The Lexington Reds 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 based in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

. From 1922 to 1924, Lexington teams played exclusively as members of the Class D level

Blue Grass League The Blue Grass League was a minor league baseball circuit at the Class D level that existed in the early 1900s. There were two incarnations of the league, one that ran from 1908 to 1912 and one that existed from 1922 to 1924. It consisted entirel ...

. After two seasons of playing as the "Reds," the 1924 Lexington became known as the "Studebakers." The nickname change occurred after the team owner reached an agreement with a local car dealership. The minor league Lexington Reds evolved from the semi-professional "Lexington Reds," which had future

Commissioner of Baseball The commissioner of baseball is the chief executive officer of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the associated Minor League Baseball (MiLB) – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as " organized baseball". Under the direction of the commiss ...

leader

Happy Chandler Albert Benjamin "Happy" Chandler Sr. (July 14, 1898 – June 15, 1991) was an American politician from Kentucky. He represented Kentucky in the U.S. Senate and served as its List of Governors of Kentucky, 44th and 49th governor. Aside from his ...

and

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

member

Earle Combs Earle Bryan Combs (May 14, 1899 – July 21, 1976) was an American professional baseball player who played his entire career for the New York Yankees (1924–1935). Combs batted leadoff and played center field on the Yankees' fabled 1927 team (o ...

as teammates. The Lexington Reds and Studebakers teams hosted minor league home games at Stivers Park. The ballpark later served as the home ballpark of the "Lexington Hard Hitters" team of the

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...

beginning in 1930.

History

After Lexington first hosted a minor league baseball in 1885, with a team in the independent

Interstate League The Interstate League was the name of five different American minor baseball leagues that played intermittently from 1896 through 1952. Early leagues Earlier versions of the Interstate League, with years active: *1896–1901: an unclassified ...

, the Lexington Reds were preceded in minor league play by the 1916

Lexington Colts The Lexington Colts were a baseball team competing in the Blue Grass League, 1908–1912, the Ohio State League, 1913–1916, and the Mountain States League, 1954. The 1908 Lexington team was also called the "Thoroughbreds," Neither the team nor ...

, who played their final season after a tenure as members of the Class D level

Ohio State League The Ohio State League was a minor league baseball league that operated in numerous seasons between 1887 and 1947, predominantly as a Class D (baseball), Class D level league. League franchises were based in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Wes ...

. Following the demise of the minor league Colts, the Lexington "Reds" began play as a semi-professional team for multiple seasons. Future

leader

and

member

were teammates playing for the semi-pro Reds. The 1922 Lexington Reds resumed minor league baseball play. The Reds began play as members of the six–team Class D level

. Some sources have the 1922 team moniker as the "Studebakers." The Cynthiana Merchants, Maysville Cardinals, Mount Sterling Essex, Paris Bourbons and Winchester Dodgers teams joined Lexington in beginning league play on April 23, 1922. Beginning play in the 1922 Blue Grass League, the Reds finished in a last place tie in the regular season standings. In the overall standings, Lexington tied with the Winchester Dodgers, with both teams having identical records of 28–36. The Reds played the season under the direction of managers Pat Devereaux and Jim Park, finishing 8.0 games behind the first place Paris Bourbons in the overall regular season standings. The Maysville Cardinals, with a 16–6 record, won the first half standings and Cynthiana, with a 25–17 record, won the second half standings, with the Maysville winning the championship playoff. The Reds had several 1922 games changed or altered by Blue Grass League President Thomas M. Russell. Lexington's June 4, 1922, home game against Mt. Sterling was declared a “no contest” and was ordered to be replayed. Additionally, Russell ruled Lexington had used ineligible players in three victories and declared those games forfeits: August 27 (forfeit to Mt Sterling), September 9 (forfeit to Winchester), and September 30 (forfeit to Cynthiana). Lexington then forfeited its final three games of the season when the Reds failed to appear on October 2 and 3 for games against Mt. Sterling and on October 4 against Winchester. The final three games were forfeited after team owner Jesse Morton sold players who were popular with teammates and fans. The remaining players quit and the franchise was forced to forfeit the final three games of the season. The Reds continued play in the 1923 Blue Grass League season. With a 44–49 record, the Reds finished in fifth place under manager Doug Harbison and ended the season 8.0 games behind the first place Cynthiana Cobblers in the six–team league. The 1923 team was also referred to as the "Reos." Cynthiana finished 1.0 game ahead of the second place Winchester Dodgers in the final standings. No playoffs were held in 1923. In their final season of play, the 1924 Blue Grass League reduced from six teams to four, with Cynthiana, Paris and Winchester continuing league play with Lexington. The Lexington team continued league play and was known as the "Studebakers." The name change occurred after team owner Jesse Morton reached a sponsorship agreement with a local car dealership. The Studebakers ended the season in third place in the final standings. With a record of 43–50 under managers Jesse Young and

Jim Viox James Henry Viox (December 30, 1890 – January 6, 1969) was a professional baseball player who played for five seasons in the National League from 1912 to 1916, all of them with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played second base for much of his care ...

in the four–team Blue Grass League, Lexington finished 7.5 games behind the first place Paris Boosters. No playoffs were held following the conclusion of the 1924 regular season and the Blue Grass League permanently folded after the season. Lexington next hosted minor league baseball in 1954, when the

played the season as members of the Class D level Mountain States League.

The ballpark

The Lexington minor league teams hosted minor league Blue Ridge League home games at Stivers Park. Stivers Park later served as the home ballpark of the Lexington Hard Hitters of the

from 1930 to 1932. The Hard Hitters were a member of the Blue Grass Colored Baseball League.

Timeline

Year–by–year records

Notable alumni

Eddie Bacon Edgar Suter Bacon (April 8, 1895 – October 2, 1963) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played for the Philadelphia Athletics of Major League Baseball during the season. He was sold from the Chattanooga Lookouts to Philadelphia ...

(1922) *

Johnny Gill Johnny Gill Jr. (born May 22, 1966) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the sixth and final member of the R&B/ pop group New Edition and was also a member of the supergroup called LSG, with Gerald Levert and Keith Sweat. Gill has rel ...

(1924) * Jim Park (1922, MGR) *

(1924, MGR) * Lexington Reds players

References

{{reflist

External links

Lexington - Baseball Reference
Professional baseball teams in Kentucky Defunct baseball teams in Kentucky Baseball teams established in 1922 Baseball teams disestablished in 1923 Blue Grass League teams Lexington, Kentucky