Key West Conchs

The Key West Conchs of Key West, Florida existed for half a season, and they arrived by rescue. On June 1, 1952, the Florida International League took over the struggling Fort Lauderdale Braves franchise, and on June 20 it moved the club to Key West, where it finished the year as the Conchs at Wickers Stadium. The name needed no explanation locally: a Conch is what Key West natives call themselves.

The Florida International League was a Class B and C circuit that ran from 1946 through 1954, stretching from Tampa and Miami all the way to Havana, Cuba, making it one of the few minor leagues ever to cross international waters. The Conchs' franchise returned to Fort Lauderdale as the Lions in 1953 and promptly won the league championship, a title that took a detour through the southernmost city in America to happen.

Key West went without professional baseball until 1969, and a later club revived the Conchs name in the 1970s. But the 1952 half-season remains the vintage original.