The Iola Gasbags were a minor league baseball team based in Iola, Kansas. Between 1902 and 1906, Iola teams played as a member of the Missouri Valley League from 1902 to 1904 and the 1906 Kansas State League. The Iola Gasbags won the 1904 Missouri State League championship, before adopting the Iola "Grays" nickname for the 1906 Kansas State League season. The Iola teams hosted home minor league games at Riverside Park.

History

In 1901, the independent Missouri Valley League was formed an eight-team league without an Iola franchise. In 1902, the Iola "Gasbags" began play in the Class D level Missouri Valley League. The

Fort Scott Giants The Fort Scott Giants were a minor league baseball team based in Fort Scott, Kansas. From 1901 to 1905, Fort Scott teams played as a member of the Missouri Valley League, before joining the 1906 Kansas State League. The 1901 team was known as the F ...

Nevada Lunatics The Nevada Lunatics were a minor league baseball team based in Nevada, Missouri in 1901 and 1902. Preceded by the 1901 Nevada Reds, Nevada played exclusively as members of the Missouri Valley League, winning the 1902 championship. Nevada teams ...

and Joplin Miners teams continued league play from the previous season. The Iola Gasbags,

Coffeyville Indians Coffeyville is a city in southeastern Montgomery County, Kansas, United States, located along the Verdigris River in the state's southeastern region. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,826. Coffeyville is the most popu ...

, Jefferson City Convicts,

Sedalia Gold Bugs The Sedalia Goldbugs were a minor league baseball team based in Sedalia, Missouri. Between 1904 and 1911, Sedalia teams played as a member of the Missouri Valley League (1902–1904), Western Association (1905) and Missouri State League (1911), w ...

and

Springfield Reds Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

teams all joined as new members, with the league beginning play on May 6, 1902. The Iola "Gasbags" team nickname corresponds to the local oil and gas industry. In 1895, natural gas pools were discovered in the Iola area, increasing the population from 1,500 to over 11,000 in nine years, before the natural gas reserves waned. Today, Iola remains home to oil and gas exploration and industry production. The Gasbags finished a distant last in the final standings after their first season of play in the Missouri Valley League. The league held no playoffs. With a record of 34-90, playing the season under managers Harry Rand, Jimmie Driscoll and Harry Meek, Iola finished 54.0 games behind the first place Nevada Lunatics in the final standings. In 1903, Iola continued Missouri Valley League play and were known under the slightly altered "Gaslighters" nickname for one season. The same eight teams remained in the league from the previous season, beginning league play on May 15, 1903. The Iola Gaslighters placed third in the 1903 Missouri Valley League standings. The Coal Diggers ended the 1903 season with a record of 79–52 as A.H. Harris served as manager. After Nevada and Leavenworth folded during the season, Iola placed third of the six remaining teams, ending the season 6.0 games behind the 1st place Sedalia Goldbugs, who finished with a record of 86–47. The Iola "Gasbags" played a final Missouri Valley League season in 1904, winning the league championship as the league became a Class C level League with eight teams. Iola ended the season with a record of 83–41, placing first in the standings, with manager Dud Risley leading the team to the championship. Iola finished 5.5 games ahead of the second place

Springfield Midgets The Springfield Midgets were a minor league baseball team that played from 1903 to 1904 in the Missouri Valley League and from 1906 to 1909 and 1921 to 1930 in the Western Association. Based in Springfield, Missouri, they were affiliated with the St ...

. Despite winning the championship the previous season, the Iola franchise did not return to the 1905 Missouri Valley League. The league reformed, as only the Pittsburg and Fort Scott franchises were retained in the league. The Missouri Valley League then permanently folded after completing the 1905 season. After the Missouri Valley League folded following the 1905 season, Iola joined the Class D level Kansas State League in 1906, with the franchise relocating during the season. The Iola "Grays" joined the Bartlesville Indians,

Chanute Browns There have been five Minor leagues teams that have represented the city of Chanute, Kansas. Since classification of the minors began, all of them have been labeled as class D loops. Chanute Oilers The Chanute Oilers became a member of the Missouri ...

Coffeyville Bricks Coffeyville is a city in southeastern Montgomery County, Kansas, United States, located along the Verdigris River in the state's southeastern region. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,826. Coffeyville is the most popu ...

, Fort Scott Giants,

Independence Coyotes The 1906 Independence Coyotes went 69-48 and won the Kansas State League championship. Ben Haas hit .341 to lead the league, while pitcher Chick Brandom paced the circuit with 16 wins and 121 strikeouts. The league folded after the season, and the ...

Parsons Preachers The Parsons Preachers were a minor league baseball team based in Parsons, Kansas that played in the Class-C Missouri Valley League in 1905, the Class-D Kansas State League in 1906 and the Class-D Oklahoma–Arkansas–Kansas League in 1907. They w ...

and

Pittsburg Champs Pittsburg may refer to: Places United States Cities, towns, townships and counties *Pittsburg, California *Pittsburg, Florida *Pittsburg, Kansas, Crawford County *Pittsburg, New Hampshire *Pittsburg, Oklahoma *Pittsburg, Texas *Pittsburg County ...

in beginning league play on May 3, 1906. On June 15, 1906, the Iola Grays moved to Cherryvale, Kansas to become the

Cherryvale Boosters The Cherryvale Boosters were a minor league baseball team based in Cherryvale, Kansas. In 1906, the Boosters played a partial season as members of the Class D level Kansas State League, finishing in second place. The Iola Grays franchise moved t ...

, with the team ending the Kansas League season in second place. The Iola/Cherryvale team of the Kansas State League ended their 1906 season with a record of 62–50, as Dan Durand, Fred Hobart and Billy Burns served as managers covering in both locations. The Kansas State League did not return to play in 1907. Iola next hosted the 1908

Iola Champs The Iola Champs were a minor league baseball team that played in the Oklahoma–Kansas League in 1908. They were the first professional team to be based in Iola, Kansas since 1906 and the last until 1946, when the Iola Cubs The Iola Cubs was the f ...

, who played the season as members of the Oklahoma-Kansas League .

The ballpark

The Iola teams hosted minor league home games at Riverside Municipal Ballpark, which lies within Riverside Park. The current ballpark was a Works Project Administration project after longtime use at the site. The ballpark and adjacent park grounds are still in use today. The ballpark with a track and stands is utilized by Iola's USD 257 school district sports teams. The park is located at 418 Park Avenue and South State Street in Iola.

Timeline

Year–by–year records

Notable alumni

George Gillpatrick George Fred Gillpatrick (February 28, 1875 – December 14, 1941) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Browns (NL), St. Louis Browns of the National League (baseball), National League during the season. Listed at , ...

(1902) * Roy Hartzell (1902) *

Gus Hetling August Julius "Gus" Hetling (November 21, 1885 – October 13, 1962) was a professional baseball player from 1904 to 1917. He appeared in two games for the Detroit Tigers in October 1906 and played 14 years of minor league baseball, including t ...

(1903) *

Jack Killilay John William Killilay (May 24, 1887 – October 21, 1968) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox during the season. Listed at , 165 lb., Killilay batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Leavenworth, Ka ...

(1906) *

Larry Milton Samuel Lawrence Milton (May 4, 1879 – May 15, 1942), nicknamed "Tug", was a professional baseball player who played pitcher in the Major Leagues in 1903 for the St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseba ...

(1904)

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Iola - Baseball Reference
Defunct minor league baseball teams Defunct baseball teams in Kansas Defunct Missouri Valley League teams Baseball teams established in 1902 Baseball teams disestablished in 1904 Allen County, Kansas