Oak Ridge Bombers

The Oak Ridge Bombers name was carried by two different teams in the east Tennessee town of Oak Ridge. The first was a short-lived Class D club that played in the Mountain States League in 1948. After just a couple of months the team was moved north to Hazard, Kentucky, where it became the Hazard Bombers.

The second team, or the "team that lasted" as a 2009 newspaper article called it, was a semi-pro team of all African-American players. This is the team that caught the imagination of the Oak Ridge community. Formed around 1944, the Bombers lasted until the mid-1960s. Many of the players worked for the government at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory during the week, then hit the road to play games throughout the Southeast on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. One of the players from that time, James Capshaw, said, "We whupped just about everyone we played." Another alumnus, Eugene Williams, went on to be the winning pitcher in the 1957 Negro League East-West All-Star Game while playing for the Memphis Red Sox.

The significance of the Oak Ridge Bombers was recognized by the National Park Service, which placed a wayside historical marker about the team at the Oak Ridge Baseball Complex, 15 Wilberforce Avenue, Oak Ridge.