Knoxville Smokies

Did You Know?

• The Smokies' manager in 1956 was Earl Weaver, who was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.
• Smokies Stadium's largest baseball attendance was 7,958 on May 13, 2017, against the Montgomery Biscuits, which was also Star Wars Night.
• Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg managed the Smokies in 2009, leading them to a Southern League North Division crown.

History

Knoxville has hosted Minor League Baseball teams since the late 19th century, beginning with the Knoxville Indians in 1896 in the Southeastern League. The Knoxville Reds followed from 1902 to 1905, winning the city's first professional championship in the Tennessee–Alabama League in 1904. The Knoxville Appalachians debuted in 1909 in the Class B South Atlantic League, later playing in the Class D Southeastern League and Appalachian League before adopting the Reds name in 1912.

The Smokies moniker first appeared from 1925 to 1929 in the Class B South Atlantic League. In 1931, the Mobile Bears franchise of the A1 Southern Association moved to Knoxville and played as the Smokies until July 5, 1944, when the club returned to Mobile, ending Knoxville's membership in the Southern Association. The Smokies were reclassified as Double-A in 1963 and became charter members of the Southern League in 1964, continuing there after a four-year hiatus from 1968 to 1971.

Knoxville returned in 1972 as the Knoxville White Sox (or Knox Sox), the Chicago White Sox's Double-A club. The team affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1980, a relationship that lasted until 1999; for the first 13 years the team was officially the Knoxville Blue Jays, often called the K-Jays. The Smokies name was revived in 1993. From 1954 to 1999, Knoxville teams played at Bill Meyer Stadium (formerly Knoxville Municipal Stadium) on Neal Ridley Field, named for Knoxville native and former Pittsburgh Pirates manager Billy Meyer and for former team owner Neal Ridley.

Television and radio

All Smokies games are streamed live on MiLB.TV, and some games air on Marquee Sports Network, though that network is unavailable in Tennessee. Radio broadcasts are carried on 92.5 WKCE and AM 1180 in Knoxville. Mick Gillispie is the primary broadcaster, with Andy Brock as secondary broadcaster; pregame and postgame shows are hosted by Jackson Williams and Joseph Bonanno. The weekly television show Bear Trax, hosted by Mick Gillispie and Charlie Walter, airs at 11pm ET on WTNZ Fox43.