1963 South Atlantic League season

1963 South Atlantic League season
League	South Atlantic League
Sport	Baseball
Duration	April 19 – September 2
Number of games	140
Number of teams	8
Regular season
League champions	Macon Peaches
Playoffs
League champions	Augusta Yankees
Runners-up	Lynchburg White Sox

The 1963 South Atlantic League was a Class AA baseball season played between April 19 and September 2. Eight teams played a 140-game schedule, with the winner of each half of the season qualifying for the playoffs.

The Augusta Yankees won the South Atlantic League championship, defeating the Lynchburg White Sox in the final round of the playoffs.

League changes

• The league was elevated from Class A to Class AA in 1963.
• Following the 1963 season, the South Atlantic League dissolved and was re-founded as the Southern League, maintaining a new set of records.

Following the 1963 season:

• The Asheville Tourists, Charlotte Hornets, Chattanooga Lookouts, Knoxville Smokies, Lynchburg White Sox and Macon Peaches joined the Southern League.
• The Augusta Yankees and Nashville Vols folded.

Team changes

• The Greenville Spinners left the league and joined the Western Carolinas League.
• The Portsmouth-Norfolk Tides left the league and joined the Carolina League.
• The Chattanooga Lookouts joined the league after last playing in the Southern Association in 1961. The club began an affiliation with the Philadelphia Phillies.
• The Nashville Vols joined the league after last playing in the Southern Association in 1961. The club began an affiliation with the Los Angeles Angels.

Teams

1963 South Atlantic League
Team	City	MLB Affiliate	Stadium
Asheville Tourists	Asheville, North Carolina	Pittsburgh Pirates	McCormick Field
Augusta Yankees	Augusta, Georgia	New York Yankees	Jennings Stadium
Charlotte Hornets	Charlotte, North Carolina	Minnesota Twins	Clark Griffith Park
Chattanooga Lookouts	Chattanooga, Tennessee	Philadelphia Phillies	Engel Stadium
Knoxville Smokies	Knoxville, Tennessee	Detroit Tigers	Knoxville Municipal Stadium
Lynchburg White Sox	Lynchburg, Virginia	Chicago White Sox	City Stadium
Macon Peaches	Macon, Georgia	Cincinnati Reds	Luther Williams Field
Nashville Vols	Nashville, Tennessee	Los Angeles Angels	Sulphur Dell

Map of teams

Asheville

Augusta

Charlotte

Chatta-
nooga

Knoxville

Lynchburg

Macon

Nashville

South Atlantic League teams

Regular season

Summary

• The Macon Peaches finish the season with the best record in the league for the first time since 1950.
• Despite finishing with the best record in the league, the Macon Peaches failed to qualify for the playoffs due to not having the best record in the league in either half of the season.

Standings

South Atlantic League
Team	Win	Loss	%	GB
Macon Peaches	81	59	.579	–
Lynchburg White Sox	79	61	.564	2
Asheville Tourists	79	61	.564	2
Augusta Yankees	75	63	.543	5
Knoxville Smokies	71	68	.511	9.5
Chattanooga Lookouts	62	78	.443	19
Charlotte Hornets	58	82	.414	23
Nashville Vols	53	86	.381	27.5

League Leaders

Batting leaders

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Marv Staehle, Nashville Vols	.337
H	Ike Futch, Augusta Yankees	177
R	Adolfo Phillips, Chattanooga Lookouts	90
2B	Mel Corbo, Nashville Vols	31
3B	Costen Shockley, Chattanooga Lookouts	12
HR	Frederick Loesekam, Lynchburg White Sox	21
RBI	Bert Barth, Charlotte Hornets	80
SB	Teolindo Acosta, Macon Peaches	21

Pitching leaders

Stat	Player	Total
W	Troy Giles, Asheville Tourists Fred Talbot, Lynchburg White Sox	18
ERA	Thomas Richards, Lynchburg White Sox	2.22
CG	Troy Giles, Asheville Tourists	19
SHO	Jose Lizondro, Lynchburg White Sox	7
IP	Charlie Rabe, Macon Peaches	221.0
SO	Troy Giles, Asheville Tourists	159

Playoffs

• The Augusta Yankees won their sixth South Atlantic League championship, defeating the Lynchburg White Sox in five games.

Playoff bracket

	Finals
	1	Lynchburg	2
	2	Augusta	3

See also

• 1963 Major League Baseball season

External links

• Minor League Baseball official website