Tampa has had a long history of minor league baseball, beginning in 1919, when the original Tampa Smokers began play as charter members of the Florida State League. The Smokers moved to the Florida International League before both the league and the team folded in 1954, temporarily leaving Tampa without a professional baseball team. The city built Al Lopez Field in 1954, and the Tampa Tarpons became the ballpark's first tenant when they began play there in 1955 as a new member of the Class D Florida State League.