The Springfield-Ozark Mountain Ducks was an unaffiliated

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

team that previously played in

Ozark, Missouri Ozark is a city in and the county seat of Christian County, Missouri. Its population was 21,284 as of the 2020 census. Ozark is also the third largest city in the Springfield, Missouri Metropolitan Area, and is centered along a business loop ...

, a suburb of Springfield. The team was a member of the Texas-Louisiana League, later named the

Central Baseball League The Central Baseball League, formerly the Texas–Louisiana League, was an independent baseball league whose member teams were not affiliated with any Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises. In 1991, potential owners, Dallas businessman Byron ...

from 1999 to 2003. The team played in Price Cutter Park, now known as Ozark Mountain Sports Complex.

History

In April 1998, Texas-Louisiana League president and co-founder Byron Pierce announced that the league would put a new team in

Ozark The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cov ...

pending financing for a new ballpark. In August the funding was secured. Construction on the stadium started in late fall and took four months to complete. The peculiar team name and mascot was picked from a name-the-team contest in 1998. The winning entryby Craig Cremer of Ozarkwas picked out of 65,000 submissions. Cremer says the kid-friendly name was derived from a combination of the

Ozark Mountains The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover ...

and the Ride the Ducks boat ride in Branson The Mountain Ducks played their inaugural game on May 27, 1999 on the road, a 7-4 loss to the Amarillo Dillas. Their first home game came two weeks later on June 10 in front of 4,764 people, a 5-2 loss, also against Amarillo. Success on the field was hard to come by for the team. The Mountain Ducks only made the postseason one time during its tenure, a first round exit in 2000. Two players with Major League experience played for Springfield-Ozark: Outfielder

Mel Hall Melvin Hall Jr. (born September 16, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1981 to 1992 with the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, and New York Yankees, and in 1996 with the San Fra ...

(2002) played 13 seasons, mostly with the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

and

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

and Pitcher Mike Smith (1999-2001). Smith played in 15 games over two seasons with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

. The team joined the

Frontier League The Frontier League (FL; French: ''Ligue Frontière'', LF) is a professional baseball league in North America composed of 18 teams – 15 in the United States and 3 in Canada. The FL is one of the eight independent baseball leagues in North Ame ...

in 2004. The Mountain Ducks rights to the club's spot in the CBL were sold in 2004 to the

Pensacola Pelicans The Pensacola Pelicans were a minor league baseball team based in Pensacola, Florida. In various incarnations, they played in three different independent baseball leagues (leagues unaffiliated with Major League Baseball) from 2002 to 2010. They p ...

of the discontinued

Southeastern League The Southeastern League was the name of four separate baseball leagues in minor league baseball which operated in the Southeastern and South Central United States in numerous seasons between 1897 and 2003. Two of these leagues were associated w ...

. The franchise's time in Ozark ended for good after only one season in the Frontier League once hotel magnate John Q. Hammons purchased the rights to the Double-A

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

El Paso Diablos "El Paso Diablos" refers to two different professional baseball teams based in El Paso, Texas, in the United States. The most recent Diablos were a member of the South Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, wh ...

, renamed them the Cardinals and moved them to downtown Springfield. The Ducks moved to Ohio/Indiana and were renamed the Ohio Valley Redcoats

Team Record

The Mountain Ducks had a combined record of 261-312 over six seasons.

All-Stars

References

External links

1999 Ozark Mountain Ducks statistics

2000 Ozark Mountain Ducks statistics

2001 Springfield-Ozark Mountain Ducks statistics

2002 Springfield-Ozark Mountain Ducks statistics

2003 Springfield-Ozark Mountain Ducks statistics

2004 Springfield-Ozark Ducks statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Springfield Ozark Mountain Ducks Defunct minor league baseball teams Baseball teams disestablished in 2004 Defunct independent baseball league teams Defunct baseball teams in Missouri Baseball teams established in 1998 Christian County, Missouri