| Central Kansas League | |
| Sport: | Minor League Baseball |
| President: | Ralph W. Hoffman (1909–1910) H. Cramer(1910) C.A. Case (1911) Roy C. Gafford (1911–1912) |
| Inaugural: | 1908 |
| Teams: | 15 |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Continent: | or |
| Continents: | --> |
| Folded: | 1912 |
| Most Champs: | 2 Ellsworth Blues (1909–1910) |
| Classification: | Class D (1908–1912) |
The Central Kansas League was a Class D level baseball league established in 1908, playing through 1912. Member teams were based exclusively in Kansas. The Central Kansas League evolved from and into the Kansas State League.[1]
The original Kansas State League ceased independent operations in 1911, combined with the Central Kansas League. After five seasons of play, the Central Kansas League subsequently changed its name to back to the Kansas State League for the 1913 and 1914 seasons before disestablishing. The league champions in 1909 and 1910 were the Ellsworth Blues.[2] [3]
There is an ongoing debate about whether former US President Dwight Eisenhower played professional baseball in 1911 for the Junction City Soldiers prior to attending West Point.
This is a complete list of the teams which played under the Central Kansas League.[4]
Abilene Red Sox 1909; Abilene Reds 1910
Beloit 1909–1910
Chapman 1910
Clay Center Cubs 1909–1911
Concordia Travelers 1910–1911
Ellsworth Worthies 1908–1910
Great Bend Millers 1912
Junction City Soldiers 1909–1912
Little River 1908
Lyons Lions 1912
Manhattan Maroons 1909–1911; Manhattan Giants 1912
Minneapolis Minnies 1908–1909, 1912
Newton Browns 1908; Newton Railroaders 1912
Salina Trade Winners 1908–1910; Salina Insurgents 1912[4]
1908 Central Kansas League - schedule
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minneapolis Minnies | 31 | 19 | .620 | - | Ben Young | |
| Newton Browns | 25 | 22 | .532 | 4.5 | Carl Becker | |
| 25 | 22 | .532 | 4.5 | F.S. Foster | ||
| Salina Trade Winners | 24 | 23 | .511 | 5.5 | Frank Everhart | |
| McPherson Merry Macks | 20 | 27 | .426 | 9.5 | Davis | |
| 18 | 30 | .375 | 12.0 | G.W. Hamilton / I.C. Meyer |
1909 Central Kansas League
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ellsworth Blues | 44 | 23 | .657 | - | George Seigle | |
| Salina Trade Winners | 40 | 28 | .588 | 4.5 | ||
| 37 | 30 | .552 | 7.0 | F.D. Parent / Affie Wilson | ||
| Minneapolis Minnies | 36 | 32 | .529 | 8.5 | ||
| Junction City Soldiers | 34 | 32 | .515 | 9.5 | Lewis Armstrong / Tom Campbell | |
| 33 | 36 | .478 | 12.0 | |||
| 32 | 37 | .464 | 13.0 | Lee Gramley | ||
| Manhattan Maroons | 16 | 54 | .229 | 29.5 | Earle Bryant / Murphy |
| Tom Campbell | Junction City | BA | .335 | Ora Williams | Abilene | W | 19 | ||
| James Whalen | Junction City | Runs | 49 | Ora Williams | Abilene | SO | 178 | ||
| Claude Jennings | Minneapolis | Hits | 72 | Ora Williams | Abilene | Pct | .826; 19-4 |
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ellsworth Blues | 53 | 28 | .654 | - | Dick Ford | |
| Clay Center Cubs | 48 | 33 | .593 | 5.0 | Lee Gramley | |
| 44 | 33 | .571 | 7.0 | Affie Wilson | ||
| Salina Trade Winners | 44 | 34 | .564 | 7.5 | Elmer Meredith | |
| Concordia Travelers | 43 | 38 | .531 | 10.0 | ||
| 35 | 43 | .449 | 16.5 | Jim Gardiner | ||
| 34 | 48 | .415 | 19.5 | Ernie Quigley / Thomas Dugan / Cecil Bankhead | ||
| Beloit / Chapman | 18 | 62 | .225 | 34.5 | Ben Dimond / Jim Green |
| A.B. Conley | Abilene | BA | .348 | Paul Stokesberry | Clay Center | W | 19 | |
| Walter Wentz | Clay Center | Runs | 53 | Otis Peebles | Ellsworth | Pct | .769; 10-3 | |
| Mugsy Monroe | Abiline | Hits | 110 |
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concordia Travelers | 44 | 27 | .620 | - | Harry Short / Roy Gafford | |
| Junction City Soldiers | 40 | 31 | .563 | 4.0 | Cecil Bankhead | |
| 33 | 38 | .465 | 11.0 | Lee Gramley | ||
| Manhattan Maroons | 25 | 46 | .352 | 19.0 | Dee Poindexter |
| Gilbert Britton | Clay Center | BA | .347 | G.H. Jepson | Junction City | W | 21 | |
| Claude Jennings | Clay Center | Runs | 53 | G.H. Jepson | Junction City | Pct | .724; 21-8 | |
| Gilbert Britton | Clay Center | Hits | 90 | |||||
| Claude Jennings | Clay Center | SB | 30 |
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Bend Millers | 54 | 36 | .600 | - | Affie Wilson | |
| Manhattan Giants | 52 | 38 | .578 | 2.0 | Robert Kahl / Fred Moore / Nick Kohl | |
| Newton Railroaders/ Minneapolis Minnies | 50 | 40 | .555 | 4.0 | A. Stillwell | |
| Junction City Soldiers | 47 | 43 | .522 | 7.0 | Cecil Bankhead | |
| Lyons Lions | 36 | 54 | .400 | 18.0 | Fred Wilson | |
| Salina Insurgents | 31 | 59 | .344 | 23.0 | Bert Lamb |
| Muggsy Monroe | Newt/Minn | BA | .352 | Fred Hagg | Manhattan | W | 18 | ||
| Burnham Smith | Manhattan | Runs | 88 | Elmer Brown | Great Bend | W | 18 | ||
| Muggsy Monroe | Newt/Minn | Hits | 118 | Fred Hagg | Manhattan | Pct | .750; 18-6 |