Wouldn't it be interesting if Key West got a baseball team?

[teentails]

Don't you think it would be cool if they had a baseball team down in Key West (down in the Florida Keys)? I just came up with a good team name if they had one in Key West. The Dolphins. the Key West Dolphins

[jwalters]

I do think it would be cool if Key West had a team but do they have a large enough stadium? I personally think that the Conch shell would be good to incorporate into the team name.

[kahunakats]

Key West must have a baseball stadium somewhere-unless a hurricane got it-because they had professional baseball in Key West through the 1975 season-the last year as a farm club for the Chicago Cubs.

[HeadFirst]

Or the Key West 90-Milers.

Or the Key West StreetDrunks.

I know that once upon a time Key West had a franchise in the Florida State League. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable than I can enlighten us as to when and where the franchise played its games.

I have vacationed there, and it's a beautiful place. But I don't know if it would have the market size to be a viable market -- the year-round population is about 40,000 or so (?). And it's a long, long drive from Miami.

But while we're forming new franchises in Florida, I think that Homestead might be viable. Andrew destroyed the Cleveland Indians' spring training facility that was being built, but that was a decade ago.

[teentails]

Key West had a team in the Florida State League? Since when?

[HeadFirst]

According to http://www.ballparkwatch.com/leagues/floridastate_league.htm:

Key West Conchs, 1972-1974
Key West Cubs, 1975
Key West Padres, 1969
Key West Sun Caps, 1971

Still, where they played their games is unknown to me. Perhaps Key West High School.

[khalldog]

From a Chicago Sun-Times article:

"The '74 Conchs finished 37-94 under manager Q.V. Lowe. They were owned by Dr. Julian DePoo, a Cuban expatriate who was a friend of Ernest Hemingway's. Their season attendance at Wickers Field was 17,489. This bleak vibe prompted the team to change its name to the Key West Cubs for the 1975 season. They finished 65-69 under manager Walt Dixon.

By 1976, professional baseball had left Key West for good."

[nksports]

Hemingway you say?
How about the Key West Bulls (he was fond of Pamplona)
The Key West Shotguns (OK, that's the way he ended it)
The Key West Old Men (and the Seas)
The Key West Eternities

Some other Key West references:
The Key West Raging Queens (could also work for San Francisco)
The Key West Tequilas
The Key West Tourists
The Key West Snow Birds
The Key West Marlins...Sailfish...Swordfish...Sharks
The Key West Gails...Tropical Storms...Hurricanes
Others: Beach Bums, Keys, Reefs
The possibilities are endless

[Pounder]

Honestly, now... excuse me for being a killjoy here, but there are some things that need to be regarded along the lines of, say, the laws of gravity.

A town of 25,000 on a distant (if road-connected) island, whose last venture into pro baseball drew about 270 fans a game, deserves another shot?

If someone's running a fantasy baseball board somewhere, I'm sure we can have fun with names. I wouldn't hold my breath about any actual club making an appearance, however.

[BruceB]

I tend to go along with Pounder, although the Florida State League is a lot different than most minor leagues, it seems. Key West, as mentioned, has had an FSL team that failed miserably at the gate and is basically 30 years dead. It is in a remote location, and there appears to be no serviceable facility. Hard to get fired up about this one, cool name possibilities or not.

Then again, the Florida State League has never been a real baseball mecca when it comes to attendance. I don't know how things are now, but I remember some pretty low numbers coming out of Lakeland year after year, and yet the Tigers stayed in there. Same for Winter Haven and the Red Sox for a long time. I think the thing about the FSL is that while the quality of ball is pretty good for an A league, it's little more than a formalized complex league for minor league veterans. Look at how many major league teams run FSL affiliates out of their spring training sites there. What need is there to put a team in an outpost like Key West when you've already got ready-made ballparks and dorms in so many other cities? If I were a major league GM looking to save a few bucks, I'd sure look at running both an FSL and Gulf Coast League team out of my spring training site.

Having said all that, since Jimmy Buffett lives down there, how about the Key West Parrots?

[Suncaps]

I can confirm Key West in deed had a pro team in the Florida State League. They were called the Suncaps. I was a member of that team and should write a book about that season. Regards D. Horton