| rdfs:comment | - The South Atlantic League, or "Sally League," is a minor league baseball league which operates in the southeastern United States. It is a Class A league that plays a full season; its players are typically a mixture of newly-signed draftees (especially late in the season) and players promoted from rookie leagues. Currently, the league has sixteen teams, divided into two divisions of eight clubs. The SAL had the highest attendance in 101 years with over 3,541,992 fans. In fact, minor league baseball set a second straight attendance record in 2005 with 41,333,279 fans.
|
| abstract | - The South Atlantic League, or "Sally League," is a minor league baseball league which operates in the southeastern United States. It is a Class A league that plays a full season; its players are typically a mixture of newly-signed draftees (especially late in the season) and players promoted from rookie leagues. There have been different South Atlantic Leagues in the history of minor league baseball, spanning from 1904* to the present with a few breaks. The Sally ran from 1904-1917 as a class C league, then started up again in 1919, also class C. This time it ran from 1919-1930, moving up to class B beginning in 1921. William G. Bramham became league president in mid-1924, and served until 1930. The Sally league was re-started again as a class B from 1936-1942, shut down for the war and returned in 1946 as a class A league. The AA Southern Association (which never integrated) died after the 1961 season and so the SAL was promoted to AA in 1963 to take its place; a year later the name was changed to the Southern League. Out of the 51 seasons of operation, Augusta, GA competed in 46, Macon, GA was around for 46, and Columbia, SC was in 45. Charleston, SC, Jacksonville, FL, Savannah, GA, and Columbus, GA each competed for at least 29 years also, making for a relatively stable line-up. The South Atlantic League name went unused for 16 years - in 1980 the Western Carolinas League brought back the name when it sought to change its identity. For nearly 60 years, 1948 through 2007, the dominant figure in the WCL/SAL was league founder and president John Henry Moss, who started the WCL as a young man in 1948, refounded it in 1960 and then led it into the new century. Moss, who keeps his age a private matter, retired at the close of the 2007 Sally League season. Currently, the league has sixteen teams, divided into two divisions of eight clubs. The SAL had the highest attendance in 101 years with over 3,541,992 fans. In fact, minor league baseball set a second straight attendance record in 2005 with 41,333,279 fans. *There was also a South Atlantic League which operated in 1895 that has not been mentioned. This league consisted teams in the following cities: Augusta, GA; Brunswick, GA; Charleston, SC; Columbus, GA; Macon, Ga and Savannah, GA.
|
