Western Association


The Western Association was the name of five different leagues formed in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries.
The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Western Association on October 28, 1887. It began operations in the 1888 season, and lasted through the 1891 season.
A separate Western Association was formed in January 1894 with clubs in Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois and Missouri – with a team in faraway Denver, Colorado, added in 1895. This league ceased operations in 1898, but was revived again for the following season. It was renamed the Central League in 1900. In 1901, two leagues were called the Western Association. One had eight teams in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Indiana; it folded after only one year. The other loop, confusingly located in the same geographic area, was the former Interstate League; it reverted to its original identity in 1902.
The most long-lived Western Association played between 1905 and 1954. Originally the Missouri Valley League, it existed for 42 years during that half century, suspending operations during both world wars and for one season during the Great Depression. It was largely a Class C circuit, meaning it was a lower minor league, above only the Class D level.

1905 League

Teams in Joplin, Missouri, Leavenworth, Kansas, Sedalia, Missouri, Springfield, Missouri, and Topeka, Kansas joined from the Missouri Valley League. Teams from Guthrie, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma joined from the Southwestern League. A new team in Wichita, Kansas formed and joined the league.

1905

1906

The teams in Guthrie and Sedalia folded. The St. Joseph, Missouri team moved from the Western League. A new team in Webb City, Missouri formed and joined the league. The St. Joseph team, with a record of 16-24, moved to Hutchinson, Kansas, on July 12, where their record was 39-60.
Team NameRecord
Topeka White Sox82-56
Joplin Miners75-62
Wichita Jobbers75-65
Springfield Midgets72-67
Oklahoma City Mets70-69
Leavenworth Old Soldiers68-72
Webb City Gold Bugs57-79
St. Joseph Packers/Hutchinson Salt Packers55-84

1907

1908

The Leavenworth team folded, and a new team in Enid, Oklahoma, formed and joined the league,
Team NameRecord
Topeka Jayhawkers89-50
Wichita Jobbers87-53
Oklahoma City Mets81-58
Joplin Miners71-65
Hutchinson Salt Packers69-70
Webb City Webfeet66-69
Springfield Midgets48-85
Enid Railroaders38-99

1909

Topeka and Wichita moved to the Western League. Oklahoma City moved to the Texas League. Hutchinson moved to the Kansas State League. Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and Muskogee, Oklahoma, joined from the Oklahoma–Kansas League. New teams in Guthrie, Oklahoma, and Pittsburg, Kansas formed and joined the league. The Joplin team, with a record of 20-43, moved to El Reno, Oklahoma on July 4, where their record was 16-46. The Webb City team, with a record of 35-39, moved to Sapulpa, Oklahoma on July 18, where their record was 29-20.
Team NameRecord
Enid Railroaders82-44
Muskogee Navigators74-51
Guthrie Senators70-55
Bartlesville Boosters66-59
Webb City Webfeet/Sapulpa Oilers64-59
Springfield Midgets56-70
Pittsburg Pirates52-73
Joplin Miners / El Reno Packers36-89

1910

The Pittsburg and Springfield teams folded. New teams in Joplin, Missouri, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, formed and joined the league. The Muskogee and Tulsa teams both folded on July 22, and the Bartlesville and El Reno teams both folded on July 31.
Team NameRecord
Joplin Miners90-34
Enid Railroaders64-53
Sapulpa Oilers65-61
Guthrie Senators47-73
El Reno Packers65-43
Bartlesville Boosters51-51
Muskogee Navigators36-63
Tulsa Oilers28-68

1911

The teams in Enid and Guthrie folded. New teams in Coffeyville, Kansas, Fort Smith, Arkansas, Independence, Kansas, Muskogee, Oklahoma, and Tulsa, Oklahoma formed and joined the league. The Joplin and Springfield teams folded May 10, the Coffeyville and Independence teams June 14, and all other teams and the league itself on June 19.
Team NameRecord
Fort Smith Scouts29-14
Muskogee Redskins23-21
Sapulpa Oilers23-21
Tulsa Railroaders20-25
Independence Packers15-22
Coffeyville White Sox15-24
Joplin Miners3-2
Springfield Jobbers2-3

1914 League

New teams in Fort Smith, Arkansas, Joplin, Missouri/Webb City, Missouri, McAlester, Oklahoma, Muskogee, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Tulsa, Oklahoma formed and created the new league.

