Tampa Smokers
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Tampa Smokers 1919–1954 Tampa, Florida |
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| League | Florida International League (1946-1954) | ||||
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Previous leagues
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| Previous | Independent | ||||
| Minor league titles | |||||
| League titles | 4 (1920, 1925, 1946, 1949) | ||||
| Conference titles | 2 (1929, 1951) | ||||
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Previous names
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Previous parks
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Plant Field | ||||
The Tampa Smokers was a name used between 1919 and 1954 by a series of minor league baseball teams based in Tampa, Florida. The nickname was a nod to the local cigar industry, which was the most important industry in Tampa during the years in which the Smokers were active.
The original Tampa Smokers were a charter franchise of the original Florida State League, which started play in 1919. The name reflected the importance of the cigar industry to the Tampa area. However for just one season in 1928, the team was officially known as the Tampa Krewes. These Tampa Smokers moved to the Southeastern League in 1929 and officially ceased operations along with the league after the 1930 season.
In 1932, the Smokers played in the West Coast Baseball League, which was composed of teams based in peninsular Florida. The club disbanded again when the league collapsed after a single season.
The name was revived professionally in 1946, when the Tampa Smokers became a charter member of the Florida International League, a Class C circuit which was notable for fielding a team in Havana, Cuba. This incarnation of the Smokers became one of the first three racially integrated teams in Florida when they signed Afro-Cuban outfielder Claro Duany in 1952.
The Smokers folded along with the Florida International League after the 1954 season, and the name has not been used professionally since. The importance of the cigar industry to Tampa's economy had waned by the 1950s, so when minor league baseball returned to the city in 1957, the new team was called the "Tampa Tarpons".
During times when there was no professional baseball team known as the Tampa Smokers (such as the early 1900s and the 1930s), the name was used by various semi-pro and amateur squads, especially local all-star teams composed of the best Tampa-area players.
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