Central Association

The Central Association was an American minor league baseball league. It began operations in 1908, as it was essentially renamed from the 1907 Iowa State League. The Central Association ran continuously through 1917. It was reorganized thirty years later, operating as a Class-C league from 1947-1949, with major league affiliates for most teams. Baseball Hall of Fame members Grover Cleveland Alexander (Galesburg), Jake Beckley (Hannibal), Burleigh Grimes (Ottumwa) and Sam Rice (Galesburg and Muscatine) are league alumni.

Central Association
FormerlyIowa State League
SportMinor League Baseball
Inaugural season1908
Ceased1949
PresidentM. E. Justice (1908–1916)
John F. Ford (1917)
Frank Hern (1947–1948)
Lee A. Thomas (1949)
No. of teams30
CountryUnited States of America
Most titles3
Ottumwa Speedboys (1911–1913)
ClassificationClass C (1908–1917)
Class D (1947–1949)
Related
competitions		Illinois–Missouri League
Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League

1908–1917 league

In 1908, The Central Association formed with charter members: Burlington Pathfinders (Burlington, Iowa), Jacksonville Lunatics (Jacksonville, Illinois), Keokuk Indians (Keokuk, Iowa), Oskaloosa Quakers (Oskaloosa, Iowa), Ottumwa Packers (Ottumwa, Iowa), Quincy Gems (Quincy, Illinois) and the Waterloo Lulus (Waterloo, Iowa) all had been members of the 1907 Iowa State League. A new team in Kewanee, Illinois, the Kewanee Boilermakers, joined as well.

In 1909, the Oskaloosa Quakers franchise folded and the Hannibal Cannibals (Hannibal, Missouri) moved from the Illinois–Missouri League. In 1910, Jacksonville moved to the Northern Association and Waterloo moved to the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League. The Galesburg Pavers (Galesburg, Illinois) and Monmouth Browns (Monmouth, Illinois) joined after having left the Illinois–Missouri League. For the 1911 season, Quincy moved to the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League and the Muscatine Camels (Muscatine, Iowa) formed and joined the league.

For 1913, Galesburg and Hannibal folded, with the Cedar Rapids Rabbits (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), and Waterloo Jays (Waterloo, Iowa) forming to join the league. In 1914, Kewanee and Monmouth folded while the Clinton Pilots (Clinton, Iowa) and Marshalltown Ansons (Marshalltown, Iowa) formed and joined the league. Ottumwa moved to Rock Island, Illinois, as the Rock Island Islanders and then again to Galesburg, as the Galesburg Pavers.

In 1915, Galesburg folded and the Mason City Claydiggers (Mason City, Iowa) formed and joined the league. The Clinton team folded during the season. The league also threw out several wins by Keokuk (1), Marshalltown (5), Waterloo (1), and Clinton (40) after the fact.

Keokuk folded in 1916, while the Clinton Pilots rejoined and the Fort Dodge Dodgers (Fort Dodge, Iowa) formed and joined the league. Burlington moved to become the Ottumwa Packers on July 20, and Muscatine also forfeited 34 wins in 1916.

In the final season, 1917, Muscatine and Ottumwa folded. The Dubuque Dubs in Dubuque, Iowa and the La Crosse Infants (La Crosse, Wisconsin) formed and joined the league. Dubuque moved to Charles City, Iowa on July 4 to become the Charles City Tractorites. Cedar Rapids moved to Clear Lake, Iowa on July 27, finishing the season as the Clear Lake Rabbits. Clinton and La Crosse both folded before the end of the season on July 17. After the season, the league, and all teams in it, folded.

1947–1949 league

In 1947, a new league of the same name was created with major league affiliations. The Clinton Cubs (Chicago Cubs) in Clinton, Iowa; Hannibal Pilots (St. Louis Browns), Hannibal, Missouri; Rockford Rox (Cincinnati Reds), Rockford, Illinois; Keokuk Pirates (Pittsburgh Pirates), Keokuk, Iowa; Burlington Indians (Cleveland Indians), Burlington, Iowa, and the Moline A's, (Philadelphia A's) Moline, Illinois were the charter members of the reformed league.

In 1948, the Moline A's moved to Kewanee, Illinois to become the Kewanee A's in mid-season. In 1949, the Hannibal Pilots folded and the Cedar Rapids Rockets of Cedar Rapids, Iowa formed to join the league. Kewanee captured the 1949 championship. After the 1949 season, Cedar Rapids joined the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League, and the rest of the teams, and the league itself, folded.

Cities represented

Year–by–year

1908 to 1917

1908

Team NameRecord
Waterloo Lulus88-37
Burlington Pathfinders83-41
Quincy Gems73-55
Keokuk Indians57-68
Jacksonville Lunatics56-69
Oskaloosa Quakers51-75
Kewanee Boilermakers48-79
Ottumwa Packers48-80

1909

Burlington Pathfinders83-51
Hannibal Cannibals83-53
Keokuk Indians80-57
Kewanee Boilermakers73-61
Waterloo Lulus64-69
Quincy Vets62-73
Jacksonville Braves46-84
Ottumwa Packers48-91

1910

Quincy Vets85-50
Ottumwa Packers86-57
Hannibal Cannibals77-60
Galesburg Pavers69-67
Keokuk Indians67-70
Monmouth Browns62-72
Burlington Pathfinders56-81
Kewanee Boilermakers49-91

1911

Ottumwa Speedboys87-41
Burlington Cowboys81-44
Galesburg Pavers66-63
Keokuk Indians64-64
Kewanee Boilermakers59-67
Monmouth Browns59-69
Muscatine Camels48-80
Hannibal Cannibals45-81