1914

Joplin-Webb City, with a record of 22-46, moved to Guthrie, Oklahoma on July 10, where they had a record of 2-10, and then to Henryetta, Oklahoma on July 22, where they had a record of 11-36.
Team NameRecord
Tulsa Oilers74-49
Oklahoma City Booters75-52
Fort Smith Twins73-52
Muskogee Mets74-54
McAlester Miners47-79
Joplin-Webb City Miners/Guthrie Senators/Henryetta Boosters35-92

Oklahoma City beat Muskogee 4 games to 2 for the championship.

1915

Henryetta folded. Teams from Denison, Texas, and Paris, Texas, joined from the Texas–Oklahoma League. A new team formed in Sherman, Texas, and joined the league.
Team NameRecord
Denison Railroaders76-53
Oklahoma City Senators76-62
Sherman Hitters70-65
Muskogee Mets68-66
Paris Red Snappers66-66
Tulsa Producers63-71
Fort Smith Twins61-75
McAlester Miners57-79

Oklahoma City beat Muskogee 4 games to 3 for the championship.

1916

Denison beat Tulsa 4 games to 2 for the championship.

1917

Paris, with a record of 16-12, moved to Ardmore, Oklahoma, on May 10, where they had a record of 41-86.
Team NameRecord
McAlester Miners95-57
Muskogee Reds89-69
Sherman Browns80-72
Denison Railroaders79-75
Fort Smith Twins77-82
Oklahoma City Boosters72-80
Tulsa Producers68-84
Paris Athletics/Ardmore Foundlings57-98

All teams, and the league itself, folded.

1920 League

New teams in Chickasha, Oklahoma, Drumright, Oklahoma, Enid, Oklahoma, Fort Smith, Arkansas, Henryetta, Oklahoma, Okmulgee, Oklahoma, Pawhuska, Oklahoma, and Springfield, Missouri were formed. The new American Association was formed. The team with the best record in the first half of the season played against the team with the best record in the second half of the season for the championship.

1920

Enid and Okmulgee tied 3 games to 3 in the championship round.

1921

Chickasha beat Fort Smith 4 games to 3 for the championship.
Springifled beat Independence 2 games to 1
Ardmore beat Chickasha 2 games to none

1922

Chickasha moved to the Oklahoma State League. Drumright folded. The team from Joplin, Missouri joined from the Western League, and a new team in McAlester, Oklahoma formed and joined. The Pawhuska team folded on August 16, forfeiting the remainder of their games.
Team NameRecord
Enid Harvesters104-27
Joplin Miners93-42
Henryetta Hens74-56
Springfield Midgets68-69
Okmulgee Drillers56-79
Fort Smith Twins54-79
McAlester Miners49-82
Pawhuska Osages29-93

1923

The team from Ardmore, Oklahoma joined from the Texas–Oklahoma League. The team in McAlester folded July 19, and the Henryetta team folded July 21.
Team NameRecord
Joplin Miners83-60
Ardmore Snappers82-60
Okmulgee Drillers81-63
Enid Harvesters80-65
Springfield Midgets70-74
Fort Smith Twins53-92
Henryetta Hens43-38
McAlester Diggers27-57

Ardmore beat Okmulgee 4 games to 2 for the championship.

1924

Ardmore moved to the Oklahoma State League, and Enid moved to the Southwestern League. Teams from Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Hutchinson, Kansas, Muskogee, Oklahoma, and Topeka, Kansas, joined from the Southwestern League. The Bartlesville team, with a record of 19-23, moved to Ardmore, Oklahoma on June 8, where their record was 56-59. The Joplin team, with a record of 25-24, moved to Bartlesville on June 16, where their record was 44-63.
Team NameRecord
Okmulgee Drillers110-48
Fort Smith Twins97-63
Muskogee Athletics97-65
Hutchinson Wheat Shockers81-80
Bartlesville Bearcats/Ardmore Bearcats75-82
Joplin Boosters/Bartlesville Boosters69-87
Topeka Senators59-98
Springfield Midgets47-112

1925

The teams in Bartlesville and Hutchinson folded. Topeka moved to the Southwestern League. A new team in Independence, Kansas, formed and joined the league.
Team NameRecord
Fort Smith Twins94-56
Ardmore Boomers86-64
Okmulgee Drillers80-71
Muskogee Athletics79-72
Springfield Midgets67-82
Independence Producers44-105

Ardmore beat Muskogee 4 games to 1 for the title.

