The Siloam Springs Travelers 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

Siloam Springs, Arkansas Siloam Springs is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, Benton County, Arkansas, United States, and located on the western edge of the Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers metropolitan area, Northwest Arkansas metropolitan area. As of the 2020 Unite ...

. The "Travelers" teams were members of the Class D level

Arkansas State League The Arkansas State League was an American minor league baseball league that played in various seasons between 1894 and 1935, forming three different times. The first version was in operation in 1894, followed by an 1897 league. The Class D level ...

from 1934 to 1935 and the Arkansas-Missouri League from 1936 to 1939, winning league a pennant in 1935 and the league championship in 1936. The 1934 team was known as the "Buffaloes." The Travelers were a minor league affiliate of the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

in 1938. The Siloam Springs teams hosted minor league home games at Smiley Park in Siloam Springs.

History

1934 Siloam Springs Buffaloes

Siloam Springs first hosted minor league baseball in 1934, when the Siloam Springs "Buffaloes" began play as members of the four–team Class D level

. The Bentonville Officeholders, Fayetteville Educators and Rogers Rustlers joined Siloam Springs in beginning league play on May 7, 1934. In their first season of play, the 1934 Siloam Springs Buffaloes finished the regular season as the runner up in the standings. The Buffaloes ended the Arkansas State League regular season with a record of 37–34, placing second while playing the season under manager Clyde Glass. In the overall standings, Siloam Springs ended the season just 1.0 game behind first place Bentonville. The league played a split–season schedule and Siloam Springs tied with Rogers for the first–half title. In a playoff, the Rogers Rustlers beat the Siloam Springs Buffaloes by the score of 5–2 in a one–game playoff for first–half title. In the finals, Rogers defeated the Bentonville 4 games to 3. Jonh Graves of Siloam Springs won the Arkansas State League batting title, with an average of .387, while player/manager Clyde Glass scored 67 runs to lead the league.

1935 to 1937 Siloam Springs Travelers

The Siloam Springs team became known as the "Travelers" in 1935 and became an affiliate of the

St Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central Division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

, in winning the league pennant before losing in the finals. The Travelers ended the 1935 season with an overall record of 66–43, placing first in the regular season standings of the four–team league, and finishing 7.0 games ahead of the Rogers Cardinals, who were also a St. Louis Cardinals affiliate. Ray Powell served as the Siloam Springs manager, as the Travelers won the second–half title in the split–season format. In the playoff, the Rogers Cardinals, who won the first–half title in the regular season, defeated Siloam Springs 4 games to 1 to win their second consecutive championship. In 1936, the Arkansas State League evolved to become the Class D level Arkansas-Missouri League, as the league expanded to six teams. The Bentonville Mustangs, Cassville Blues, Fayetteville Bears, Monett Red Birds and Rogers Lions teams joined Siloam Springs as charter members of the newly named Arkansas-Missouri League. In the first season of the new league, the Travelers became an affiliate of the

and won both the Arkansas-Missouri League pennant and overall championship. With Ray Powell returning as manager, the Travelers ended the regular season record of 74–44, to finish with the best overall record in the league, 5.0 games ahead of second place Bentonville. Silom Springs captured the second–half title in the split-season schedule. In the finals, Siloam Springs met Cassville, who had won the first half title. The Travelers defeated Cassville 4 games to 3 in the finals to capture the league championship Kermit Lewis of Silam Springs led the 1936 Arkansas–Missouri League with 28 home runs. Lewis also had 164 total hits and scored 130 runs to league the league in both categories. His teammate Rudy Tone led the league with 125 RBIs. Traveler pitchers Clint Raper led the league with 23 wins and John Murray with an ERA of 1.35. The 1937 Siloam Springs Travelers continued play in the Arkansas–Missouri League play and qualified for the playoffs. The Travelers ended the 1937 season with a record of 66–61, finishing 15.0 behind the first place Rogers Lions. Ray Powell concluded his tenure as manager. In the first round of the playoffs, the Fayetteville Angels defeated the Travelers 3 games 0. Rogers won their third championship with the subsequent finals' playoff win. Travelers player Gene Gibson led the Arkansas–Missouri League with 20 home runs.

Bob Neighbors

Bob Neighbors, who played for the Travelers in both the 1936 and 1937 seasons, later became the last major league player killed in action, losing his life in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. Neighbors had tried out for the Travelers after having never played baseball in high school and having only played softball. Neighbors hit four home runs in a doubleheader for Siloam Springs and eventually advanced in the minor leagues before he became a major league player for the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

in 1939. He enlisted in the

Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

in 1942 after the attack on

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

. He remained in the military and on August 8, 1952, he and two crew members were killed during a bombing mission in Korea. Neighbors was 34.

1938 Final season

In 1938 the Travelers became an affiliate of the

, finishing last in the Arkansas–Missouri League standings. Siloam Springs ended the regular season with a record of 36–79, placing sixth in the standings, finishing 37.0 games behind the first place

Neosho Yankees The Neosho Yankees were a minor league baseball team based in Neosho, Missouri. From 1937 to 1940, Neosho teams played exclusively as members of the Class D (baseball), Class D level Arkansas–Missouri League, winning the 1938 league pennant. Ado ...

. Vincent Mullen, Clifton Marr and Michael Sertich served as managers, as the team did not qualify for the playoffs won by Neosho. The 1939 Arkansas–Missouri League continued play reduced by two franchises and played the season as a four–team league, without a Siloam Springs franchise. In 1940, the Siloam Springs Cardinals team returned to the league and played the final season of the Arkansas–Missouri League.

The ballpark

The Siloam Springs minor league teams hosted minor league home games at Smiley Park. The ballpark site was located at the present site of Northside Elementary School. Today, Northside Elementary School is located at 501 West Elgin Street in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. In the era of

Blue 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 ...

, on Sundays Siloam Springs teams played home games across the border in neighboring

West Siloam Springs, Oklahoma West Siloam Springs is a town in Delaware County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,000 at the 2020 census, an 18.2 percent increase from the figure of 846 recorded in 2010. A bedroom community for Siloam Springs, Arkansas, it is nota ...

Timeline

Year–by–year records

Notable alumni

* Hooks Iott (1938) *

Larry Kennedy Larry Kennedy may refer to: * Larry Kennedy (politician) Larry Ronald Kennedy (born November 8, 1949, in Perth-Andover, New Brunswick) is a politician in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Kennedy studied at the University of New Brunswick ...

(1938) * Fred Martin (1935) * Bob Neighbors (1936-1937) * Ray Powell (1935–1937, MGR) * Herman Reich (1936) *

Everett Robinson Everett Anthony Robinson Jr. (October 12, 1916 – August 29, 1994) was an American minor league baseball first baseman and manager (baseball), manager. Born in Hobart, Indiana, he threw and batted left-handed, stood tall and weighed . Career ...

(1935–1936) *

Thurman Tucker Thurman Lowell Tucker (September 26, 1917May 7, 1993) was an American professional baseball player. A center fielder, Tucker played in Major League Baseball for nine seasons in the American League with the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians. ...

(1936) MLB All–star * Siloam Springs Travelers players

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Siloam Springs - Baseball ReferenceSmiley Park photo
Defunct minor league baseball teams Defunct Arkansas State League teams Defunct Arkansas-Missouri League teams Defunct baseball teams in Arkansas Professional baseball teams in Arkansas Baseball teams established in 1935 Baseball teams established in 1938 1935 establishments in Arkansas Siloam Springs, Arkansas