The Arkansas State League was an American minor league baseball league that played in various seasons between 1894 and 1935, forming three different times. The first version was in operation in 1894, followed by an 1897 league. The Class D level league operated from 1908 to 1909 in Arkansas and Louisiana and also in 1934 to 1935 in Arkansas and Missouri. In 1936, the league evolved to become the Arkansas-Missouri League. Little Rock and Rogers each won two league championships.
| Classification | Independent (1894, 1897) Class D (1908–1909, 1934–1935) |
|---|---|
| Sport | Minor League Baseball |
| First season | 1894 |
| Ceased | 1935 |
| Replaced by | Arkansas-Missouri League |
| President | Harry S. Edwards (1897) T. J. Craighead (1908) W. W. Hurst (1909) R. M. Rider (1909) Frank E. Matthews (1934) Charles Morgan (1934–1935) |
| No. of teams | 22 |
| Country | United States of America |
| Most titles | 2 Little Rock 1894, 1897 Rogers (1934–1935) |
| Related competitions | Northeast Arkansas League Arkansas-Texas League |
Cities represented
edit- Alexandria, Louisiana: Alexandria Hoo Hoos 1909
- Argenta, Arkansas: Argenta 1908; Argenta Shamrocks 1909
- Bentonville, Arkansas: Bentonville Officeholders 1934–1935
- Brinkley, Arkansas: Brinkley Infants 1908
- Camden, Arkansas: Camden Rainmakers 1894
- Cassville, Missouri: Cassville Tigers 1935
- Fayetteville, Arkansas: Fayetteville Educators 1934; Fayetteville Bears 1935
- Fort Smith, Arkansas: Fort Smith Indians 1894, 1897; Ft. Smith Soldiers 1909
- Helena, Arkansas: Helena Ponies 1908; Helena Hellions 1909
- Hot Springs, Arkansas: Hot Springs Bathers 1894, 1897; Hot Springs Giants 1908; Hot Springs Vaporites 1909
- Huntsville, Arkansas: Huntsville Red Birds 1935
- Jonesboro, Arkansas: Jonesboro Zebras 1909
- Little Rock, Arkansas: Little Rock Rose Buds 1894; Little Rock Senators 1897
- Monroe, Louisiana: Monroe Municipals 1909
- Morrilton, Arkansas: Morrilton Cotton Pickers 1894
- Newport, Arkansas & Batesville, Arkansas: Newport Pearl Diggers 1908; Newport-Batesville Pearl Diggers 1909
- Pine Bluff, Arkansas: Pine Bluff Pine Knotts 1908
- Poplar Bluff, Missouri: Poplar Bluff Tigers 1908
- Rogers, Arkansas: Rogers Rustlers 1934; Rogers Cardinals 1935
- Siloam Springs, Arkansas: Siloam Springs Buffaloes 1934; Siloam Springs Travelers 1935
- Texarkana, Arkansas: Texarkana 1894 ;Texarkana Nobles 1897
- Texarkana, Texas: Texarkana 1909
Standings & statistics
edit1894 & 1897
edit1894 Arkansas State League
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Little Rock Rose Buds | 11 | 5 | .688 | - | NA |
| Morrilton Cotton Pickers | 10 | 5 | .667 | 0.5 | Massey |
| Camden Rainmakers | 7 | 10 | .412 | 4.5 | NA |
| Hot Springs Bathers | 3 | 11 | .214 | 7.0 | NA |
| Fort Smith Indians | NA | NA | NA | NA | Rogers |
| Texarkana | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
Season ended June 23[2]
1897 Arkansas State League
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Little Rock Senators | 21 | 7 | .750 | - | Harry Edwards |
| Hot Springs Bathers | 17 | 15 | .531 | 6.0 | Dudley Payne |
| Fort Smith Indians | 15 | 23 | .395 | 10.0 | Hardin |
| Texarkana Nobles | 9 | 23 | .281 | 14.0 | Thomas Browner |
After the league disbanded August 18, Little Rock and Hot Springs played a 21-game series for the championship of Arkansas.
1908 & 1909
edit1908 Arkansas State League
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot Springs Giants | 78 | 38 | .672 | - | Arthur Riggs / W. Forbes |
| Newport Pearl Diggers | 65 | 44 | .596 | 9.5 | Robert Shelton |
| Helena Ponies | 67 | 48 | .583 | 10.5 | Rudolph Kling |
| Pine Bluff Pine Knotts | 51 | 61 | .455 | 24.0 | Walter Deaver / Al Sullivan |
| Argenta Shamrocks | 49 | 68 | .419 | 28.5 | James Kerwin / Roy Geyer / Charles Reece / Arthur Riggs |
| Poplar Bluff Tigers / Brinkley Infants |
28 | 79 | .262 | 45.5 | Al Sullivan / Lee Dawkins |
Poplar Bluff was replaced by Brinkley June 8. No Playoffs were scheduled.[4]
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elmer Coyle | Hot Springs | BA | .376 | Lucky Wright | Hot Springs | W | 27 | |
| Elmer Coyle | Hot Springs | Runs | 134 | Hippo Vaughn | Hot Springs | Pct | .900; 9-1 | |
| Elmer Coyle | Hot Springs | Hits | 178 | Herbert Benham | Helena | SB | 65 |
1909 Arkansas State League
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonesboro Zebras | 42 | 27 | .609 | - | Senter Rainey / Harry Welch |
| Helena Hellions | 39 | 25 | .609 | 0.5 | C. A. Vandergriff |
| Texarkana | 34 | 35 | .493 | 8.0 | Robert Shelton |
| Hot Springs Vaporites | 33 | 37 | .471 | 9.5 | Arthur Riggs / Elmer Coyle |
| Monroe Municipals / Newport-Batesville Pearl Diggers |
25 | 38 | .397 | 14.0 | W. Dobard |
| Ft. Smith Soldiers | 27 | 42 | .391 | 15.0 | Hugo Bezdek / Dad Ritter |
| Argenta Shamrocks | 26 | 19 | .578 | NA | Dad Ritter |
| Alexandria Hoo Hoos | 20 | 23 | .465 | NA | John Auslet |
Argenta & Alexandria disbanded June 7; Monroe moved to Newport-Batesville July 1.
