The Lincoln Links were an American minor league baseball franchise that represented

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

, 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 Class D

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 ...

(1922–23; 1928–36; 1938) and the Class D Western League of 1939–41 (1939). Lincoln was first represented in

organized baseball The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive officer of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the associated Minor League Baseball (MiLB) – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as "organized baseball". Under the direction of the Commiss ...

in 1886 as the ''Tree Planters'' in the reorganized original Western League. Lincoln's 19th-century teams played in various leagues between 1886 and 1895. In 1906, Lincoln joined the Class A Western League as the ''Ducklings'' (1906), ''Treeplanters'' (1907), ''Railsplitters'' (1908–13) and ''Tigers'' (1914–16).BR Minors
/ref> During this time, team nicknames were often unofficially assigned by sportswriters, and ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball'', published by

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

in 2007, lists other nicknames for the Lincoln franchise of the time, including ''Greenbackers'' and ''Antelopes.'' Adopted in 1917, ''Links'' was the most widely used of the several nicknames associated with Lincoln teams during the 20th century. They played home games at Antelope Park (through 1917) and Landis Field (after 1922)Nebraska Baseball History web site
/ref> and won Nebraska State League championships in 1923 (under

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

O.A. Beltzer), and 1934 (under Cy Lingle and Pug Griffin). Upon the introduction of the

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

, the Links were linked with

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

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 ...

(1933–34),

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

(1936, as the ''Red Links''), and

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

(1938–39).

After World War II: A new league, team, name and ballpark

The Class A Western League had folded during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

in 1937, but with the boom in baseball attendance following World War II, it was revived in 1947 by

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Edwin C. Johnson Edwin Carl Johnson (January 1, 1884 – May 30, 1970) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as both governor of and U.S. senator from the state of Colorado. Background Johnson was born in Scandia in Republic County in ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. Lincoln was one of six cities represented in the 1947 Western League as the ''A's'', reflecting its affiliation with the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

. The Lincoln A's moved into a new ballpark, Sherman Field, named for franchise owner

Charles "Cy" Sherman Charles Sumner "Cy" Sherman (March 10, 1871 – May 22, 1951) was an American journalist and is known as the "father of the Cornhuskers" after giving the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team the name "Cornhuskers" in 1899. At his suggestion in 1 ...

,Cy Sherman Dies; Dean of American Sports Writers, The Lincoln Star (Lincoln, Nebraska) May 23, 1951, page 1 and 2, accessed October 17, 2016 at https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7061146// and https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7061235// and played for six seasons (1947–52), making the playoffs twice.

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 ...

second baseman

Nellie Fox Jacob Nelson “Nellie” Fox (December 25, 1927 – December 1, 1975) was an American professional baseball player. Fox was one of the best second basemen of all time, and the third-most difficult hitter to strike out in Major League Baseball (M ...

batted .311 for the 1948 Lincoln A's in his last season as a minor leaguer. However, in 1953 the Athletics abandoned Lincoln and were replaced by the

Milwaukee Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bost ...

, who fielded a club identified by its final nickname, the ''Lincoln Chiefs.'' The Chiefs struggled on the field for their first three seasons, but in 1956, in the team's second year as an affiliate of 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 ...

, they won the Western League's first half and playoff championships. The 1956 Chiefs, managed by

Larry Shepard Lawrence William Shepard (April 3, 1919April 5, 2011) was an Americans, American professional baseball Baseball#Players, player, Manager (baseball), manager, and Coach (baseball)#Pitching and bullpen coaches, pitching coach. He managed the Pittsb ...

, were paced by two standout performances.

First baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Dick Stuart Richard Lee Stuart (November 7, 1932 – December 15, 2002), nicknamed "Dr. Strangeglove", was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman from 1958 to 1966 then, played in the Nippon Prof ...

clubbed 66

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

— still the fourth-most in minor league history — and also led the league with 158

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

Pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Bennie Daniels Bennie Daniels Jr. (born June 17, 1932), is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (–) and Washington Senators (–). During his playing days, Daniels stood , wei ...

