The Auburn Athletics were a minor league baseball franchise based in

Auburn, Nebraska Auburn is a city in Nemaha County, Nebraska, United States, and its county seat. The population was 3,470 at the 2020 census. History Auburn is an incorporation of two towns. Calvert and Sheridan combined to form Auburn in 1882, in part to hav ...

. From 1910 to 1913, the "Athletics" or interchangeable "A's" played as members of the Class D level

Missouri-Iowa-Nebraska-Kansas League The Missouri–Iowa–Nebraska–Kansas League, known informally as 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 t ...

for the duration of the league, winning the 1913 league championship.

History

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

, which was known informally as the "MINK League". Auburn was joined in the 1910 MINK League by the

Clarinda Antelopes The Clarinda Antelopes were a minor league baseball team based in Clarinda, Iowa. Clarinda played as members of the Class D (baseball), Class D level Southwest Iowa League in 1903 and the Missouri-Iowa-Nebraska-Kansas League in 1910 and 1911, hosti ...

, Falls City Colts, Maryville Comets, Nebraska City Forresters and

Shenandoah Pin Rollers The Shenandoah Pin Rollers were a minor league baseball team based in Shenandoah, Iowa. Shenandoah first played as members of the Class D level 1903 Southwest Iowa League, winning the league championship in a shortened season. The Pin Rollers pl ...

teams as charter members. In their first season, 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 the other Nebraska-based teams were affected by

Sunday laws Sunday is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. In most Western countries, Sunday is a day of rest and a part of the weekend. It is often considered the first day of the week. For most observant adherents of Christianity, Sunday ...

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 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 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, 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 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 ballpark

The Auburn Athletics reportedly played home minor league games at the Legion Memorial Park in Auburn. The exact name of 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 National Historic Site (NHS) is a designation for an officially recognized area of national historic significance in the United States. An NHS usually contains a single historical feature directly associated with its subject. The National Historic ...

site (one of six in the state of Nebraska). The park is located at 1015 J Street Auburn, Nebraska.

Timeline

Year–by–year records

Notable alumni

Charlie Wheatley Charles D. Wheatley (June 27, 1893 – December 10, 1982) was an American professional baseball pitcher and businessman. He played for the Detroit Tigers of the American League in 1912. Wheatley played baseball as a semi-professional and in the ...

(1911)

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Auburn - Baseball Reference
Defunct minor league baseball teams Professional baseball teams in Nebraska Defunct baseball teams in Nebraska Baseball teams established in 1910 Baseball teams disestablished in 1913 1910 establishments in Nebraska Missouri-Iowa-Nebraska-Kansas League (minor league) teams Nemaha County, Nebraska