# 1959 South Atlantic League season

The 1959 South Atlantic League was a Class A baseball season played between April 13 and September 1. Eight teams played a 140-game schedule, with the top four teams qualifying for the playoffs.
The Gastonia Pirates won the South Atlantic League championship, defeating the Charleston ChaSox in the final round of the playoffs.

## Team changes

* The Augusta Tigers disbanded.
* The Asheville Tourists join the league from the Tri-State League, last playing in 1955. The club began an affiliation with the Philadelphia Phillies. Previously, the team played in the South Atlantic Association from 1924 to 1930.
* The Charleston ChaSox join the league as an expansion team.
* The Columbus Foxes re-join the league from the Alabama-Florida League. The club began an affiliation with the Pittsburgh Pirates and were renamed the Columbus Pirates.
* The Knoxville Smokies ended their affiliation with the Baltimore Orioles and began a new affiliation with the Detroit Tigers.
* The Savannah Redlegs are renamed the Savannah Reds. The club remained affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds.

## Teams

1959 South Atlantic League :
| Team | City | MLB Affiliate | Stadium |
| Asheville Tourists | Asheville, North Carolina | Philadelphia Phillies | McCormick Field |
| Charleston ChaSox | Charleston, South Carolina | Chicago White Sox | Hampton Park |
| Charlotte Hornets | Charlotte, North Carolina | Washington Senators | Clark Griffith Park |
| Columbus Pirates Gastonia Pirates | Columbus, Georgia Gastonia, North Carolina | Pittsburgh Pirates | Golden Park Sims Legion Park |
| Jacksonville Braves | Jacksonville, Florida | Milwaukee Braves | Jacksonville Baseball Park |
| Knoxville Smokies | Knoxville, Tennessee | Detroit Tigers | Knoxville Municipal Stadium |
| Macon Dodgers | Macon, Georgia | Los Angeles Dodgers | Luther Williams Field |
| Savannah Reds | Savannah, Georgia | Cincinnati Reds | Grayson Stadium |

## Regular season
### Summary

* The Knoxville Smokies finish the season with the best record in the league for the first time since 1929.
* On July 6, the Columbus Pirates relocated to Gastonia, North Carolina and were renamed the Gastonia Pirates.

### Standings

South Atlantic League :
| Team | Win | Loss | % | GB |
| Knoxville Smokies | 78 | 62 | .557 | – |
| Charlotte Hornets | 75 | 65 | .536 | 3 |
| Charleston ChaSox | 71 | 69 | .507 | 7 |
| Columbus Pirates / Gastonia Pirates | 70 | 69 | .504 | 7.5 |
| Asheville Tourists | 70 | 70 | .500 | 8 |
| Savannah Reds | 67 | 73 | .479 | 11 |
| Jacksonville Braves | 65 | 75 | .464 | 13 |
| Macon Dodgers | 63 | 76 | .453 | 14.5 |

## League Leaders
### Batting leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Nathan Dickerson, Asheville Tourists | .363 |
| H | Thomas St. John, Savannah Reds | 148 |
| R | Harry Warner, Charlotte Hornets | 94 |
| 2B | Ben Tompkins, Asheville Tourists | 30 |
| 3B | Jose Cesar, Macon Dodgers | 14 |
| HR | Cliff Cook, Savannah Reds | 32 |
| RBI | Cliff Cook, Savannah Reds | 100 |
| SB | Bill Fox, Macon Dodgers | 29 |

### Pitching leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Jack Taylor, Asheville Tourists | 18 |
| ERA | Jim Proctor, Knoxville Smokies | 2.19 |
| CG | Bob Botz, Jacksonville Braves Jim Proctor, Knoxville Smokies Duane Richards, Savannah Reds | 15 |
| SHO | William Dial, Columbus / Gastonia | 4 |
| IP | Bob Botz, Jacksonville Braves | 244.0 |
| SO | Ray Daviault, Macon Dodgers | 169 |

## Playoffs

* The semi-finals and finals are extended to a best-of-five series.
* The Gastonia Pirates won their first South Atlantic League championship, defeating the Charleston ChaSox in three games.

### Playoff bracket

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | Knoxville | 2 | | | |
| 3 | Charleston | 3 | | | |
| 3 | Charleston | 3 | 3 | Charleston | 0 |
| | | | 4 | Gastonia | 3 |
| 2 | Charlotte | 2 | 4 | Gastonia | 3 |
| 4 | Gastonia | 3 | | | |