View source for Chattanooga Lookouts

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox Minor League Baseball
|name            = Chattanooga Lookouts
|founded         = 1885
|city            = Chattanooga, Tennessee
|misc            = 
|logo            = ChattanoogaLookouts.PNG
|uniformlogo     = ChattanoogaLookoutsCap.png
|class level     = Double-A (1885–present)
|past class level= 
|current league  = [[Southern League (1964–present)|Southern League]] (1964–1965; 1976–present)
|conference      = 
|division        = North Division
|past league     = {{plainlist|
*[[South Atlantic League (1904–1963)|South Atlantic League]] (1963)
*[[Southern Association]] (1901–1902; 1910–1943; 1944–1961)
*[[Southern League (1885–1899)|Southern League]] (1885–1886, 1889, 1892–1893, 1895)
}}
|majorleague     = [[Cincinnati Reds]] (2019–present)
|pastmajorleague = {{plainlist|
*[[Minnesota Twins]] (2015–2018)
*[[Los Angeles Dodgers]] (2009–2014)
*[[Cincinnati Reds]] (1988–2008)
*[[Seattle Mariners]] (1983–1987)
*[[Cleveland Indians]] (1978–1982)
*[[Oakland Athletics]] (1976–1977)
*[[Philadelphia Phillies]] (1960–1961; 1963–1965)
*[[Washington Senators (1901–60)|Washington Senators]] (1932–1959)
}}
|nickname        = {{plainlist|
*Chattanooga Lookouts (1885–present, except 1943)
*Montgomery Rebels (1943)
}}
|pastnames       = 
|colors          = Red, black, white<br />{{color box|#EE3D42}} {{color box|#000}} {{color box|#FFFFFF}}
|mascot          = [[Chattanooga Lookouts#Mascot|Looie the Lookout]]
|ballpark        = [[AT&T Field]] (2000–present)
|pastparks       = {{plainlist|
*[[Engel Stadium]] (1930–1999)
*[[Cramton Bowl]] (1943)
}}
|dixienum        = 1
|dixiechamps     = 1932
|leaguenum       = 3
|leaguechamps    = {{hlist|1988|2015|2017}}
|pennum          = 4
|pennants        = {{hlist|1932|1939|1952|1961}}
|divnum          = 7
|divisionchamps  = {{hlist|1988|1992|1995|1996|2014|2015|2017}}
|firsthalfnum    = 7
|firsthalfchamps = {{hlist|1976|1988|1992|2015|2017|2023|2025}}
|secondhalfnum   = 9
|secondhalfchamps= {{hlist|1992|1994|1995|1996|2004|2011|2012|2014|2017}}
|owner           = Hardball Capital Group (John Woods and Jason Freier)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chattanoogan.com/2015/3/3/295255/Lookouts-Sold-By-Frank-Burke-To.aspx |title = Lookouts Sold By Frank Burke To Hardball Capital - Chattanoogan.com|date = 3 March 2015}}</ref>
|manager         = Jose Moreno
|president       = Rich Mozingo
|website         = {{URL|https://www.milb.com/chattanooga|milb.com/chattanooga}}
}}

