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.

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.
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 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, 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.

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.
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.
The league consisted of only four teams in 1924 — Paris, Cynthiana, Lexington and Winchester. The Bourbons finished in first place.

Cities represented

Yearly standings

1908 to 1912

1908 Blue Grass League
Team standingsWLPCTGBManagers
Frankfort Lawmakers4723.671—N. G. Kennedy
Lexington Thoroughbreds3731.5449.0Thomas Sheets
Richmond Pioneers3634.51411.0William Parrish
Lawrenceburg Distillers3335.48513.0Guy Woodruff
Shelbyville Millers3237.46414½Anton Kuhn
Versailles Aristocrats /
Winchester Hustlers		2247.31924.5NA
No Playoffs scheduled.
1909 Blue Grass League
Team standingsWLPCTGBManagers
Winchester Hustlers7544.630—Daddy Horn
Richmond Pioneers7545.625½Al Grohe
Paris Bourbonites6157.51613½Jeff Elgin /
Henry Schmidt / James Barnett
Frankfort Lawmakers5660.48217½N. G. Kennedy /
Ben Marshall
Lexington Colts4869.41026.0Thomas Sheets /
Cy Stout / Pat Downing
Shelbyville Millers3979.32135½Anton Kuhn
No Playoffs scheduled.
1910 Blue Grass League
Team standingsWLPCTGBManagers
Paris Bourbonites8047.630—Edward McKernan
Lexington Colts6956.55210.0Hogan Yancy
Winchester Hustlers6359.51614½Newton Horn / Ed Coleman
Richmond Pioneers6360.51215.0William Maloney
Frankfort Lawmakers6061.49617.0Wallace Warren / Danny Harrell
Shelbyville Millers /
Maysville Rivermen		3789.29442½Anton Kuhn /
Daniel Collins
No Playoffs scheduled.
1911 Blue Grass League
Team standingsWLPCTGBManagers
Paris Bourbonites7144.617—Edward McKernan
Lexington Colts6550.5656.0Thomas Sheets /
Hogan Yancy
Winchester Hustlers5959.50013½Ed Coleman
Maysville Rivermen5563.46617½James Carmony
Frankfort Lawmakers4865.42522.0NA
Richmond Pioneers4764.42322.0Connie Lewis /
Sylvester Olson
Playoff: Paris 4 games, Winchester 0.
1912 Blue Grass League
Team standingsWLPCTGBManagers
Frankfort Lawmakers8542.670—Ollie Gfroerer
Maysville Rivermen8247.6344.0James Carmony /
Harry Kunkel
Richmond Pioneers6664.50820½William Fisher
Lexington Colts6065.48024.0Hogan Yancy /
Ted McGrew
Paris Bourbonites6069.46526.0Joe Lewis /
Danning Harrell
Winchester Hustlers / Nicholasville /
Mount Sterling Orphans		3197.24254½Harry Kunkel /
McBrayer / Bob Spade

No Playoffs scheduled.

1922 to 1924

1922 Blue Grass League
Team standingsWLPCTGBManagers
Paris Bourbons3628.563—B. Goodman /
Harold Willis
Maysville Cardinals3328.5411½Norbert Bosken
Cynthiana Merchants3430.5312.0Ernest McIlvan
Mt. Sterling Essex3031.4924½Hod Eller
Winchester Dodgers2836.4388.0Howie Camnitz /
Walter Van Winkle
Lexington Reds2836.4388.0Pat Devereaux /
Jim Park
Playoff: Maysville 3 games, Cynthiana 1.
1923 Blue Grass League
Team standingsWLPCTGBManagers
Cynthiana Cobblers5443.557—Bill Schumaker
Winchester Dodgers5344.5461.0Pat Devereaux
Maysville Cardinals4845.5164.0Norbert Bosken
Paris Bourbons4547.4806½Nickholas Winger /
Felix Cicona
Lexington Reds4449.4738.0Doug Harbison
Mt. Sterling Essex3854.41313.5Charles Ellis /
Hod Eller
No Playoffs were held.
1924 Blue Grass League
Team standingsWLPCTGBManagers
Paris Bourbons5143.543—Bob Corkhill /
Pat Devereaux / Fritz Mueller
Cynthiana Cobblers5043.538½Bill Schumaker /
John Koval
Lexington Studebakers4350.4627½Jesse Young /
Jim Viox
Winchester Dodgers4351.4578.0George Bell
No Playoffs were scheduled.