Minor League History: Mountain States League
In today’s episode of Minor League History, we pay attention to the Mountain States League (not to be mixed up with the Mountain State League). This league had two runs, one from 1911-1912, and one from 1948-1954.
The first edition of the Mountain States League operated as a Class D league and was located in West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio. The league started as the Virginia Valley League in 1910 but changed its name in the following season.
Cities represented:
– Ashland, KY & Catlettsburg, KY: Ashland-Catlettsburg Twins 1911-1912, moved from Virginia Valley League 1910
– Charleston, WV: Charleston Senators 1911-1912, moved from Virginia Valley League 1910
– Huntington, WV: Huntington Blue Sox 1911-1912, moved to Ohio State League 1913-1914
– Ironton, OH: Ironton Nailers 1911; Ironton Forgers 1912
– Middleport, OH & Pomeroy, OH: 1911-1912
– Montgomery, WV: Montgomery Miners 1911, moved from Virginia Valley League 1910; Montgomery Miners 1912
– Point Pleasant, WV & Gallipolis, OH: 1911, moved from Virginia Valley League 1910
Williamson, WV: 1912
From the first season, this league was troubled. Point Pleasant-Galipolis moved to Middlepoint-Pomeroy on July 1. Teams moving from one town to another wasn’t a sign of a solid base of the league. But it would get worse. On September 12, the season ended when an investigation was conducted by the National Association, concerning two cases of improper conduct during late season games to prevent the recently moved Middleport-Pomeroy franchise from winning second-half title. These games were deducted at the fall meeting of the National Association.
According to Baseball Reference, the Montgomery Miners won the 1911 title, but would not start the 1912 season in Montgomery. Even though no information can be found, it may be that the Montgomery Miners moved to Williamson after the 1911 season.
Final standings of the 1911 season:
| Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery Miners | 67 | 53 | .558 | – | Ralph Fleming / Runser |
| Huntington Blue Sox | 63 | 50 | .558 | .5 | Albert Knoessell |
| Ashland-Catlettsburg Twins | 63 | 55 | .534 | 3 | James Kitler |
| Point Pleasant & Gallipolis / Middleport & Pomeroy# | 59 | 60 | .496 | 7.5 | Reddy Mack |
| Charleston Senators | 57 | 58 | .496 | 7.5 | George Bigbee / Willoughby / H. Hollis |
| Ironton Nailers | 44 | 77 | .364 | 23.5 | John Benny / Claude McCarty |
The 1911 Mountain States League played a split season, with Huntington winning the first half standings and Point Pleasant-Gallipolis/Middleport-Pomeroy winning the second half standings. However, Montgomery had the best overall record and no playoffs were held. because the National Association governing body ordered the league not to have playoffs, after a National Association investigation, following the regular season, found two cases of improper conduct in late season games that prevented Middleport-Pomeroy from winning the second half title. As these games were deducted later at the league’s fall meeting, Montgomery ended up as the team with the best overall record after the ruling of no playoffs for the Mountain States League.
The 1912 season would be a disaster. The league would barely make it halfway through the season. On June 21, the Middleport & Pomeroy franchise moved to Montgomery but only eight days later the club disbanded. That would be the first domino to fall. On July 1st, the Charleston Senators disbanded and seven days later, the Ashland-Catlettsburg Twins would disband. With only three teams left, it was not feasible to continue with the league.
1948 – 1954 Mountain States League
Three years after World War II, a new run of the Mountain States League saw the light.
The league started as a Class D league but in its final season it got the Class C status. The league began with six teams in 1948, but in most of the years of its existence, the league contained eight teams. In 1954, the league contained an odd number of teams (seven).
Cities represented:
– Big Stone Gap, VA: Big Stone Gap Rebels 1949-1953
– Harlan, KY: Harlan Smokies 1948-1954Hazard, KY:
– Hazard Bombers 1948-1952
– Jenkins, KY: Jenkins Cavaliers 1948-1951
– Kingsport, TN: Kingsport Cherokees 1953-1954, moved from Appalachian League 1943-1952
– Knoxville, TN: Knoxville Smokies 1953, moved from Tri-State League 1946-1952, moved to Tri-State League 1954
– Lexington, KY: Lexington Colts 1954
– Maryville, TN & Alcoa, TN: Maryville-Alcoa Twins 1953-1954
– Middlesboro, KY: Middlesboro Athletics 1949-1954
– Morristown, TN: Morristown Red Sox 1948-1954; Morristown Twins 1954
– Newport, TN: Newport Canners 1948-1950
– Norton, VA: Norton Braves 1951-1953
– Oak Ridge, TN: Oak Ridge Bombers 1948; Oak Ridge Pioneers 1954
– Pennington Gap, VA: Pennington Gap Miners 1948-1951
The 1948-1954 Mountain States League was home to teams from Kentucky, West Virginia, and Tennessee. It was a rather stable league. In the first season, only one team moved from one town to another when the Oak Ridge franchise moved to Hazard on June 10, but in the following years no team moved during the season. Only in the final season, 1954, the league appeared to be unstable as the Morristown Red Sox disbanded early in the season, on May 15. The Maryville-Alcoa Twins filled the gap in Morristown in June, as they moved to Morristown on June 19. But that move wasn’t quite fruitful as the club disbanded on July 7 due to financial problems. Later that month, on July 20, the Lexington Colts disbanded, causing the league to call it quits.
Champions of the 1948-1954 Mountain States League:
1948: Morristown Red Sox
1949 + 1950: Harlan Smokies
1951 + 1952: Hazard Bombers
1953: Knoxville Smokies
According to the website of Stadium Journey, the city of Lexington was awarded a team seventeen days before the 1954 season started. The Lexington Colts were meant to be a replacement for the Hazard Bombers who could not field a team. But according to Baseball Reference, the Hazard Bombers were not a member of the league in 1953. So it remains questionable if the Colts really replaced the Bombers. Perhaps the intention was to field a team in Hazard for the 1954 season, but as they could not make it, Lexington came around the corner.
League president, Virgil Q. Wacks came to town in hopes of meeting with anyone who would operate a franchise in the then-8-team league. Things moved swiftly with negotiations on who would operate the club, and improvements were made to the Blue Grass Athletic Park home of the Lexington Hustlers, a Negro League baseball of the past nine seasons.
Anyhow, because of the late addition to the league, the Lexington Ball Club received assistance with finding players and a manager, selling tickets, and daily operations from the league and Chandler. Fans were encouraged to name the team, with the winner receiving two season tickets and ten wrestling tickets at what was now called League Park. The runner-up would win a book of 25 tickets. People who were interested could buy a limited number of stocks of the club.
Despite the short preparation, things looked fine when the ball club hosted its first game on April 24 against Kingsport. The ceremonial crowd brought out former Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler and the Colts pounded out a 14-2 victory in front of 1,200 fans at League Park. The victory was welcoming since the team had only four days to practice and get to know each other for manager Zeke Bonura.
Travel was very costly for the Colts, as the club was located far away from the other clubs. Lexington was the most northern club and 131 miles from its closest rival in Middlesboro. It was further away from Newport (218 miles) and Kingsport (250 miles) one way. Also the weather did not cooperate as many games rained out, leaving the club without revenue. Eventually, its disbanding on July 20, was the final blow to the already troubled league, that folded the same day.