The Cheyenne Indians were a minor league baseball team based in

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistical ...

. The Cheyenne Indians played as members of the Class D level

Rocky Mountain League The Rocky Mountain League was a minor league baseball league that operated in 1912. The Class D level league featured teams based in Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming. The short–lived Rocky Mountain League folded during the 1912 season. Hist ...

in 1912 and Western League in 1941, hosting home games at Pioneer Park in both seasons of minor league play.

History

The Cheyenne "Indians" moniker was first used by early amateur and semi–professional teams in Cheyenne, along with other monikers such as the Bachelors, Benedicts, Black Stockings, Eclipse and Nonpareils. However, the Indians moniker would be used for decades by Cheyenne amateur and semi–professional teams. The first minor league Cheyenne Indians became members of the short–lived

in 1912. The Rocky Mountain League evolved from a semi–professional league and lasted only the 1912 season, permanently folding as a minor league on July 5, 1912. Playing in the four–team 1912 league, the

Pueblo, Colorado Pueblo () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Pueblo County, Colorado, Pueblo County, Colorado ...

franchise moved to

Trinidad, Colorado Trinidad is the home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Las Animas County, Colorado, United States. The population was 8,329 as of the 2020 census. Trinidad lies north of Raton, New Mexico, and s ...

on June 8, 1912. Trinidad subsequently moved to Cheyenne on June 28, 1912, becoming the Cheyenne Indians. The Pueblo/Trinidad/Cheyenne franchise was in 1st place with a 22–7 record, 2.5 games ahead of 2nd place

Raton, New Mexico Raton ( ) is a city and the county seat of Colfax County, New Mexico, Colfax County in northeastern New Mexico. The city is located just south of Raton Pass. The city is also located about 6.5 miles south of the New Mexico–Colorado border and 85 ...

when the league folded on July 5, 1912. The Pueblo/Trinidad/Cheyenne managers were John Galena and Ira Bidwell. After the Rocky Mountain League folded, the Cheyenne Indians continued unofficial play against teams from Fort D.A. Russell and Nebraska. The 1912 Indians played home games at Pioneer Park. In 1941, the Cheyenne Indians became members of the Western League, playing home games at Pioneer Park. The addition of Cheyenne and the

Denver Bears Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

allowed the league to expand from four–teams to six–teams in 1941. Cheyenne finished with a 59–44 record, placing 2nd in the Western League under Manager John Kerr. In the regular season standings, Cheyenne finished 2.0 games behind the 1st place

Norfolk Yankees The Norfolk Yankees were a Western League baseball team based in Norfolk, Nebraska, United States that played from 1940 to 1941. They were affiliated with the New York Yankees. Jim Dyck, who played Major League Baseball Major League Baseball ...

and ahead of the

Sioux City Cowboys The Sioux City Cowboys were a minor league baseball team that played in the Western League (1900–1958), Western League (1934–1937), Nebraska State League (1938) and another incarnation of the Western League (baseball, 1939-41), Western League (1 ...

(54–56),

Pueblo Rollers In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Tribe (Native American), Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorer ...

(52–54),

Sioux Falls Canaries The Sioux Falls Canaries are a professional baseball team based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. The Canaries are members of the North Division of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major L ...

(51–56) and

(42–68). In the 1941 Western League Playoffs, the Pueblo Rollers defeated Cheyenne 3 games to 2. The Western League ceased play after the 1941 season due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. When the Western League reformed in 1947, Cheyenne did not field a franchise. The 1941 Indians were the last minor league team in Cheyenne.

The ballpark

The Cheyenne Indians played minor league home games at Pioneer Park in both seasons. Originally built in 1896 with rodeo stands, Pioneer Park had a capacity of 2,000. The 1941 Cheyenne Indians season tickets cost $20 and single game tickets were 40 cents, with single game tickets for soldiers costing 25 cents. Pioneer Park is still in use as a ballpark today. The Pioneer Park location is 1331 Talbot Court, Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Timeline

Year-by-year records

Notable alumni

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block ch ...

(1941) * John Kerr (1941, MGR) *

George Milstead George Earl Milstead (June 26, 1903 – August 9, 1977) was a professional baseball pitcher. A left-hander, he played three seasons in Major League Baseball from 1924 to 1926 with the Chicago Cubs of the National League. He pitched in 36 games du ...

(1941)

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Baseball Reference
Defunct minor league baseball teams Sports in Cheyenne, Wyoming Professional baseball teams in Wyoming Baseball teams established in 1941 Baseball teams disestablished in 1941 Defunct baseball teams in Wyoming Defunct Western League teams Baseball teams established in 1912 Baseball teams disestablished in 1912 1912 establishments in Wyoming 1912 disestablishments in Wyoming 1941 establishments in Wyoming 1941 disestablishments in Wyoming Rocky Mountain League teams