1926

The team in Independence folded. A new team in McAlester, Oklahoma, formed and joined the league. Ardmore moved to Joplin, Missouri on July 14. The teams in McAlester and Muskogee folded on July 20.
Team NameRecord
Springfield Midgets92-66
Fort Smith Twins92-68
Ardmore Boomers/Joplin Ozarks77-81
Okmulgee Drillers73-85
Muskogee Athletics51-45
McAlester Miners28-68

1927

The team in Joplin folded. A team from St. Joseph, Missouri, joined from the Western League, and one from Topeka, Kansas joined from the Southwestern League. A new team in Muskogee, Oklahoma, formed and joined the league. The team in St. Joseph, with a record of 38-32, moved to Joplin on July 7, where their record was 35-28.
Team NameRecord
Fort Smith Twins81-51
Topeka Jayhawks74-58
St. Joseph Saints/Joplin Miners73-60
Springfield Midgets63-69
Okmulgee Drillers57-75
Muskogee Chiefs48-83

1928

The team in Okmulgee folded, and a new team in Independence, Kansas, formed and joined the league.
Team NameRecord
Fort Smith Twins74-63
Topeka Jayhawks70-61
Joplin Miners70-65
Independence Producers66-67
Springfield Midgets61-66
Muskogee Chiefs58-77

Joplin beat Independence 4 games to 2 for the title.

1929

Topeka moved to the Western League. A new team in Shawnee, Oklahoma, formed and joined the league. The Muskogee team moved to Maud, Oklahoma, on August 22.
Team NameRecord
Fort Smith Twins88-59
Shawnee Robins87-61
Springfield Midgets71-77
Independence Producers71-78
Joplin Miners60-82
Muskogee Chiefs/Maud Chiefs61-89

1930

The Maud team moved back to Muskogee, Oklahoma.
The Independence Producers played the first Night game in the history of Organized Baseball.
Team NameRecord
Independence Producers76-56
Joplin Miners76-59
Shawnee Robins65-71
Fort Smith Twins64-72
Springfield Midgets64-73
Muskogee Chiefs60-74

Independence beat Joplin 5 games to 4 for the title.

1931

The Shawnee team folded. A new team in Bartlesville, Oklahoma formed.
Team NameRecord
Springfield Red Wings87-57
Joplin Miners80-62
Independence Producers77-69
Fort Smith Twins74-76
Muskogee Chiefs64-86
Bartlesville Broncos59-91

1932

The Joplin team, with a record of 2-1, moved to Topeka, Kansas, on May 6, where their record was 36-37. The Independence team, with a record of 12-10, moved to Joplin, Missouri, on May 23, where their record was 7-10, to Independence, Kansas, again on June 10, where their record was 4-12, and finally to Hutchinson, Kansas, on July 20, where their record was 35-36. The Muskogee team, with a record of 18-16, moved to Hutchinson, Kansas, where their record was 19-32, on June 8, and folded on July 18. The Fort Smith team, with a record of 23-29, moved to Muskogee on July 1, where their record was 25-51. The Topeka team folded July 18.
Team NameAffiliationRecord
Springfield CardinalsSt. Louis Cardinals79-51
Bartlesville Broncos77-52
Independence Producers/Joplin Miners/Independence/Hutchinson58-68
Fort Smith Twins/Muskogee ChiefsSt. Louis Browns48-80
Joplin Miners/Topeka Jayhawks38-38
Muskogee Chiefs/Hutchinson Wheat Shockers37-48

Springfield beat Bartlesville 5 games to 4 for the title. The Atchinson and Springfield teams moved to the Western League. The Belleville and Muskogee teams, and the Western Association itself, folded.

1934 League

The new League and all six member teams were created. The season was broken into halves, with the first half and second-half winners competing in the championship. The founding teams were in Bartlesville, Oklahoma; Hutchinson, Kansas; Joplin, Missouri; Muskogee, Oklahoma; Ponca City, Oklahoma; Springfield, Missouri; and rumor had it Tahlequah, Oklahoma played special games with the league teams in the duration of the 1930s, but was not officially part of the 1930s Western Association.

1934

Team NameAffiliation Final Record
Springfield Red WingsSt. Louis Cardinals76-58
Ponca City AngelsChicago Cubs73-61
Joplin MinersBoston Red Sox66-68
Hutchinson Larks66-68
Bartlesville RedsCincinnati Reds63-69
Muskogee Tigers56-76

Ponca City defeated Springfield in a one-game playoff for the first-half title. Springfield defeated Ponca City 4 games to 3 for the league title.

1935

Springfield changed their name to the "Cardinals".
Springfield CardinalsSt. Louis Cardinals87-48
Ponca City AngelsChicago Cubs76-55
Hutchinson LarksSt. Louis Cardinals68-61
Muskogee Tigers60-71
Bartlesville RedsCincinnati Reds56-79
Joplin MinersNew York Yankees48-81

Ponca City beat Springfield 5 games to 4 for the championship.

