Bluefield Blue-Grays
Bluefield has enjoyed minor league baseball continuously since the 1950s and baseball in Bluefield dates back to at least 1937 when the Bluefield Blue-Grays started play in the Mountain State League. The Bluefield Blue-Grays set up shop for the 1937 season and played through 1955, with a outage between 1942-46.
Bluefield is actually two towns that straddle the West Virginia/Virginia border. The Bluefield baseball team has played at Bowen Field on the Virginia side since it opened in 1939. The interesting thing about the field is that it is run wholly by the city of Bluefield, West Virginia however the field itself is entirely in Bluefield, Virginia. The stadium underwent a major rebuild in 1973 after fire destroyed most of the wooded grandstand and press box. In the 1990’s orange chair back seats were installed in the stadium that formerly had been installed in Anaheim Stadium.
It all started however, with the Blue-Grays. The team kept this name from their inception in 1937 through the 1955 season. During that time the Blue-Grays were affiliated with the Boston Braves, Washington Senators and finally the Boston Red Sox. Initially they played in the Mountain State League. When that league disbanded during World War II, their was a four year period that no minor league baseball was played in Bluefield. After the war the team was reformed and joined the Appalachian League. While the Blue-Grays never won the Mountain State League title, they did win the Appalachian League in 1949, 1950 and 1954.
Bluefield did not produce that many major leaguers during their time as the Blue-Grays but a few notable names are; Victor Sorrell a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers from 1928 to 1937, and Ken McBride who played seven seasons in the 1960s for the White Sox and Angels. Also notable is Ralph Beard, although he never made it to the major leagues. His best athletic talent was in basketball. He was a three time 1st Team All-American for Adolph Rupp at the University of Kentucky and a two time National Champion.
Though the Blue-Gray name went away after the 1955 season, baseball in Bluefield did not. In fact there has been an Appalachian league team in Bluefield in all but one season since 1955. Today the Appalachian League is a college summer league, with the Bluefield Ridge Runners playing games in Bluefield.
