# Tobacco State League

The Tobacco State League was a Class D level American minor baseball league that played for five seasons (1946–1950) in Organized Baseball in the state of North Carolina. The Red Springs Red Robins won two league championships.

## History

The Tobacco State League was one of many low-level minor leagues that flourished immediately after World War II before disbanding in the 1950s. Founded as a six-team circuit in 1946, the league sported eight teams for the final four years of its existence, although one of its teams, the charter member Smithfield-Selma Leafs, was forced to drop out during the closing weeks of the TSL's final 1950 season. With the exceptions of Lumberton (Chicago Cubs) and Red Springs (Philadelphia Athletics), its members were unaffiliated with Major League Baseball farm systems.

## Member teams

* Angier, NC & Fuquay Springs, NC: Angier-Fuquay Springs Bulls 1946 (Champions, 1946)
* Clinton, NC: Clinton Blues1946–1948; Clinton Sampson Blues 1949–1950
* Dunn, NC & Erwin, NC: Dunn-Erwin Twins 1946–1950
* Fayetteville, NC: Fayetteville Scotties 1949
* Lumberton, NC: Lumberton Cubs 1947–1948; Lumberton Auctioneers 1949–1950
* Red Springs, NC: Red Springs Red Robins 1947–1950 (Champions, 1948, 1949)
* Rockingham, NC: Rockingham Eagles 1950 (Champions, 1950)
* Sanford, NC: Sanford Spinners 1946–1950 (Champions, 1947)
* Smithfield, NC & Selma, NC: Smithfield-Selma Leafs 1946–1950
* Warsaw, NC: Warsaw Red Sox 1947–1948
* Whiteville, NC: Whiteville Tobs 1950
* Wilmington, NC: Wilmington Pirates 1946–1950

