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One Season in Rocket City: How the 1985 Huntsville Stars Brought Minor League Baseball Fever to Alabama

By (author) Dale Tafoya, Foreword by Sandy Alderson

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Named a Best Baseball Book of 2023 by Sports Collectors Digest Itâ€™s 1984. Minor League Baseball mogul Larry Schmittou needs a new home for his Southern League Nashville Sounds franchise. Walt Jocketty, an Oakland Aâ€™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 Huntsvilleâ€™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 Oaklandâ€™s top prospects, who later fueled the Aâ€™s championship run in the late 1980s, the Stars were the hottest ticket in town. Visiting teams called Huntsville the â€œMinor League show,â€ 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, JosÃ‰ 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 cityâ€™s romance with the club, success on the field, and push for a championship. Beginning with a glimpse into Huntsvilleâ€™s rich history, One Season in Rocket City takes readers on a journey through the teamâ€™s dramatic founding, Huntsville politics, tape-measure home runs, and the clubâ€™s resilience to win the championship despite losing top players to promotions in midseason. The Stars were just what Huntsville needed.