Huntsville Stars

Did You Know?

• The 2001 championship series was canceled due to the September 11 attacks, and Huntsville was declared co-champion with Jacksonville.
• Don Mincher, a Huntsville native and 12-year MLB veteran, operated the Stars as general manager from 1985 to 2001.

History

In July 1984, Larry Schmittou, president of the Nashville Sounds, and other owners purchased the Evansville Triplets with plans to move them to Nashville. The Southern League wanted Schmittou to surrender his franchise, but he instead relocated the existing Sounds franchise to Huntsville after Evansville declined to upgrade Bosse Field. Mayor Joe W. Davis agreed to build a new 10,000-seat stadium, and the Huntsville Stars began play in 1985 as an entirely new franchise. Don Mincher, a Huntsville native and 12-year major league veteran, operated the team as general manager. The Stars became the Double-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. In their inaugural season, manager Brad Fischer led the team to a First Half Western Division title, then defeated the Knoxville Blue Jays, 3–1, in the division finals and the Charlotte O's, 3–2, in the championship series. Outfielder Jose Canseco was named Southern League MVP. In 1986, the Stars hosted the Southern League All-Star Game on July 23; a team of Southern League All-Stars lost to the Nashville Sounds, 4–2, and Huntsville catcher Terry Steinbach won the game's MVP Award. The 1986 Stars repeated as first half champions and won the Western Division against Knoxville, 3–1, but lost the finals to the Columbus Astros, 3–1. Steinbach also won the league MVP Award. In 1987, they reached the postseason again by winning the second half but fell to the Birmingham Barons, 3–0, in the division finals. The 1988 club finished with a 59–85 (.410) record, the lowest in franchise history. The 1989 Stars returned to the playoffs having won the second half but were again defeated by Birmingham in the division finals, 3–1. Manager Jeff Newman was selected for the Southern League Manager of the Year Award. The team missed the postseason in both 1990 and 1991. On August 3, 1992, pitchers Dana Allison, Roger Smithberg, and Todd Revering combined to pitch a 10-inning, 1–0 no-hitter against Birmingham. The Chattanooga Lookouts won both halves of the 1992 season, but Huntsville qualified for the postseason with the second-best overall record in the Western Division; they were defeated by the Lookouts, 3–1, in the division series. On June 13, 1993, Tanyon Sturtze no-hit Chattanooga, 5–0. Following the 1993 season, Larry Schmittou sold the Stars to Don Mincher and a group of Huntsville investors for an asking price between $3.5 million and $4 million. After missing the playoffs in 1993, the Stars won the 1994 first half and then defeated Chattanooga for the Western Division title, 3–1. Huntsville won its second Southern League championship, 3–1, against the Carolina Mudcats. Manager of the Year Gary Jones' 1994 club set a franchise record with their 81–57 (.587) season. The Stars did not return to the postseason until 1997. They won the second half before beating the Mobile BayBears, 3–2, to win the Western Division, then lost the championship to the Greenville Braves, 3–2. Right fielder Ben Grieve was the league MVP. The 1998 team qualified for the playoffs with the second-best record behind Mobile but was swept, 3–0, by the BayBears in the Western Division finals. After the 1998 season, the Stars terminated their affiliation with the Oakland Athletics. Through 14 years with the Athletics, the Stars had amassed a record of 1,029–961 (.517). After the Stars and Athletics parted ways, Huntsville became the Double-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Stars struggled in their first two seasons of the new affiliation, failing to win any half of the seasons. In 2000, Mincher became Interim President of the Southern League. At the conclusion of the 2000 season, Mincher and his group put the Stars up for sale. He resigned from his position as President of the Stars, and the Southern League made him league president for 2001. Early in 2001, Mincher found a buyer in New York attorney Miles Prentice, who promised to keep the team in Huntsville. The Stars returned to the playoffs in 2001. Winning the First Half Western Division title, the team went on to win the division against Birmingham, 3–2. The September 11 attacks prompted the cancellation of the championship series before it could begin; both Huntsville and the Eastern Division champion Jacksonville Suns were declared co-champions. Third baseman Dave Gibralter won the MVP Award for that summer's Double-A All-Star Game. In 2003, the first-half champion Stars won the Western Division versus Birmingham, 3–2, but lost in the Southern League championship series to Carolina, 3–2. Third baseman Corey Hart won the Southern League MVP Award, and manager Frank Kremblas was the league's Manager of the Year. Missing the playoffs in 2004 and 2005, they made another championship attempt in 2006, winning the second half, defeating Chattanooga, 3–0, for the Northern Division title, but losing the league crown to the Montgomery Biscuits, 3–1. In 2007, Stars manager Don Money was named the Southern League's Manager of the Year. Also in 2007, the team captured the division title, beating the Tennessee Smokies, 3–2, but were again defeated by Montgomery in the finals, 3–2. To start the 2008 season, the Stars set a new team record for best start, by sweeping their first series with the Mississippi Braves, 5–0. On April 26, 2008, the Stars turned their second triple play in franchise history.

Achievements

The Huntsville Stars retired Don Mincher’s number 5 on June 6, 2008. Mincher served as the team’s general manager from 1985 to 2001 and was a part owner from 1994 to 2001; he wore that number during his own major league playing days. Number 42 was retired across all of professional baseball in 1997 to honor Jackie Robinson. Five people connected to the Stars have been enshrined in the Southern League Hall of Fame. The inaugural class of 2014 included Mincher and Rosemary Hovatter, who worked as an administrative assistant and in the box office from 1985 to 2014. He later played 11 MLB seasons, winning three World Series and the 1998 World Series MVP with the New York Yankees. Larry Schmittou, who helped bring baseball to Huntsville in 1985 and was a part owner from 1985 to 1993, was inducted in 2016.