Charleston Senators

Charleston, West Virginia, had a minor league team named the Senators off and on from 1910 to 1960. During their existence the Senators played in the Virginia Valley League (1910), the Mountain States League (1911-12), the Ohio State League (1913-16), the Mid-Atlantic League (1931-42), the Central League (1949-51), and finally the American Association (1952-60). The Senators played at Watt Powell Park from 1948 to 1960.

The last iteration of the Senators moved to Charleston from Toledo in midseason 1952. That team played at the Triple-A level in the American Association, one step below the majors, and produced quite a few big leaguers. Among the interesting names were Al Cicotte, the great-nephew of infamous Black Sox pitcher Eddie Cicotte, who was banned from baseball for helping throw the 1919 World Series; Al pitched in 111 major league games. Chuck Harmon, the first African-American player for the Cincinnati Reds when he debuted in 1954, appeared for the Senators in 1959. Jim Kaat was a 21-year-old pitcher on the 1960 Senators roster; he went on to pitch for the 1965 American League champion Twins, win the World Series with the 1982 St. Louis Cardinals, and be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame after a 25-year major league career.

For the earlier Senators, Joe Nuxhall is the most famous name. Nuxhall first appeared for the Senators as a 20-year-old in 1949, already five years removed from his major league debut as a 15-year-old for the 1944 Cincinnati Reds. He finally made it back to the Reds in 1951 and put up a 135-117 record with a 3.90 ERA across 16 seasons, almost all of them with Cincinnati. After retiring he went on to a long second career as the beloved color man on the Reds Radio Network.

While the Charleston Senators ceased to exist after 1960, professional baseball in Charleston did not. The franchise became the Charleston Indians and played three more seasons before a hiatus. In 1971 the Columbus Jets moved to Charleston and became the Charleston Charlies, a Triple-A farm team of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and over the next few years many of the 1979 World Series champion Pirates passed through Charleston on their way to glory: Richie Zisk, Art Howe, Rennie Stennett, Bruce Kison, Frank Taveras, Omar Moreno, Ed Ott, John Candelaria, and Hall of Famer Dave Parker. But that is a story for another day (and another t-shirt).