Tarboro Tars
Defunct minor league baseball team in North Carolina
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tarboro Tars was the primary name of a minor league baseball team based in Tarboro, North Carolina. The team competed in the Coastal Plain League from 1937 to 1941 and from 1946 to 1952. The team used several other nicknames during its history, and had brief affiliations with the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Athletics of Major League Baseball.
- Philadelphia Athletics (1950–1951)
- Boston Red Sox (1946)
- 1940
- 1948
| Tarboro Tars | |
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| Minor league affiliations | |
| Class | Class D (1937–1952) |
| League | Coastal Plain League (1937–1952) |
| Major league affiliations | |
| Team |
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| Minor league titles | |
| League titles (2) |
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| Team data | |
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| Ballpark | |
In the team's 12 seasons of play, it qualified for the postseason five times, advanced to the league championship series three times (1937, 1940, and 1948), and won the championship twice (1940 and 1948).[3][4]
Tarboro had previously fielded minor league teams in 1900 and 1901,[5]: 94 and for part of the 1921 season when the Petersburg Goobers relocated to Tarboro from Petersburg, Virginia, in early August.[5]: 281
Notable players
Several players with Tarboro also made appearances in Major League Baseball:
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Results by season
| Season | Nickname† | Affiliation | Record (win %) | Finish | Manager | Playoffs (games) | Attendance | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | Combs | — | 53–42 (.558) | 3rd of 8 | Snake Henry | defeated Williamston Martins (3–0) lost to Snow Hill Hill Billies (1–4) | unknown | [5]: 352 |
| 1938 | Serpents | — | 60–47 (.561) | 2nd of 8 | Snake Henry | lost to Snow Hill Hill Billies (2–4) | unknown | [5]: 359 |
| 1939 | Serpents / Goobers | — | 34–90 (.274) | 8th of 8 | Guy Shatzer Fred Neisler Larry Merville | — | unknown | [5]: 366 |
| 1940 | Tars | — | 72–51 (.585) | 2nd of 8 | Arthur "Cowboy" McHenry Bill Steinecke Wes Ratteree | defeated Goldsboro Goldbugs (4–1) defeated Kinston Eagles (4–2) | unknown | [5]: 373 |
| 1941 | Orioles | — | 44–72 (.379) | 7th of 8 | Thomas "Poke" Whalen | — | unknown | [5]: 381 |
| 1942–1945 | Coastal Plain League did not operate during World War II | — | ||||||
| 1946 | Tars | Boston Red Sox | 61–65 (.484) | 5th of 8 | Michael Kardash F. L. "Bull" Hamons | — | 46,679 | [18][5]: 405 |
| 1947 | Tars | — | 74–66 (.529) | 3rd of 8 | F. L. "Bull" Hamons | lost to Kinston Eagles (2–4) | 75,281 | [5]: 413 |
| 1948 | Tars | — | 87–53 (.621) | 1st of 8 | F. L. "Bull" Hamons | defeated Rocky Mount Leafs (4–2) defeated Kinston Eagles (4–1) | 67,767 | [5]: 422 |
| 1949 | Athletics | — | 68–68 (.500) | 6th of 8 | Joe Antolick | — | 41,212 | [5]: 432 |
| 1950 | Tars | Philadelphia Athletics | 67–71 (.486) | 7th of 8 | Joe Antolick | — | 36,467 | [5]: 443 |
| 1951 | A's | Philadelphia Athletics | 13–22 (.371) | ‡ | Joe Rullo | — | 6,431 | [5]: 453 |
| 1952 | Tars | — | 49–71 (.408) | 7th of 8 | Bill Long | — | 28,439 | [5]: 463 |
† Other sources list the team's 1937 nickname as Serpents,[6] 1940 nickname as Cubs,[9] and A's during 1948–1951.[13][14][15][16]
‡ In 1951, Tarboro and the Greenville Robins withdrew from the league in early June.[19]