The Missouri–Iowa–Nebraska–Kansas League, known informally as the "MINK" League, was a Class D level

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 ...

league that played from 1910 to 1913. The Missouri–Iowa–Nebraska–Kansas League consisted of teams based in the four states, but not always at the same time. The Missouri–Iowa–Nebraska–Kansas League permanently folded midway through the 1913 season. Today, the M.I.N.K. Collegiate Baseball League, a

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

league has adopted the M.I.N.K. moniker.

History

In 1910, the Missouri–Iowa–Nebraska–Kansas League began play as a six–team Class D level league. The league would play four seasons. The Auburn Athletics, Falls City Colts, and Nebraska City Forresters franchises all played for the duration of the league. Although the league was named the Missouri-Iowa-Nebraska-Kansas League, the four states were never represented in the league at the same time. Missouri and Iowa were represented in 1910–1911 and Kansas was represented in 1912. The Missouri–Iowa–Nebraska–Kansas League presidents were T.A. Wilson (1910–1911), Frederick Carey (1911) and Warren Cummings (1912–1913). In the first season for the league, the Falls City Colts won the 1910 MINK League Championship. The Missouri–Iowa–Nebraska–Kansas League began play with six teams, based in

Auburn, Nebraska Auburn is a city in Nemaha County, Nebraska, United States, and its county seat. The population was 3,470 at the 2020 census. History Auburn is an incorporation of two towns. Calvert and Sheridan combined to form Auburn in 1882, in part to ha ...

(Auburn Athletics),

Clarinda, Iowa Clarinda is a city in and the county seat of Page County, Iowa, United States. It is located in Nodaway Township, Page County, Iowa, Nodaway Township. The population was 5,369 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History C ...

( Clarinda Antelopes),

Falls City, Nebraska Falls City is a city in and the county seat of Richardson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 4,133 at the 2020 census, down from 4,325 in 2010 and 4,671 in 2000. History The site of Falls City is located on the north side of ...

( Falls City Colts),

Maryville, Missouri Maryville is a city and county seat of Nodaway County, Missouri, Nodaway County, Missouri, United States. Located in the "Missouri Point" region, As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city population was 10,633. Maryville is home ...

( Maryville Comets),

Nebraska City, Nebraska Nebraska City is a city in and the county seat of Otoe County, Nebraska, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 7,222. The Nebraska State Legislature has credited Nebraska City as being the oldest incorporated city in th ...

( Nebraska City Forresters) and

Shenandoah, Iowa Shenandoah is a city in Page County, Iowa, Page and Fremont County, Iowa, Fremont counties in Iowa, United States. The population was 4,925 at the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census. Once referred to as the "seed and nursery ...

( Shenandoah Pin Rollers). Falls City had a 57–40 (.588) record under manager

Bill Annis William Perley Annis (May 24, 1857– June 10, 1923) was a 19th-century American Major League Baseball outfielder. He played for the 1884 Boston Beaneaters. He continued to play baseball in the minor leagues through 1892. Career Annis made his ...

to finish 1.5 games ahead of the 2nd place Clarinda Antelopes. Falls City led the league in season attendance, drawing 14,205. The Falls City Colts also moved some Sunday home games into the state of Kansas to avoid Nebraska Sunday laws. The Maryville Comets/Humboldt Infants were the 1911 Missouri–Iowa–Nebraska–Kansas League champions after moving during the season. The

franchise, with a 24–21 record, moved to

Humboldt, Nebraska Humboldt is a city in Richardson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 800 at the 2020 census. History Humboldt was platted in 1868. It was named after Humboldt, Tennessee, where an early settler had stayed while fighting in ...

on July 10, 1911. Maryville/Humboldt finished with a 59–41 (.590) record under managers Harry Sievers and A.F. Bridges, finishing in 1st place in the standings, finishing 2.0 games ahead of the 2nd place Falls City Colts and 7.0 games ahead of the 3rd place Auburn Athletics. The MINK League did not have playoffs during its existence. The league maintained itself as a six–team league in 1911, with the Shenandoah Pin Rollers (49–51), Clarinda Antelopes (43–57) and Nebraska City Foresters (40–60) rounding out the 1911 standings. In the last full season of league play, the 1912 Nebraska City Forresters were the Missouri–Iowa–Nebraska–Kansas League champions. Nebraska City finished with a 61–38 (.616) record to lead the 1912 standings, playing under manager

