The Beatrice Blues was the final and primary name of the minor league baseball teams located in

Beatrice, Nebraska Beatrice () is a city in and the county seat of Gage County, Nebraska, United States. Its population was 12,459 at the 2010 census. Beatrice is located approximately 25 miles south of Lincoln on the Big Blue River and is surrounded by agricultu ...

. Beatrice teams played as members of the

Nebraska State League The Nebraska State League (NSL) was an American professional minor league baseball league with five incarnations between 1892 and 1959. The Nebraska State League formed five times: in 1892, from 1910 to 1915, from 1922 to 1923, from 1928 to 1938 a ...

in 1892, from 1913 to 1915, 1922 to 1923, 1928, 1932 to 1938, the Missouri-Iowa-Nebraska-Kansas League in 1912 and the Tri-State League in 1924. They were affiliated with the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

from 1936 to 1938.

About

The Beatrice Blues played at the High School Athletic Park. The field acquired lights in the early 1930s. The field still exists as the local high school football stadium. Prior to the Blues, Beatrice was represented in the

in 1892. In partnership with neighboring Fairbury, Nebraska, the Beatrice-Fairbury Milkskimmers played as members in the Missouri-Iowa-Nebraska-Kansas League (MINK) in 1912. The Beatrice Milkskimmers played in the

from 1913 until the league disbanded in 1915.

1922–1923 Nebraska State League

In 1922

was represented in the short-lived

by the Blues. The league had a split season. The Blue's were 25–28 in the first half and 31–32 in the second half and wound up in 4th place. Ralph Kirchner managed the team until July and Ducky Holmes replaced him for the remainder of the season. The 1923 team wound up in 5th place.

1924 Tri-State League

In 1924 the

Lincoln Links The Lincoln Links were an American minor league baseball franchise that represented Lincoln, Nebraska, for 18 seasons over a 23-year period (1917–39) during the 20th century. They played in the Class A Western League (1917; 1924–27), the Cla ...

returned to the Western League. The remaining

teams and some of the teams from the collapsed South Dakota League formed the Tri-State League. The Blues were in first place when the league disbanded on July 17.

1928, 1932–1938 Nebraska State League

In 1928 the

was restarted with eight teams. The 1928 Blue's were led by Jack Ellison. He was named to the All Star team and the Pinconning MI native had a 15–8 record.

Spud Owen Harold Pryor "Spud" Owen (March 10, 1905 – February 8, 1981) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Culver–Stockton College in Canton, Missouri from 1948 to 1951, Eureka Co ...

averaged .343 and was also named to the All Star team. In 1929 the

Norton Jayhawks The Norton Jayhawks were a minor league baseball team based in Norton, Kansas. The "Jayhawks" played in the 1929 and 1930 seasons as members of the Class D level Nebraska State League and were the first and only minor league team based in Norto ...

took over the franchise. When the

York Dukes The York Dukes were a minor league baseball team based in York, Nebraska. Between 1911 and 1931, York teams played exclusively as members of the Class D level Nebraska State League. The York Prohibitionists preceded the Dukes, playing in the Neb ...

dropped out of the

after the 1931 season Beatrice reentered the league and remained through the 1938 season. The 1932 Blues were led by Mike Pociask and

Cotton Pippen Henry Harold "Cotton" Pippen (April 2, 1911 – February 15, 1981) was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher for three years with St. Louis Cardinals (1936), Philadelphia Athletics (1939), and Detroit Tigers (1939–1940). Pippen was b ...

. During the playoffs, Cotton pitched the third game of the series and won 5–3. He came back in the sixth game of the series and pitched a 2-hitter as Beatrice won 9–0. The next day he pitched the seventh game of the series. There were 3,000 fans in the Beatrice stands. Cotton went 2 for 3 at the plate and won 4–3. He did not give up an earned run in four playoff appearances. 1933 was a near repeat of the previous year. Led by pitcher Mike Pociask they once again wound up in second place. Cotton won one of the playoff games and hit two home runs during the game. Beatrice won the playoffs 5 games to 4. 1934 and 1935 were cellar years for the team. In 1936 the team secured a working agreement with the

. They were in 4th place in 1936, third in 1937 and again in third in 1938.