The '''Chattanooga Lookouts''' are a [[Minor League Baseball]] team of the [[Southern League (1964–present)|Southern League]] and the [[Double-A (baseball)|Double-A]] affiliate of the [[Cincinnati Reds]]. They are based in [[Chattanooga, Tennessee]], and are named for nearby [[Lookout Mountain]]. The team plays its home games at [[AT&T Field]] which opened in 2000 and seats 6,340 spectators.<ref name="m.milb.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.milb.com/chattanooga/news/gcs-95110912|title = Grand Junction Rockies}}</ref> After the 2025 season, they will move to [[Erlanger Park]]. They played at [[Engel Stadium]] from 1930 through 1999, except in 1943, when they played at [[Montgomery, Alabama]]'s [[Cramton Bowl]].<ref name="ct101207"/><ref name="Lookouts move from Chattanooga to Montgomery">{{cite web|url=http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2018/New%20York%20NY%20Sun/New%20York%20NY%20Sun%201943/New%20York%20NY%20Sun%201943%20-%200568.pdf|title=Senators shift Lookout franchise|last=The Old Scout|date=July 16, 1943|publisher=New York Sun|access-date=September 19, 2013}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:ChattanoogaAT&TField.jpg|thumb|The Lookouts at AT&T Field in 2007]]
{{expand section|date=August 2014}}
In 1908, Oliver Burnside "O.B." Andrews, owner of the Andrews Paper Box Company, Garnett Carter, and a third unidentified party took ownership of a franchise in the South Atlantic League, moving the Single-A team to Chattanooga. The team adopted the name Lookouts in 1909 after a fan contest.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Chattanooga Lookouts & 100 Seasons of Scenic City Baseball|last=Martini|first=Stephen|publisher=Lulu Press, Inc|pages=Chapter 2}}</ref>  The following year, Andrews purchased the Double A Southern Association franchise from Little Rock and moved them to Chattanooga. The team began playing on Andrews Field in the 1100 block of East 3rd Street, which would remain the site of their home stadium for nearly a century.

Joe Engel bought the Chattanooga Lookouts in 1926 and opened Engel Stadium in 1930 on the site of Andrews Field. The first game in the new stadium was played April 15, 1930; the Lookouts beat the Atlanta Crackers, 6-5, before some 16,000 fans.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cityscopemag.com/city-scope/looking-back-at-the-lookouts/|title=LOOKING BACK AT THE LOOKOUTS|last=Sprayberry|first=Noble|date=2015|website=CityScope}}</ref>

In 1931, the [[New York Yankees]] played an exhibition game against the Lookouts. During the game, a 17-year-old girl named [[Jackie Mitchell (baseball)|Jackie Mitchell]] pitched for the Lookouts and struck out Major League greats [[Lou Gehrig]] and [[Babe Ruth]]. Many reports of this story include a footnote claiming that a few days after the game, baseball commissioner [[Kenesaw Mountain Landis]] voided Mitchell's contract, claiming that baseball was "too strenuous" for women.<ref name="bbalm1" /> This has been rebutted here,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/05/18/the-myth-of-jackie-mitchell-the-girl-who-struck-out-ruth-and-gehrig.html |title = The Myth of Jackie Mitchell, the Girl Who Struck Out Ruth and Gehrig|website = [[The Daily Beast]]|date = 18 May 2013|last1 = Doster|first1 = Adam}}</ref> and directly contradicts a profile of Mitchell published a few months later.<ref>Atlanta Constitution June 27, 1931. Profile of Jackie Nitchell. Her father notes the 3,000 miles of travel and 32 games pitched so far (summer 1931) for the Chattanooga Junior Lookouts (her only contract until 1933)</ref> MLB didn't introduce a ban on contracts for female players until June 21, 1952 (which was repealed in 1992).{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

After winning the 1932 [[List of Southern Association champions|Southern Association pennant]], the Lookouts won the [[Dixie Series]], a postseason interleague championship between the champions of the Southern Association and the [[Texas League]], defeating the [[Beaumont Exporters]], 4–1, in the best-of-seven series.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57126035/dixie-title-captured-by-chattanooga-club/|via=Newspapers.com|title=Dixie Title Captured By Chattanooga Club|work=The Bristol News Bulletin|location=Bristol|date=September 28, 1932|page=2}}</ref>

