Belleville Stags

The Belleville Stags (1947–1949) were a Class D minor league team based in Belleville, Illinois that were affiliated with the New York Yankees and St. Louis Browns. The Stags were charter members of the Illinois State League and remained a franchise when the league changed names to the Mississippi-Ohio Valley League in 1949, eventually becoming the Midwest League in 1956. The Stags were named and supported by their namesake, Stag Beer.

Belleville, IL sign

History

The Stags were a charter member of both the Illinois State League (1947–1948) and its successor, the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League in 1949. In 1947, the Stags joined the Centralia Cubs, Mattoon Indians, Marion Indians, Mount Vernon Blues, and West Frankfort Cardinals as new franchises and charter members of the Illinois State League.^[1][2] The 1947 team claimed the League Championship in the first season of the ISL. Belleville folded after the 1949 season and was replaced in the MOVL by Vincennes, Indiana.^[3] The Stags had been an independent local team before the minor league team, and they regrouped as a local independent team into the 1950s after the demise of the professional franchise.^[4]

The Stags were an affiliate of the New York Yankees (1949)^[5] and the St. Louis Browns (1947–1948).^[6] 1958 Cy Young Award winner and World Series MVP Bob Turley pitched for the Stags in 1948.

Bob Turley 1959

The ballpark

The Stags played at Belleville Athletic Field, located at 901 S. Illinois Street at Cleveland Avenue (Route 159 and IL 13).^[7] The park and team were funded by Stag Beer and the park was referred to as Stag Park. Today, the site is an auto dealership.^[8]

Notable players

• John Gabler (1949)
• Jack Urban (1949)
• Mike Blyzka (1948)
• Frank Saucier (1948)
• Bob Turley (1948) 3 x MLB AS; 1954 AL Strikeout Leader; 1958 World Series MVP; 1958 AL Wins Leader; 1958 Cy Young Award
• Bud Thomas (1947)

References