The Mississippi–Ohio Valley League was a Class-D American minor league baseball league. Evolving from the renamed Illinois State League (1947-1948), the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League operated for seven seasons, from 1949 through 1955. In 1956 the league was renamed the

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

, which still exists today.

History

In 1947, the Illinois State League was formed. Charter franchises were in the Illinois cities of Belleville, Centralia, Marion, Mattoon, Mount Vernon and West Frankfort. After the 1948 season, the Marion Indians moved out of Illinois to Kentucky. This necessitated a name change for the league. The league changed names in 1949 to the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League. The league incorporated the new Paducah Chiefs and the five former Illinois State League teams, the

Belleville Stags The Belleville Stags were a minor league baseball team based in Belleville, Illinois from 1947 to 1949. The Belleville Stags were charter members of the Class D level Illinois State League and remained a franchise when the league changed names t ...

, Centralia Cubs, Mattoon Indians,

Mount Vernon Kings The Mount Vernon Kings was the final moniker of the minor league baseball teams based in Mount Vernon, Illinois, U.S. between 1910 and 1954. Mount Vernon last played as members of the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League from 1949 to 1954, a league t ...

, and

West Frankfort Cardinals The West Frankfort Cardinals were an American minor league baseball team based in West Frankfort, Illinois. From 1947 to 1950, the West Frankfort Cardinals were charter members of the Illinois State League in 1947 to 1948 and the Mississippi–Oh ...

as 1949 charter members. In 1950, a Springfield, Illinois franchise left the

Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League The Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League was a Minor League Baseball organization that operated for the better part of 60 seasons, with teams based in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin. The league began pla ...

, the join the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League. The Mississippi–Ohio Valley League added expansion teams in the

Paris Lakers The Paris Lakers were a minor league baseball team based in Paris, Illinois from 1950 to 1959. The Lakers played as members of the Midwest League from 1956 to 1959 and its predecessor, the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League from 1950 to 1955. The L ...

and Vincennes Velvets. The Belleville franchise folded. There was more movement in 1951, as the

Springfield Giants From 1957 through 1965, the Springfield Giants were the Single-A and Double-A baseball team affiliate of the New York/San Francisco Giants in the Eastern League. The team played at Pynchon Park in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Springfield Gi ...

and

both folded and the Paducah Chiefs left to join the

Kentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League The Kentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League (or ''KITTY League'') was a Class D level minor league baseball circuit that went through six different periods of play between 1903 and 1955. The League hosted teams in 29 cities from the states of Ill ...

. The league played 1951 with six teams, as

Danville Dans The Danville Dans are a collegiate summer league baseball team located in Danville, Illinois. The team plays in the Prospect League, which their former league, the NCAA-sanctioned Central Illinois Collegiate League, was absorbed into after the 20 ...

joined from the

. In 1952, the league again expanded to eight teams, adding the

Commodores Commodores are an American funk and soul band, which were at their peak in the late 1970s through the mid 1980s. The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown in ...

in Decatur, Illinois and

Cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

Hannibal, Missouri Hannibal is a city along the Mississippi River in Marion and Ralls counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 17,312, making it the largest city in Marion County. The bulk of the city is in Mar ...

, while Vincennes relocated to Canton, Ohio. In 1953, the Canton and Centralia franchises both folded and the league returned to six teams. There was expansion again in 1954, as two Iowa teams, the Clinton Pirates and

Dubuque Packers Minor league baseball teams have operated in the city of Dubuque, Iowa under a variety of names in various leagues, playing in 52 seasons between 1879 and 1976. Dubuque teams were an affiliate of the Houston Astros (1975–1976), Kansas City Royal ...

returned the league to eight members. In the final season of the league, the

moved to Kokomo, Indiana and became the Kokomo Giants and Mount Vernon moved to

Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whi ...

as the

Lafayette Red Sox Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

. Following the 1955 season, Hannibal moved to become the

Michigan City White Caps The Michigan City White Caps were a minor league baseball team based in Michigan City, Indiana from 1956 to 1959. The White Caps were a member of the Class C Midwest League (1956–1959). The team set the foundation for today's West Michigan Whi ...

, joining Kokomo, Lafayette, Clinton, Dubuque, Decatur, Mattoon and Paris in the renamed

. The Midwest League still exists today, with 16 teams.

Cities represented

Belleville, IL Belleville is a city and the county seat of St. Clair County, Illinois, coterminous with the now defunct Belleville Township. It is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville and the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows. The ...