During owner Joe Engel's tenure, the Lookouts won four championships – three with the [[Southern Association]] and a fourth with the [[South Atlantic League]]. Engel led a charge to own the Lookouts privately, with the help of several hundred fans as shareholders from 1938 to 1942. In 1939, as a privately owned franchise under coach [[Kiki Cuyler]], the Lookouts claimed a championship. In 1943, the Lookouts played at [[Montgomery, Alabama]]'s [[Cramton Bowl]] as the ''Montgomery Rebels'' after the [[Washington Senators (1901–60)|Washington Senators]] moved the Lookouts from Chattanooga to Montgomery, some {{convert|235|mi|km}} away, citing a decline in attendance.<ref name="Lookouts move from Chattanooga to Montgomery"/>  (The original Montgomery Rebels team had folded due to World War II in 1943 and would return to Montgomery in 1946 in the now-defunct [[Southeastern League]].) The Lookouts managed to move back to Chattanooga in December of that year after Engel organized a letter-writing campaign aimed at [[Clark Griffith]], the owner of the Senators at the time.<ref>{{cite book|last=Jenkins |first=David|title=Baseball in Chattanooga |publisher=Arcadia Publishing|location=Charleston, South Carolina|date=2005|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HFaI4votjk4C&q=Montgomery+intitle:Baseball+intitle:in+intitle:Chattanooga&pg=PA4|isbn=9780738542140}}</ref>

The team, which plays in the [[Southern League (1964–2020)|Southern League]], has been the Double-A affiliate (or its equivalent) of a major league ballclub since 1932. From 1988 through 2008, the Lookouts were the Double-A affiliate of the [[Cincinnati Reds]].<ref name="ct101207"/> For the 2009 through 2014 seasons, the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] served as the parent club.<ref name="ct100806"/><ref name="dn080918"/><ref>[http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2014/sep/17/lookouts-with-twins/ Chattanooga Lookouts baseball team to partner with Minnesota Twins]</ref>  In affiliating with the Twins in 2015, the Lookouts rekindled a relationship with the franchise that, as the 1901–1960 edition of the Washington Senators, spent the longest period as its parent team. For much of that earlier stint, the Lookouts were the Senators' top farm team despite being at a classification two steps below the majors.

It was announced on September 25, 2018, that the Lookouts would resume their affiliation with the Reds.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/breakingnews/story/2018/sep/25/lookouts-reunite-reds/479760/ |title = Lookouts to reunite with Cincinnati Reds {{!}} Chattanooga Times Free Press| date=25 September 2018 }}</ref>

In conjunction with [[Major League Baseball]]'s restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Lookouts were organized into the [[Double-A South]] in which they continued as an affiliate of the Reds.<ref name=JMayo2-12-2021>{{cite web|last=Mayo|first=Jonathan|title=MLB Announces New Minors Teams, Leagues|url=https://www.mlb.com/news/new-minor-league-baseball-structure|website=Major League Baseball|date=February 12, 2021|access-date=February 12, 2021}}</ref> In 2022, their league retook an earlier name, the Southern League.<ref name=SLrename>{{cite web|url=https://www.milb.com/news/minor-league-baseball-historical-league-names-to-return-in-2022|title=Historical League Names to Return in 2022|website=Minor League Baseball|date=March 16, 2022|access-date=March 16, 2022}}</ref>

On July 15, 2024, the team and local officials broke ground on the $115 million [[Erlanger Park]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-22 |title=New Lookouts Stadium Is Erlanger Park |url=https://www.chattanoogan.com/2025/5/22/504068/New-Lookouts-Stadium-Is-Erlanger-Park.aspx |access-date=2025-05-23 |website=www.chattanoogan.com |language=en}}</ref> in the South Broad Street area. The ballpark will be constructed on the site of the former U.S. Pipe/Wheland Foundry. The ballpark will be flanked by [[Interstate 24|I-24]] as it runs along [[Nickajack Lake]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-15 |title=Chattanooga Lookouts stadium groundbreaking draws hundreds {{!}} Chattanooga Times Free Press |url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2024/jul/15/chattanooga-lookouts-stadium-groundbreaking-draws/ |access-date=2024-07-17 |website=www.timesfreepress.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Television and radio==
Chattanooga Lookouts games are televised on [[MiLB.TV]]. Since 2016, all games are broadcast on 96.1 The Legend.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lookouts Announce Radio Deal|date=21 March 2016|url=http://ballparkdigest.com/2016/03/21/lookouts-announce-radio-deal/}}</ref> Larry Ward is the lead broadcaster. Lookouts games were broadcast on [[WDOD (AM)|WDOD]] (1310 AM) until the 2011 season.<ref name="mlb2"/> From 2011 to 2015, games were broadcast on [[WUIE|WALV-FM]] (105.1 FM, "[[ESPN Radio|ESPN Chattanooga]]").  Lookouts games have been broadcast on [[WLND]] 98.1 The Lake since the 2019 season.<ref>[https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/184002/chattanooga-lookouts-move-to-wlnd-98-1-the-lake Chattanooga Lookouts Move to WLND (98.1 The Lake)]</ref>

