Fort Smith Giants
Baseball Hall of Fame member Freddie Lindstrom managed the Giants in 1942, leading the team to the league championship.
[2] The Giants were preceded in minor league play by the 1932 Fort Smith Twins, who relocated during the season and ended a tenure of exclusive membership Western Association that began in 1911.
Subsequently, Bill Terry the manager of the New York Giants (and a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame) visited Fort Smith to review recent renovations to Andrews Field.
[7] In 1938, the Fort Smith Giants resumed minor league play, as the team joined the Class C level Western Association, which was expanding from six–teams to eight–teams.
[4][8][9] The Bartlesville Chiefs, Hutchinson Larks (Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate), Joplin Miners (New York Yankees), Muskogee Reds (Cincinnati Reds), Ponca City Angels (Chicago Cubs), Salina Millers and Springfield Cardinals (St. Louis Cardinals) teams joined with Fort Smith in beginning league play on May 4, 1938.
[16] After his baseball career ended, Feldman returned to Fort Smith and opened a record store, which he operated until his death in 1962 at the age of 42.
With a record of 71–64 under manager Herschell Bobo, Fort Smith ended the season 16.5 games behind the first place Muskogee Reds and qualified for the four-team playoffs.
Fort Smith finished 19.5 games behind the first place Joplin Miners and secured the final playoff position.
[4] Herschell Bobo was replaced as manager by Baseball Hall of Fame member Freddie Lindstrom and the Fort Smith Giants won the Western Association championship.
Playing under manager Freddie Lindstrom, they won the 1942 league championship by defeating the Topeka Owls 4 games to 3.
The league did not return to play in 1943, due to World War II[4] Freddie Lindstrom later became the coach of the Northwestern University baseball team, a position he held for eighteen years until he was appointed as the postmaster in Evanston, Illinois.
Remaining as an affiliate of the New York Giants, Fort Smith joined the Hutchinson Cubs (Chicago Cubs affiliate), Joplin Miners (New York Yankees), Leavenworth Braves (Boston Braves), Muskogee Reds (Cincinnati Reds), Salina Blue Jays (Philadelphia Phillies), St. Joseph Cardinals (St. Louis Cardinals) and Topeka Owls teams in the reformed 1946 Western League.
Fort Smith finished 7.5 games behind the first place Leavenworth Braves, who didn't advance to the final.
[33] Fort Smith compiled a record of 86–54, to finish in second place, playing the season under manager Harold Kollar.
The Giants ended the regular season 11.0 games behind the first place St. Joseph Cardinals, who had Baseball Hall of Fame member Earl Weaver on their roster.
[34] In the four-team playoffs, Fort Smith lost 3 games to 0 to the eventual champion Joplin Miners.
Paul O'Dea was the Fort Smith manager, as the Indians finished 33.5 games behind the first place Topeka Owls.
[41] The 1952 Indians finished with a record of 69–77, as Harry Griswold served as manager, placing sixth in the six-team Western Association regular season.
[42][43][4] After the Cleveland Indians affiliation ended following the 1952 season, the 1953 franchise continued Western Association play as an unaffiliated team.
After Fort Smith folded, the Blackwell Broncos, Iola Indians, and Ponca City Jets teams were the new league franchises.
On Friday, May 20, 1921, Andrews Field was dedicated before a minor league game between the Fort Smith Twins and the Henryetta Hens.
[5] In 1936, the New York Giants, leaving their spring training site, played a game at Andrews Field against the Cleveland Indians.
