The Kansas–Oklahoma–Missouri League (or KOM League) was a name of an American minor league baseball league which was established in 1946 and played through 1952. As the name indicates, the Class D level league had franchises based in

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

and

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

members

Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Commerce Comet" and "the Mick", was an American professional baseball player. Mantle played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...

played in the league for the 1949 Independence Yankees and

Burleigh Grimes Burleigh Arland Grimes (August 18, 1893 – December 6, 1985) was an American professional baseball player and manager, and the last pitcher officially permitted to throw the spitball. Grimes made the most of this advantage, as well as his unshav ...

managed the 1948 Independence Yankees.

History

The Kansas–Oklahoma–Missouri League was founded 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 ...

and ran from 1946 through 1952 as a Class D level league. Like many post-war minor leagues, it did not last a complete decade of play. During the seven year run of the league there were nine cities that represented the league. Four were from

, four from

and one from

. E.L. Dale served as the League president for its entire seven years of operation. The Ponca City Dodgers won three of the seven league titles, winning championships in 1948, 1950 and 1951. No other team won more than one championship. The total attendance of the KOM league, in the seven year period, reached slightly over two million fans. In 1948 the league had its best year, drawing 387,980, before the league permanently folded after the 1952 season. The Kansas–Oklahoma–Missouri League League had 1,588 total players, 30 made it to the majors and one made it to the Hall of Fame. In his first professional season,

played for the 1949 Independence Yankees, hitting .313 with 7 HR, 63 RBI. Just graduated from high school in Oklahoma, Mantle received a $1,100 signing bonus from the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

and a salary of $400 for the rest of the season.

Cities represented

* Bartlesville, OK: Bartlesville Oilers (1946–1947); Bartlesville Pirates (1948–1952) * Blackwell, OK: Blackwell Broncos (1952) *

Carthage, MO Carthage is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, United States. The population was 15,522 as of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Jasper County and is nicknamed "America's Maple Leaf City." History Jasper County was formed in 1841. ...

Carthage Cardinals Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

(1946–1948); Carthage Cubs (1949–1951) * Chanute, KS: Chanute Athletics (1946–1947, 1949–1950); Chanute Giants (1948) * Independence, KS: Independence Yankees (1947–1950); Independence Browns 1952 * Iola, KS: Iola Cubs (1946-1947);

Iola Indians Iola or IOLA may refer to: * ''Iola'', the ''nom de plume'' of African-American writer Ida B. Wells * ''Iola'' (steamboat 1885), a steamboat active on Puget Sound from 1885 to 1915 * Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts, a method of raising money fo ...

(1948–1952) *

Miami, OK Miami ( ) is a city in and county seat of Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States, founded in 1891. Lead and zinc mining were established by 1918, causing the area's economy to boom. This area was part of Indian Territory. Miami is the capital of ...

Miami Blues ''Miami Blues'' is a 1990 American neo-noir black comedy crime drama film directed by George Armitage, based on the novel of the same name by Charles Willeford. It stars Alec Baldwin, Fred Ward (who also served as an executive producer) and Jen ...

(1946); Miami Owls (1947-1949); Miami Eagles (1950–1952) *

Pittsburg, KS Pittsburg is a city in Crawford County, Kansas, Crawford County, Kansas, United States, located in southeast Kansas near the Missouri state border. It is the most populous city in Crawford County and southeast Kansas. As of the 2020 United St ...

: Pittsburg Browns (1946–1951); Pittsburg Pirates (1952) * Ponca City, OK: Ponca City Dodgers (1947–1952)

Standings & statistics

1946 to 1947

1946 Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League
schedule
br /> The League and all of its member teams were created. Teams were formed in

Bartlesville, Oklahoma Bartlesville is a city mostly in Washington County in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 37,290 at the 2020 census. Bartlesville is north of Tulsa and south of the Kansas border. It is the county seat of Washington County. The Can ...

Carthage, Missouri Carthage is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, United States. The population was 15,522 as of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Jasper County and is nicknamed "America's Maple Leaf City." History Jasper County was formed in 1841. ...

Chanute, Kansas Chanute () is a city in Neosho County, Kansas, United States. Founded on January 1, 1873, it was named after railroad engineer and aviation pioneer Octave Chanute. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,722. Chanute is home ...

Iola, Kansas Iola () is the county seat of Allen County, Kansas, United States. The city is situated along the Neosho River in southeast Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 5,396. It is named in honor of Iola Colborn. History ...

