The Selma Cloverleafs were a short-lived baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 team based in Selma, Alabama

Selma, Alabama

Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....

. In 2002 they were charter members of the Southeastern League of Professional Baseball

Southeastern League

The Southeastern League was the name of three baseball circuits in minor league baseball league which operated in the Southeastern and South Central United States...

. They played their home games in Selma, Alabama, at Bloch Park

Bloch Park

Bloch Park is a baseball stadium in Selma, Alabama, United States. The Selma Cloverleafs of the independent Southeastern League of Professional Baseball played here before folding prior to the 2003 season...

. The team left Selma after playing only three games in 2003 and playing the remainder of that season as the Southeastern Cloverleafs before folding at seasons end.

This was the second incarnation of the Cloverleafs team name in Selma. The original Cloverleafs squads of the 1950s-60s also played at Bloch Park as part of the Alabama-Florida League

Alabama-Florida League

The Alabama–Florida League was a low-level circuit in American minor league baseball that existed from 1936 through 1939 and 1951 through 1962. In 1940–1941 and from 1946–1950, the absence of clubs based in Florida caused the league to change its name to the Alabama State League.The Class D loop's...

.

2002

In April 2002, it was announced that Selma was the recipient of a team in the newly formed Southeastern League of Professional Baseball

Southeastern League

The Southeastern League was the name of three baseball circuits in minor league baseball league which operated in the Southeastern and South Central United States...

. For their inaugural season Merritt Bowden served as the manager. On May 27, 2002, the Cloverleafs played the Montgomery Wings in an exhibition game, marking the first professional baseball game to be played within the city since the original Cloverleafs folded in 1962. The season would officially begin on May 31, 2002, against the Americus Arrows

Americus Arrows

The Americus Arrows was a short-lived baseball team based in Americus, Georgia. In 2002 they were inaugural members of the Southeastern League of Professional Baseball. They played their home games in Americus, Georgia, at the Americus High School baseball stadium.The Arrows would begin their...

 on opening night, with Selma mayor James Perkins, Jr. throwing out the opening pitch. The opening series drew over 2,000 fans to the stadium before the teams would embark on an 18-game roadtrip.

On June 25, 2002, the team returned after the extended roadtrip to play in front of many Cloverleaf alumni from the 1950s-60s teams that called Selma home. The major highlight of the second half of the season occurred on July 17 when both Desmond O'Quine and Jose Colon each hit a grand slam in the seventh inning of a 17-2 rout of the rival Montgomery Wings.

The season would end after a 3-0 loss to the Pensacola Pelicans

Pensacola Pelicans

The Pensacola Pelicans were a minor league baseball team based in Pensacola, Florida. In various incarnations, they played in three different independent baseball leagues from 2002–2010...

 in the league tournament on August 29. The 2002 squad finished with an overall record of 29-29.

2002 Roster

• Kevin Bice, catcher
• Jose Colon, outfield
• Joe Colvin, outfield
• Bart Cowan, outfield
• Jessie Ellison, pitcher
• Dennis Gomez, pitcher
• Luke Hurst, catcher
• Lee Jolly, pitcher
• Brock Lowell, outfield, 1st base, catcher
• Tony Macon, pitcher
• Lucus McCollum, pitcher
• Desmond O'Quinn, 3rd base
• Kyle Parker, pitcher
• John Renfro, pitcher
• Brian Rushton, pitcher, 1st base
• Keith Sills, 2nd base
• Andrew Tarver, short stop
• David Thomas, 1st base
• Terrance Thomas, outfield
• Eric Turnrose, pitcher
• Terry Waters, pitcher
• Joe Whitmer, 1st base, outfield
• John Learson, pitcher
• Carlos Booker, coach
• Merritt Bowden, player/manager
• Jim Brantley, player/coach

2003

After seeing success in the 2002 season along with the teams’ new ownership, the outlook for 2003 looked bright. The team had initial player tryouts in March followed by an invitiaion only try-outs in April to fill out the final team roster.

On May 13, it was announced that the team would play as a traveling team for the 2003 season after ownership was unable to pay the league a $100,000 safety net to make sure they would finish out the season on the heels of the Ozark and Americus teams folding mid-season in 2002. After the announcement, the team would play on May 29 and a final double-header on May 31 in Selma before officially becoming a traveling team. These games against the Montgomery Wings were played in Selma due to a scheduling conflict at Paterson Field

Paterson Field

Paterson Field is a baseball stadium in Montgomery, Alabama. The stadium has a maximum capacity of 7,000 people and was opened in 1949. Paterson Field has played host to, among other professional teams, the Montgomery Rebels, a AA-class minor-league team affiliated with the Detroit Tigers, and the...

.

Of note, the traveling Cloverleafs team made national press upon signing the late Ted Williams

Ted Williams

Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...

 son, John Henry Williams, on June 9. His first game came against the Pensacola Pelicans

Pensacola Pelicans

The Pensacola Pelicans were a minor league baseball team based in Pensacola, Florida. In various incarnations, they played in three different independent baseball leagues from 2002–2010...

on June 12. John played in 13 games with the Cloverleafs with an average of .051.

The 2003 squad finished with an overall record of 23-44, and finished sixth in the overall standings.

2003 Roster

• Brian Baker
• Jack Blanchard
• Jim Booth
• Vince Cerni
• Mike Clohessy
• Bobby Cobo
• Matt Day
• Eric Donaldson
• Sean Easton
• Michael Falco
• Anthony Gonzales
• Duffer Harrison
• Hector Henriquez
• Brad Hertel
• Steve Horn
• Patrick Jernigan
• Jeff Larue
• Brock Lowell
• Tyler Marsh
• Eric McKay
• Mike Mulball
• Nate Nelson
• James Pack
• Ryan Price
• Martin Reilly
• Augie Rodriguez
• Mike Settle
• Josey Shannon
• Chad Simmons
• Travis Suereth
• Antione Watts
• Josh Wilke
• John Williams
• Jason Wilson