A brief history of baseball in Miami - The Minor Leagues years

The 50s saw the birth of the Miami Sun Sox (also called the Tourists). They fielded one of the best pitching staffs in minor league history and  had a solid defense. The Miami Sun Sox often finished at the top of the league, becoming champions one year after beating the Miami Beach Flamingos.

 

In 1956 Miami reached two milestones — its first Triple-A, top flight minor league team, and the first incarnation of the Marlins. That same year, baseball moved from the Miami Stadium to the Orange Bowl, which had been expanded the previous year. The Marlins premiered before a crowd of nearly 58,000.


The original Marlins pioneers played a good game, but dwindling attendance and financial problems led the team to relocate to Puerto Rico just four years after their debut.

 
Minor league baseball continued in South Florida, but it was growth in fits and spurts. Teams like the (second) Miami Marlins, Miami Orioles, and Miami Miracle came into existence and disappeared soon after, all unable to attract fans and achieve financial stability. In 1979, 19 years after the Triple-A Marlins left South Florida, Miami once again had a Triple-A team in the Miami Amigos. However, they only lasted until July of that year, when the entire league folded abruptly.

Compiled by Rafael Perez Lequerica 2017

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