The Memphis Blues were a minor league baseball team from Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

 that played from 1968 to 1976. From 1968 to 1973, they were affiliated with the New York Mets

New York Mets

The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...

 and they played in the Texas League

Texas League

The Texas League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the South Central United States. It is classified a Double-A league. The league was founded in 1888 and ran through 1892...

. From 1974 to 1975, they were affiliated with the Montreal Expos

Montreal Expos

The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...

 and they played in the International League

International League

The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...

. They were affiliated with the Houston Astros

Houston Astros

The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...

 in 1976 and they played in the International League then as well. They played their home games at Tim McCarver Stadium

Tim McCarver Stadium

Tim McCarver Stadium was a stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. It was primarily used for baseball and was the home of the Memphis Blues , the Memphis Chicks , and the Memphis Redbirds ....

.
After the completion of the 1976 season the Blues franchise was forfeited back to the International League due to financial difficulties. The league awarded the franchise to Charleston, West Virginia

Charleston, West Virginia

Charleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 51,400, and its metropolitan area 304,214. It is the county seat of Kanawha County.Early...

, whose team had been purchased and moved to Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

. The new Charleston franchise continued to use the Charleston Charlies

Charleston Charlies

The Charleston Charlies was the name of the third and most recent Class AAA minor league baseball franchise that was located in Charleston, West Virginia, United States. The Charlies played in the International League from 1971 to 1976 as the relocated Columbus Jets franchise. In 1977 the franchise...

 name.

When they joined the Texas League in 1968, they became the first Memphis, Tennessee-based minor league team in eight years.

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

Catcher

Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...

 Gary Carter

Gary Carter

Gary Edmund Carter , nicknamed "Kid" and "Kid Carter", is an American former Major League Baseball catcher. During a 19-year baseball career, mostly with the Montreal Expos and the New York Mets, Carter established himself as one of the premier catchers in the National League, winning three Gold...

, a future member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. After the Blues moved to Charleston

Charleston Charlies

The Charleston Charlies was the name of the third and most recent Class AAA minor league baseball franchise that was located in Charleston, West Virginia, United States. The Charlies played in the International League from 1971 to 1976 as the relocated Columbus Jets franchise. In 1977 the franchise...

 for 1977, Memphis was without baseball for a season before the successful revival of the Memphis Chicks

Memphis Chicks

The Memphis Chicks were an American minor league baseball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Chicks were charter members of the Southern Association from 1901 until November 18, 1960, when the club folded and was transferred to Macon, Georgia for 1961.The Chicks suffered a...

, a Double-A team that played through 1997. Triple-A baseball returned to the city in 1998 with the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds

Memphis Redbirds

The Memphis Redbirds are the Triple-A minor league baseball affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They play their home games at AutoZone Park in downtown Memphis, Tennessee. The stadium's capacity is 14,320. They entered the Pacific Coast League as an expansion team in 1998, and were owned as a...

.

Year-by-year record

(from Baseball Reference Bullpen)

Year	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs
1968	67-69	5th	Roy Sievers Roy Sievers Roy Edward Sievers is a former first baseman/left fielder in Major League Baseball. From through , Sievers played for the St. Louis Browns , the original Washington Senators , Chicago White Sox , Philadelphia Phillies , and finally the new Senators...
1969	66-65	4th	Pete Pavlick Pete Pavlick Peter Pavlick, Jr. was a minor league baseball manager who is notable for leading the Georgia State League's Sandersville Giants to a co-league championship in 1955...  / John Antonelli / Roy McMillan Roy McMillan Roy David McMillan was a shortstop, coach and manager in Major League Baseball. From 1951 through 1966, McMillan played for the Cincinnati Reds , Milwaukee Braves and New York Mets . He batted and threw right-handed...	League Champs
1970	69-67	3rd	John Antonelli	Lost League Finals
1971	69-70	4th	John Antonelli
1972	75-64	3rd	John Antonelli
1973	77-61	2nd	Joe Frazier Joe Frazier (baseball) Joseph Filmore Frazier was a former outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball. He was signed as an amateur free agent in 1941, but did not play in the major leagues until 1947. After 1947, he spent parts of three seasons in the 1950s, primarily with the St. Louis Cardinals...	League Champs
1974	87-55	1st	Karl Kuehl Karl Kuehl Karl Otto Kuehl was an American scout, farm system official, coach and manager in Major League Baseball. He also was the co-author of two books on the mental approach to baseball: The Mental Game of Baseball: A Guide to Peak Performance and A Champion's State of Mind .Kuehl was born in Monterey...	Lost in 1st round
1975	65-75	5th	Karl Kuehl Karl Kuehl Karl Otto Kuehl was an American scout, farm system official, coach and manager in Major League Baseball. He also was the co-author of two books on the mental approach to baseball: The Mental Game of Baseball: A Guide to Peak Performance and A Champion's State of Mind .Kuehl was born in Monterey...
1976	69-69	3rd	Jim Beauchamp Jim Beauchamp James Edward Beauchamp was a Major League Baseball first baseman and outfielder who played from to for the St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Colt .45s/Astros, Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, and New York Mets. He attended Grove High School in Grove, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University...	Lost in 1st round