Parksley Spuds

The Parksley Spuds, based in Parksley, Virginia, played in the Eastern Shore League for its entire first run, 1922 to 1928, and were its most successful franchise, winning three championships (1922, 1924, and 1927). The Spuds nickname came from sweet potato farming, a major crop in Parksley and the surrounding Eastern Shore of Virginia. Remarkably, Parksley supported a professional team despite a population of just 607 at the 1920 census, making it by far the smallest town in the league.

The 1924 Five-State Championship produced one of the league's best stories. With Parksley's regular catcher Joe Tagg sick before the series, the Spuds turned to a 16-year-old they'd borrowed from the Easton Farmers: Jimmie Foxx. Playing catcher for the first time in the series, Foxx drove in six runs in the opener (a 17-0 win) and hit .391 with 4 home runs as Parksley won the series 4 games to 2.

The Eastern Shore League was a Class D league that ran on the Delmarva Peninsula across three separate stretches: 1922 to 1928, 1937 to 1941, and 1946 to 1949, with teams drawn from Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia.