The countdown to an historic promotion has just begun.

In conjunction with the celebration of Calfee Park’s 90th anniversary, the Pulaski River Turtles are announcing their first-ever temporary team rebrand. For the final homestand of the 2025 season at Calfee Park, the Pulaski River Turtles will take the field under a legendary team name:

The Pulaski Counts.

The promotion is scheduled for the Bluefield Ridge Runners series on July 29 and 30. The timing of the matchup is historically significant; the series comes 77 years to the day that the Pulaski Counts faced the Bluefield Blue Grays in a two-game tilt at Calfee Park in 1948. The Counts swept the series en route to the 1948 Appalachian League championship.

The throwback to the beloved Pulaski Counts moniker promises to be one of the most anticipated promotions of the 2025 season. The series is sponsored by BAIRD Drywall of Vinton, Va.

“Our Pulaski Counts promotion is the capstone to our season-long celebration of Calfee Park’s 90th anniversary,” Calfee Park and Pulaski River Turtles general manager JW Martin explains. “The Counts moniker is legendary, and the 1940s represent one of the most storied eras in baseball history at Calfee Park. We couldn’t be more excited about the program we have planned for this promotion.”

1948 was a watershed season for the Pulaski Counts. The Counts became an Appalachian League member in 1946 as an affiliate of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and had made playoff appearances in each of their first two seasons. Though the Counts claimed the Appalachian League pennant in 1947, victory in the playoffs remained elusive.

Captained by former Major Leaguer George Pfister, the Counts sprinted to a sizable lead in the Appalachian League standings during the opening month of the 1948 season. They raked in 13 consecutive home wins to start the campaign, a streak that survived until early June, when Bluefield swept a two-game series at Calfee Park.

The Counts’ lead in the standings swelled during the season’s summer stretch. When Bluefield visited in late July for another two-game series, the Counts grip on the top spot was 11 ½ games. Bluefield was challenging the Welch Miners for a distant second place in the pennant race.

The July 29 contest against Bluefield went to the Counts by the score of 5-3. The Counts had trailed through the first six frames before authoring a decisive four-run rally in the seventh inning. The Counts survived the second game on July 30 to edge Bluefield, 8-7, in a see-saw battle plagued by a total of 13 errors.

The Counts clinched the 1948 Appalachian League pennant with 12 games remaining on the schedule. They concluded the 1948 regular season boasting a winning percentage of .680 and a record of 85-40. Welch placed second, trailing the Counts by 14 games.

The Counts opened the playoffs with a sweep of the Johnson City Cardinals, 3-0. Their opponent in the finals was Bluefield, who had defeated Welch, 3-0.

Bluefield seized an early 1-0 lead with a 5-3 victory in the opener. Their championship advantage was fleeting. The Counts stormed to the Appalachian League title by sweeping the final four contests of the postseason.

The Counts’ 1948 season was record setting. The Counts recorded 249 stolen bases in 125 games. It was reported in the Southwest Times that Pulaski’s stolen base total led all baseball teams in the nation for 1948. They also set the Appalachian League benchmark for most regular season wins in a single season with 85. The record was broken a year later by Bluefield, who collected 88 wins during the 1949 regular season. To this day, the 1949 Bluefield team and the 1948 Pulaski team remain the top two winningest teams in Appalachian League history.

Brooklyn Dodgers president and renowned baseball pioneer Branch Rickey wired a congratulatory statement to Pfister at season’s end, which was printed in the Southwest Times. It read in part, “My heartiest congratulations to you and all the boys on winning Appalachian League playoffs. You have given the rest of our clubs a mark to shoot at. I am especially pleased that my reports about your management this year have been so good.”

Pfister gave a glowing assessment of the team in his remarks to the Southwest Times.

“We certainly did show the rest of the league,” Pfister said. “Lucky. Just plain lucky. We had a darn good bunch of boys who hustled, took instruction and loved to play the game. That coupled with ability made our club.”

More than two decades would pass before Pulaski hoisted its second Appalachian League championship trophy in 1969. Now, as the newest iteration of Pulaski’s baseball organization pursues its sixth Appalachian League title, the River Turtles will conclude the 2025 regular season by paying homage to its first league crown.

The Pulaski Counts series will feature a game-worn jersey auction, with all proceeds benefiting the Pulaski County Christmas Store. A limited supply of authentic game caps produced for the Pulaski Counts series will go on sale exclusively in the River Turtles team store at Calfee Park beginning July 4.

Along with team uniforms reflective of the time period, fans will enjoy ballpark activations aimed at enhancing the experience of the Pulaski Counts series.

“We feel this series will be among the most memorable promotions we’ve had during the River Turtles era,” Martin said. “Much of our fanbase has a sentimental attachment to the Pulaski Counts. Calfee Park will be brimming with nostalgia during this series, and it’s guaranteed to be an experience unlike anything we’ve seen at the ballpark in a very long time.”

The Pulaski Counts series is one of many exciting special promotions scheduled for the 2025 Appalachian League season. The complete 2025 Pulaski River Turtles schedule is available for download online at www.pulaskiriverturtles.com.