Huntsville Stars
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Huntsville Stars | ||
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| League | Southern League | |
| Division | North Division | |
| Year founded | 1985 | |
| Major League affiliation | Milwaukee Brewers | |
| Home ballpark | Joe W. Davis Stadium | |
| Previous home ballparks | ||
| City | Huntsville, Alabama | |
| Current uniform colors | blue, red | |
| Previous uniform colors | ||
| Logo design | The "Stars" wordmark in red with a streaking blue star centered below with red and blue streaks. The "Huntsville" wordmark is centered above the "Stars" wordmark in blue. | |
| Division titles | ||
| League titles | 1985, 1994, 2001 | |
| Manager | ||
| Owner | ||
The Huntsville Stars are a minor league baseball team based in Huntsville, Alabama. It is the Class AA affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, and plays in the Southern League.
The home field of the Stars is Joe W. Davis Stadium, named after former Huntsville mayor Joe Davis. Built in 1985, the park seats 10,200 fans and is sometimes referred to as "The Joe."
The Stars are so named because of NASA operations at nearby Marshall Space Flight Center.
Former Stars stars include Mark McGwire, José Canseco, Stan Javier, Tim Hudson, Miguel Tejada, Ken Caminiti and Jason Giambi.
The Huntsville Stars are the longest running and most successful sports franchise in the Tennessee Valley. One hundred and thirty nine former Stars have gone on to play in the Major Leagues in the team's short history, not including 48 that played for the Stars after first appearing in the big leagues.
The Stars came to Huntsville by way of Evansville, Indiana and Nashville, Tennessee. In 1984, Larry Schmittou purchased the AAA Evansville Triplets and moved them to Nashville, leaving his AA Southern League franchise in Nashville without a home. The City of Huntsville, led by Mayor Joe W. Davis, stepped up to the plate with a brand new 10,000 seat multipurpose stadium to lure the franchise to town and the Stars have called Huntsville home ever since.
The Stars began play in the Southern League as the AA affiliate of the Oakland Athletics in 1985 with Don Mincher as the team's General Manager. Mincher, a Huntsville Native and 12 year veteran of the Major Leagues guided the franchise through its infancy as they won the Southern League Championship in their first season. Future superstar José Canseco was the MVP of the league that year as he torched pitchers left and right. Terry Steinbach won the MVP again in 1986 solidifying the base of the A's Championship teams of the late 80's and immediately putting the Stars into the history books.
In 1994, Mincher and a group of local investors purchased the team from Schmittou to keep baseball in Huntsville and the Stars once again won the Southern League title that season. Led by Ernie Young and a "never say die" attitude, the Stars swept Chattanooga Lookouts to win the Western Division, then whipped the Carolina Mudcats three games to one to take the title.
Following the 1998 season, the Stars and A's parted ways and the Milwaukee Brewers came to town as the new Stars affiliate. Long regarded as having one of the best Minor League systems around, the Brewers struggled through management changes but still managed to give the Stars their third League title in 2001. With the help of All-Time Stars home run leader Josh Klimek, the Stars stumbled into the playoffs but went on to defeat the rival Birmingham Barons in a tight Game 5 thriller for the Western Division crown. The Jacksonville Suns dominated the Eastern Division winning both halves and the first round but with the Championship series due to start in Huntsville on September 11th, the meeting never took place as the Stars and Suns were declared co-champions.
In 2000, Mincher became the Interim President of the Southern League when League President Arnold Fielkow left for the NFL. At the conclusion of the 2000 season, Mincher and his group put the Stars up for sale once again. He resigned from his title of Stars President and the Southern League removed the interim tag and made him league president for 2001. Pulling double duty until the team was sold, Mincher was determined to keep the Stars in Huntsville. The group waded through countless offers to buy the Stars looking to find the right investors who would commit to keep the team in the Valley. Early in 2001, Mincher found his man in New York attorney Miles Prentice. Prentice promised to keep the team in Huntsville despite several offers for new stadiums in various locales.
Prentice, owner of the AA Texas League Midland RockHounds as well, is one of the most respected owners in Minor League Baseball. He serves as a Director for the Texas League and is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Minor League Baseball. When asked how long he would keep the Stars in Huntsville, his reply was "forever."
[edit] External links
| Milwaukee Brewers Franchise | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | AA | A | Rookie |
| Nashville Sounds | Huntsville Stars |
Brevard County Manatees West Virginia Power |
Phoenix Brewers Helena Brewers |
| Southern League | ||
| Northern Division | Southern Division | |
|---|---|---|
| Carolina Mudcats | Chattanooga Lookouts | Huntsville Stars | Tennessee Smokies | West Tenn Diamond Jaxx | Birmingham Barons | Jacksonville Suns | Mississippi Braves | Mobile BayBears | Montgomery Biscuits | |
