Blue Grass League
Sport | Minor League Baseball |
---|---|
Inaugural season | 1908 |
Ceased | 1924 |
President | George L. Hammond (1908—1909) Dr. W.C. Ussery (1910—1911) William Neal (1911—1912) Thomas M. Russell (1922—1924) |
No. of teams | 12 |
Country | United States of America |
Most titles | 4 Paris Bourbons/Bourbonites (1910—1911, 1922, 1924) |
Classification | Class D (1908—1912, 1922—1924) |
The Blue Grass League was a minor league baseball circuit at the Class D level that existed in the early 1900s. There were two incarnations of the league, one that ran from 1908 to 1912 and one that existed from 1922 to 1924. It consisted entirely of teams based in Kentucky.
1908–1912[]
Six teams played in the league's inaugural season: the Frankfort Statesmen, Lexington Colts, Richmond Pioneers, Shelbyville Grays, and a squad from Lawrenceburg. The Statesmen finished in first place.
In 1909, the Hustlers, Pioneers, Statesmen and Colts returned to the league, while Shelbyville dropped its nickname and the Lawrenceburg team departed. In its stead were the Paris Bourbonites. The Hustlers finished in first place.
All teams from 1909 returned for 1910, though partway through the year the Shelbyville squad moved to Maysville to become the Maysville Rivermen. The Bourbonites finished first in the league. Baseball Hall of Fame member Casey Stengel played for Shelbyville/Maysville in 1910.
All teams from 1910 returned for 1911, with the Bourbonites finishing in first place again. There was also a playoff held that season, with the Bourbonites winning the series.
In 1912, the Statesmen became the Frankfort Lawmakers. Winchester moved to Nicholas and then Mt. Sterling to finish the season as the Mt. Sterling Orphans. Outside of those changes, the league remained the same. Frankfort finished in first place.
1922–1924[]
The inaugural season of the second incarnation of the league featured the Paris Mammoths, Maysville Cardinals, Cynthiana Merchants, Mt. Sterling Essex, and . The Mammoths finished in first, though the league playoff pitted Maysville against Cynthiana, with the former winning the series.
1923 saw multiple teams change names. The Merchants became the Cynthiana Cobblers and the Mammoths became the Paris Bourbons. The other teams remained the same. Cynthiana finished in first place.
The league consisted of only four teams in 1924 — Paris, Cynthiana, Lexington (now called the ) and Winchester. The Bourbons finished in first place.
Cities Represented[]
- Cynthiana, KY: Cynthiana Merchants 1922; Cynthiana Cobblers 1923—1924
- Frankfort, KY: Frankfort Lawmakers 1908—1912
- Lawrenceburg, KY: 1908
- Lexington, KY: 1908; Lexington Colts 1909—1912; 1922—1923; 1924
- Maysville, KY: Maysville Rivermen 1910—1912; Maysville Cardinals 1922—1923
- Mount Sterling, KY: Mount Sterling Orphans 1912; Mount Sterling Essex 1922—1923
- Nicholasville, KY: 1912
- Paris, KY: Paris Bourbonites 1909—1912; Paris Bourbons 1922—1924
- Richmond, KY: Richmond Pioneers 1908—1912
- Shelbyville, KY: Shelbyville Millers 1908—1910
- Versailles, KY: 1908
- Winchester, KY: 1908; 1909—1912; 1922—1924
Yearly standings[]
1908 Blue Grass League[]
Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Frankfort Lawmakers | 47 | 23 | .671 | — | N. G. Kennedy |
37 | 31 | .544 | 9.0 | Thomas Sheets | |
Richmond Pioneers | 36 | 34 | .514 | 11.0 | William Parrish |
33 | 35 | .485 | 13.0 | Guy Woodruff | |
Shelbyville Millers | 32 | 37 | .464 | 14.5 | Anton Kuhn |
/ |
22 | 47 | .319 | 24.5 | NA |
No Playoffs scheduled.[1]
1909 Blue Grass League[]
Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
