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
First 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

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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

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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

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[1]

Yearly standings

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1908 to 1912

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1908 Blue Grass League

Team standings W L PCT GB Managers
Frankfort Lawmakers 47 23 .671 N. G. Kennedy
Lexington Thoroughbreds 37 31 .544 9.0 Thomas Sheets
Richmond Pioneers 36 34 .514 11.0 William Parrish
Lawrenceburg Distillers 33 35 .485 13.0 Guy Woodruff
Shelbyville Millers 32 37 .464 14.5 Anton Kuhn
Versailles Aristocrats /
Winchester Hustlers
22 47 .319 24.5 NA

No Playoffs scheduled.[1]

1909 Blue Grass League

Team standings W L PCT GB Managers
Winchester Hustlers 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 schedule

Team standings W L PCT GB Managers
Paris Bourbonites 80 47 .630 Edward McKernan
Lexington Colts 69 56 .552 10.0 Hogan Yancy
Winchester Hustlers 63 59 .516 14.5 Newton Horn / Ed Coleman
Richmond Pioneers 63 60 .512 15.0 William Maloney
Frankfort Lawmakers 60 61 .496 17.0 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 schedule

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
Winchester Hustlers 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
Winchester Hustlers / Nicholasville /
Mount Sterling Orphans
31 97 .242 54.5 Harry Kunkel /
McBrayer / Bob Spade


No Playoffs scheduled.[1]

1922 to 1924

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1922 Blue Grass League schedule

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
Winchester Dodgers 28 36 .438 8.0 Howie Camnitz /
Walter Van Winkle
Lexington Reds 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
Winchester Dodgers 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
Lexington Reds 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 schedule

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
Lexington Studebakers 43 50 .462 7.5 Jesse Young /
Jim Viox
Winchester Dodgers 43 51 .457 8.0 George Bell

No Playoffs were scheduled.[1]

References

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  • Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, eds., The Minor League Encyclopedia, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007.
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Lloyd Johnson; Miles Wolff, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (Third ed.). Baseball America. ISBN 978-1932391176.