1949, moved from Illinois State League 1947–1948 *

Canton, IL Canton is the largest city in Fulton County, Illinois, United States. The population was 14,704 at the 2010 census, down from 15,288 as of the 2000 census. The Canton Micropolitan Statistical Area covers all of Fulton County; it is in turn, par ...

: Canton Citizens 1952 * Centralia, IL: Centralia Cubs 1949, moved from Illinois State League 1947–1948; Centralia Sterlings 1950; Centralia Zeros 1951–1952 * Clinton, IA: Clinton Pirates 1954–1955, moved to

1956–1959 *

Danville, IL Danville is a city in and the county seat of Vermilion County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 33,027. As of 2019, the population was an estimated 30,479. History The area that is now Danville was once home to the Miami, K ...

1951–1954 *

Decatur, IL Decatur ( ) is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois, with a population of 70,522 as of the 2020 Census. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Ce ...

: Decatur Commies 1952–1955, moved to

1956–1974 *

Dubuque, IA Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Il ...

1954–1955, moved to

1956–1967 *

Hannibal, MO Hannibal is a city along the Mississippi River in Marion and Ralls counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 17,312, making it the largest city in Marion County. The bulk of the city is in Mario ...

: Hannibal Stags 1952; Hannibal Cardinals 1953–1954; Hannibal Citizens 1955 *

Kokomo, IN Kokomo ( ) is a city in Indiana and the county seat of Howard County, Indiana, United States. It is the principal city of the Kokomo, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Howard County, the Kokomo-Peru CSA, which include ...

: Kokomo Giants 1955 * Lafayette, IN: Lafayette Chiefs 1955 * Mattoon, IL: Mattoon Indians 1949–1954, moved from Illinois State League 1947–1948;

Mattoon Phillies The Mattoon Phillies was a primary nickname for the minor league baseball teams based in Mattoon, Illinois between 1899 and 1957. Mattoon teams played as members of the Indiana–Illinois League (1899), Kentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League (190 ...

1955, moved to

1956 * Mount Vernon, IL:

1949–1954 *

Paducah, KY Paducah ( ) is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky. The largest city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located at the confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio rivers, halfway between St. Louis, Missou ...

: Paducah Chiefs 1949–1950, moved to

Kitty League Kitty or Kittie may refer to: Animals * Cat, a small, domesticated carnivorous mammal ** Kitten, a young cat Film * Kitty Films, an anime production company in Japan * ''Kitty'' (1929 film), based on the Deeping novel; the first British talk ...

1951–1955 * Paris, IL:

1950–1955, moved to

1956–1959 *

Springfield, IL Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

1950 * Vincennes, IN: Vincennes Citizens 1950; Vincennes Velvets 1951–1952 * West Frankfort, IL:

1949–1950, moved from Illinois State League 1947–1948

Standings & statistics

1949 Mississippi–Ohio Valley League Playoffs: Mattoon 3 games, Centralia 0; Paducah 3 games, West Frankfort 0;
Finals: Paducah 4 games, Mattoon 3. 1950 Mississippi–Ohio Valley League
schedule
Playoffs: Centralia 3 games, Mattoon 1; Paducah 3 games, West Frankfort 0;
Finals: Cancelled; Bad Weather & Military Call–up. 1951 Mississippi–Ohio Valley League Playoffs: Mt. Vernon 2 games, Centralia 0. Danville 2 games, Paris 1.
Finals: Danville 2 games, Mt. Vernon 0. 1952 Mississippi–Ohio Valley League
schedule
Vincennes moved to Canton June 7.
Playoffs: Hannibal 3 games, Danville 1. Decatur 3 games, Paris 2.
Finals: Decatur 3 games, Hannibal 1. 1953 Mississippi–Ohio Valley League
schedule
Playoffs: Decatur 3 games, Hannibal 0. Paris 3 games, Mattoon 0.
Finals: Decatur 3 games, Paris 2. 1954 Mississippi–Ohio Valley League
schedule
Playoffs: Clinton 2 games, Decatur 0. Danville 2 games, Dubuque 1. .
Finals: Danville 3 games, Clinton 1. 1955 Mississippi–Ohio Valley League
schedule
Playoffs: Dubuque 2 games, Clinton 0. Mattoon 2 games, Kokomo 0. .
Finals: Dubuque 3 games, Mattoon 0. Hannibal folded and all other teams from the league became charter members of the new, Class D level

, now a Low Class A circuit, and the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League folded.

History

Cities represented

Standings & statistics

References

Further reading