Huntsville Stars

The Huntsville Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Huntsville, Alabama, from 1985 to 2014. They competed in the Southern League as the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics from 1985 to 1998 and Milwaukee Brewers from 1999 to 2014. The Stars played their home games at Joe W. Davis Stadium and were named for the space industry with which Huntsville is economically tied (NASA conducts operations at the nearby Marshall Space Flight Center). The Southern League wanted Schmittou to surrender his franchise to the league, but he had plans to relocate the team instead. He wanted to send Nashville's existing Southern League franchise to Evansville to continue as the Triplets at Double-A. However, a combination of the league's disapproval of the move and the City of Evansville being unwilling to upgrade Bosse Field resulted in a move to Huntsville, Alabama. Outfielder Jose Canseco was selected as the Southern League Most Valuable Player (MVP).

thumb|left|upright=0.9|[[Outfielder Jose Canseco won the 1985 Southern League MVP Award.|alt=A baseball player in green and white]]

In 1986, the Stars hosted the Southern League All-Star Game at Joe W. Davis Stadium on July 23. A team of Southern League All-Stars was defeated by the Nashville Sounds, 4–2. Huntsville catcher Terry Steinbach won the game's MVP Award. The 1986 Stars repeated with another first half title and won the Western Division against the Knoxville Blue Jays, 3–1. They were defeated in the finals, however, by the Columbus Astros, 3–1. Steinbach won the league's MVP Award. On August 3, 1992, pitchers Dana Allison, Roger Smithberg, and Todd Revering combined to pitch a 10-inning, 1–0 no-hitter against Birmingham. The Chattanooga Lookouts won both halves of the 1992 season, but Huntsville qualified for the postseason with the second-best overall record in the Western Division. They were defeated by the Lookouts, 3–1, in the division series. First baseman Marcos Armas was the MVP of 1992's Double-A All-Star Game. On June 13, 1993, Tanyon Sturtze no-hit Chattanooga, 5–0. After missing the playoffs in 1993, the Stars won the 1994 first half and then defeated Chattanooga for the Western Division title, 3–1. Huntsville won its second Southern League championship, 3–1, against the Carolina Mudcats. Manager of the Year Gary Jones' 1994 club set a franchise record with their 81–57 (.587) season. Through 14 years with the Athletics, the Stars had amassed a record of 1,029–961 (.517).

Milwaukee Brewers (1999–2014)

After the Stars and Athletics parted ways, Huntsville became the Double-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Stars struggled in their first two seasons of the new affiliation, failing to win any half of the seasons.

In 2000, Mincher became Interim President of the Southern League when President Arnold Fielkow left for the National Football League. At the conclusion of the 2000 season, Mincher and his group put the Stars up for sale once again. He resigned from his position as President of the Stars, and the Southern League removed the "interim" tag to make him league president for 2001. Pulling double duty until the team was sold, Mincher desired to keep the Stars in Huntsville. The group waded through countless offers to buy the Stars looking to find the right investors who would commit to keeping the team in the Tennessee Valley. Early in 2001, Mincher found his man in New York attorney Miles Prentice who also owned the Midland RockHounds, served as a Director for the Texas League, and was the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Minor League Baseball. Prentice promised to keep the team in Huntsville despite several offers for new stadiums in various locales.

thumb|left|upright=0.8|[[Third baseman Corey Hart won the 2003 Southern League MVP Award.|alt=A baseball player in navy and gray]]

The Stars returned to the playoffs in 2001. Winning the First Half Western Division title, the team went on to win the division against Birmingham, 3–2. The September 11 attacks prompted the cancellation of the championship series before it could begin. Both Huntsville and the Eastern Division champion Jacksonville Suns were declared co-champions. Third baseman Dave Gibralter won the MVP Award for that summer's Double-A All-Star Game.

In 2003, the first-half champion Stars won the Western Division versus Birmingham, 3–2, but lost in the Southern League championship series to Carolina, 3–2. Third baseman Corey Hart won the Southern League MVP Award, and manager Frank Kremblas was the league's Manager of the Year. Also in 2007, the team captured the division title, beating the Tennessee Smokies, 3–2, but were again defeated by Montgomery in the finals, 3–2.

To start the 2008 season, the Stars set a new team record for best start, by sweeping their first series with the Mississippi Braves, 5–0. On April 26, 2008, the Stars turned their second triple play in franchise history, the last coming in 2002. David Welch pitched a 7-inning no-hitter against Chattanooga on June 2, 2008.

Prior to the 2014 season, an ownership group based in Biloxi, Mississippi, led by Ken Young purchased the team with the intention of relocating the club. The Stars played the 2014 season in Huntsville, while a new ballpark was built in Biloxi. In their 30th and final season in Huntsville, the Stars won the first half title, but lost in the Northern Division series to Chattanooga, 3–2. Over 16 years as a Brewers affiliate, Huntsville compiled a record of 1,083–1,138 (.488). The franchise's composite record over their entire 30-year run stood at 2,112–2,099 (.502).

