Evansville Triplets

Evansville Triplets
1970–1984
Evansville, Indiana
Team logoCap insignia
Class-level
Previous Triple-A (1970–1984)
Minor league affiliations
League American Association (1970–1984)
Division Eastern Division
Major league affiliations
Previous
Minor league titles
League titles 1972, 1975, 1979
Division titles 1972, 1975, 1979, 1981
Team data
Previous names
 Evansville Triplets (1970–1984)
Previous parks
 Bosse Field (1970–1984)

The Evansville Triplets were a minor league baseball team of the American Association from 1970 to 1984. Due to expansion in the Major Leagues, there was a need for two additional Triple-A teams; this led to expansion in the American Association for the 1970 season. Triple-A baseball would exist in Evansville, Indiana, for the first time. In order to select a name for the new franchise, a contest was held and a $500 savings certificate was offered to whoever gave the best name for the team; the name Evansville Triplets was selected from over 3,000 entries. The name would represent not just Indiana, but the tri-state area (including Kentucky and Illinois).

In its first season, the Triplets were the Triple-A farm team for the Minnesota Twins; they then spent three seasons as the Triple-A farm team for the Milwaukee Brewers. However, the Triplets enjoyed their greatest success as the top minor league affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, winning two American Association pennants, three division titles and the 1975 Junior World Series. In its last season, Evansville was the Triple-A farm team for the Detroit Tigers. In 1985, the Triplets were purchased by Larry Schmittou and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to become the Nashville Sounds.

Schmittou and team owners arrived at terms in June 1984 to purchase the Evansville Triplets, with plans to move the franchise from Evansville to Nashville for the 1985 season. In order to prove to the team's Nashville banks, which would back the purchase, that the move was financially viable, Schmittou commissioned a survey to evaluate the potential turnout for a Triple-A team versus a Double-A team. Though the research proved to team owners that the move was a sensible decision, the banks were not impressed. So the team switched banks and went ahead with the purchase and relocation. The Triplets' legacy was retired, and the team that was moved to Nashville, the Triple-A Sounds, carried on the history of the Double-A team that preceded it.

Schmittou considered moving Nashville’s existing Southern League franchise to Evansville but city leaders declined necessary improvements to the aging Bosse Field, currently the third-oldest ballpark in continuous operation behind Wrigley Field and Fenway Park. City leaders in Huntsville, Alabama, including then Mayor Joe W. Davis, were instrumental in building a new stadium there and Schmittou moved the team to Huntsville, where it became the Huntsville Stars.

Jim Leyland managed the Triplets for three years (1979–1981).

Alumni from the 1984 Championship Detroit Tigers

Other alumni

See also

References

    External links

    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, February 07, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.