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The '''Pensacola Fliers were a minor league AA baseball team in ''' was the name of two [[Wikipedia:Southeastern League|Southeastern League]] . The Fliers were a farmclub of the National League [[Wikipedia:Philadelphia Phillies|Philadelphia Phillies]]. The Southeastern League consisted of baseball teams such as the Meridian Millers, Montgomery Rebels, Jackson Senators, Vicksburg Billies, Selma Cloverleafs, Gadsden Pilots and Anniston Rams. The Fliers won which called Pensacola home during the pennant in 1949 and 195020th century.
==First iteration (1927-1930)==Pensacola was granted a Southeastern League team for the 1927 season. Team organizers held a contest to name the team and announced in March 1927 the winning name, the "Fliers," submitted by Frank Goodmar.<ref name="Name">[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32194877/ "'Fliers' is Selected As Local Ball Club's Name"]. ''The Pensacola Journal''. March 4, 1927. p. 5. Retrieved June 2, 2019 – via [[Wikipedia:Newspapers.com|Newspapers.com]]</ref> The team's home uniform was white with black borders and featured the letter "P", while away uniforms were grey and featured the word "Fliers played at their home games ."<ref name="Name" /> ===1927 season===[[Wikipedia:Bill Holden (baseball)|Bill Holden]] served as the club's manager at the beginning of the 1927 season but was replaced as manager by [[Wikipedia:Doc Johnston|Wheeler "Doc" Johnston]] midway through the season. [[Lee Conner Hagler]] was the team's president, [[Dan Oppenheimer]] was its vice president, and [[Legion FieldT. M. Lloyd]]was its secretary-treasurer. The team opened the season on April 11, 1927 in Columbus, Georgia against the [[Wikipedia:Columbus Foxes|Columbus Foxes]]. The Fliers won by a score of 6 to 4.<ref>"Fliers Take Opening Game From Foxes. ''The Pensacola ballpark fronting on Gregory and Journal''. April 12, 1927. p. 1.</ref> ====Roster===={| class="toccolours"Hstyle=" Streets featuring a singlefont-decked, wooden grandstand. size: 95%;" |-! colspan="8" style="background-color: black; color: white; text-align: center;" | 1927 Pensacola Fliers|-| colspan="8" style="background-color: black; color: white; text-align: center;" | '''Opening Day Roster''1927 Season'|--Pilots| valign="top" | '''Pitchers'''*Bill Glass*Dewey Hand*"Red" Herring*"Chuck" Nossett*Bill Polanski*Paul Stone*"Lefty" Strong*Tony Thielen| width="25px" | | valign="top" | '''Catchers'''*Lib Bradley*[[Wikipedia:Johnny Pasek|Johnny Pasek]]*Ed Scholls'''Infielders'''*"Hoot" Gibson*"Red" Griffin*Bill Ploger*Ray Quassius*Hoddy Reis| width="25px" | | valign="top" | '''Outfielders'''*[[Wikipedia:Bill Holden (baseball)|Bill Holden]]*Stirling Lipp*Clarence Nachand*Dick Porter|} ===1928 season===Doc Johnston returned as the club's manager for the 1928 season.
=='''1937=1929 season===The 1929 Fliers welcomed several major league teams to Pensacola during spring training, losing 12-38 Seasons2 to the [[Wikipedia:New York Yankees|New York Yankees]] on [[March 31]] and 5--Pilots'''==2 to the [[Wikipedia:History of the Brooklyn Dodgers|Brooklyn Dodgers]] on April 4. The team also played several spring training games against the barnstorming [[Wikipedia:House of David (commune)|House of David]] team.
=='''1939-42 SeasonsSecond iteration (1946-1950)==The Fliers were a minor league AA baseball team in the [[Wikipedia:Southeastern League|Southeastern League]] from 1946-1950. The Fliers were a farmclub of the National League [[Wikipedia:Philadelphia Phillies|Philadelphia Phillies]]. The Southeastern League consisted of teams such as the Meridian Millers, Montgomery Rebels, Jackson Senators, Vicksburg Billies, Selma Cloverleafs, Gadsden Pilots'''==and Anniston Rams. The Fliers won the pennant in 1949 and 1950.