League disbanded July 7.[1][5]
1934 & 1935
edit1934 Arkansas State League
The Arkansas State League reformed with four teams. Franchises based in Bentonville, Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, Rogers, Arkansas, and Siloam Springs, Arkansas joined. The winners of the first and second halves of the season played for the league championship at the end of the year.
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bentonville Officeholders | 40 | 35 | .533 | - | Red Wilson / Tom McGill / Ed Hawk |
| Siloam Springs Buffaloes | 37 | 34 | .521 | 1.0 | Clyde Glass |
| Rogers Rustlers | 36 | 35 | .507 | 2.0 | Ed Hawk / Pete Casey |
| Fayetteville Educators | 33 | 42 | .440 | 7.0 | Fred Hawn / Frank Matthews |
Playoff: Rogers defeated Siloam Springs 5–2 in a one-game playoff for the first half title. Bentonville was declared second half winner when Fayetteville and Siloam Springs folded August 19.
Finals: Rogers defeated Bentonville 4 games to 3 for the championship.[1][6]
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Graves | Siloam Springs | BA | .387 | Maurice Wollard | Bentonville | W | 12 | |
| Bill Beams | Bentonville | Runs | 61 | Everette Hill | Siloam Springs | Pct | .889; 8-1 | |
| Parker Rushing | Fayetteville | Hits | 96 | Bill Beams | Bentonville | HR | 12 | |
| Clyde Glass | Siloam Springs | RBI | 67 |
1935 Arkansas State League
The league expanded, adding the franchises in Cassville, Missouri and Huntsville, Arkansas to expand from four teams to six teams.
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Siloam Springs Travelers | 66 | 43 | .606 | - | Ray Powell |
| Rogers Cardinals | 59 | 50 | .541 | 7.0 | Fred Cato / Frank Stapleton |
| Cassville Tigers | 54 | 48 | .529 | 8.5 | Ed Hawk |
| Bentonville Officeholders | 51 | 56 | .477 | 14.0 | Bud Davis |
| Fayetteville Bears | 45 | 56 | .446 | 17.0 | Pete Casey / Fred Cato |
| Huntsville Red Birds | 41 | 63 | .394 | 22.5 | Jim Nicely / Charles Wilson / Bill Werner |
Playoff: Rogers (1st half winner) defeated Siloam Springs (2nd half winner) 4 games to 3 for the championship.[1][7]
All teams continued play in the renamed 1936 Arkansas–Missouri League. The Arkansas State League folded.[8]
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duane Kratzer | Cassville | BA | .397 | Jumbo Brown | Bentonville | W | 20 | |
| Howard Roberts | Cassville | Runs | 89 | George Gibson | Bentonville | W | 20 | |
| Wilbur Davis | Bentonville | Hits | 146 | Johnny John | Cassville | SO | 147 | |
| Wilbur Davis | Bentonville | RBI | 93 | Jumbo Brown | Bentonville | ERA | 2.97 | |
| Howard Roberts | Cassville | HR | 21 |
References
edit- Sumner, Benjamin Barrett. Minor League Baseball Standings:All North American Leagues, Through 1999. Jefferson, N.C.:McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0781-6
Hall, John G. "Majoring in The Minors." Oklahoma Bylines-Transcript Press, Norman, Oklahoma 1996 and republished 2000 by Inter-State Printing, Sedalia, Mo. ISBN 1-882336-09-7.
- ^ a b c d e f Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (Third ed.). Baseball America. ISBN 978-1932391176.
- ^ "1894 Arkansas State League (ASL) Minor League Baseball Standings on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
- ^ "1897 Arkansas League (AL) Minor League Baseball on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
- ^ "1908 Arkansas State League (ASL) Minor League Baseball Standings on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
- ^ "1909 Arkansas State League (ASL) Minor League Baseball Standings on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
- ^ "1934 Arkansas State League (ASL) Minor League Baseball Standings on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
- ^ "1935 Arkansas State League (ASL) Minor League Baseball Standings on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
- ^ "1936 Arkansas-Missouri League (AAL) Minor League Baseball on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.