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One Season in Rocket City: How the 1985 Huntsville Stars Brought Minor League Baseball Fever to Alabama
It’s 1984. Minor League Baseball mogul Larry Schmittou needs a new home for his Southern League Nashville Sounds franchise. Walt Jocketty, an Oakland A’s executive, searches for a new town for his Double-A club. Fate brings them together in Huntsville, Alabama, a city in need of an outlet to unite its residents. Thus the Huntsville Stars are born. One Season in Rocket City brings to life the baseball renaissance that shook up Huntsville, a city many doubted would support professional baseball.
Named after Huntsville’s celebrated space industry, the Stars electrified the town with baseball fever to become one of the biggest attractions in Minor League Baseball that first season. Composed of Oakland’s top prospects, who later fueled the A’s championship run in the late 1980s, the Stars were the hottest ticket in town. Visiting teams called Huntsville the “Minor League show,” and the Stars were the toast of the Southern League. Wearing patriotic red, white, and blue team colors, the team won the Southern League championship in their first year, led by future Major Leaguers Darrel Akerfelds, Tim Belcher, Greg Cadaret, José Canseco, Brian Dorsett, Stan Javier, Eric Plunk, Luis Polonia, and Terry Steinbach. But besides the lineup of touted prospects on the club, it was the gutsy role players who never reached the Major Leagues that willed them to a championship.
Through interviews with former players, managers, executives, coaches, and beat writers who witnessed the Stars take the Southern League by storm, Dale Tafoya depicts the city’s romance with the club, success on the field, and push for a championship. Beginning with a glimpse into Huntsville’s rich history, One Season in Rocket City takes readers on a journey through the team’s dramatic founding, Huntsville politics, tape-measure home runs, and the club’s resilience to win the championship despite losing top players to promotions in midseason. The Stars were just what Huntsville needed.
Named after Huntsville’s celebrated space industry, the Stars electrified the town with baseball fever to become one of the biggest attractions in Minor League Baseball that first season. Composed of Oakland’s top prospects, who later fueled the A’s championship run in the late 1980s, the Stars were the hottest ticket in town. Visiting teams called Huntsville the “Minor League show,” and the Stars were the toast of the Southern League. Wearing patriotic red, white, and blue team colors, the team won the Southern League championship in their first year, led by future Major Leaguers Darrel Akerfelds, Tim Belcher, Greg Cadaret, José Canseco, Brian Dorsett, Stan Javier, Eric Plunk, Luis Polonia, and Terry Steinbach. But besides the lineup of touted prospects on the club, it was the gutsy role players who never reached the Major Leagues that willed them to a championship.
Through interviews with former players, managers, executives, coaches, and beat writers who witnessed the Stars take the Southern League by storm, Dale Tafoya depicts the city’s romance with the club, success on the field, and push for a championship. Beginning with a glimpse into Huntsville’s rich history, One Season in Rocket City takes readers on a journey through the team’s dramatic founding, Huntsville politics, tape-measure home runs, and the club’s resilience to win the championship despite losing top players to promotions in midseason. The Stars were just what Huntsville needed.
224 pages, Hardcover
Published April 1, 2023
3 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Dale Tafoya
4 booksDale Tafoya is the author of One Season in Rocket City: How the 1985 Huntsville Stars Brought Minor League Baseball Fever to Alabama (University of Nebraska Press, 2023), Billy Ball: Billy Martin and the Resurrection of the Oakland A’s (Lyons Press, 2020) and Bash Brothers: A Legacy Subpoenaed (Potomac Books, 2008). His work has appeared in the New York Daily News, New York Post, Sports Illustrated, The Athletic, Baseball Digest, and other noteworthy publications.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 1, 2024
loved it, didn't know about this part of a's history.
loved the run down, stats, etc. of everything, would've loved more about the actually games played and more in depth about the connection with the city (more stories, etc.).
a great read.
I flew in and they took me to Mount Sinai Hospital to see my mom. I went into this room and my mom was connected to this machine that was artificially keeping her body alive. She was basically already dead. She was brain dead. When I saw her, I lost my mind and started crying. My mom had never seen me play pro ball and never experienced that kind of game. Right then and there, I promised her I would be the best player in the world for her." (81)
Mincher, playing for the new Senators in 1971, followed the franchise to Texas in 1972, when the team moved there and was named the Texas Rangers. He was the only player to be on the Senators when they made their two moves. (108)
loved the run down, stats, etc. of everything, would've loved more about the actually games played and more in depth about the connection with the city (more stories, etc.).
a great read.
I flew in and they took me to Mount Sinai Hospital to see my mom. I went into this room and my mom was connected to this machine that was artificially keeping her body alive. She was basically already dead. She was brain dead. When I saw her, I lost my mind and started crying. My mom had never seen me play pro ball and never experienced that kind of game. Right then and there, I promised her I would be the best player in the world for her." (81)
Mincher, playing for the new Senators in 1971, followed the franchise to Texas in 1972, when the team moved there and was named the Texas Rangers. He was the only player to be on the Senators when they made their two moves. (108)
January 8, 2025
Great book! Finished in less than 8 hours because it was packed with such cool and historic information about Huntsville’s minor league history.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews