It would take a long time for the Southern League to re-organize itself. 6 very long
years in fact... and too long for new Dreyfus Field to remain vacant, so Instead
of waiting for the Southern League to get its act together, a new team emerged...
the Columbia Sandlappers. The Sandlappers joined the Class B Piedmont
League in 1934 and earned its first ever affiliation, signing with the Boston Red
Sox. What should have been an exciting new start for Columbia went bad in a
hurry. The talent was immense from the Red Sox farm system with George Ferrell
hitting 25 2B, |
20 HR and batting .367 and by June 7th, the team was 2 games over .500 at 21-19 but
the fan base simply wasn't there. Mid season, the Sandlappers left Columbia
and moved to Asheville to become the Tourists and Dreyfus Field was once again
an empty ballpark. Finally in 1936, the Southern League was able to figure out
its financial woes and Columbia baseball was back in business in the league it
was born into. The franchise took on its third name since becoming a mainstay at
Dreyfus Field... the "Columbia Senators". The Senators would enter the newly
revamped Southern League as a co-op team once again with no affiliations. The new
Senators were much like the old Comers with Lakey Harkrader putting up a 12-20
record and finishing with 95 losses, however one thing was different. One of
those terrible pitchers... 21 year old Kirby Higbe (3-4, 6.50) who may have thought
about hanging up his cleats following that performance, instead went to Moline
the following season to put up a 21-5 record. The forgotten 6.50 ERA Columbia
Senators pitcher would eventually wind up a 22 game winner for the Brooklyn
Dodgers in 1941 and became Dreyfus Field's first ever All-Star... earning 2 A.S.
appearances. Things would quickly get better for the Senators as well as Dreyfus
Field picked up its 2nd ever affiliation, signing with Boston's other franchise...
the Braves for the 1937 season. After another lackluster season at 52-84,
the Braves were gone and Columbia was looking for someone to pick up the vacancy
left behind. Waiting in the wings would be the Cincinnati Reds who would
come to Dreyfus Field and finally give this franchise what it had been waiting
for all this time... stability. |