1936

Ponca City AngelsChicago Cubs87-57
Joplin MinersNew York Yankees83-58
Hutchinson LarksPittsburgh Pirates79-65
Springfield CardinalsSt. Louis Cardinals64-78
Muskogee TigersBrooklyn Dodgers61-80
Bartlesville Bucs53-81

Ponca City won the title over Joplin 5 games to 2.

1937

Joplin beat Muskogee 4 games to 3 and Springfield beat Hutchinson 3 games to 1 in the first round of playoffs. Springfield beat Joplin 4 games to 3 for the title.

1938

New teams in Fort Smith, Arkansas and Salina, Kansas were formed.
Ponca City AngelsChicago Cubs84-54
Springfield CardinalsSt. Louis Cardinals79-56
Fort Smith GiantsNew York Giants74-65
Hutchinson LarksPittsburgh Pirates70-67
Muskogee RedsCincinnati Reds71-68
Joplin MinersNew York Yankees63-74
Bartlesville Chiefs61-78
Salina Millers47-87

Ponca City beat Fort Smith 3 games to 1, and Hutchinson beat Springfield 3 games to 2, in the first round of the playoffs. Ponca City beat Hutchinson 4 games to 1 for the championship.

1939

Ponca City moved to St. Joseph, Missouri. Bartlesville folded. A new team formed in Topeka, Kansas.
Fort Smith GiantsNew York Giants83-50
Joplin MinersNew York Yankees81-56
Springfield CardinalsSt. Louis Cardinals78-60
Topeka OwlsSt. Louis Browns72-65
St. Joseph AngelsChicago Cubs66-72
Muskogee RedsCincinnati Reds60-76
Salina Millers55-79
Hutchinson PiratesPittsburgh Pirates49-86

1940

Fort Smith beat Muskogee 3 games to none, and St. Joseph beat Topeka 3 games to 1, in the first round of the playoffs. St. Joseph beat Fort Smith 3 games to none for the championship.

1941

On June 3, the St. Joseph Ponies moved to Carthage, Missouri and became the Carthage Browns and an affiliate of the St. Louis Browns. They had a record of 30-74 in Carthage, and ended in last place.
Joplin MinersNew York Yankees93-41
Springfield CardinalsSt. Louis Cardinals92-43
Topeka Owls75-58
Fort Smith GiantsNew York Giants73-60
Muskogee RedsCincinnati Reds64-69
Hutchinson PiratesPittsburgh Pirates53-81
Salina MillersCleveland Indians46-88
St. Joseph Pony Express Riders/Carthage BrownsChicago Cubs/St. Louis Browns40-96

1942

The two teams with the worst records of the previous year, Carthage and Salina, folded. The league returned to a 1st-half vs. 2nd-half winners championship format.
Topeka Owls80-53
Muskogee Reds76-58
Fort Smith GiantsNew York Giants68-63
Springfield CardinalsSt. Louis Cardinals62-70
Joplin MinersNew York Yankees59-75
Hutchinson PiratesPittsburgh Pirates50-76

Fort Smith beat Topeka 4 games to 3 for the title.

1943–1945

The League suspended play because of World War II.

1946

Springfield moved to St. Joseph. New teams formed in Leavenworth, Kansas and Salina, Kansas. Because of the playoff format, the team with the best overall record, the newly formed Leavenworth Braves, did not qualify for the playoffs.
Leavenworth BravesBoston Braves76-57
Hutchinson CubsChicago Cubs73-56
St. Joseph CardinalsSt. Louis Cardinals75-62
Muskogee RedsDetroit Tigers75-64
Fort Smith GiantsNew York Giants67-63
Joplin MinersNew York Yankees61-73
Topeka Owls53-79
Salina Blue JaysPhiladelphia Phillies51-77

Hutchinson beat Fort Smith 4 games to 2 for the title.

1947

The playoffs format was changed again this year.
Salina Blue JaysPhiladelphia Phillies85-53
Topeka Owls83-55
Muskogee RedsSt. Louis Browns75-64
St. Joseph CardinalsSt. Louis Cardinals72-67
Joplin MinersNew York Yankees67-73
Hutchinson CubsChicago Cubs63-76
Fort Smith GiantsNew York Giants59-78
Leavenworth BravesBoston Braves50-88

Muskogee beat Salina 3 games to 2, and St. Joseph beat Topeka 3 games to 2, in the first round of the playoffs. St. Joseph beat Muskogee 4 games to 3 for the championship.