The Pilots changed major league affiliations to Fliers were preceeded by the National League [[Wikipedia:Philadelphia Phillies|Philadelphia PhilliesPensacola Pilots]] organization in '39 with '''Dashiell''' at the helm. The new parent team made no difference and went 87-48, as the squad took played their home the championship for the first time ever. In '40games at [[Legion Field]], the team went 89-60 with a narrow one game miss for the division. The Pilots would eventually lose in the league finals still a Phillies affliation. In '41 Kitchens again became manager Pensacola ballpark fronting on Gregory and the team slipped into fourth with "H" Streets featuring a 75single-67 record. Although a playoff berthdecked, the squad exited early in the first roundwooden grandstand. The Fliers fit into Pensacola'42 team was now managed by '''Buster Chatham''', and later '''Jake Baker'''. Neither man could inspire the team as s professional baseball heritage with the [[Pensacola Pilots endured their first losing season going 59-84 ]], [[Pensacola Dons]], [[Pensacola Angels]], [[Pensacola Senators]], [[Pensacola Pelicans]], and a fifth place finish. The league closed up shop for currently the duration of World War II after the completion of the '42 season[[Pensacola Blue Wahoos]].
=='''=1946-48 Seasons'''seasons===
With World War II over, the Southeastern League started anew in 1946. Now named the Fliers and an affiliate of the [[Wikipedia:Washington Senators|Washington Senators]] . The team was named the Fliers in honor of the pilots at the Pensacola Naval Air Station. In '47 and '48, as an independent operation, Pensacola finished in the middle of the pack. Despite still not having a major league benefactor the next year, the Fliers put together the league’s best team to date.
=='''=1949 Season'''season===
The Fliers posted an easy win in the Southeastern League, finishing 98-42, with a .700 win percentage, 16 games ahead of Meridian. In the playoffs, Pensacola whitewashed Jackson, four games to none, before besting Vicksburg, four games to one to win the Southeastern League championship. Later, in a matchup of Class B leagues called the Little Dixie Series, the Fliers defeated the Florida International’s Tampa franchise, four games to two.
The Fliers’ pitching staff was anchored by a pair of 20-game winners - right-handers '''Alvin Henencheck''' (22-6) and '''Ken Deal''' (21-5). Left-hander '''Joe Kirkland''' (13-3) also chipped in, earning the ERA crown (1.62) while twirling six shutouts in only 18 starts. '''Hollis''' and '''Kirkland''' made the Southeastern League All-Star first team. '''Wilson''', '''Thorpe''', third baseman '''Minor Scott''' and Henencheck were named to the All-Star second team.
=='''==1949 Roster'''roster====
Fielders:
Alvin Henencheck 22-6, 3.08 era; Ken Deal 21-5, 2.54; Joe Kirkland 13-3, 1.62; Bert Heffernan 12-9, 2.56; George Koval 11-8, 4.07; Bill Herring 10-3, 3.25; Francis Murray 9- 8, 3.46; Andy Elko 6-3, 3.34; Robert Galey 3-2, 4.31; Ted Beck 2-1; Vernon Horn 0-1; Tony Polink 0-1; Larry Hartley 0-0; Ben Thorpe 0-0
=='''=1950 Season'''===
After Pensacola won the championship in '50, the Southeastern League folded, taking the Fliers with it for the third time in 40 years. Seven years later, a team from the town joined the Class D [[Wikipedia:Alabama-Florida League|Alabama-Florida League]]. In their six-year stay (1957-62), the team won a playoff championship in 1960 and a regular season crown in 1962 as the '''Pensacola Senators'''. Following the latter, Pensacola dropped out of baseball for good until the [[Pensacola Pelicans]] in 2002.
=='''Special Notes'''==
In 1929, the [[Wikipedia:New York Yankees|New York Yankees]], with star players '''Babe Ruth''' and '''Lou Gehrig''', played an exhibition game at Legion Field in March. The Yankees were playing various teams as part of a spring training tour of the South. The Yanks prevailed 12-2 in front of 3,000+ fans.
The '''1949 Pensacola Fliers''', featuring a cast of unknowns, augmented by a pair of players among the minor leagues’ best, finished with the highest mark in Southeastern League history. Their story lends ammunition to the theory that a team doesn’t need a superstar to lead it to greatness. A well-balanced team featuring good hitting and pitching could accomplish the job just fine.
In 2001, during the celebration of the centennial of the National Baseball Association, the Association commissioned baseball historians Bill Weiss and Marshall Wright to develop a list of the 100 best minor league baseball teams of all time. The 1949 Fliers ranked #67.
In 1998, Pensacola would have another team several teams with the same name, the : The [[Pensacola Flyers]], of the Eastern Indoor Soccer Leaguein 1998, and the [[Pensacola Ice Flyers]] of the Southern Professional Hockey League whose first season is 2009-2010.
==External links==
* [http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/history/top100.jsp 100 Best Minor League Teams]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/thorpbo01.shtml?redir Bob Thorpe info]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Wally_Dashiell Wally Dashiell info site] ==References=={{reflist}}
[[Category:Baseball teams]][[Category:Men's Professional sports teams]]