Hazard Bombers
The Hazard Bombers competed in the Mountain States League from 1948 until 1952. At the time it was a Class D league, which roughly equates to today's rookie leagues.
The club started out in 1948 as the Oak Ridge Bombers of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Despite jumping out to an impressive 24-11 record by June 10, attendance was poor and the club was operating at a loss, so owner Bob Broome moved the team about 150 miles to Hazard, Kentucky.
Like most Kentucky towns in the mountains of Appalachia, Hazard's fortunes were tied to coal mining. Until the railroad arrived in 1912 the town had been accessible only by boat or by an arduous journey on foot through the forests and mountains. By the time the Bombers arrived in 1948 the town was much more reachable by road, and the locals were thrilled to have professional baseball come to their community.
When the 1951 Bombers ran onto Bomber Field, built just the year before, in white uniforms with blue numbers and red piping, blue caps with a red H, and red, white, and blue hooped socks, the players, the owner, and the community had big expectations, and the team did not disappoint. The season started with Juan Torres, a 19-year-old right-hander from Cuba, tossing a no-hitter on opening day. By May, manager Max Macon, a former major leaguer, had the services of another 19-year-old pitcher in Johnny Podres, who would go on to World Series fame with the Brooklyn Dodgers. By season's end Podres had racked up a 21-3 record with a 1.67 ERA and 228 strikeouts, and fellow pitcher Dan Hayling, a native of Costa Rica, went 21-4 with a 3.47 ERA. The team finished an astounding 91-33 and was later named one of the top 100 teams in minor league history.
The next season the Bombers were almost as good, posting an 87-32 record, but it would be their last in the Mountain States League. There was no professional baseball in Hazard in 1953, nor has there been since. For a short time, though, Hazard, Kentucky, boasted one of the best teams in baseball.
Despite that success, Podres proved to be the only future major leaguer to come through Hazard. Hayling never progressed past Class B in the minors and eventually made his way to the Mexican League, where he played nine seasons, the last in 1968.