75 | 44 | .630 | — | Daddy Horn | |
Richmond Pioneers | 75 | 45 | .625 | 0.5 | Al Grohe |
Paris Bourbonites | 61 | 57 | .516 | 13.5 | Jeff Elgin / Henry Schmidt / James Barnett |
Frankfort Lawmakers | 56 | 60 | .482 | 17.5 | N. G. Kennedy / Ben Marshall |
Lexington Colts | 48 | 69 | .410 | 26.0 | Thomas Sheets / Cy Stout / Pat Downing |
Shelbyville Millers | 39 | 79 | .321 | 35.5 | Anton Kuhn |
No Playoffs scheduled.[1]
1910 Blue Grass League[]
Paris Bourbonites | 80 | 47 | .630 | 0 | Edward McKernan |
Lexington Colts | 69 | 56 | .552 | 10 | Hogan Yancy |
63 | 59 | .516 | 14.5 | Newton Horn / Ed Coleman | |
Richmond Pioneers | 63 | 60 | .512 | 15 | William Maloney |
Frankfort Lawmakers | 60 | 61 | .496 | 17 | Wallace Warren / Danny Harrell |
Shelbyville Millers / Maysville Rivermen |
37 | 89 | .294 | 42.5 | Anton Kuhn / Daniel Collins |
No Playoffs scheduled.[1]
1911 Blue Grass League[]
Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Paris Bourbonites | 71 | 44 | .617 | — | Edward McKernan |
Lexington Colts | 65 | 50 | .565 | 6.0 | Thomas Sheets / Hogan Yancy |
59 | 59 | .500 | 13.5 | Ed Coleman | |
Maysville Rivermen | 55 | 63 | .466 | 17.5 | James Carmony |
Frankfort Lawmakers | 48 | 65 | .425 | 22.0 | NA |
Richmond Pioneers | 47 | 64 | .423 | 22.0 | Connie Lewis / Sylvester Olson |
Playoff: Paris 4 games, Winchester 0.[1]
1912 Blue Grass League[]
Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Frankfort Lawmakers | 85 | 42 | .670 | — | Ollie Gfroerer |
Maysville Rivermen | 82 | 47 | .634 | 4.0 | James Carmony / Harry Kunkel |
Richmond Pioneers | 66 | 64 | .508 | 20.5 | William Fisher |
Lexington Colts | 60 | 65 | .480 | 24.0 | Hogan Yancy / Ted McGrew |
Paris Bourbonites | 60 | 69 | .465 | 26.0 | Joe Lewis / Danning Harrell |
/ / Mount Sterling Orphans |
31 | 97 | .242 | 54.5 | Harry Kunkel / McBrayer / Bob Spade |
No Playoffs scheduled.[1]
1922 Blue Grass League[]
Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Paris Bourbons | 36 | 28 | .563 | — | B. Goodman / Harold Willis |
Maysville Cardinals | 33 | 28 | .541 | 1.5 | Norbert Bosken |
Cynthiana Merchants | 34 | 30 | .531 | 2.0 | Ernest McIlvan |
Mt. Sterling Essex | 30 | 31 | .492 | 4.5 | Hod Eller |
28 | 36 | .438 | 8.0 | Howie Camnitz / Walter Van Winkle | |
28 | 36 | .438 | 8.0 | Pat Devereaux / Jim Park |
Playoff: Maysville 3 games, Cynthiana 1.[1]
1923 Blue Grass League[]
Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cynthiana Cobblers | 54 | 43 | .557 | — | Bill Schumaker |
53 | 44 | .546 | 1.0 | Pat Devereaux | |
Maysville Cardinals | 48 | 45 | .516 | 4.0 | Norbert Bosken |
Paris Bourbons | 45 | 47 | .480 | 6.5 | Nickholas Winger / Felix Cicona |
44 | 49 | .473 | 8.0 | Doug Harbison | |
Mt. Sterling Essex | 38 | 54 | .413 | 13.5 | Charles Ellis / Hod Eller |
No Playoffs were held.[1]
1924 Blue Grass League[]
Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Paris Bourbons | 51 | 43 | .543 | — | Bob Corkhill / Pat Devereaux / Fritz Mueller |
Cynthiana Cobblers | 50 | 43 | .538 | 0.5 | Bill Schumaker / John Koval |
43 | 50 | .462 | 7.5 | Jesse Young / Jim Viox | |
43 | 51 | .457 | 8.0 | George Bell |
No Playoffs were scheduled.[1]
References[]
- Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, eds., The Minor League Encyclopedia, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007.
- Defunct minor baseball leagues in the United States
- Baseball leagues in Kentucky
- Sports leagues established in 1908
- Sports leagues disestablished in 1924
- 1908 establishments in Kentucky
- 1924 disestablishments in Kentucky