Kansas State League

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The Kansas State League was a professional baseball league in the United States operated in the state of Kansas in the late 19th century and into the early 20th century.

The first circuit was established in 1887 as a Minor League Baseball "no classification" league and existed for that year only.

The league continued again and played four seasons, 1895 to 1898 as a "no classification" league.

Progressing into the 20th century, the circuit played in 1905-06 as a class D league and this stint lasted two years.

The last segment of the league operated as a class D league from 1909–11, and 1913-14. The original KSL ceased operation in 1911, merged with the Central Kansas League, and the 1912 season was played under the CKL name. In 1913, the CKL switched back to the Kansas State League name. After the 1914 season the league permanently disbanded.

Cities Represented[]

1887 League[]

  • Arkansas City, KS: Arkansas City 1887
  • Emporia, KS: Emporia Reds 1887
  • Joplin, MO: Joplin 1887
  • Webb City, MO: Webb City 1887
  • Wellington, KS: Wellington Browns 1887
  • Wichita, KS: Wichita Braves 1887
  • Winfield, KS: Winfield 1887

1895-1898 League[]

  • Atchison, KS: Atchison Huskers 1897-1898
  • Chanute, KS: Chanute 1896
  • Coffeyville, KS: Coffeyville 1896
  • Emporia, KS: Emporia Maroons 1895, 1897
  • Independence, KS: Independence 1896
  • Junction City, KS: Junction City Parrots 1897
  • Leavenworth, KS: Leavenworth Soldiers 1895
  • Ottawa, KS: Ottawa 1898
  • Parsons, KS: Parsons Parsons 1896
  • Salina, KS: Salina/Junction City/Salina Blues 1898
  • Topeka, KS: Topeka Giants 1895, 1898; Topeka Colts 1897
  • Troy, KS: Troy Browns 1895
  • Whiting, KS/Horton, KS: Whiting-Horton 1895
  • Wichita, KS: Wichita Blues 1898

1905-1906 League[]

  • Bartlesville, OK: 1906
  • Chanute, KS: Chanute Browns 1906
  • Cherryvale, KS: Cherryvale Boosters 1906
  • Coffeyville, KS: Coffeyville Bricks 1906
  • Ellsworth, KS: Ellsworth 1905
  • Fort Scott, KS: 1906
  • Great Bend, KS: Great Bend Millers 1905
  • Hoisington, KS: Hoisington 1905
  • Hutchinson, KS: 1905
  • Independence, KS: Independence Coyotes 1906
  • Iola, KS: Iola Grays 1906
  • Kingman, KS: Kingman 1905
  • Lincoln Center, KS: 1905
  • Minneapolis, KS: Minneapolis Minnies 1905
  • Parsons, KS: Parsons Preachers 1906
  • Pittsburg, KS: 1906
  • Vinita, OK: Vinita 1906

1909-1911 League[]

1913-1914 League[]

League overview[]

Year Champion Teams Classification League President Notes
1905 Ellsworth 6 D
1906 Independence Coyotes 8 D
1909 Lyons Lions 8 D
1910 8 D
1911 Great Bend Millers 8 D / League disbanded on July 11
1913 Great Bend Millers 6 D
1914 Emporia Bidwells 4 D

Season summaries[]

1905–1906 League[]

1905[]

Standings
Team standings W L PCT GB Managers
Ellsworth 34 15 .694 -.- N/A
Great Bend Millers[a 1] 19 9 .679 4.5
Minneapolis Minnies 24 22 .522 8.5 Roy Gafford
22 24 .478 10.5 Cook/Fred Abbott
[a 1] 11 19 .375 13.5 Simpson
Kingman/[a 2] 13 34 .276 20.0 N/A
  1. ^ a b Great Bend Millers and joined the league on July 6.
  2. ^ The Kingman franchise disbanded on July 22. took team's place in the league July 24.
League Leaders
Statistic Player Team Number
Wins Jones Ellsworth 10
Ellsworth
Winning percentage Jones Ellsworth .909 (10-1)
Complete games 15
Shutouts Jones Ellsworth 5
  • Two No-Hitters were thrown in 1905. One by Lefty Holmes of Great Bend, and the other by Salter of Minneapolis.

1906[]

Standings
Team standings W L PCT GB Managers
Independence Coyotes 69 48 .590 -.- /Crutcher/
Iola Grays/Cherryvale Boosters[b 1] 62 50 .554 4.5 William Burns
Parsons Preachers 60 50 .545 5.5 //
Coffeyville Bricks 58 50 .537 6.5 //Haisman/Finney
51 64 .443 17.0
Chanute Browns 31 82 .274 36.0
[b 2] 35 18 .660 NA
/Vinita[b 3] [b 2] 30 25 .545 NA /William Burns
  1. ^ The Iola Grays moved to Cherryvale, Kansas on June 15 becoming the Cherryvale Boosters.
  2. ^ a b The and Vinita disbanded on July 5. The league discarded all games played before July 10 and the season was restarted.
  3. ^ The moved to Vinita, Oklahoma on June 6.
League Leaders
Statistic Player Team Number
Batting average Independence Coyotes .341
Hits Ed Foster Coffeyville Bricks 97
Runs Coffeyville Bricks 44
Wins Chick Brandom Independence Coyotes 16
Strikeouts Chick Brandom Independence Coyotes 121
Winning percentage Harry Womack Coffeyville Bricks 1.000 (10-0)

