For the summer meeting of the East Tennessee Chapter of
SABR, I took a bit of time and assembled a list of players born outside of the United States that have played for a Knoxville team
according to
Baseball-Reference.com
I assume that this list is not complete as there are some limitations on Baseball-Reference. Some of the data just isn't there.
The players are listed in chronological order of playing time. I decided to stop at 1965 as the influx of foreign born players started to greatly increase and time was running out to do the research for the meeting.
Phil Nadeau - born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1872
Played outfield for the 1909 Charleston Seagulls / Knoxville Appalachians of the South Atlantic League
His minor league career spanned from 1894 to 1914
Dutch Schesler - born in Frankfort, Germany in 1900
Pitched for the 1936 Knoxville Smokies of the Southern Association
His minor league career spanned from 1920 to 1943
He played 17 games for the 1931 Philadelphia Phillies
Jack Aragon - born in La Habana, Cuba in 1915
Played catcher for the 1939 Knoxville Smokies of the Southern Association
He was back with the 1950 and 1951 Knoxville Smokies as both player and manager
His minor league career spanned from 1937 to 1951
He played 1 game for the 1941 New York Giants
Earl Cook - born in Stouffville, Ontario, Canada in 1908
Pitched for the 1941 Knoxville Smokies of the Southern Association
His minor league career spanned from 1932 to 1946
He played 1 game for the 1941 Detroit Tigers
Al Campanis - born in Kos, Dodescanese, Greece in 1916
Played infield for the 1942 Knoxville Smokies of the Southern Association
His minor league career spanned from 1940 to 1948
He played 7 games for the 1943 Brooklyn Dodgers
Lou Polli - born in Baveno, Italy in 1901
Pitched for the 1942 Knoxville Smokies of the Southern Association
His minor league career spanned from 1922 to 1945
He played 5 games for the 1932 St. Louis Browns
He played 19 games for the 1944 New York Giants
William Casanova - born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada in 1930
Played outfield for the 1956 Montgomery Rebels / Knoxville Smokies of the South Atlantic League
His minor league career spanned from 1951 to 1956
Jacques Monette - born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1930
Played outfield for the 1956 Montgomery Rebels / Knoxville Smokies of the South Atlantic League
Played outfield for the 1957 Knoxville Smokies of the South Atlantic League
His minor league career spanned from 1950 to 1958
Bill Diemer - born in Woodslee, Ontario, Canada in 1931
Pitched for the 1957 Knoxville Smokies of the South Atlantic League
His minor league career spanned from 1951 to 1957
Dave Roberts - born in Panama in 1933
Played for the 1957 Knoxville Smokies of the South Atlantic League
His minor league career spanned from 1952 to 1966
He played for three seasons in the Majors (Houston and Pittsburgh)
He later played for seven seasons in two different Japanese Leagues
Arnold Hallgren - born in Winfield, Alberta, Canada in 1933
Played outfield for the 1959 Knoxville Smokies of the South Atlantic League
His minor league career spanned from 1952 to 1961
John Ryan - born in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada in 1939
Played infield for the 1961, 1962, and 1963 Knoxville Smokies of the South Atlantic League
His minor league career spanned from 1960 to 1971
The 1963 season saw six foreign born players. The Smokies were part of the Detroit Tigers’ organization.
The 1964 season saw two foreign born players. The Smokies (Southern League) were part of the Detroit Tigers’ organization.
The 1965 season saw two foreign born players. The Smokies (Southern League) were part of the Cincinnati Reds’ organization.
Because some people like numbers -- from 1897 to 1965 there were 20 different foreign born ball players associated with the Knoxville team.
- 9 players from Canada
- 5 players from Cuba
- 1 player from Germany
- 1 player from Greece
- 1 player from Italy
- 1 player from Panama
- 1 player from Puerto Rico
- 1 player from Venezuela