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Smithfield (baseball)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Smithfield "Blue Sox"
Minor league affiliations
ClassClass D (1921)
LeagueNorthern Utah League (1921)
Major league affiliations
TeamNone
Minor league titles
League titles (0)None
Team data
NameSmithfield (1921)
BallparkRichard V. Hansen

The Smithfield team was a minor league baseball team based in Smithfield, Utah. In 1921, the Smithfield team played as a charter member of the Class D level Northern Utah League. The team moniker was noted to be the "Blue Sox."

The Smithfield teams using the "Blue Sox" moniker, corresponds with local professional, semi–professional and collegiate summer baseball teams continually using the moniker, since Smithfield began hosting a baseball team in the 1890s.

History

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Smithfield became a charter member when the Northern Utah League first began play in the 1921 season. The Northern Utah League began the 1921 season as a six–team Class D level minor league. The Northern Utah League's charter franchises were based in Brigham City, Utah (Brigham City "Peaches"), Lewiston, Idaho (Lewiston Broncs), Logan, Utah (Logan Collegians), Ogden, Utah (Ogden) and Tremonton, Utah (Tremonton) joined Smithfield, in the newly formed league.[1][2]

The 1921 Smithfield team using the "Blue Sox" moniker, corresponds with local semi–professional and collegiate summer baseball teams continually using the moniker every season since beginning play in the 1890s.[3][4][5]

Smithfield began Northern Utah League began play on May 4, 1921, as the league played a split season schedule. The second half began on July 4, 1921. The six–team league overall standings in database references consisted of Brigham City (7–9), the Lewiston Broncs (4–11), Logan Collegians (8–9), Ogden (11–5), Smithfield (6–10) and Tremonton (12–4). With their 12–4 record, Tremonton had the best record in the league. It was reported that Tremonton finished 15–5 in the second half standings to again finish in first place in the standings.[6][7][8][9]

Records conflict but reports in the "1921 Northern Utah League Summary" by Ray Olson, the league secretary, have Smithfield finishing in second place in the first half of the season and in fifth place in the second half. Olson's report has the Brigham City "Peaches" winning the first half with a 12–4 records and Smithfield in second place, 1.0 game behind with an 11–5 record. Reportedly, Tremonton won the second half, beating Ogden in a three–game playoff series after the two clubs finished the season tied for first place with 15–5 records. Smithfield was 8.0 games behind with a 7–13 record. In a five–game series for the league title, the Brigham City Peaches reportedly defeated the Tremonton "Bears" 3 games to 2. Smithfield's overall record as reported in the league summary was 18–18.[10][9]

On June 11, 1921, Smithfield turned a triple play in a game against the Logan Collegians.[11]

The Northern Utah League permanently folded as a minor league following the 1921 season.[12] Smithfield, Utah has not hosted another minor league team.[12]

Richard V. Hansen Ballpark

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The Richard V. Hansen Ballpark is located at Forrester Acres 500 W 100 N, Smithfield Utah. A statue of Richard Hansen can be seen on the East side of the park. Richard Hansen served as manager/coach of the Blue Sox for 47 years, and over 2,500 games. Hansen received multiple awards from his community for his service to the Blue Sox's and was inducted into the U.S. Open Baseball Hall of Fame. Hansen managed his 2,500th game on May 9, 2009, during Smithfield City Health Days. In 2009 he celebrated his 60th year with the team and 47 year as manager. In his 47 years of coaching the team, he only missed six games. Hansen passed away on January 21, 2010. In honor of his relentless and untiring service to the Smithfield Blue Sox the Richard V. Hansen Award has been awarded annually since 2010 to a person who has done all they could for the Blue Sox organization.

A memorial to Nyals Bodine, Steven Smith, and Dale Anderson can also be found on the East side of the park near the Blue Sox dugout.

In 2021 the crows nest was renamed the "Steven Smith Crows Nest" in memory of Steven Smith.

The ballpark has also become known for its "Lion Pups". Starting in 1953 instead of serving hot dogs the food stand decided to serve corn dogs. Ruth S. Hansen, an avid member of Lions Clubs International and mother of Richard Hansen said "We should call them Lion Pups." The name has stuck ever since. Originally a Lion Pup only cost 5 cents. They are traditional served with a secret sauce, many believe it to be a concoction of ketchup and mustard. The food stand, also known as the "Lions stand" and is sponsored by the Smithfield Lions Club.[12]

(2007) Smithfield, Utah

Year–by–year records

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Year Wins Losses Finish Manager Playoffs/Notes
1921 6 10* 4th NA "League summary" has team at 18–18
1980 40 16
1979 46 18
1978 40 22
1977 46 13
1976 45 11
1975 41 16
1974 32 13
1973 35 11
1972 31 13
1971 39 16
1970 31 11
1969 37 17
1968 24 17
1967 30 15
1966 38 5
1965 24 14
1964 18 16
1963 25 11
1962 22 12
1961 31 7
1960 25 11

Notable alumni

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  • Robert Thomas Kaiser: Played 5 games with the Cleveland Indians in their 1971 season. He went on to play for the Blue Sox in 1974.
  • Lewis Albert Fonseca: Played for the Smithfield Summits in 1920. He went straight to the major leagues playing with the Cincinnati Reds (1921-1924), the Phillies (1925), the Cleveland Indians (1927-1931), and the Chicago White Sox (1931-1933). Fonseca also won the American League Batting Title in 1929.

References

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  1. ^ "Northern Utah League (D) Encyclopedia and History". Baseball-Reference.com.
  2. ^ "1921 Smithfield Statistics".
  3. ^ Huskinson, Tyler. "Blue Sox turn back the clock". The Herald Journal.
  4. ^ "The lure and lore of the Blue Sox — three ISU baseball players join historical semi-pro team in Smithfield, Utah".
  5. ^ Peterson, F. Ross. "A History of Cache County" (PDF). Utah Centennial County History Series.
  6. ^ "1921 Northern Utah League". Baseball-Reference.com.
  7. ^ "1921 Northern Utah League (NUL) Standings on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  8. ^ "1921 Smithfield minor league baseball Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  9. ^ a b Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (Third ed.). Baseball America. ISBN 978-1932391176.
  10. ^ "Dave Davenport, "Too good for his own good"" (PDF). Diamonds in the Dusk. 219.
  11. ^ "1921-06-11 Northern Utah League triple play". The Salt Lake Tribune. June 12, 1921. p. 71 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ a b c "Smithfield, Utah Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com.
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