Carlsbad Potashers
The Carlsbad Potashers took their name from the industry that built modern Carlsbad, New Mexico: the area sits on major underground deposits of potash, a principal ingredient in fertilizer. Local insurance man and real estate developer Charlie Montgomery led the 1952 purchase of the struggling Vernon, Texas franchise in the Class C Longhorn League, moved it to Carlsbad, and built a new ballpark beside the Pecos River that was soon named for him: Montgomery Field.
The Potashers were a hit from the first night. On April 21, 1953, an overflow crowd of more than 3,500 watched 39-year-old first baseman Merv Connors, in his last of 18 pro seasons, win the opener 3-2 over Artesia with a drive off the left-field scoreboard, the first of his 34 home runs that year. Under former big leaguer Pat McLaughlin, Carlsbad finished first at 80-52, then beat Artesia and the Midland Indians in the playoffs to take the league championship in its very first season. The club drew 83,462 fans, a league-high 1,265 a game, and fans took up the old Southwestern custom of pushing dollar bills through the backstop screen after a home run. The 1954 team went 87-52 and reached the playoff finals.
When the Longhorn League folded after 1955, Carlsbad spent two seasons in the Class B Southwestern League, then helped create the Class D Sophomore League in 1958, a circuit for players with less than two years of pro experience. In a drawing among the new league's cities, Carlsbad was paired with the Chicago Cubs and stayed a Cubs affiliate through 1961. That last season pulled the Potashers into the Cubs' famous "College of Coaches" experiment: Lou Klein opened 1961 as Carlsbad's manager and finished it managing the Cubs themselves.
The Potashers' most famous moment came on the night of August 11, 1959. Gil Carter, a former boxer turned outfielder, drove a fastball over a 60-foot light tower in left field and into the neighborhood beyond; a resident found the ball near a peach tree the next day. Using an aerial photograph, Montgomery and the local sports editor estimated its flight at somewhere between 650 and 730 feet, and it is still cited as possibly the longest home run in professional baseball history. That 1959 club went 72-54, a game ahead of Hobbs for the Northern Division lead, before the Alpine Cowboys swept them in the finals. The Sophomore League folded after 1961, and professional baseball never returned to Carlsbad. A marker near the old home plate site honors Carter today.
