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 .
17-591: 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
34-662: The Charleston Senators (58–63), Chillicothe Babes /Huntington/ Maysville Angels (58–55), Frankfort Old Taylors (45–65), Ironton Nailers (47–69), Lexington Colts (63–48 )and Portsmouth Cobblers (71–42). In their final season of play, the 1916 Frankfort Old Taylors folded during the season. On July 6, 1916, Frankfort folded with a 24–35 record under manager James "Ducky" Holmes . The Ohio State League permanently folded on July 16, 1916. Frankfort, Kentucky has not hosted another minor league team. The name of
51-650: The Interstate League in 1885, the Blue Grass League from 1908 to 1912 and Ohio State League in 1915 and 1916. Frankfort won Blue Grass League championships in 1908 and 1912. Frankfort began hosting minor league baseball play in 1885, when the Frankfort team played as members of the six–team Interstate League . Shenkel was the Frankfort manager. The 1885 standings are unknown. In 1908,
68-704: 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
85-669: 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
102-639: The "Frankfort Statesmen" became charter members of the Class D level Blue Grass League and won the league championship. Frankfort finished the regular season in first with a record of 47–23, playing under manager Neal Kennedy. The league had no playoffs and Frankfort finished 9.0 games ahead of the 2nd place Lexington Colts in the six–team league. The charter teams were Frankfort (47–23), Lawrenceburg Distllers (33–35), Lexington Colts (37–31), Richmond Pioneers (36–34), Shelbyville Millers (32–37) and Versailles Aristocrats/Winchester Reds (22–47). The Frankfort team
119-625: The Class D level Ohio State League . The Frankfort Old Taylors began play in the six–team league and finished the 1915 season in fourth place with a 45–65 record. The Old Taylors finished 24.5 behind the first place Portsmouth Cobblers , while playing under managers Pat Bohannon and Jack Hayden. The "Old Taylors" moniker was in reference to local industry, as Frankfort was home to the Buffalo Trace Distillery , makers of Old Taylor Bourbon. The 1916 Ohio State League members were
136-556: The Frankfort teams' home ballpark are not known. The campus of Kentucky State University at Alumni Field and State Stadium were venues in use in the era. 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 . Six teams played in
153-666: 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. 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
170-485: The final standings, Frankfort finished in first place. Following Frankfort were the Lexington Colts (60–65), Maysville Rivermen (82–47), Paris Bourbonites (60–69), Richmond Pioneers (66–64) and Mt. Sterling Orphans (31–97). The Blue Grass League folded following the 1912 season and Frankfort was unable to defend their championship. Frankfort resumed minor league play in 1915. Frankfort became members of
187-567: The first place Paris Bourbonites under manager Ed Coleman. Frankfort's Ovid Nicholson stole 111 bases and scored 128 runs. The next stolen base league leader had 54. Nicholson was called up by the Pittsburgh Pirates after the conclusion of the Frankfort season. The 1912 Frankfort Lawmakers won the Blue Grass League championship in the final season of the league. With a 85–42 record under manager Ollie Gfroerer in
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#1732786711899204-513: 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
221-976: 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. 1908 Blue Grass League No Playoffs scheduled. 1909 Blue Grass League No Playoffs scheduled. 1910 Blue Grass League schedule No Playoffs scheduled. 1911 Blue Grass League schedule Playoff: Paris 4 games, Winchester 0. 1912 Blue Grass League No Playoffs scheduled. 1922 Blue Grass League schedule Playoff: Maysville 3 games, Cynthiana 1. 1923 Blue Grass League No Playoffs were held. 1924 Blue Grass League schedule No Playoffs were scheduled. Frankfort Statesmen Minor league baseball teams were based in Frankfort, Kentucky in various seasons between 1885 and 1916. Frankfort teams played as members of
238-482: The team finish in fifth place in the Class D level Blue Grass League. The Frankfort Statesmen finished with a 60–61 record and were 17.0 games behind the first place Paris Bourbonites . Wallace Warren and Danny Harrell managed the 1910 Frankfort Statesmen. In the 1911 Blue Grass League season the Frankfort Statesmen finished with a record of 48–65 The team placed fifth and finished 22.0 games behind
255-413: 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,
272-408: 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. The inaugural season of the second incarnation of the league featured
289-495: Was also known as the "Lawmakers" in some references. Both monikers reflect Frankford as the State Capitol of the state of Kentucky . Continuing play in the 1909 Blue Grass League, the Frankfort Statesmen ended the season in fourth place. Frankfort had a final record of 56–60, finishing 17.5 games behind the first place Winchester Hustlers, playing under managers Neal Kennedy and Ben Marshall. The 1910 season saw
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