{{Infobox Minor League Baseball | name = Sumter Flyers | firstseason = 1991 | city = Sumter, South Carolina | logo = SumterFlyersLogo.png | uniformlogo = | class level = Class A (1991) | league = South Atlantic League (1991) | majorleague = Montreal Expos (1991) | nickname = Sumter Flyers (1991) | ballpark = Riley Park (1991) | classnum = | classchamps = | leaguenum = | leaguechamps = none | confnum = | conferencechamps = | divnum = | divisionchamps = | wildcardnum = | wildcardberths = | website = | colors = Red, gold, white<ref>{{cite web |title=South Atlantic League Official Colors (1980 through present) |url=https://www.trucolor.net/portfolio/south-atlantic-league-official-colors-1980-through-present/ |website=TruColor.net |access-date=14 November 2025}}</ref><br>{{colorbox|#9D2235}} {{colorbox|#EAAA00}} {{colorbox|#FFFFFF}} }} The '''Sumter Flyers''' were a minor league baseball team in Sumter, South Carolina who played in the 1991 season. They were a Class A team in the South Atlantic League and a farm team of the Montreal Expos.
The Flyers played their home games at Riley Park. After the 1991 season, they relocated to Albany, Georgia and became the Albany Polecats.
==History== {{sidebar | bodystyle = width:{{{width|27.0em}}}; | float = right | pretitle = | title = Delmarva Shorebirds franchise history | content1 = Sumter Flyers (1991) | content2 = Albany Polecats (1992–1995) | content3 = Delmarva Shorebirds (1996–present) }}
After the 1990 season, the Sumter Braves relocated to Macon, Georgia and became the Macon Braves. The South Atlantic League was required to expand due to its contract with Major League Baseball, and in January of 1991 placed expansion teams in Columbus, Georgia and in Sumter.<ref name="GreensboroGMToRunLocalTeam">{{cite news |author1=Guerry Clegg |title=Greensboro GM to run local team |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/ledger-enquirer-greensboro-gm-to-run-loc/183721579/ |access-date=14 November 2025 |work=Columbus Ledger-Enquirer |date=Jan 26, 1991 |page=7}}</ref> The owner of the new Sumter franchise, who also owned the Quad Cities Angels, Tucson Toros, and Chattanooga Lookouts, intended to keep the team in the city for just one year before moving it to Montgomery, Alabama.<ref name="4thFranchiseHoltzman">{{cite news |author1=John Marx |title=Holtzman adds fourth minor-league franchise |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-rock-island-argus-holtzman-adds-four/184937690/ |access-date=14 November 2025 |work=The Rock Island Argus |date=Feb 2, 1991 |page=26}}</ref>
The team was originally named the Sumter Rebels, but the team changed it to the Sumter Flyers after less than two weeks due to poor community feedback. The new name was chosen in honor of both nearby Shaw Air Force Base and troops deployed to the Middle East for the then-ongoing Operation Desert Storm.<ref name="RebelsOutFlyersIn">{{cite news |author1=Dennis Brunson |title=Rebels out, Flyers in for Sumter baseball |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/668926184/?clipping_id=184938032 |access-date=14 November 2025 |work=The Sumter Item |date=Feb 19, 1991 |page=11}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author1=Steve Pradarelli |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-item-flyers-name-origin/184938143/ |title=57 percent of residents in pilot recycling join in for first week |access-date=14 November 2025 |work=The Sumter item |date=Feb 20, 1991 |page=12 |quote=Before the closed-door meeting, the team's general manager announced the team's name change from the Sumter Rebels to the Sumter Flyers in honor of Shaw Air Force Base and troops deployed to the Middle East.}}</ref>
The Flyers had a record of 64-75 in their only season in Sumter.<ref name="bbref" /> The team set an single-season attendance record for Riley Park by drawing 45,637 fans, but this was not enough for the team to break even, with the general manager describing the Flyers' monetary losses as "quite substantial".<ref name="NewPolecats" />
After the 1991 season, once a deal to move the team to Montgomery fell through, the Flyers moved to Albany, Georgia and became the Albany Polecats.<ref name="NewPolecats">{{cite news |author1=Dennis Brunson |title=SAL working on deal to return to Sumter, Flyers become Polecats |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-item-sal-working-on-deal-to-return-t/184943912/ |access-date=14 November 2025 |work=The Sumter Item |date=Dec 5, 1991 |page=25}}</ref> As of 2025, the franchise is located in Salisbury, Maryland and is named the Delmarva Shorebirds.<ref name="funwhileitlasted">{{cite web |title=Sumter Flyers |url=https://funwhileitlasted.net/2014/02/21/1991-sumter-flyers/ |website=FunWhileItLasted.net |access-date=14 November 2025}}</ref>
==Year-by-year record==
{| class="wikitable"
|- ! Year !! Division !! W–L !! Place !! Manager !! Postseason !! Attendance !! Source |- ! colspan="8" style="background:#9D2235; color:white;text-align:center;"|Sumter Flyers |- |1991 || Northern || 64–75 || 10th || Lorenzo Bundy || none || 45,639 || <ref name="bbref">{{cite web |title=1991 Sumter Flyers |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi?id=c6a00d29 |website=baseball-reference.com |access-date=14 November 2025}}</ref> |}
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Defunct baseball teams in South Carolina Category:Montreal Expos minor league affiliates Category:Defunct South Atlantic League teams Category:Baseball teams established in 1991 Category:Baseball teams disestablished in 1991 Category:1991 establishments in South Carolina Category:1991 disestablishments in South Carolina