The Blue Grass League was a minor league baseball circuit at the Class D level that existed in the early 1900s. There were two incarnations of the league, one that ran from 1908 to 1912 and one that existed from 1922 to 1924. It consisted entirely of teams based in Kentucky.
1908–1912 Six teams played in the league's inaugural season: the Frankfort Statesmen, Lexington Colts, Richmond Pioneers, Shelbyville Grays, Winchester Hustlers and Lawrenceburg Distillers. The Statesmen finished in first place.
In 1909, the Hustlers, Pioneers, Statesmen and Colts returned to the league, while Shelbyville dropped its nickname and the Lawrenceburg team departed. In its stead were the Paris Bourbonites. The Hustlers finished in first place.
All teams from 1909 returned for 1910, though partway through the year the Shelbyville squad moved to Maysville to become the Maysville Rivermen. The Bourbonites finished first in the league. Baseball Hall of Fame member Casey Stengel played for Shelbyville/Maysville in 1910.
All teams from 1910 returned for 1911, with the Bourbonites finishing in first place again. There was also a playoff held that season, with the Bourbonites winning the series.
In 1912, the Statesmen became the Frankfort Lawmakers. Winchester moved to Nicholas and then Mt. Sterling to finish the season as the Mt. Sterling Orphans. Outside of those changes, the league remained the same. Frankfort finished in first place.
1922–1924 The inaugural season of the second incarnation of the league featured the Paris Mammoths, Maysville Cardinals, Cynthiana Merchants, Mt. Sterling Essex, Winchester Dodgers and Lexington Reos. The Mammoths finished in first, though the league playoff pitted Maysville against Cynthiana, with the former winning the series.
1923 saw multiple teams change names. The Merchants became the Cynthiana Cobblers and the Mammoths became the Paris Bourbons. The other teams remained the same. Cynthiana finished in first place.
The league consisted of only four teams in 1924 — Paris, Cynthiana, Lexington (now called the Lexington Studebakers) and Winchester. The Bourbons finished in first place.
Cities represented Cynthiana, Kentucky: Cynthiana Merchants (1922); Cynthiana Cobblers (1923–1924) Frankfort, Kentucky: Frankfort Lawmakers (1908–1912) Lawrenceburg, Kentucky: Lawrenceburg Distillers (1908) Lexington, Kentucky: Lexington Thoroughbreds (1908); Lexington Colts (1909–1912); Lexington Reds (1922–1923); Lexington Studebakers (1924) Maysville, Kentucky: Maysville Rivermen (1910–1912); Maysville Cardinals (1922–1923) Mount Sterling, Kentucky: Mount Sterling Orphans (1912); Mount Sterling Essex (1922–1923) Nicholasville, Kentucky: Nicholasville (1912) Paris, Kentucky: Paris Bourbonites (1909–1912); Paris Bourbons (1922–1924) Richmond, Kentucky: Richmond Pioneers (1908–1912) Shelbyville, Kentucky: Shelbyville Millers (1908–1910) Versailles, Kentucky: Versailles Aristocrats (1908) Winchester, Kentucky: Winchester Reds (1908); Winchester Hustlers (1909–1912); Winchester Dodgers (1922–1924)
Yearly standings 1908 to 1912 1908 Blue Grass League Team standingsWLPCTGB Managers Frankfort Lawmakers4723.671— N. G. Kennedy Lexington Thoroughbreds3731.5449.0 Thomas Sheets Richmond Pioneers 3634.51411.0 William Parrish Lawrenceburg Distillers3335.48513.0 Guy Woodruff Shelbyville Millers3237.46414½ Anton Kuhn Versailles Aristocrats / Winchester Hustlers 2247.31924.5 NA No Playoffs scheduled. 1909 Blue Grass League Team standingsWLPCTGB Managers Winchester Hustlers7544.630—Daddy Horn Richmond Pioneers7545.625½Al Grohe Paris Bourbonites 6157.51613½ Jeff Elgin / Henry Schmidt / James Barnett Frankfort Lawmakers5660.48217½ N. G. Kennedy / Ben Marshall Lexington Colts4869.41026.0 Thomas Sheets / Cy Stout / Pat Downing Shelbyville Millers 3979.32135½ Anton Kuhn No Playoffs scheduled. 1910 Blue Grass League schedule Team standingsWLPCTGB Managers Paris Bourbonites8047.630— Edward McKernan Lexington Colts6956.55210.0 Hogan Yancy Winchester Hustlers 6359.51614½ Newton Horn / Ed Coleman Richmond Pioneers6360.51215.0William Maloney Frankfort Lawmakers6061.49617.0 Wallace Warren / Danny Harrell Shelbyville Millers / Maysville Rivermen3789.29442½ Anton Kuhn / Daniel Collins No Playoffs scheduled. 1911 Blue Grass League schedule Team standingsWLPCTGB Managers Paris Bourbonites7144.617— Edward McKernan Lexington Colts6550.5656.0 Thomas Sheets /Hogan Yancy Winchester Hustlers 5959.50013½Ed Coleman Maysville Rivermen5563.46617½ James Carmony Frankfort Lawmakers4865.42522.0 NARichmond Pioneers4764.42322.0 Connie Lewis /Sylvester Olson Playoff: Paris 4 games, Winchester 0. 1912 Blue Grass League Team standingsWLPCTGB Managers Frankfort Lawmakers8542.670— Ollie Gfroerer Maysville Rivermen8247.6344.0 James Carmony /Harry Kunkel Richmond Pioneers 6664.50820½ William Fisher Lexington Colts6065.48024.0 Hogan Yancy / Ted McGrew Paris Bourbonites6069.46526.0Joe Lewis /Danning Harrell Winchester Hustlers / Nicholasville / Mount Sterling Orphans3197.24254½ Harry Kunkel / McBrayer / Bob Spade No Playoffs scheduled.
1922 to 1924 1922 Blue Grass League schedule Team standingsWLPCTGB Managers Paris Bourbons3628.563— B. Goodman / Harold Willis Maysville Cardinals3328.5411½ Norbert Bosken Cynthiana Merchants 3430.5312.0 Ernest McIlvan Mt. Sterling Essex3031.4924½ Hod Eller Winchester Dodgers2836.4388.0 Howie Camnitz /Walter Van Winkle Lexington Reds2836.4388.0 Pat Devereaux /Jim Park Playoff: Maysville 3 games, Cynthiana 1. 1923 Blue Grass League Team standingsWLPCTGB Managers Cynthiana Cobblers5443.557— Bill Schumaker Winchester Dodgers5344.5461.0 Pat Devereaux Maysville Cardinals 4845.5164.0 Norbert Bosken Paris Bourbons4547.4806½ Nickholas Winger /Felix Cicona Lexington Reds4449.4738.0 Doug Harbison Mt. Sterling Essex3854.41313.5 Charles Ellis / Hod Eller No Playoffs were held. 1924 Blue Grass League schedule Team standingsWLPCTGB Managers Paris Bourbons5143.543—Bob Corkhill / Pat Devereaux / Fritz Mueller Cynthiana Cobblers5043.538½ Bill Schumaker / John Koval Lexington Studebakers 4350.4627½ Jesse Young /Jim Viox Winchester Dodgers4351.4578.0 George Bell No Playoffs were scheduled.
References Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, eds., The Minor League Encyclopedia, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007.