==Mascot==
The Chattanooga Lookouts' mascot is Looie the Lookout. He is an [[Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphized]] version of the team's logo.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hill|first1=Benjamin|last2=Jackson|first2=Josh|url=https://www.milb.com/round-rock/news/weird-minor-league-mascots-from-every-farm-system|title=The Quirkiest Mascots From Across the Minors|website=Minor League Baseball|date=December 24, 2023|access-date=May 29, 2025}}</ref>

==Roster==
{{Chattanooga Lookouts roster}}

==Retired numbers==
*'''26''' – [[Dernell Stenson]], OF, 2003

==Season-by-season records==

*2021: 58–54<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.milb.com/chattanooga/standings/second-half/2021 | title=2021 Chattanooga Standings }}</ref>

*2022: 61–75<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.milb.com/chattanooga/standings/second-half/2022 | title=2022 Second Half Standings }}</ref>

*2023: 70–67<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.milb.com/chattanooga/standings/second-half/2023 | title=2023 Second Half Standings }}</ref>

*2024: 45–90<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.milb.com/chattanooga/standings/second-half/2024 | title=2024 Second Half Standings }}</ref>

==References==
<references>
<ref name="bbalm1">[http://www.baseball-almanac.com/articles/aubrecht8.shtml The Pinstripe Press : Jackie Mitchell – The Pride of the Yankees on Baseball Almanac]</ref>
<ref name="ct100806">{{cite news |first=David |last=Paschall |work=[[Chattanooga Times Free Press]] |title=Dodgers extend Lookouts deal to '14 |url=http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2010/aug/06/dodgers-extend-lookouts-deal-14/?sports |date=August 6, 2010 |access-date=December 14, 2010}}</ref>
<ref name="ct101207">{{cite news |first=David |last=Paschall |work=[[Chattanooga Times Free Press]] |title=Burke may have to sell Lookouts |url=http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2010/dec/07/burke-may-have-sell-lookouts/ |date=December 7, 2010 |access-date=December 14, 2010}}</ref>
<ref name="dn080918">{{cite news |work=[[Los Angeles Daily News]] |title=Dodgers Notebook: Affiliations Are Changing |page=C5 |date=September 18, 2008}}</ref>
<ref name="mlb2">{{cite web |publisher=Chattanooga Lookouts |title=Sponsorships |url=https://www.milb.com/news/gcs-345704 |date=February 7, 2008 |access-date=December 14, 2010}}</ref>
</references>

==External links==
{{Commons category|Chattanooga Lookouts}}

* [http://www.lookouts.com/ Chattanooga Lookouts official site]

{{Cincinnati Reds}}
{{Southern League (baseball)}}
{{TennesseeSports}}

[[Category:Southern League (1964–present) teams]]
[[Category:Baseball teams established in 1885]]
[[Category:Professional baseball teams in Tennessee]]
[[Category:Sports in Chattanooga, Tennessee]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Dodgers minor league affiliates]]
[[Category:Cincinnati Reds minor league affiliates]]
[[Category:Cleveland Guardians minor league affiliates]]
[[Category:Oakland Athletics minor league affiliates]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Phillies minor league affiliates]]
[[Category:Seattle Mariners minor league affiliates]]
[[Category:Washington Senators (1901–1960) minor league affiliates]]
[[Category:Minnesota Twins minor league affiliates]]
[[Category:Southern League (1885–1899) teams]]
[[Category:1885 establishments in Tennessee]]
[[Category:South Atlantic League (1904–1963) teams]]
[[Category:Southern Association teams]]
[[Category:Double-A South teams]]