1948

The Hutchinson Cubs moved to Springfield, Illinois on July 21. Their record after the move, of 18-45, was worse than their record in Hutchinson, 25-42. No playoff system is known of for this year, so presumably the best overall record is the league champion.
St. Joseph CardinalsSt. Louis Cardinals90-48
Fort Smith GiantsNew York Giants82-58
Joplin MinersNew York Yankees75-57
Topeka Owls70-66
Muskogee RedsSt. Louis Browns61-70
Leavenworth BravesBoston Braves62-75
Salina Blue JaysPhiladelphia Phillies58-80
Hutchinson Cubs/Springfield CubsChicago Cubs43-87

1949

Springfield moved back to Hutchinson again, changing their name and losing their affiliation. This season, St. Joseph had the best winning percentage in the history of this incarnation of the league. Perhaps coincidentally, Leavenworth had the worst winning percentage in the history of this version of the league in the same year.
St. Joseph CardinalsSt. Louis Cardinals96-42
Fort Smith GiantsNew York Giants86-54
Joplin MinersNew York Yankees86-58
Topeka Owls77-61
Muskogee RedsSt. Louis Browns77-62
Salina Blue JaysPhiladelphia Phillies69-69
Hutchinson Elks41-93
Leavenworth BravesBoston Braves25-112

1950

Leavenworth, who ended the previous year with the all-time worst winning percentage in this incarnation of the league, folded. Fort Smith moved to Enid, Oklahoma and a new club from Springfield, Missouri joined.
Joplin MinersNew York Yankees90-46
Hutchinson ElksPittsburgh Pirates77-60
Springfield CubsChicago Cubs74-61
Enid GiantsNew York Giants71-63
St. Joseph CardinalsSt. Louis Cardinals67-69
Topeka Owls58-81
Muskogee Reds52-79
Salina Blue JaysPhiladelphia Phillies53-83

1951

Springfield folded, and a new team started up in Fort Smith.
Topeka OwlsChicago Cubs74-44
Joplin MinersNew York Yankees77-48
St. Joseph CardinalsSt. Louis Cardinals69-51
Salina Blue JaysPhiladelphia Phillies63-58
Muskogee GiantsNew York Giants61-63
Hutchinson ElksPittsburgh Pirates57-66
Enid BuffalosHouston Buffaloes45-79
Fort Smith IndiansCleveland Indians43-80

1952

This year, the league returned to the 1st-half winner vs. 2nd-half winner playoff format.
Joplin MinersNew York Yankees87-52
Muskogee GiantsNew York Giants73-66
Hutchinson ElksPittsburgh Pirates70-66
Topeka OwlsChicago Cubs63-76
Salina Blue JaysPhiladelphia Phillies61-77
Fort Smith IndiansCleveland Indians60-77

1953

Salina folded, having made the playoffs only once in its seven years of existence. The Fort Smith Indians changed their name to the Fort Smith-Van Buren Twins, and a new team started in St. Joseph, Missouri with a bang.
St. Joseph CardinalsSt. Louis Cardinals83-57
Hutchinson ElksPittsburgh Pirates80-60
Topeka OwlsChicago White Sox78-62
Joplin MinersNew York Yankees71-68
Muskogee GiantsNew York Giants57-81
Fort Smith Twins-Van Buren Twins49-90

St. Joseph beat Joplin and Hutchinson beat Topeka in the first rounds of the playoffs by 3 games to zero each. Hutchinson beat St. Joseph for the championship 4 games to 1.

1954

After having changed its name and finishing with the worst record in the league the previous season, Fort Smith folded. New teams started up in Blackwell, Oklahoma, Iola, Kansas, and Ponca City, Oklahoma.
Topeka OwlsChicago White Sox87-51
Muskogee GiantsNew York Giants85-54
St. Joseph SaintsNew York Yankees82-57
Blackwell BroncosChicago Cubs79-61
Hutchinson ElksPittsburgh Pirates72-67
Ponca City Jets62-76
Joplin CardinalsSt. Louis Cardinals50-89
Iola Indians39-101

Blackwell beat Topeka 3 games to zero, and St. Joseph beat Muskogee 3 games to 2 in the first round of the playoffs. Blackwell beat St. Joseph 4 games to 1 for the title. After the season, Blackwell joined the Sooner State League, and the other seven teams, and the league itself, folded.
The Western Association prospered during the minor league baseball boom that followed World War II, with its clubs in Topeka, Kansas, and St. Joseph, Missouri, drawing over 100,000 fans and most of its eight clubs tied to major league farm systems. But the bust that followed in the early 1950s, caused by the Korean War, the advent of television, and a retrenchment in MLB farm systems, also buffeted the WA. It finally disbanded after the 1954 season, its champion Topeka club, a Chicago White Sox affiliate, drawing half the number of fans the team had drawn during the late 1940s.