Ducky Holmes James William "Ducky" Holmes (January 28, 1869 – August 6, 1932) was an outfielder in Major League Baseball. He played ten seasons in the National League and American League with the Louisville Colonels (1895–97), New York Giants (1897), St ...

in the six–team league. Nebraska City finished 1.5 games ahead of the 2nd place Falls City Colts (61–41) and 2.5 games ahead of the 3rd place Auburn A's (59–41) in the final standings. The 1912 Beatrice-Fairbury Milkskimmers (42–59) replaced the Clarinda Antelopes, who folded after the 1911 season. Beatrice–Fairbury then folded after the 1912 season, as did the

Hiawatha, Kansas Hiawatha (Chiwere language, Ioway: ''Hári Wáta'' pronounced ) is the largest city and county seat of Brown County, Kansas, Brown County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was ...

based Hiawatha Athletics. On July 4, 1912, Falls City pitcher Ed Finch threw the leagues' only no–hitter in a 7–0 Falls City victory over the Hiawatha Indians. 1913 was the final season for the MINK League, as the league played only a partial season, permanently folding in June, 1913. The Missouri–Iowa–Nebraska–Kansas League began the 1913 season with four teams after the Beatrice-Fairbury Milkskimmers and Hiawatha Indians franchises did not return to play and were not replaced. The 1913 Auburn Athletics, under manager Jake Kraninger, were in 1st place with 24–8 record, 9.0 games ahead of the 2nd place Nebraska City Forresters (15–17) when the Missouri–Iowa–Nebraska–Kansas League permanently folded. On June 17, 1913, the 3rd place Falls City Colts (13–19) and 4th place Humboldt Infants (12–20) both folded, causing the entire league to disband.

Sunday laws Blue laws (also known as Sunday laws, Sunday trade laws, and Sunday closing laws) are laws restricting or banning certain activities on specified days, usually Sundays in the western world. The laws were adopted originally for religious reasons ...

in Nebraska were noted as a factor that impacted the success of the league. Falls City had moved Sunday home games to Kansas in order to avoid the restrictions in Nebraska. Nebraska City played their week day games at their home park and their Sunday games at the Driving Park in

Beatrice, Nebraska Beatrice () is a city in and the county seat of Gage County, Nebraska, Gage County, Nebraska, United States. Its population was 12,261 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Nebraska, 15th most populous cit ...

. This was a compromise with the ministerial alliance which had protested a game on Sunday during the 1910 season. Many fans traveled by train to catch a game, as the

Missouri Pacific The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad ...

serviced league towns. Today, the M.I.N.K. Collegiate Baseball League, a

league has adopted the moniker as a tribute to the earlier professional league. The league began play in 2009.

Cities represented 1910–1913

Standings & statistics 1910–1913

1910 M.I.N.K. League

1911 M.I.N.K. League

Maryville moved to Humboldt July 10.

1912 M.I.N.K. League

1913 M.I.N.K. League

Falls City & Humboldt withdrew June 17, 1913 causing the league to disband.

Notable alumni

(1910–1911) Falls City, MGR *

(1912) Nebraska City, MGR *

Bill Kemmer William Edward Kemmer (November 15, 1873 – June 8, 1945), nicknamed "Big Bill", was a third baseman in Major League Baseball. He played for the Louisville Colonels in 1895 and also had a 17-year minor league career. Kenner stood at and weighe ...

(1910) Falls City *

Les Mann Leslie Mann (November 18, 1892 – January 14, 1962) was an American athlete and sports administrator. He played college football and professional baseball, and went on to coach football, baseball, and basketball. He was the founder and first pr ...

(1910–1911) Nebraska City * Ray Miller (1910) Falls City * Chuck Ward (1912) Falls City * Charlie Wheatley (1911) Auburn

External links

Baseball Reference

References

{{Professional Baseball Defunct minor baseball leagues in the United States Baseball in Iowa Baseball leagues in Iowa Baseball leagues in Missouri Baseball leagues in Nebraska Baseball leagues in Kansas 1910 establishments in the United States 1913 disestablishments in the United States Sports leagues established in 1910 Sports leagues disestablished in 1913