The Mid-Missouri Mavericks were a

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

team which played in

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The team was a member of the independent

Frontier League The Frontier League (FL; French: ''Ligue Frontière'', LF) is a professional baseball league in North America composed of 18 teams – 15 in the United States and 3 in Canada. The FL is one of the eight independent baseball leagues in North Ame ...

, and had no association with a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

team. From 2003 through 2005 the team played at Taylor Stadium, the home field of the

baseball team Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play beginning when a player on the fielding team, called ...

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

. The team suspended operations during the 2006 season in order to pursue financing and construction of a new stadium. The suspension of operations was subsequently extended through the 2007, 2008 and 2009 seasons after the bankruptcy of the principal owner, Bradley Wendt.

History

The Mid-Missouri franchise had a checkered history in the Frontier League. The team began in

Newark, Ohio Newark ( ) is a city in Licking County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located east of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus at the junction of the forks of the Licking River (Ohio), Licking River. The population was 49,934 at the 2020 United ...

as the Newark Buffalos. The team was sold in 1996 and moved to

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

, becoming the Kalamazoo Kodiaks from 1996 to 1998, never reaching higher than last place in their division. Before the 1999 season, the team moved again to

London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

and became the first Frontier League franchise located in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

as the London Werewolves. They spent three seasons in Ontario (1999–2001), winning the Frontier League Championship in 1999, and making the playoffs in 2000. They played their home games at

Labatt Memorial Park Labatt Memorial Park (formerly Tecumseh Park, 1877–1936) is a ballpark, baseball stadium near the forks of the Thames River (Canada), Thames River in central London, Ontario, Canada. It is in size, has 5,200 seats and a natural grass field. ...

, believed to be the oldest operating baseball grounds in the world. After a last place finish in 2001, the team moved again, this time to

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in Stark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, eighth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 70,872 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Canton–Massillo ...

, as Canton Coyotes. The team played at Thurman Munson Stadium. They would spend just one season in Canton, finishing fourth in their division before moving to Columbia, Missouri, for the 2003 season. The team folded after the 2005 season.

Seasons

As Newark 1994: 26-35 4th Place Northern Division 1995: 39-29 2nd Place (No Divisions in 1995): ''Lost 1st Round Playoff to Zanesville 2-0'' As Kalamazoo 1996: 25-49 4th Place Western Division 1997: 33-47 4th Place Western Division 1998: 25-54 4th Place Western Division As London 1999: 54-30 1st Place Eastern Division: ''Won 1st Round Playoff 2-0 over Johnstown'' ''Won Frontier League Championship 2-0 over Chillicothe'' 2000: 46-37 2nd Place Eastern Division: ''Lost 1st Round Playoff 2-0 to Johnstown'' 2001: 37-47 5th Place Eastern Division As Canton 2002: 41-43 4th Place Eastern Division ′′′Players: Chris Barbenetti, Trevor Bishop, Seth Brown, Matt Buckle, Chris Capozzi, Jeremy Durkee, Jeff Forbes, Wayne Foreman, Tim Friedman, Todd George, Matt Felts, Mark Haidet, Justin Hendrickson, Phil Kojak, Andy Larned, Ryan Lindburg, Heath McMurray, Lee Morrison, Criag Mosher, Gregg Neuman, Ben Orr, Ric Prussing, As Mid-Missouri{{Cite web , title=Mid-Missouri Mavericks , url=https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/minor_team/66/#yearly_record , access-date=November 17, 2024 , website=The Baseball Cube 2003: 33-57 6th Place Western Division 2004: 28-66 6th Place Western Division 2005: 31-63 6th Place Western Division

References

External links

Mid-Missouri Mavericks Home Page
Defunct Frontier League teams Defunct baseball teams in Missouri Defunct baseball teams in Michigan Defunct baseball teams in Ohio Sports clubs and teams in Columbia, Missouri Sports in Canton, Ohio 2003 establishments in Missouri Baseball teams established in 2003 2005 disestablishments in Missouri Baseball teams disestablished in 2005 Sports in Kalamazoo, Michigan Sports clubs and teams in London, Ontario