The Southeastern League
by Kevin McCann
 The
Southeastern League was born out of desperation following the collapse of
the All American Association in the spring of 2002.
Despite
reassurances that it would continue following the defections of their
Fort Worth and Tyler, Texas franchises to the Central League, the AAA simply disappeared. The
Montgomery Wings Management Group, which purchased the franchise from
the league following the 2001 season, now found
themselves with a team but no league in which to play. In March 2002,
they sought to create one of their own and convinced the Baton
Rogue Blue Marlins (also orphaned by the AAA) to join them. Four more
cities -- Americus, Ozark and Selma, Alabama and Pensacola, Florida --
were added to create a six-team circuit. Former major league scout James
Gamble was hired in April as league commissioner. To make it work in
time for the upcoming season, the Montgomery group had to shoulder the
financial responsibilities for the Americus, Ozark, Pensacola and Selma
teams as well. 2002 Season The
Southeastern League's inaugural season began in June with little advance
publicity, advertising, or ticket sales. Montgomery expected to build on
their record attendance of 78,069 the year before and help bolster the
finances of the
first-year clubs. Replying on many "ifs," the results
were predictable. The Wings suffered a decline in attendance (exact
figures were never released), which made it more difficult to support
the smaller market clubs. The decline was attributed to the lack of
colorful promotions at Montgomery's Patterson Field that drew fans the
previous season. The front office was simply too preoccupied running the
rest of the league. "It was a tough first year and I let people know: You
are going to lose money; you have no market," Gamble recalled after
their inaugural season. "Everything was based on people walking up
to the door. But the owners said, 'That's fine. We'll be around for a
long time and we want to give something back to the community.'" The Americus
Arrows disbanded on July 15
due to lackluster attendance and poor management. Rather than play an
unbalanced schedule with five clubs, the Ozark Patriots met a similar
fate for similar reasons two days later. There were
reports that the league had missed payroll dates by a few days while the
disbanded Americus players were told their checks would be even later. One
report stated that a group of players traveled to Montgomery to collect
their late pay without success. In addition, the league owed $50,000 to
the Independent Scouting Bureau, an organization that made arrangements
to provide the teams with uniforms, bats, and balls. The SEPBL moved forward with four clubs
the remainder of the season. The financial burden for the Montgomery
ownership was lightened somewhat in July when buyers were found for the
Pensacola and Selma franchises. The Pensacola Pelicans (39-28) statistically
finished the season in first place ahead of the Baton Rogue River Bats
(40-29). A Tournament of Champions was held at Pensacola Aug. 28-Sept. 1
to determine
the league champions. The double elimination tournament was won by the
Pelicans. Losses for the season averaged $75,000 per club. "We
were overextended," explained commissioner James Gamble. "Did
we make some bad decisions? Yes. We didn't do enough research." 2003
Season The Southeastern League hoped to have a more
successful season in 2003. Two new franchises were added at Houma,
Louisiana and Macon, Georgia to make a six team circuit. Gamble was
especially optimistic about the opportunity for the league in Macon,
whose 74-year-old ballpark, Luther Williams Field, was one of the oldest
in professional baseball. The Pensacola Pelicans (42-23) repeated as
first place finishers, six games ahead of the Baton Rogue River Bats.
The Floridians had the best home and road records in the league (18-15
at home and 26-9 on the road) while the other five clubs suffered losing
records in their home parks. The Pelicans swept the fourth-place Macon
Peaches in two straight games to win the opening round of the
championship playoffs. The second place River
Bats edged ahead of the third place Montgomery Wings two games to one.
In the finals, Baton Rogue captured the championship three games to one over Pensacola. The
End The SEPBL made headlines during the winter months, but
for all the wrong reasons. Following a disastrous experience, the Macon
ownership group returned its franchise to the league on Oct. 15.
"The biggest mistake was trying to bring it (the league) to
Macon," Gamble later said. "(Owners) took on a monster that
they didn't understand." A month later, the Homura Hawks filed a
breach of contract lawsuit against the Tennebonne Parish Recreation
District 2-3 for preventing them from playing their home games at
Southland Field. The District responded with a countersuit, claiming the
team failed to live up to its contractual obligations. The SEPBL lost the Pensacola Pelicans when team owner Quint
Studer purchased the Ozark-Springfield Mountain Ducks of the Central
League in January and relocated the franchise to Pensacola. "I felt we needed
to get in a league that had some stability," he told the Pensacola News-Journal.
"This is a significant move from a long-term perspective." The
defection meant not only the loss of the league's most successful
franchise but its commissioner as well. In January, James Gamble accepted a player personnel position with the Pelicans. As a
result of such instability, the group seeking to bring an
expansion club to Warner-Robins, Georgia reconsidered and chose not to
play in 2004. SEPBL officials maintained that they had commitments from
six cities for the 2004 season: Albany, Georgia (formerly in the All
American Association); Alexandria, Louisiana (which lost its Central
League franchise that winter); Anderson, South Carolina; and
Warner-Robins, Georgia. After Warner-Robins pulled out, Hattiesburg,
Mississippi and the abandoned Macon franchise entered the picture. In
desperation, the league waived its required $20,000 franchise fee in the
hope of luring ownership for its teams. Ultimately, efforts to
rejuvenate the struggling organization as a brand new league failed in
March 2004. There are promises that this unnamed circuit will try to
recruit new cities for a possible run in 2005.
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