## Standings & statistics

1946 Tobacco League Standings :
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
| Sanford Spinners | 71 | 48 | .597 | - | Gaither Riley / Zeb Harrington |
| Clinton Blues | 70 | 48 | .593 | 0.5 | Willie Duke / Van Lingle Mungo |
| Smithfield-Selma Leafs | 58 | 62 | .483 | 13.5 | Mike Balas |
| Angier-Fuquay Springs Bulls | 57 | 62 | .479 | 14.0 | Paul Dunlap / Gaither Riley |
| Wilmington Pirates | 52 | 66 | .441 | 18.5 | Stan Katkaveck / Gus Brittain |
| Dunn-Erwin Twins | 48 | 70 | .407 | 22.5 | James Guinn / Alton Stephenson / Dwight Law |
Playoffs: Angier-Fuquay 4 games, Sanford 2; Clinton 4 games, Springfield 1. Finals: Angier-Fuquay 4 games, Clinton 3.
1946 league leaders :
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot |
| Willie Duke | Clinton | BA | .393 | Robert Keane | Clinton | W | 23 |
| Lonnie H. Smith | Clinton | Runs | 117 | George Bortz | Sanford | SO | 193 |
| Leo Niezgoda | Smith/Selma | Hits | 173 | Robert Keane | Clinton | PCT | .852; 23-4 |
| Orville Nesselrode | Sanford | RBI | 150 |
| Orville Nesselrode | Sanford | HR | 30 |
1947 Tobacco State League standings :
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Attend | Managers |
| Sanford Spinners | 86 | 39 | .688 | - | 37,517 | Zeb Harrington |
| Lumberton Cubs | 71 | 49 | .592 | 12.5 | 50,758 | Red Lucas |
| Wilmington Pirates | 68 | 57 | .544 | 18.0 | 63,219 | Nate Andrews |
| Dunn-Erwin Twins | 62 | 62 | .500 | 23.5 | 49,262 | Jack Bell / Bill Auerette |
| Warsaw Red Sox | 59 | 64 | .480 | 26.0 | 36,865 | James Milner |
| Clinton Blues | 56 | 67 | .455 | 29.0 | 36,778 | Robert Hall / Van Lingle Mungo / Survern Wright |
| Red Springs Red Robins | 47 | 78 | .480 | 39.0 | 21,000 | Red Norris |
| Smithfield-Selma Leafs | 46 | 79 | .368 | 40.0 | 28,847 | Mike Balas / Joe Eonta |
Playoffs: Sanford 4 games, Wilmington 3; Lumberton 4 games, Dunn-Erwin 1. Finals: Sanford 4 games, Lumberton 3.
1947 league leaders :
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot |
| Jimmy Wilson | Sanford | BA | .385 | Lewis Cheshire | Wilmington | W | 19 |
| Jimmy Wilson | Sanford | Runs | 133 | Carl Johnson | Warsaw | SO | 225 |
| Jimmy Wilson | Sanford | Hits | 205 | John McFadden | Sanford | ERA | 2.44 |
| Orville Nesselrode | Sanford | RBI | 166 | John McFadden | Sanford | PCT | .750 15-5 |
| Orville Nesselrode | Sanford | HR | 32 |
1948 Tobacco State League standings :
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Attend | Managers |
| Sanford Spinners | 80 | 56 | .588 | - | 29,374 | Zeb Harrington |
| Wilmington Pirates | 76 | 62 | .551 | 5.0 | 77,842 | Jim Staton |
| Red Springs Red Robins | 75 | 62 | .547 | 5.5 | 28,410 | Red Norris |
| Smithfield-Selma Leafs | 73 | 65 | .529 | 8.0 | 36,552 | Sam Narron / Virgil Payne |
| Warsaw Red Sox | 71 | 67 | .514 | 10.0 | 32,482 | Sam Gibson / Verne Blackwell |
| Clinton Blues | 70 | 67 | .511 | 10.5 | 39,498 | Marvin Lorenz |
| Lumberton Cubs | 55 | 81 | .404 | 25.0 | 38,772 | Charlie Jamin |
| Dunn-Erwin Twins | 49 | 89 | .355 | 32.0 | 26,475 | Carl McQuillen / Babe Bost / Gaither Riley |
Playoffs: Sanford 4 games, Smithfield-Selma 1; Red Springs 4 games, Wilmington 3. Finals: Red Springs 4 games, Sanford 1.
1948 league leaders :
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot |
| Hargrove Davis | Wilmington | BA | .366 | Aaron Osofsky | Smithfield-Selma | W | 24 |
| Jimmy Wilson | Sanford | Runs | 145 | John Cheshire | Wilmington | SO | 258 |
| Jimmy Wilson | Sanford | Hits | 212 | John Cheshire | Wilmington | ERA | 2.35 |
| Orville Nesselrode | Sanford | RBI | 159 | Aaron Osofsky | Smithfield-Selma | PCT | .828 24-5 |
| Orville Nesselrode | Sanford | HR | 27 |
1949 Tobacco State League standings :
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Attend | Managers |
| Dunn-Erwin Twins | 81 | 54 | .600 | - | 39,335 | Jim Staton |
| Red Springs Red Robins | 76 | 59 | .563 | 5.0 | 33,303 | Red Norris |
| Lumberton Auctioneers | 75 | 61 | .551 | 6.5 | 60,038 | Charles Lucas / James Guinn |
| Sanford Spinners | 71 | 62 | .530 | 9.0 | 36,046 | Zeb Harrington |
| Smithfield-Selma Leafs | 70 | 65 | .519 | 11.0 | 41,618 | Virgil Payne / Claude Weaver / Paul Kluk |
| Fayetteville Scotties | 61 | 76 | .445 | 21.0 | 56,999 | Zip Payne / Joe Roseberry / Nicholas Rhabe / John Helms |
| Clinton Sampson Blues | 60 | 78 | .435 | 22.5 | 37,496 | Marvin Lorenz |
| Wilmington Pirates | 49 | 88 | .358 | 33.0 | 49,009 | Ab Tiedemann / John Edens / Gus Brittain / Hargrove Davis |
Playoffs: Dunn-Erwin 4 games, Lumberton 1; Red Springs 4 games, Sanford 2. Finals: Red Springs 4 games, Dunn Erwin 1.
1949 league leaders :
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot |
| Joe Roseberry | Fayetteville | BA | .409 | Clarence Condit | Dunn-Erwin | W | 20 |
| Granville Denning | Dunn-Erwin | Runs | 118 | Clarence Condit | Dunn-Erwin | SO | 264 |
| Nicholas Perchia | Clinton | Runs | 118 | Leslie Price | Clinton | ERA | 2.19 |
| Granville Denning | Dunn-Erwin | Hits | 185 | John Bennett | Smithfield-Selma | PCT | .769 10-3 |
| Granville Denning | Dunn-Ervin | RBI | 119 |
| Joseph Stern | Clin/Lumb | HR | 15 |
| John Helms | Fayetteville | HR | 15 |
1950 Tobacco State League standings :
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Attend | Managers |
| Lumberton Auctioneers | 92 | 43 | .682 | - | 42,796 | John Streza |
| Sanford Spinners | 90 | 44 | .672 | 1.5 | 19,686 | Zeb Harrington |
| Red Springs Red Robins | 68 | 61 | .527 | 21.0 | 26,198 | Ducky Detweiler |
| Rockingham Eagles | 63 | 69 | .477 | 27.5 | 31,806 | Jack Bell / Turkey Tyson |
| Clinton Sampson Blues | 61 | 72 | .459 | 30.0 | 29,060 | Alvin Kluttz / Nicholas Rhabe / Marvin Lorenz |
| Wilmington Pirates | 56 | 75 | .427 | 34.0 | 35,950 | Bill Hamons / Red Teague / Steve Collins |
| Dunn-Erwin Twins / Whiteville Tobs | 39 | 92 | .298 | 51.0 | 20,839 | Jim Staton |
| Smithfield-Selma Leafs | 49 | 62 | .441 | NA | 19,369 | Marvin Lorenz |
Playoffs: Rockingham 4 games, Lumberton 2; Stanford 4 games, Red Springs 0; Finals: Rockingham 4 games, Stanford 3
1950 league leaders :
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot |
| Granville Denning | Whiteville | BA | .374 | Hoyt Clegg | Sanford | W | 24 |
| Granville Denning | Whiteville | Hits | 176 | Richard Causey | Sanford | SO | 148 |
| Pierre Ethier | Lumberton | Runs | 146 | Clayton Andrews | Sanford | ERA | 2.63 |
| Mike Milosevich | Lumberton | RBI | 121 | John Lagan | Lumberton | PCT | .875 21-3 |
| Mike Milosevich | Lumberton | HR | 14 |