Memphis Blues (baseball team)

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The Memphis Blues was the name of an American major league baseball franchise that played in Memphis, Tennessee, from 1968 through 1976. The Blues competed in the Class AA Texas League as an affiliate of the New York Mets through 1973, then moved to the AAA level in 1974 when the Peninsula Whips of the International League transferred there. The IL Blues - Memphis' first AAA club - were affiliated with the Montreal Expos and Houston Astros during their three years in the league.

The Blues won Texas League playoff championships in 1969 and 1973. In their maiden IL season, they won 87 games and a division title, led by catcher Gary Carter, a future member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. After the Blues moved to Charleston for 1977, Memphis was without baseball for a season before the successful revival of the Memphis Chicks, an AA team that played through 1997. Triple-A baseball returned to the city in 1998 with the current team, the Memphis Redbirds.

[edit] References

• Lloyd Johnson and Miles Wolff, editors. The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 1997 edition. Durham, N.C.: Baseball America.