The Falls City Colts were a minor league baseball franchise based in Falls City, Nebraska . From 1910 to 1913, the Colts played exclusively as members of the Class D level Missouri-Iowa-Nebraska-Kansas League , winning the 1910 league championship and placing second in 1911 and 1912. Falls City hosted home minor league games at the Athletic Park.
28-718: In 1910, Falls City first fielded a minor league team., when the Falls City Colts were formed and became charter members of the six–team Missouri-Illinois-Nebraska-Kansas League, known informally as the MINK League. Falls City was joined in the Class D level league by the Auburn Athletics , Clarinda Antelopes , Maryville Comets , Nebraska City Forresters and Shenandoah Pin Rollers teams as charter members. The Falls City Colts franchise
56-413: A 57–40 (.588) record under manager Bill Annis 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
84-562: 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 in
112-583: Is possible the 1913 Kansas games were played at League Park in nearby Hiawatha, Kansas , which had been home to the MINK league member Hiawatha Athletics in 1912. Auburn Athletics (Nebraska) The Auburn Athletics were a minor league baseball franchise based in Auburn, Nebraska . From 1910 to 1913, the "Athletics" or interchangeable "A's" played as members of the Class D level Missouri-Iowa-Nebraska-Kansas League for
140-415: The "MINK" League, was a Class D level minor league baseball 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 league has adopted
168-412: The 1910 Auburn Athletics finished with a 46–51 record and placed fourth in the MINK League standings, playing the season under manager W. Cummings. Auburn finished 11.0 games behind the first place Falls City Colts, as the league had no playoff system for its duration. In 1910, Auburn had total home season attendance of 10,522 an average of 217 fans per home game, playing at Legion Memorial Park. Auburn and
196-483: The 1911 season with a record of 52–48 under manager L. Higgins, finishing 7.0 games behind the first place Maryville Comets / Humboldt Infants . A new grandstand was built at the Auburn home ballpark for the 1911 season. Pitcher Walter Hirsch of Auburn had 22 wins to lead the league. In 1912, Auburn Athletics or "A's" again placed third in the six–team Missouri-Illinois-Nebraska-Kansas League standings. The Athletics ended
224-482: The 1912 season with a record of 59–41, finishing 2.5 games behind the first place Nebraska City Forresters who had 61–38 record. Jake Kraninger managed the Auburn team in 1912. Auburn had four league leaders. Pitcher Vern Willey had 22 wins to lead the MINK League, while teammate George Zonderman had 195 strikeouts. Ledger Free of Auburn led the league in scoring 65 runs, while teammate Steve Brewer had 121 total hits to lead league hitters. Playing their final season,
252-473: 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 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
280-584: The Auburn Athletics won a championship in a shortened season. On June 17, 1913, the 1913 Auburn Athletics were in first place when the four–team Missouri-Illinois-Nebraska-Kansas League permanently folded. On that date, both the Falls City Colts and Humboldt Infants disbanded, which caused the Missouri-Illinois-Nebraska-Kansas League to fold. At the time, Auburn had a 24–8 record under manager Jake Kraninger and were 9.0 games ahead of
308-551: The Colts played a 17–inning game against Nebraska City. The game ended due darkness with the score tied 0–0. On July 4, 1910 the Colts drew 1,119 for a doubleheader against the Maryville Comets. The Colts finished the 1910 season with a record of 57–40, placing first in the Missouri-Illinois-Nebraska-Kansas League standings, winning the championship as the league did not have playoffs for its duration. The Colts finished 1.5 games ahead of
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#1732897947300336-630: The Colts were 11.0 games behind the first place Auburn Athletics. Falls City has not hosted another minor league franchise. The Falls City Colts were noted to have played minor league home games at the Athletic Park in Falls City. The ballpark was located adjacent to the auditorium in City Park at West 17th Street & Barada Street, Falls City, Nebraska. In 1913, Falls City moved Sunday home games to Kansas to avoid Sunday Law restrictions in Nebraska. It
364-480: The M.I.N.K. moniker. 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
392-532: The ballpark during the time the Athletics played there is unknown. A new grandstand was built in 1911. Still in use today as a public park, Legion Memorial Park is designated as a National Historic Park site (one of six in the state of Nebraska). The park is located at 1015 J Street Auburn, Nebraska. Auburn Athletics players Auburn - Baseball Reference Missouri-Iowa-Nebraska-Kansas League The Missouri–Iowa–Nebraska–Kansas League , known informally as