1912

Ottumwa Speedboys79-50
Kewanee Boilermakers74-51
Burlington Pathfinders73-53
Monmouth Browns71-55
Hannibal Cannibals67-61
Galesburg Pavers61-67
Keokuk Indians49-76
Muscatine Wallopers33-94

1913

Ottumwa Packers72-54
Muscatine Wallopers68-54
Monmouth Browns64-62
Keokuk Indians62-63
Burlington Pathfinders63-66
Cedar Rapids Rabbits59-65
Kewanee Boilermakers59-65
Waterloo Jays53-71

1914

Waterloo Jays78-51
Burlington Pathfinders75-53
Muscatine Buttonmakers72-53
Clinton Pilots67-61
Cedar Rapids Bunnies64-60
Keokuk Indians52-76
Marshalltown Ansons52-76
Ottumwa Rockers/ Rock Island Islanders/ Galesburg Pavers49-79

1915

Burlington Pathfinders81-38
Muscatine Muskies63-57
Keokuk Indians51-52
Mason City Claydiggers58-63
Cedar Rapids Rabbits54-62
Marshalltown Ansons46-67
Waterloo Jays52-74
Clinton Pilots13-69

1916

Marshalltown Ansons77-50
Clinton Pilots73-51
Cedar Rapids Rabbits62-64
Burlington Pathfinders/ Ottumwa Packers62-64
Waterloo Shamrocks58-67
Mason City Claydiggers50-76
Fort Dodge Dodgers41-86
Muscatine Muskies45-34

1917

Marshalltown Ansons64-34
Mason City Claydiggers54-38
Waterloo Loons50-42
Cedar Rapids Rabbits/ Clear Lake Rabbits39-52
Dubuque Dubs/ Charles City Tractorites40-54
Fort Dodge Dodgers37-57
Clinton Pilots40-33
La Crosse Infants29-43

1947 to 1949

1947 Central Association - schedule

Team standingsWLPCTGBAttendManagers
Clinton Cubs7351.589–59,553Robert Peterson
Hannibal Pilots6956.5524.540,490Herb Nordquist
Rockford Rox6857.5445.567,938Cyril Pfeifer
Keokuk Pirates6164.48812.544,332Frank Oceak
Burlington Indians5272.41921.037,138Paul O'Dea
Moline A's5174.40822.527,479Elwood Wheaton

Playoffs: Clinton 3 games, Rockford 2; Hannibal 3 games, Keokuk 1.
Finals: Clinton 4 games, Hannibal 1.

Player statistics
PlayerTeamStatTotPlayerTeamStatTot
Edward WiltseeClintonBA.387Charles FunkHannibalW19
Roy SieversHannibalHits159Charles FunkHannibalSO145
Roy SieversHannibalRuns121Stan WnetrzakClintonERA1.72
Roy SieversHannibalRBI141Roy SieversHannibalHR34

1948 Central Association - schedule

Team StandingsWLPCTGBAttendManagers
Clinton Cubs7947.627–53,133Nelson Burbrink / Lee Eilbracht
Burlington Indians6862.52313.070,359Paul O'Dea /
Ski Melillo / Bruno Haas
Hannibal Pilots6762.51913.541,124Walter DeFreitas
Keokuk Pirates6167.47719.054,694Phil Seghi
Rockford Rox5672.43824.043,133Cyril Pfeifer / Paul O'Dea
Moline A's /
Kewanee A's		5374.41726.538,088Joe Glenn

Moline (17–25) moved to Kewanee June 18.
Playoffs: Clinton 4 games, Burlington 2; Keokuk 4 games, Hannibal 1.
Finals: Clinton 4 games, Keokuk 0.

Player Statistics
PlayerTeamStatTotPlayerTeamStatTot
Gus BellKeokukBA.319Ronald McLelandHannibalW18
Billy KlausClintonlHits167Calvin HoweClintonW18
Elzer MarxClintonRuns108Wesley CarrClintonSO163
Dwight MaxhimerClintonRBI105Merrill MerkleHannibalSO163
John TannerKeokukHR23Ronald McLelandHannibalERA2.39

1949 Central Association - schedule

Team StandingsWLPCTGBAttendManagers
Burlington Indians8148.628–57,915Lloyd Brown
Keokuk Pirates7454.5786.538,931Charlie Hargreaves
Kewanee A's6860.53112.529,482Harold Hoffman
Cedar Rapids Rockets6367.48518.584,185Packy Rogers
Clinton Steers6165.48418.535,764Adolph Matulis / Joe Blake
Rockford Rox3891.29543.019,304Robert Dill / Fred Lietz

Playoffs: Cedar Rapids 3 games, Burlington 0; Kewanee 3 games, Keokuk 0.
Finals: Kewanee 4 games, Cedar Rapids 2.

Player Statistics
PlayerTeamStatTotPlayerTeamStatTot
Harry MinorKeokukBA.350Walter RushBurlingtonW16
John MillerKewaneeHits158John GraneyClintonSO164
George SopkoKeokukRuns120Harry PritzKeokukERA1.32
John TannerCedar RapidsRBI121
John TannerCedar RapidsHR37

[1] Cedar Rapids beat Burlington 3 games to none, and Kewanee beat Keokuk 3 games to none, in the first round of the playoffs. Kewanee defeated Cedar Rapids 4 games to 2 for the title.

References
  • Sumner, Benjamin Barrett. Minor League Baseball Standings:All North American Leagues, Through 1999. Jefferson, N.C.:McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0781-6
  1. "Central Association - BR Bullpen". www.baseball-reference.com.
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