The Northeast Arkansas League was the name used by a pair of American minor league baseball leagues. The first of these started operations in 1909 and continued through 1911. The second version began operations for the 1936 season. It continued through the 1941 season.
Cities represented Batesville, AR: Batesville White Sox 1936; Batesville White Sox 1938; Batesville Pilots 1940–1941 Blytheville, AR: Blytheville 1910; Blytheville Tigers 1911; Blytheville Giants 1937–1938 Caruthersville, MO: Caruthersville 1910; Caruthersville Pilots 1936–1940 Helena, AR: Helena Hustlers 1911 Jonesboro, AR: Jonesboro Zebras 1909–1911; Jonesboro Giants 1936–1938; Jonesboro White Sox 1939–1941 Marianna, AR: Marianna Brickeys 1909 Newport, AR: Newport Cardinals 1936–1938; Newport Canners 1939; Newport Dodgers 1940–1941 Osceola, AR: Osceola Indians 1936–1937 Newport, AR: Newport Pearl Diggers 1909 Paragould, AR: Paragould Scouts 1909–1911; Paragould Rebels 1936–1938; Paragould Browns 1939–1940; Paragould Broncos 1941 West Plains, MO: West Plains Badgers 1936
Yearly standings 1909 The teams from Jonesboro, Arkansas and Newport, Arkansas left the Arkansas State League and joined. New teams were added in Marianna, Arkansas and Paragould, Arkansas.
Team NameAffiliationRecordJonesboro Zebras 30-23Newport Pearl Diggers 29-25Marianna Brickeys 24-29Paragould Scouts 24-30
1910 The teams in Marianna and Newport folded. New teams in Blytheville, Arkansas and Caruthersville, Missouri came into the league.
Caruthersville 68-48 (1st half winner)Paragould Scouts 65-46 (2nd half winner)Jonesboro Zebras 53-55Blytheville 38-75
1911 The Caruthersville team folded. A new team from Helena, Arkansas came into the league.
Helena 37-29Blytheville 31-30Paragould Scouts 28-32Jonesboro Zebras 28-33
The league, and all teams in it, folded.
1936 The league formed with new teams starting in Batesville, Arkansas, Jonesboro, Arkansas, Newport, Arkansas, Osceola, Arkansas, Paragould, Arkansas, and West Plains, Missouri. The West Plains team moved to Caruthersville, Missouri on June 11. Its record was 18-10 before the move, and 33-38 after it.
Team NameAffiliationRecordNewport CardinalsSt. Louis Cardinals67-30Osceola Indians 58-37Jonesboro Giants 50-46West Plains Badgers/Caruthersville Pilots St. Louis Cardinals51-48Batesville White Sox 34-64Paragould Rebels 31-66
1937 Batesville folded. A new team formed in Blytheville, Arkansas. Blytheville GiantsNew York Giants62-45 (1st half winner) (2nd half winner)Caruthersville PilotsSt. Louis Cardinals59-47Jonesboro Giants 56-53Newport CardinalsSt. Louis Cardinals53-55Osceola IndiansSt. Louis Browns49-60Paragould Rebels Memphis Chicks44-63
As Blytheville won both half of the season, it was determined to be the winner.
1938 Osceola folded. A new team in Batesville, Arkansas formed.
Blytheville GiantsNew York Giants70-35Caruthersville PilotsSt. Louis Cardinals62-42Newport Cardinals 61-46Paragould RebelsMemphis Chicks 52-56Batesville White SoxChicago White Sox47-62Jonesboro Giants 28-79 1939 The teams in Batesville and Blytheville folded.
Caruthersville PilotsSt. Louis Cardinals79-39 (1st half winner) (2nd half winner)Paragould BroncosSt. Louis Browns63-57Newport TigersDetroit Tigers61-60Jonesboro White SoxChicago White Sox38-85
As Caruthersville won both halves of the season, there was no basis for a playoff. 1940 Caruthersville moved to Batesville, Arkansas on July 7.
Paragould BrownsSt. Louis Browns73-48 (2nd half winner)Jonesboro White SoxChicago White Sox67-54Newport DodgersBrooklyn Dodgers56-68Caruthersville Pilots/ Batesville PilotsSt. Louis Cardinals 47-73
1941 Newport DodgersBrooklyn Dodgers71-46 (1st half winner) (2nd half winner)Batesville PilotsSt. Louis Cardinals65-56Jonesboro White SoxChicago White Sox53-61Paragould BrownsSt. Louis Browns48-69
All teams and the league itself folded.
References
Sumner, Benjamin Barrett. Minor League Baseball Standings:All North American Leagues, Through 1999. Jefferson, N.C.:McFarland.