Bristol Twins
# Bristol Twins

The Bristol Twins were a Minor League Baseball team located in Bristol, Virginia, that operated in the Class D Appalachian League between the 1940 and 1955 seasons.

During their history, Twins were an affiliate team of the New York Giants (1942–1951), Pittsburgh Pirates (1952–1953) and New York Yankees (1954–1955). The team played their home games at Shaw Stadium.

In its sixteen seasons of existence, the Bristol Twins advanced to the playoffs series at total of fourteen times, winning the championship in 1942 and 1950.

## The Ballpark

The Twins played at Shaw Stadium, located at 1501 Euclid Street, on Gate City Highway. The ballpark had a capacity of 3,500. The site is now a factory.

## Notable alumni

* Billy Gardner (1945)
* Art Fowler (1944)
* Charlie Fox (1942, 1947)
* Ron Necciai (1952)
* Bobby Thomson (1942) 3 x MLB All-Star

## Seasons

| Year | Affiliate | Record | Finish | Manager | Playoffs |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1940 | n/a | 54-60 | 4th | Larry Merville Tim Murchison Lance Richbourg | Lost in First Round |
| 1941 | n/a | 72-45 | 2nd | George Hackett Lee Sherrill | Lost in First Round |
| 1942 | n/a | 71-36 | 1st | Hal Gruber | Championship title |
| 1943 | NYG | 74-35 | 1st | Hal Gruber | Lost Final Series |
| 1944 | NYG | 54-53 | 2nd | Hal Gruber | Lost Final Series |
| 1945 | NYG | 64-45 | 1st | Hal Gruber | Lost Final Series |
| 1946 | NYG | 72-51 | 2nd | Don Cross | Lost in First Round |
| 1947 | NYG | 64-62 | 4th | Charlie Fox | Lost in First Round |
| 1948 | NYG | 49-72 | 6th | Rufus Jackson Dale Alexander | |
| 1949 | NYG | 76-41 | 3rd | Ben Geraghty | Lost Final Series |
| 1950 | NYG | 74-47 | 2nd | Ben Geraghty | Championship title |
| 1951 | NYG | 56-73 | 5th | Russ Wein | |
| 1952 | PIT | 60-57 | 2nd | George DeTore | Lost in First Round |
| 1953 | PIT | 54-72 | 4th | George DeTore | |
| 1954 | NYY | 65-51 | 3rd | Walter Lance | Lost in First Round |
| 1955 | NYY | 63-61 | 3rd | Dave Madison | Lost in First Round |

## Fact

* Ron Necciai pitched for Bristol before joining the Pittsburgh Pirates. On May 13, 1952 Necciai struck out 27 batters while throwing a 7–0 no-hitter against the Welch Miners. Four of the Welch hitters did reach base, including one runner each via a walk, an error, a hit batsman and a passed ball charged to Twins' catcher Harry Dunlop on a swinging third strike. This resulted in a four-strikeout ninth inning. In his next start Necciai threw a 24-strikeout two-hitter, posting a 4-0 record with a 0.42 earned run average and 109 strikeouts in 43 innings of work.

## Sources

* ↑ Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles (1993). Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Baseball America. p. 420. ISBN 0-9637189-1-6.
* ↑ "Shaw Stadium in Bristol, Virginia". Digital-Ballparks.com. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
* ↑ "Minor league baseball at Shaw Stadium in Bristol, VA on StatsCrew.com".
* ↑ Jordan, Pat (1987-06-01). "In 1952, Ron Necciai, 19, struck out 27 batters in nine - 06.01.87 - SI Vault". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
