Chattanooga Lookouts
- Location: Chattanooga, TN
- League: Southern League 1885; Southern Association 1886, 1901-1902; South Atlantic League 1909; Southern Association 1910-1961; South Atlantic League 1963; Southern League 1964-1965, 1976-2019; Double-A South 2021; Southern League 2022-
- Affiliation: Washington Senators 1930-1959; Philadelphia Phillies 1960-1961, 1963-1965; Oakland A's 1976-1977; Cleveland Indians 1978-1982; Seattle Mariners 1983-1987; Cincinnati Reds 1988-2008; Los Angeles Dodgers 2009-2014; Minnesota Twins 2015-2018; Cincinnati Reds 2019-present
- Ballpark: Stanton Field 1880's-19??; Chamberlain Field 1909; Andrews Field 1910-1929; Engel Stadium 1930-1999; AT&T Field 2000-present
Team History[edit]
The Chattanooga Lookouts, of the Southern League and briefly in Double-A South, were on MLB's 2021 Minor League Reorganization elimination list until the Miami Marlins opened a Double-A slot by promoting the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp to Triple-A. The Cincinnati Reds farmhands play their home games at AT&T Field in Chattanooga, TN.
The current Lookouts iteration dates to the 1975-1976 off-season move of the [Birmingham A's|Birmingham Athletics]] to Chattanooga. However, professional baseball first came to the city in 1885. Most of the seasons since have been played as Lookouts, for a local mountain. The current franchise has been a Reds' affiliate for nearly half of its years in Chattanooga.
Their previous home - Engel Stadium, which "starred" as Brooklyn's Ebbets Field in the Jackie Robinson biopic 42 - hosted baseball for 60 summers, many of them including Negro Leagues play. Two baseball legends made their pro debuts with the Chattanooga Black Lookouts: Satchel Paige in 1926 and Willie Mays in 1946.
The ball club has all the necessary approvals to build a new ballpark, hopefully to be open when new standards created by the reorganization take full effect. Current plans are for an August 2023 groundbreaking.
The Lookouts play Copa de la Diversión Hispanic engagement campaign games as Montañas de Chattanooga (Chattanooga Mountains).
Year-by-Year Record[edit]
| Year | Record | Finish | Manager | Playoffs | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1885 | 33-61 | -- | Frank Monroe / Frank Harris / Adolph Deublebliss / William Voltz / Charles Lewis |
Team disbanded September 7 | |
| 1886 | 20-40 | -- | C. Levis | Team disbanded July 9 | |
| 1901 | 47-73 | 7th | Lew Whistler | none | |
| 1902 | 50-67 | 6th | William Kreig / Jack Dolan / J.C. "Con" Strothers | none | |
| 1909 | 84-36 | 1st | Johnny Dobbs | League Champs | |
| 1910 | 66-71 | 4th | Johnny Dobbs | none | |
| 1911 | 67-71 | 5th | William A. Smith | none | |
| 1912 | 59-75 | 7th | William A. Smith | none | |
| 1913 | 70-64 | 4th | Kid Elberfeld | none | |
| 1914 | 73-78 | 6th | Moose McCormick | none | |
| 1915 | 73-80 | 6th | Moose McCormick (36-53) / Kid Elberfeld (37-27) | none | |
| 1916 | 65-74 | 7th | Kid Elberfeld / Frank "Pop" Kitchens | none | |
| 1917 | 76-74 | 6th | Kid Elberfeld | none | |