1909–1911 League[]

1909[]

Standings
Team standings W L PCT GB Managers
Lyons Lions 61 37 .622 -.-
60 37 .619 0.5
McPherson Merry Macks 59 37 .615 1.0 /
Great Bend Millers 49 48 .505 11.5 Rudy Kling/Stillings
Wellington Dukes 44 54 .449 17.0 /
Newton Railroaders 42 54 .438 18.0 /
Arkansas City-Winfield Twins[c 1] 41 56 .423 19.5 //
Strong City-Cottonwood Falls/Larned Cowboys[c 2] 32 65 .330 28.5 /Buck Weaver
  1. ^ The city of Winfield bought partial interest in the Arkansas City franchise on July 22.
  2. ^ The Strong City-Cottonwood Falls Twin Cities moved to Larned, Kansas on July 12 becoming the Larned Cowboys.
League Leaders
Statistic Player Team Number
Batting average Newton Railroaders .342
Home Runs Arkansas City-Winfield Twins 6
Hits Newton Railroaders 119
Runs McPherson Merry Macks 66
Wins Lyons Lions 25
Strikeouts Lyons Lions 193
Winning percentage .793 (23-6)

1910[]

Standings
Team standings W L PCT GB Managers
70 39 .642 -.-
McPherson Merry Macks 58 49 .542 11.0 /
Lyons Lions 57 53 .518 13.5 /Joe Riggert//
Newton Railroaders 56 54 .509 14.5
Great Bend Millers 54 55 .495 16.0
Wellington Dukes 48 56 .461 19.5 /Ody Abbott//
Larned Wheat Kings 46 56 .451 20.5 Buck Weaver/
Arkansas City Grays 40 67 .374 29.0 //Doc Baker
League Leaders
Statistic Player Team Number
Batting average Joe Riggert Lyons Lions .362
Home Runs Joe Riggert Lyons Lions 13
Hits 141
Runs Lyons Lions 132
Wins E. J. Smith 18
Lyons Lions
Strikeouts Great Bend Millers 205
Winning percentage E. J. Smith .750 (18-6)

1911[]

The league disbanded on July 11 due to crop failures and drought. There are no team or individual statistics were available.

Standings
Team W L PCT GB Managers
Great Bend Millers 39 20 .661 0 /
Newton Railroaders 39 21 .650 0.5 N/A
Lyons Lions 37 27 .578 4.5 Spencer Abbott
McPherson Merry Macks 31 28 .525 8.0
29 29 .500 9.5
Larned Wheat Kings 23 32 .418 14.0 Harry Berte
El Dorado Crushers 15 33 .313 18.5 Bill Annis/
Wellington Dukes[d 1] 15 38 .283 21.0 //Ned Price
  1. ^ The Wellington Dukes played 10 home games in Wichita, Kansas from June 11 to June 23.

1913–1914 League[]

1913[]

Standings
Team W L PCT GB Managers
Great Bend Millers 53 36 .596 -.- /
Clay Center Cubs 51 37 .580 1.5
Lyons Lions 50 39 .562 3.0
Salina Insurgents 26 63 .292 27.0 Lon Ury/Mike Welday
Manhattan Elks[e 1] 27 24 .529 N/A
Junction City Soldiers[e 1] 21 29 .420 N/A /
  1. ^ a b After the Junction City Soldiers disbanded on July 9, the league to dropped the Manhattan Elks on the following day.
League Leaders
Statistic Player Team Number
Batting average John Singleton Clay Center Cubs .335
Hits John Singleton Clay Center Cubs 133
Runs John Singleton Clay Center Cubs 78
Wins Lyons Lions 17
Winning percentage Great Bend Millers 1.000 (9-0)

1914[]

Standings
Team W L GB Managers
Emporia Bidwells 54 32 0.0
Salina Coyotes 47 41 8.0
40 49 15.5
Great Bend Millers 35 54 20.5
Statistics
Stat Player Team Number
Batting average Emporia Bidwells .342
Hits 98
Wins Otis Lambeth
 Emporia Bidwells
Emporia Bidwells		 14
Runs Emporia Bidwells 61
Strikeouts Salina Coyotes 166
Winning percentage Otis Lambeth Emporia Bidwells .737 (14-5)

League Presidents[]

1905–1906 League[]

  • : 1905
  • : 1906

1909–1911 League[]

  • : 1909–1910
  • : 1911
  • : 1911

1913–1914 League[]

  • : 1913–1914

Cities represented[]

1905–1906 League[]

1909–1911 League[]

1913–1914 League[]

Sources[]

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