The Hutchinson Elks were a minor league baseball team based in

Hutchinson, Kansas Hutchinson is the largest city and county seat in Reno County, Kansas, United States, and located on the Arkansas River. It has been home to salt mines since 1887, thus its nickname of "Salt City", but locals call it "Hutch". As of the 2020 cen ...

. Between 1934 and 1954 the team played in the

Western Association The Western Association was the name of five different leagues formed in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries. The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Western ...

. The team first began in 1934 as the Hutchinson Larks. The following year the club came a minor league affiliate of the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

before spending the next 7 seasons affiliated with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. In 1939 the team's name changed to the Hutchinson Pirates. After

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 ...

, the club became and affiliate of the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

and became the Hutchinson Cubs, winning their first league title in 1946. On July 21, 1948, club then moved to

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

and became the

Springfield Cubs The Springfield Cubs, based in Springfield, Massachusetts, were a minor league baseball franchise that served as a farm team of the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball from 1948 to 1953. The team was a member of the Class B New England League ...

. The following year the Pirates reestablished a franchise in Hutchinson which existed until 1954.BR Minors
/ref> Under the Pirates, Hutchinson won two more league championships, in 1950 and 1953, both under manager Wes Griffin.

Season-by-season

References

Baseball teams established in 1934 Baseball teams disestablished in 1954 Defunct minor league baseball teams Professional baseball teams in Kansas Defunct baseball teams in Kansas Pittsburgh Pirates minor league affiliates Chicago Cubs minor league affiliates St. Louis Cardinals minor league affiliates 1954 disestablishments in Kansas 1934 establishments in Kansas Hutchinson, Kansas Defunct Western Association teams {{Kansas-baseball-team-stub