Year-by-year record

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" , - ! Year !! Record !! Finish !! Manager !! Playoffs , - , 1922 , , 53–63 , , 4th , , Ralph Kirchner / Ducky Holmes , , , - , 1923 , , 64–68 , , 5th , ,

Ed Willett Robert Edgar Willett (March 7, 1884 – May 10, 1934), sometimes known by the nickname "Farmer", was a right-handed American baseball pitcher. He played professional baseball for 17 years from 1905 to 1921, including ten seasons in Major League Ba ...

Matty McGrath Matty may refer to: * Matty (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the nickname, given name or surname * Matty, Hungary, a village in Baranya County * Matty Island, a Canadian arctic island * Former name of Wuvulu Island * Matty, ni ...

, , , - , 1924 , , 35–30 , , 1st , ,

Ed Reichle Ed, ed or ED may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ed'' (film), a 1996 film starring Matt LeBlanc * Ed (''Fullmetal Alchemist'') or Edward Elric, a character in ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' media * ''Ed'' (TV series), a TV series that ran fro ...

, , League Disbanded July 17 , - , 1928 , , 64–56 , , 3rd , ,

Hal Brokow HAL may refer to: Aviation * Halali Airport (IATA airport code: HAL) Halali, Oshikoto, Namibia * Hawaiian Airlines (ICAO airline code: HAL) * HAL Airport, Bangalore, India * Hindustan Aeronautics Limited an Indian aerospace manufacturer of fight ...

, , , - , 1932 , , 59–46 , , 2nd , ,

Sonny Brookhaus Sonny is a common nickname and occasional given name. Often it can be a derivative of the English word "Son", a name derived from the Ancient Germanic element *sunn meaning "sun", a nickname derived from the Italian name Salvatore (especially in N ...

, , Won Playoffs , - , 1933 , , 60–46 , , 2nd , ,

, , Won Playoffs , - , 1934 , , 38–67 , , 4th , ,

, , , - , 1935 , , 42–69 , , 4th , ,

Charlie Stis Charlie may refer to: Characters * "Charlie," the head of the Townsend Agency', from the ''Charlie's Angels'' franchise * Charlie, a character on signs for the CharlieCard, a smart card issued by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority * ...

Bennie Warren Bernie Louis Warren (March 2, 1912, – May 11, 1994) was a Major League Baseball player. Warren played for the Philadelphia Phillies from to and the New York Giants in and . Warren served in the United States Navy during World War II from Ja ...

, , , - , 1936 , , 56–65 , , 4th , ,

, , Lost 1st Round , - , 1937 , , 54–61 , , 3rd , ,

Lee Riley Leon Francis Riley Jr. (August 24, 1932 – June 9, 2011), best known as Lee Riley, was an American college and professional American football defensive back. He played collegiately at the University of Detroit Mercy, in the NFL for the Detr ...

, , , - , 1938 , , 62–54 , , 3rd , ,

, , , -

References

Nebraska Baseball HistoryBaseball Reference: Beatrice, Nebraska teams
* This article is based on th
"Beatrice Blues"
article at Baseball-Reference.com Bullpen. The Bullpen is a wiki, and its content is available under the

GNU Free Documentation License The GNU Free Documentation License (GNU FDL or simply GFDL) is a copyleft license for free documentation, designed by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) for the GNU Project. It is similar to the GNU General Public License, giving readers the r ...

. Defunct minor league baseball teams Brooklyn Dodgers minor league affiliates Defunct baseball teams in Nebraska 1922 establishments in Nebraska 1938 disestablishments in Nebraska Defunct Tri-State League teams Nebraska State League teams Missouri-Iowa-Nebraska-Kansas League (minor league) teams