Miami, Oklahoma Miami ( ) is a city in and county seat of Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States, founded in 1891. Lead and zinc mining were established by 1918, causing the area's economy to boom. This area was part of Indian Territory. Miami is the capital of ...

, and

Pittsburg, Kansas Pittsburg is a city in Crawford County, Kansas, United States, located in southeast Kansas near the Missouri state border. It is the most populous city in Crawford County and southeast Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the ci ...

. Playoffs: Iola 3 games, Miami 2; Chanute 3 games, Pittsburg 2.
Finals: Iola 3 games, Chanute 3. Rest of playoffs called off due to rain and lack of available playing grounds. * Brooklyn assigned a few players to Miami that season but the team was actually run by Ted Vernon of Amarillo, Texas. When it was discovered that the Miami Baseball Club Inc. had turned the reigns of the operation of the club to Mr. Vernon, W. G. Bramham, the President of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, sent a very stern letter to the Miami baseball officials that the rules had been violated in this matter. The next year the Dodgers moved their franchise to Ponca City, Oklahoma and Mr. Vernon returned to Amarillo. Chanute beat Pittsburg by 3 games to 2 in the first round of the playoffs. Iola beat Miami by the same number. The championship series between Chanute and Iola ended tied at three games apiece, although Chanute won 4 games. A dispute arose between the Chanute and Iola club officials regarding Chanute selecting Dave Dennis from the Miami club for the playoffs. Although Iola owner Earl Sifers originally agreed to the arrangement he later changed his mind. By the time the dispute was settled it was too late in the fall, young men had to go back to school, the rodeo took over the ball park playing area and then the rains came. 1947 Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League
Teams from

Independence, Kansas Independence is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,548. It was named in commemoration of the Declaration of Independence. History Independence w ...

and

Ponca City, Oklahoma Ponca City ( iow, Chína Uhánⁿdhe) is a city in Kay County in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The city was named after the Ponca tribe. Ponca City had a population of 25,387 at the time of the 2010 census- and a population of 24,424 in the 2020 ...

joined. Playoffs: Miami 3 games, Bartlesville 1; Iola 3 games, Pittsburg 1.
Finals: Miami 4 games, Iola 1.

1948 to 1949

1948 Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League Playoffs: Pittsburg 3 games, Ponca City 2; Independence 3 games, Bartlesville 2.
Finals: Independence 4 games, Pittsburg 1. 1949 Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League
schedule
Playoffs: Independence 3 games, Ponca City 1; Iola 3 games, Bartlesville 1.
Finals: Independence 3 games, Iola 0.

1950 to 1952

1950 Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League Playoffs: Ponca City 3 games, Pittsburg 2; Bartlesville 3 games, Carthage 1.
Finals: Ponca City 3 games, Bartlesville 1. 1951 Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League
The teams in Chanute and Independence folded. Playoffs: Carthage 3 games, Ponca City 2; Miami 3 games, Bartletsville 1.
Finals: Carthage 3 games, Miami 0. 1952 Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League
The Carthage Cubs moved to

Blackwell, Oklahoma Blackwell is a city in Kay County, Oklahoma, United States, located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 177 and State Highway 11 along Interstate 35 (exit #222). The population was 7,092 at the 2010 census and 6,085 in the 2020 Census. Blackwe ...

. The Pittsburg Brownies moved to

. The Bartlesville Pirates moved to the now-vacant Pittsburg on July 7. Bartlesville moved to Pittsburg July 7.
Playoffs: Ponca City 1 game, Iola 0; Miami 1 game, Pittsburg 0;
Finals: Miami 2 games, Ponca City 0.

References

External links

*Sumner, Benjamin Barrett. ''Minor League Baseball Standings:All North American Leagues, Through 1999.'' Jefferson, N.C.:McFarland. *Hall, John G. "Majoring in the Minors--a glimpse of baseball in a small town. 1996 Oklahoma Bylines. . Reprinted 2000 by Inter-State Printing. Sedalia, Missouri. *Hall, John G. "The KOM League Remembered." Arcadia Publishing. Charleston SC, Chicago IL, Portsmouth NH, San Francisco. . *Hall, John G. "Mickey Mantle Before the Glory." Leathers Publishing, Leawood, Kansas 2006. .

External links

Baseball Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League Sports leagues established in 1946 Defunct minor baseball leagues in the United States Baseball leagues in Missouri Baseball in Oklahoma Baseball leagues in Kansas Sports leagues disestablished in 1952 Baseball leagues in Oklahoma