vidalia had 1956 season attendance of 17,273, an average of 288 per game. The Georgia State League permanently folded operations after the 1956 season.[16][9][17]

Vidalia has not hosted another minor league baseball team.[18]

The ballpark

The Indians and Twins played at Vidalia Municipal Stadium.[19][20][21]

Timeline
Year(s)# Yrs.TeamLevelLeagueAffiliate
1948–19503Vidalia-Lyons TwinsClass DGeorgia State LeagueNone
1952–19565Vidalia IndiansCleveland Indians

Notable alumni

References
  1. "Vidalia, Georgia Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
  2. "1949 Register League Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com.
  3. "Vidalia-Lyons Twins History". toombsnow.com.
  4. "Vidalia-Lyons Twins - BR Bullpen". www.baseball-reference.com.
  5. "Vidalia Indians - BR Bullpen". www.baseball-reference.com.
  6. "1952 Vidalia Indians Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  7. "1952 Vidalia Indians Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  8. "1953 Vidalia Indians Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  9. "Georgia State League - BR Bullpen". www.baseball-reference.com.
  10. "1953 Vidalia Indians Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  11. "1954 Vidalia Indians Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  12. "1954 Vidalia Indians Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  13. "1954 Georgia State League (GSL) on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  14. "1955 Vidalia Indians Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  15. "1955 Vidalia Indians Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  16. "1956 Vidalia Indians Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  17. "1956 Vidalia Indians Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  18. "Vidalia, GA - BR Bullpen". www.baseball-reference.com.
  19. "Pro Baseball". toombsnow.com.
  20. "Digitalballparks.com - Cleveland Indians Affiliation Listing". www.digitalballparks.com.
  21. "Municipal Stadium in Vidalia, GA history and teams on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.

See also

Vidalia Indians players

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