Big South League

The Big South League was an independent league that began play in 1996, based in Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi. After two seasons of declining attendance, the circuit folded.

1996

In its first year, the six-team circuit had an NHL-style playoff system where the regular season becomes meaningless; the Greenville Bluesmen swept the Columbia Mules to win the championship despite a sub-.500 record. The MVP and Pitcher of the Year was Les Lancaster, who was 12-2 with a 3.03 ERA for the Pine Bluff Locomotives. Another former big leaguer, pitcher John Dopson of the Tennessee Tomahawks, posted a league-best 2.95 ERA. Catcher Jason Townley of Pine Bluff led the circuit in hitting with a .362 average, while outfielder Stanton Cameron, who split his season between Columbia and the Meridian Brakemen, paced the league with 21 home runs. The league also featured first basemen Andre Keene being traded from Meridian to Greenville for cash and a Muddy Waters vinyl record, another sign of how seriously it took itself.

1996 Standings

First Half							Second Half
Team	Wins	Losses	WPCT	GB	Manager		Team	Wins	Losses	WPCT	GB	Manager
Tennessee Tomahawks	22	12	.629	--	Mike O'Berry		Pine Bluff Locomotives	21	15	.583	--	Bobby Clark
Pine Bluff Locomotives	21	15	.583	1.5	Bobby Clark		Columbia Mules	21	15	.583	--	Barry Lyons
Columbia Mules	18	16	.529	3.5	Barry Lyons		Greenville Bluesmen	19	17	.528	2	Lyle Yates
Greenville Bluesmen	16	19	.457	6	Lyle Yates		Tennessee Tomahawks	18	18	.500	3	Mike O'Berry
Clarksville Coyotes	16	20	.444	6.5	Nate Colbert		Clarksville Coyotes	15	21	.417	6	Nate Colbert
Meridian Brakemen	12	22	.353	9.5	Jose Santiago		Meridian Brakemen	14	22	.389	7	Jose Santiago

1997

When three Tennessee teams left to join the Heartland League, the circuit shrank to four teams for its second year and attendance fell drastically, from over 200,000 to under 100,000. One of the four teams (the Tennessee Walkers) wasn't able to support itself financially and was taken over by the league two weeks into the year. Greenville won its second championship, sweeping Meridian in three games to capture the title. Greenville pitcher Matt Miller led the league in wins (12), ERA (2.26), and strikeouts (129), and Jerrone Williams of the Tupelo Tornado posted a circuit-best .371 batting average and 11 homers.

1997 Standings

First Half							Second Half
Team	Wins	Losses	WPCT	GB	Manager		Team	Wins	Losses	WPCT	GB	Manager
Meridian Brakemen	23	12	.657	--	Jose Santiago		Greenville Bluesmen	20	6	.769	--	Jim Darrington
Tupelo Tornado	19	11	.633	1.5	Steve Dillard		Tupelo Tornado	21	7	.750	1	Steve Dillard
Greenville Bluesmen	19	14	.576	3	Jim Darrington		Meridian Brakemen	9	17	.346	11	Jose Santiago
Tennessee Walkers	4	28	.125	17.5	Jeff McCall		Tennessee Walkers	4	24	.143	17	Jeff McCall

Cities Represented

• Clarksville, TN: Clarksville Coyotes 1996
• Columbia, TN: Columbia Mules 1996
• Greenville, MS: Greenville Bluesmen 1996-1997
• Meridian, MS: Meridian Brakemen 1996-1997
• Pine Bluff, AR: Pine Bluff Locomotives 1996
• Tullahoma, TN: Tennessee Walkers 1997
• Tupelo, MS: Tupelo Tornado 1997
• Winchester, TN: Tennessee Tomahawks 1996