Blue Grass League Explained

Blue Grass League
Sport:Minor League Baseball
President:George L. Hammond (1908—1909)
Dr. W.C. Ussery (1910—1911)
William Neal (1911—1912)
Thomas M. Russell (1922—1924)
Inaugural:1908
Teams:12
Country:United States of America
Continent:or
Continents:-->
Folded:1924
Most Champs: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, Winchester Hustlers and Lawrenceburg Distillers. 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, Winchester Dodgers and Lexington Reos. 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 Lexington Studebakers) and Winchester. The Bourbons finished in first place.

Cities represented

Cynthiana Merchants 1922; Cynthiana Cobblers 1923–1924

Frankfort Lawmakers 1908–1912

Lawrenceburg Distillers 1908

Lexington Thoroughbreds 1908; Lexington Colts 1909–1912; Lexington Reds 1922–1923; Lexington Studebakers 1924

Maysville Rivermen 1910–1912; Maysville Cardinals 1922–1923

Mount Sterling Orphans 1912; Mount Sterling Essex 1922–1923

Nicholasville 1912

Paris Bourbonites 1909–1912; Paris Bourbons 1922–1924

Richmond Pioneers 1908–1912

Shelbyville Millers 1908–1910

Versailles Aristocrats 1908

Winchester Reds 1908; Winchester Hustlers 1909–1912; Winchester Dodgers 1922–1924

Yearly standings

1908 to 1912

1908 Blue Grass League

Team standingsWLPCTGBManagers
Frankfort Lawmakers4723.671—N. G. Kennedy
Lexington Thoroughbreds3731.5449.0Thomas Sheets
3634.51411.0William Parrish
Lawrenceburg Distillers3335.48513.0Guy Woodruff
Shelbyville Millers3237.46414.5Anton Kuhn
2247.31924.5NA
No Playoffs scheduled.[1] 1909 Blue Grass League
Team standingsWLPCTGBManagers
Winchester Hustlers7544.630—Daddy Horn
Richmond Pioneers7545.6250.5Al Grohe
6157.51613.5Jeff Elgin /
Henry Schmidt / James Barnett
Frankfort Lawmakers5660.48217.5N. G. Kennedy /
Ben Marshall
Lexington Colts4869.41026.0Thomas Sheets /
Cy Stout / Pat Downing
3979.32135.5Anton Kuhn
No Playoffs scheduled.[1] 1910 Blue Grass Leagueschedule
Team standingsWLPCTGBManagers
Paris Bourbonites8047.630—Edward McKernan
Lexington Colts6956.55210.0Hogan Yancy
6359.51614.5
Richmond Pioneers6360.51215.0
Frankfort Lawmakers6061.49617.0Wallace Warren / Danny Harrell
Shelbyville Millers /
Maysville Rivermen		3789.29442.5Anton Kuhn /
Daniel Collins
No Playoffs scheduled.[1] 1911 Blue Grass Leagueschedule
Team standingsWLPCTGBManagers
Paris Bourbonites7144.617—Edward McKernan
Lexington Colts6550.5656.0Thomas Sheets /
Hogan Yancy
5959.50013.5
Maysville Rivermen5563.46617.5James Carmony
Frankfort Lawmakers4865.42522.0NA
Richmond Pioneers4764.42322.0Connie Lewis /
Sylvester Olson
Playoff: Paris 4 games, Winchester 0.[1] 1912 Blue Grass League
Team standingsWLPCTGBManagers
Frankfort Lawmakers8542.670—Ollie Gfroerer
Maysville Rivermen8247.6344.0James Carmony /
Harry Kunkel
6664.50820.5William Fisher
Lexington Colts6065.48024.0
Paris Bourbonites6069.46526.0Joe Lewis /
Danning Harrell
Winchester Hustlers / Nicholasville /
Mount Sterling Orphans		3197.24254.5

No Playoffs scheduled.[1]

1922 to 1924

1922 Blue Grass Leagueschedule

Team standingsWLPCTGBManagers
Paris Bourbons3628.563—B. Goodman /
Harold Willis
Maysville Cardinals3328.5411.5Norbert Bosken
3430.5312.0Ernest McIlvan
Mt. Sterling Essex3031.4924.5
Winchester Dodgers2836.4388.0Howie Camnitz /
Walter Van Winkle
Lexington Reds2836.4388.0Pat Devereaux /
Jim Park
Playoff: Maysville 3 games, Cynthiana 1.[1] 1923 Blue Grass League
Team standingsWLPCTGBManagers
Cynthiana Cobblers5443.557—Bill Schumaker
Winchester Dodgers5344.5461.0Pat Devereaux
4845.5164.0Norbert Bosken
Paris Bourbons4547.4806.5Nickholas Winger /
Felix Cicona
Lexington Reds4449.4738.0Doug Harbison
Mt. Sterling Essex3854.41313.5
No Playoffs were held.[1] 1924 Blue Grass Leagueschedule
Team standingsWLPCTGBManagers
Paris Bourbons5143.543—Bob Corkhill /
Pat Devereaux / Fritz Mueller
Cynthiana Cobblers5043.5380.5Bill Schumaker /
John Koval
4350.4627.5
Winchester Dodgers4351.4578.0George Bell
No Playoffs were scheduled.[1]

References

Notes and References

  1. Book: The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball . Lloyd Johnson . Miles Wolff . Third . . 2007 . 978-1932391176.

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