Because of delays in the construction of Biloxi's MGM Park, the Biloxi Shuckers, as the team was named, played their first 54 games on the road, including 15 at Joe Davis Stadium in April and May 2015 before their June 6 home opener in Biloxi.

Season-by-season results

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto; text-align:center;"

|+Huntsville Stars' top 10 seasons by winning percentage

!rowspan="2" scope="col" style="background-color:#ffffff; border-top:#002754 5px solid; border-bottom:#bd1130 5px solid; color:#002754"|Season

!colspan="5" scope="col" style="background-color:#ffffff; border-top:#002754 5px solid; color:#002754"|Regular-season

!colspan="3" scope="col" style="background-color:#ffffff; border-top:#002754 5px solid; color:#002754 "|Postseason

!rowspan="2" scope="col" style="background-color:#ffffff; border-top:#002754 5px solid; border-bottom:#bd1130 5px solid; color:#002754"|MLB affiliate

!rowspan="2" class="unsortable" scope="col" style="background-color:#ffffff; border-top:#002754 5px solid; border-bottom:#bd1130 5px solid; color:#002754"|

!scope="col" style="background-color:#ffffff; border-bottom:#bd1130 5px solid; color:#002754"|Record

!scope="col" style="background-color:#ffffff; border-bottom:#bd1130 5px solid; color:#002754"|Win %

!scope="col" style="background-color:#ffffff; border-bottom:#bd1130 5px solid; color:#002754"|League

!scope="col" style="background-color:#ffffff; border-bottom:#bd1130 5px solid; color:#002754"|Division

!scope="col" style="background-color:#ffffff; border-bottom:#bd1130 5px solid; color:#002754"|

!scope="col" style="background-color:#ffffff; border-bottom:#bd1130 5px solid; color:#002754"|Record

!scope="col" style="background-color:#ffffff; border-bottom:#bd1130 5px solid; color:#002754"|Win %

!class="unsortable" scope="col" style="background-color:#ffffff; border-bottom:#bd1130 5px solid; color:#002754"|Result

!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 1994

| 81–57

| .587

| 6–1

| .857

| Won First-Half Western Division title Won Western Division title vs. Chattanooga Lookouts, 3–0 Won SL championship vs. Carolina Mudcats, 3–1

| Oakland Athletics

!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 1989

| 82–61

| .573

| 1–3

| .250

| Won Second-Half Western Division title Lost Western Division title vs. Birmingham Barons, 3–1

| Oakland Athletics

!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 1992

| 81–63

| .563

| 1–3

| .250

| Lost Western Division title vs. Chattanooga Lookouts, 3–1

!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 1997

| 77–62

| .554

| 5–5

| .500

| Won Second-Half Western Division title Won Western Division title vs. Mobile BayBears, 3–2 Lost SL championship vs. Greenville Braves, 3–2

!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 1986

| 78–63

| .553

| 5–3

| .625

| Won First-Half Western Division title Won Western Division title vs. Knoxville Blue Jays, 3–1

!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2014

| 77–63

| .550

| 2–3

| .400

| Won First-Half Northern Division title Lost Northern Division title vs. Chattanooga Lookouts, 3–2

| Milwaukee Brewers

!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 1990

| 79–65

| .549

| —

| Oakland Athletics

!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2007

| 75–62

| .547

| 5–5

| .500

| Won First and Second-Half Northern Division titles Won Northern Division title vs. Tennessee Smokies, 3–2 Lost SL championship vs. Montgomery Biscuits, 3–2

| Milwaukee Brewers

!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2001

| 75–63

| .543

| 3–2

| .600

| Won First-Half Western Division title Won Western Division title vs. Birmingham Barons, 3–2 Won SL co-championship vs. Jacksonville Suns

| Milwaukee Brewers

!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2003

| 75–63

| .543

| 5–5

| .500

| Won First-Half Western Division title Won Western Division title vs. Birmingham Barons, 3–2 Lost SL championship vs. Carolina Mudcats, 3–2

Ballpark

thumb|right|upright=1.2|[[Joe W. Davis Stadium in 2013|alt=A view from the left field seats of the field and seating bowl at the stadim. Dark green seats stretch from behind first base, behind home plate, to third base.]]

For the entirety of their 30-year history in Huntsville, the Stars played at Joe W. Davis Stadium. The ballpark, which opened in 1985, had a seating capacity of 10,200 in 2010 and 13 skyboxes.

Following its final baseball games in 2015, the ballpark sat vacant and abandoned until it was converted into a soccer-specific stadium for Huntsville City FC in 2023.

Achievements

Retired numbers

The Stars honored one individual by retiring their uniform number. This ensured that the number would be associated with one person of particular importance to the team. Don Mincher, Huntsville's general manager from 1985 to 2001 and part owner from 1994 to 2001, had the number 5, which he wore during his major league playing career, retired on June 6, 2008. An additional number, 42, was retired throughout professional baseball in 1997 to honor Jackie Robinson, the first African American to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Retired numbers

|alt=The number "5" within a blue and red circle|150px

|alt=The number "42" within a blue and red circle|150px

|Don Mincher

|Jackie Robinson

|GM / Owner 1985–2001 / 1994–2001