| 1918 | 35-34 | 5th | Michael J. Finn | League suspended operations June 28 | |
| 1919 | 65-73 | 6th | Sam Strang Nicklin | none | |
| 1920 | 53-98 | 8th | Sam Strang Nicklin | none | |
| 1921 | 52-102 | 8th | Sam Strang Nicklin / Ed McDonald | none | |
| 1922 | 59-93 | 8th | Sam Strang Nicklin | none | |
| 1923 | 63-88 | 7th | Les Nunamaker | none | |
| 1924 | 63-89 | 6th | Les Nunamaker | none | |
| 1925 | 71-82 | 6th | Sam Strang Nicklin | none | |
| 1926 | 55-94 | 6th | Kid Elberfeld | none | |
| 1927 | 59-94 | 7th | Jimmy Johnston | none | |
| 1928 | 67-85 | 6th | Joe Mathes | ||
| 1929 | 55-99 | 8th | Jimmy Johnston | none | |
| 1930 | 67-87 | 6th | Bill Rogers | none | |
| 1931 | 79-74 | 4th | Bert Niehoff | none | |
| 1932 | 98-51 | 2nd | Bert Niehoff | none | |
| 1933 | 74-77 | 5th | Bert Niehoff | ||
| 1934 | 78-75 | 5th | Zinn Beck (38-47) / Mule Shirley (40-28) | ||
| 1935 | 75-75 | 5th | Mule Shirley (38-33) / Clyde Milan (37-42) | ||
| 1936 | 64-89 | 7th | Clyde Milan (23-21) / John Mihalic (2-3) / Joe Engel (0-1) Clyde Milan (0-3) / Alex McColl (1-1) / Joe Bonowitz (38-60) |
||
| 1937 | 56-95 | 7th | Clyde Milan (18-31)/ Bill Rodgers (12-21) / Calvin Griffith (26-45) | ||
| 1938 | 66-85 | 7th | Wally Millies (30-37) / Rogers Hornsby (36-48) | ||
| 1939 | 85-65 | 1st | Kiki Cuyler | Lost in 1st round | |
| 1940 | 73-79 | 4th | Kiki Cuyler | Lost in 1st round | |
| 1941 | 78-76 | 4th | Kiki Cuyler (57-49) / Marv Olson (21-27) | Lost in 1st round | |
| 1942 | 66-86 | 7th | Marv Olson | ||
| 1943 | 69-70 overall | -- | Marv Olson | Team moved to Montgomery July 11 | |
| 1944 | 57-83 | 7th (t) | Andy Moore | ||
| 1945 | 85-55 | 2nd | Bert Niehoff | Lost in 1st round | |
| 1946 | 79-73 | 3rd | Bert Niehoff | Lost in 1st round | |
| 1947 | 79-75 | 4th | Bert Niehoff | Lost in 1st round | |
| 1948 | 58-96 | 8th | George Myatt | ||
| 1949 | 60-92 | 8th | George Myatt (22-29) / Fred Walters (38-63) | ||
| 1950 | 59-89 | 7th | Fred Walters | ||
| 1951 | 62-91 | 8th | Jack Onslow | ||
| 1952 | 86-66 | 1st | Cal Ermer | Lost in 1st round | |
| 1953 | 73-81 | 6th | Cal Ermer | ||
| 1954 | 75-76 | 5th | Cal Ermer | ||
| 1955 | 80-74 | 3rd | Cal Ermer | Lost in 1st round | |
| 1956 | 76-78 | 6th | Cal Ermer | ||
| 1957 | 83-70 | 4th | Cal Ermer | Lost in 1st round | |
| 1958 | 77-76 | 4th | Red Marion | Lost in 1st round | |
| 1959 | 67-86 | 7th | Red Marion | ||
| 1960 | 60-93 | 8th | Spook Jacobs | none | |
| 1961 | 90-62 | 1st | Frank Lucchesi | none League Champs | |
| 1963 | 62-78 | 6th | Jack Phillips | ||
| 1964 | 65-74 | 6th | Andy Seminick | none | |
| 1965 | 60-80 | 7th | Andy Seminick | none |
External Link[edit]
Further Reading[edit]
- Thomas Boswell: "The Barnum of the Bushes", in How Life Imitates the World Series, Penguin Books, New York, NY, 1982, pp. 229-233.
- Stephen Martini: The Chattanooga Lookouts & 100 Seasons of Scenic City Baseball, Dry Ice Publishing, Cleveland, TN, 2006. www.lookoutsbook.com
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