The Central League was a Class C league of

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 ...

that operated in the United States in 1897. Representatives met to organize in

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...

, on January 20, 1897. George Simmons was elected president, secretary, and treasurer. While the exact league lineup was not finalized at the meeting, it was resolved that the circuit was to consist of six teams who would pay a $500 deposit to guarantee they would play the entire season, and player salaries were capped at $900 per team. Officials met again on February 7 in Evansville to solidify the league's membership, and franchises were granted to clubs in

Cairo, Illinois Cairo ( , sometimes ) is the southernmost city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat of Alexander County, Illinois, Alexander County. A river city, Cairo has the lowest elevation of any location in Illinois and is the only Illinoi ...

; Evansville,

Terre Haute Terre Haute ( ) is a city in Vigo County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 58,389 and its metropolitan area had a population of 168,716. Located along the Wabash River about e ...

, and

Washington, Indiana Washington is a city in Daviess County, Indiana, United States. The population was 12,017 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Daviess County. It is also the principal city of the Washington, Indiana Micropolitan S ...

;

Paducah, Kentucky Paducah ( ) is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in the Upland South, and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. The most populous city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located in the Southeastern Unit ...

; and

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. It was reported the Nashville Centennials franchise relocated on June 4, 1897. Severe financial problems throughout the circuit forced the league to disband on July 20. As of July 19, the final day of play, the Evansville Brewers were in first place with a 41–30 (.577) record, making them the ''de facto'' league champions.

League standings

References

Baseball leagues in Illinois Baseball leagues in Indiana Baseball leagues in Kentucky Baseball leagues in Tennessee Defunct minor baseball leagues in the United States Sports leagues established in 1897 Sports leagues disestablished in 1897 {{baseball-competition-stub