Harlan Smokies
The Harlan Smokies were a team that competed first in the Mountain States League (1948-1954) and then were revived for a short stint in the Appalachian League (1961-1962).
Harlan County, Kentucky had been at the epicenter of the mine wars during the 1930’s which pitted miners and union organizers on one side and coal mine owners/operators and law enforcement on the other side. What followed over the decade was a series of shootings, lynchings, bombings and other violence as UMWA tried to organize the miners in the county. The violence was so prevalent that the county earned the nickname “Bloody Harlan.”
By 1948, World War II had ended and the violence had settled down considerably. In stepped the Harlan Smokies to provide entertainment and a distraction for the local populace. At the time the population of Harlan County was around 70,000 people. The fist couple of years of the Smokies existence they drew approximately 47,000 fans each year to Browning-Leonard park. Over the course of the 1950’s however, the population of Harlan County would start to fall and would be down to just over 50,000 by 1960. Attendance at Smokies games fell accordingly, down to about 10,000 the last year of the Smokies time in the Mountain States League. The Smokies made a brief return in 1961-64 as an entry into the Appalachian League (only the first two seasons were played under the Smokies name).
It would appear that the Mountain States League iteration of the Harlan Smokies only produced one major leaguer, and that one had the very briefest of MLB careers. Roger McCardell a 17 year old catcher on the 1950 team appeared in four games for the 1959 San Francisco Giants, getting four at bats and zero hits. He would play for six more minor league teams, including the Charleston Senators, but he would never make it back to the majors.
The second iteration of the Harlan Smokies fared better producing major leagues during their short run. For the first two yeas of their existence (and their last two under the “Smokies” name) they were jointly affiliated with the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees. They wore White Sox style uniforms at home and Yankees style uniforms on the road. This would have put them wearing white uniforms with black and red trim at home and gray uniforms with dark navy trim on the road.
The two most notable names that played for the Appalachian League Smokies were:
Mel Stottlemyre – a 19 year old pitcher for the 1961 Smokies, Stottlemyre made it to The Show during the 1964 season as a 22 year old. He would enjoy an 11 season career, all wit the New York Yankees. During that time he would have three 20 win seasons and be selected for the American League All Star Team five times. His two sons, Mel, Jr. and Todd would also be big league pitchers.
Denny McLain – perhaps the most famous of the Smokies alums, McLain appeared in all of two games for Harlan during the 1962 season. One of those two games he threw a no-hitter and struck out 16 against the Salem Rebels on June 28, his first appearance with the team. After one more start he was promoted to Clinton in the Midwest League. McLain’s exploits in the majors for the Detroit Tigers were both legendary and infamous. For the Detroit Tigers from 1963-1970 he went 117-62 with a 3.13 ERA. He put up a 31-6 record with a 1.96 ERA in 336 innings pitches in 1968 helping lead his team to the World Series. He was well on his way to the Hall of Fame…until he got in his own way. A series of massively bad decisions would see him throw out his arm, be suspended from baseball for a year for trying to set up a bookmaking enterprise and eventually, after retirement be sent to prison for drug trafficking and racketeering. A sure fire Hall of Famer relegated to the “what mine of been” file of baseball history.
In 1963 Harlan changed their name to the Harlan Yankees, as the New York Yankees became their sole affiliate. The next year, the last for the franchise, they played as the Harlan Red Sox. The 1964 season was the last for professional baseball in Harlan. Today the population of Harlan County is only about 25,000, down 2/3rd’s from it’s peak at 75,000 in 1940. The old-timers in Harlan County still remember the Smokies fondly and still long for the days of having a professional team to call their own.