420-497: The capacity to more than 1,000. On opening day, May 19, 1910, forty local Falls City businesses closed early and schools dismissed early. Falls City Mayor Keeling threw out the ceremonial first pitch with 1,101 fans in attendance. The Colts defeated the Nebraska City Forresters 3–0 to win the home opener. In their first season, the 1910 Falls City Colts won the Missouri-Illinois-Nebraska-Kansas League championship. In June,
448-614: The duration of the league, winning the 1913 league championship. In 1910, the Auburn "Athletics" became the first minor league team based in Auburn, Nebraska. The Auburn Athletics began play as charter members of the six–team Class D level Missouri-Iowa-Nebraska-Kansas League , which was known informally as the "MINK League". Auburn was joined in the 1910 MINK League by the Clarinda Antelopes , Falls City Colts , Maryville Comets , Nebraska City Forresters and Shenandoah Pin Rollers teams as charter members. In their first season,
476-423: The first place Maryville Comets / Humboldt Infants . Jack Forrester was the 1911 Colts player/manager. In 1912, Falls City placed second in the six–team Missouri-Illinois-Nebraska-Kansas League standings after a championship battle with the Nebraska City Forresters. The Colts, managed by Tony Vanderhill, ended the 1912 season with a record of 61–41, finishing 1.5 games behind Nebraska City who finished 61–38. During
504-720: 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 Athletics), Clarinda, Iowa ( Clarinda Antelopes ), Falls City, Nebraska ( Falls City Colts ), Maryville, Missouri ( Maryville Comets ), Nebraska City, Nebraska ( Nebraska City Forresters ) and Shenandoah, Iowa ( Shenandoah Pin Rollers ). Falls City had
532-448: The league. In 1913, Falls City moved Sunday home games to Kansas in an effort to avoid the restrictive laws in Nebraska. On June 17, 1913, the Falls City Colts and Humboldt Infants franchises both disbanded, causing the four–team MINK league to collapse. The Falls City ended their final of the Missouri-Illinois-Nebraska-Kansas League season with a record of 13–19 and were in third place when the league folded. Ira Bidwell served as manager, as
560-702: 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
588-464: The other Nebraska-based teams were affected by Sunday laws of the era in Nebraska, which prohibited working on Sundays and therefore disallowed professional baseball to be played on Sunday. Auburn pitcher Verne Hirsch led the league with 25 wins and teammate Ed Bright had 111 total hits, most in the league. Continuing play in 1911, the Auburn Athletics placed third in the Missouri-Illinois-Nebraska-Kansas League final standings. The Athletics ended
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#1732897947300616-582: 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 . 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 serviced league towns. Today, the M.I.N.K. Collegiate Baseball League ,
644-402: The season. Falls City was in 1st place for most of June and July. On the 4th of July, Ed Finch of Falls City threw a no–hitter against the Hiawatha Indians in a 7–0 victory. In their final season, the 1913 Falls City Colts folded, which resulted in the rest of the Missouri-Illinois-Nebraska-Kansas League permanently folding. Nebraska Sunday laws of the era were a factor impacting the success of
672-467: The season. The Maryville, Missouri franchise, with a 24–21 record, moved to Humboldt, Nebraska 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
700-488: The second place Nebraska City Forresters . Nebraska Sunday laws of the era were a factor impacting the success of the league. In 1913, Falls City had moved Sunday home games to Kansas in an effort to avoid the restrictive laws in Nebraska. Auburn has not hosted another minor league franchise. The Auburn Athletics reportedly played home minor league games at the Legion Memorial Park in Auburn. The exact name of
728-414: The second place Clarinda Antelopes. The 1910 Foresters were managed by Bill Annis . Playing home games at Athletic Park, Falls City had total season attendance of 14,205 an average of 293 fans per game. Continuing play in 1911, the Falls City Colts placed second in the Missouri-Illinois-Nebraska-Kansas League final standings. The Colts ended the 1911 season with a record of 57–43, finishing 2.0 games behind
756-518: 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 based Hiawatha Athletics . On July 4, 1912, Falls City pitcher Ed Finch threw
784-471: Was formed and reportedly built their roster when the franchise purchased 14 players from the salaried Atchison team at the price of $ 50.00. The local newspaper, the Falls City Journal , urged the town residents to support the Colts in their initial season. Seating was erected at Athletic Park under the direction of Milt Bohrer. The grandstand had seating for 500 and bleachers along both baselines increased
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