Greenwood Braves

Greenwood Braves
Greenwood Braves
1968–1979; Greenwood, South Carolina ;
Minor league affiliations
Previous classes	Class A;
Previous leagues	South Atlantic League (1981-1983); Western Carolinas League (1968-1979); Tri-State League (1951);
Major league affiliations
Previous teams	Pittsburgh Pirates (1981-1983); Atlanta Braves (1968-1979)
Minor league titles
League titles	1968, 1971, 1978
Division titles	1981
Team data
Previous names	Greenwood Pirates (1981-1983); Greenwood Tigers (1951)
Previous parks	Legion Park

The Greenwood Braves were a single-A minor league baseball team located in Greenwood, South Carolina that existed from 1968 to 1979.

History[edit]

Affiliated with the Atlanta Braves, the Braves were members of the Western Carolinas League. The Braves captured League Championships in 1968, 1971 and 1978. Baseball Hall of Fame Inductee Hoyt Wilhelm managed the Braves in 1973. The team was disbanded after the 1979 season when the Western Carolinas League was reorganized into the South Atlantic League. However, the franchise was revived in 1981, when the Greenwood Pirates, also playing at Legion Park, entered the South Atlantic League.^[1]^[2]

The ballpark[edit]

They Braves played home games at Legion Park. Still in use today, the park is located at US 221 at Ginn Street in Greenwood.^[1] Legion Park used to be the home stadium of the local Division II Lander Bearcats before they moved to their new home in Dolny Stadium in 2012.^[3] Today the stadium is still used by the Lander University Club Baseball team for their home games.

Notable alumni[edit]

Hall of Fame alumni

Hoyt Wilhelm (1973, MGR) Inducted, 1985

Notable alumni

Jose Alvarez
Scott Bailes (1982)
Dusty Baker (1968) 2 x MLB All-Star; 3 x MLB Manager of the Year
Steve Bedrosian (1978) MLB All-Star; 1987 NL Cy Young Award
Bruce Benedict (1976) 2 x MLB All-Star
Mike Bielecki (1981)
Barry Bonnell (1975)
Brett Butler (1979) MLB All-Star
Albert Hall
Glenn Hubbard (1976-1977) MLB All-Star
Terry Leach (1977)
Grady Little (1969)
Larry McWilliams (1974)
Rick Mahler (1976)
Dale Murphy (1975) 7 x MLB All-Star; 2 x NL Most Valuable Player (1982-1983)
Rowland Office (1971)
Joe Orsulak (1981)
Gerald Perry
Rafael Ramirez (1978) MLB All-Star
Rick Renteria (181)
Bip Roberts (1982-1983) MLB All-Star
Brian Snitker (1978) Current Manager of the Atlanta Braves
Milt Thompson (1979)
Earl Williams (1968) 1971 NL rookie of the Year^[4]

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b BaseballReference.com city history
^ "Legion Stadium, Greenwood, S.C."
^ "Lander Athletic Facilities - Lander University Athletics". landerbearcats.com. Archived from the original on 2012-06-04.
^ "Earl Williams Minor, Winter & Mexican Leagues Statistics & History".

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[baseballref-1] BaseballReference.com city history

[2] "Legion Stadium, Greenwood, S.C."

[3] "Lander Athletic Facilities - Lander University Athletics". landerbearcats.com. Archived from the original on 2012-06-04.

[4] "Earl Williams Minor, Winter & Mexican Leagues Statistics & History".

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