Blue Grass League

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.

Blue Grass League
ClassificationClass D (1908—1912, 1922—1924)
SportMinor League Baseball
Inaugural season1908
Ceased1924
PresidentGeorge L. Hammond (1908—1909)
Dr. W.C. Ussery (1910—1911)
William Neal (1911—1912)
Thomas M. Russell (1922—1924)
No. of teams12
CountryUnited States of America
Most titles4
Paris Bourbons/Bourbonites (1910—1911, 1922, 1924)

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.[1]

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.[1]

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.[1] 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.[1]

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.[1]

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.[1]

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.[1]

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.[1]

Cities represented

[1]

Yearly standings

1908 to 1912

1908 Blue Grass League

Team standingsWLPCTGBManagers
Frankfort Lawmakers4723.671N. G. Kennedy
Lexington Thoroughbreds3731.5449.0Thomas Sheets
Richmond Pioneers3634.51411.0William Parrish
Lawrenceburg Distillers3335.48513.0Guy Woodruff
Shelbyville Millers3237.46414.5Anton Kuhn
Versailles Aristocrats /
Winchester Hustlers
2247.31924.5NA

No Playoffs scheduled.[1]

1909 Blue Grass League

Team standingsWLPCTGBManagers
Winchester Hustlers7544.630Daddy Horn
Richmond Pioneers7545.6250.5Al Grohe
Paris Bourbonites6157.51613.5Jeff Elgin /
Henry Schmidt / James Barnett
Frankfort Lawmakers5660.48217.5N. G. Kennedy /
Ben Marshall
Lexington Colts4869.41026.0Thomas Sheets /
Cy Stout / Pat Downing
Shelbyville Millers3979.32135.5Anton Kuhn

No Playoffs scheduled.[1]

1910 Blue Grass League schedule

Team standingsWLPCTGBManagers
Paris Bourbonites8047.630Edward McKernan
Lexington Colts6956.55210.0Hogan Yancy
Winchester Hustlers6359.51614.5Newton Horn / Ed Coleman
Richmond Pioneers6360.51215.0William Maloney
Frankfort Lawmakers6061.49617.0Wallace Warren / Danny Harrell
Shelbyville Millers /
Maysville Rivermen
3789.29442.5Anton Kuhn /
Daniel Collins

No Playoffs scheduled.[1]

1911 Blue Grass League schedule

Team standingsWLPCTGBManagers
Paris Bourbonites7144.617Edward McKernan
Lexington Colts6550.5656.0Thomas Sheets /
Hogan Yancy
Winchester Hustlers5959.50013.5Ed Coleman
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 Lawmakers8542.670Ollie Gfroerer
Maysville Rivermen8247.6344.0James Carmony /
Harry Kunkel
Richmond Pioneers6664.50820.5William Fisher
Lexington Colts6065.48024.0Hogan Yancy /
Ted McGrew
Paris Bourbonites6069.46526.0Joe Lewis /
Danning Harrell
Winchester Hustlers / Nicholasville /
Mount Sterling Orphans
3197.24254.5Harry Kunkel /
McBrayer / Bob Spade


No Playoffs scheduled.[1]

1922 to 1924

1922 Blue Grass League schedule

Team standingsWLPCTGBManagers
Paris Bourbons3628.563B. Goodman /
Harold Willis
Maysville Cardinals3328.5411.5Norbert Bosken
Cynthiana Merchants3430.5312.0Ernest McIlvan
Mt. Sterling Essex3031.4924.5Hod Eller
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 Cobblers5443.557Bill Schumaker
Winchester Dodgers5344.5461.0Pat Devereaux
Maysville Cardinals4845.5164.0Norbert Bosken
Paris Bourbons4547.4806.5Nickholas Winger /
Felix Cicona
Lexington Reds4449.4738.0Doug Harbison
Mt. Sterling Essex3854.41313.5Charles Ellis /
Hod Eller

No Playoffs were held.[1]

1924 Blue Grass League schedule

Team standingsWLPCTGBManagers
Paris Bourbons5143.543Bob Corkhill /
Pat Devereaux / Fritz Mueller
Cynthiana Cobblers5043.5380.5Bill Schumaker /
John Koval
Lexington Studebakers4350.4627.5Jesse Young /
Jim Viox
Winchester Dodgers4351.4578.0George 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.
  1. The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Lloyd Johnson & Miles Wolff, editors (Third ed.). Baseball America. 2007. ISBN 978-1932391176.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
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