, meanwhile, compiled a 15–3

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

. The 1957 Chiefs repeated as Western League champions, edging out the

Amarillo Gold Sox The Amarillo Gold Sox was the name of an American minor league baseball franchise that represented the city of Amarillo, Texas, in the Class D West Texas–New Mexico League, the Class A Western League and the Double-A Texas League at various t ...

by a single game. But the Western League was in its twilight years; plagued by declining attendance and the defection of teams such as the

Omaha Cardinals The Omaha Cardinals were a minor league baseball team based in Omaha, Nebraska, from 1947 through 1959. They played in the Class A Western League through 1954 and in the Triple-A American Association from 1955 to 1959 as an affiliate of their m ...

and

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 ...

to higher-level circuits, it folded after the 1958 campaign, one in which the Chiefs placed third in the league and in home attendance.

A Nebraska team in the Three-I League

The Chiefs played for three more seasons in organized baseball as a member of the Class B

Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League The Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League was a Minor League Baseball organization that operated for the better part of 60 seasons, with teams based in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin. The league began pla ...

and an affiliate of the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

. But the Three-I League was also suffering from the woes that plagued the Western circuit, and it disbanded after the 1961 season. Lincoln would be without professional baseball until the advent of the independent league

Lincoln Saltdogs The Lincoln Saltdogs are a professional baseball team based in Lincoln, Nebraska, in the United States. The Saltdogs are in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. Since the 2001 sea ...

in 2001.

Notable alumni of the Lincoln A's and Chiefs (1947–61)

Hall of Fame alumni *

Inducted, 1997 Notable alumni *

Don Buford Donald Alvin Buford (born February 2, 1937) is an American former professional baseball player scout, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from through , most notably as the leadoff hitter for the Baltimore Oriol ...

Joe Christopher Joseph O'Neal Christopher (born December 13, 1935) is a former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from through . Listed at 5' 10", 175 lbs., he batted and threw right-handed. Christopher reached the big ...

Jim Duffalo James Francis Duffalo (born November 25, 1935) is a former American professional baseball player. A right-handed relief pitcher, Duffalo played all or part of five seasons (1961–65) in Major League Baseball, and 18 years in organized baseball as ...

Joe Gibbon Joseph Charles Gibbon (April 10, 1935 – February 20, 2019) was an American professional baseball player. A left-handed pitcher, he spent all or parts of 13 seasons (1960–72) in Major League Baseball as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Sa ...

* Dick Hall *

Ken Hamlin Ken Hamlin (born January 20, 1981) is a former American football safety in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the 2003 NFL Draft and also played for the Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens an ...

Mike Hershberger Norman Michael Hershberger (October 9, 1939 – July 1, 2012) was an American professional baseball player and outfielder for the Chicago White Sox (1961–1964, 1971), Kansas City / Oakland Athletics (1965–1969) and Milwaukee Brewers (1970) d ...

Joe Hoerner Joseph Walter Hoerner (November 12, 1936 – October 4, 1996) was an American professional baseball relief pitcher, who played 14 years in Major League Baseball (MLB), for seven different teams. A native of Dubuque, Iowa he grew up in nearby Key ...

Joe Horlen Joel Edward Horlen (August 14, 1937 – April 10, 2022) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1961 to 1972 for the Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics. In references, he is called Joe Ho ...

Al Jackson Alvin Neill Jackson (December 26, 1935 – August 19, 2019), affectionately referred to as "Little" Al Jackson, was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1959 to 1969. His 43 wins with the New York Mets were the franchi ...

Julián Javier Manuel Julián (Liranzo) Javier (born August 9, 1936), better known as Julián Javier oo-lee-AN hah-vee-ER is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. Called ''Hoolie'' by his teammates, he was also nicknamed "The Phantom" by Tim McCarver ...

Jack Lamabe John Alexander Lamabe (October 3, 1936 – December 21, 2007) was an American professional baseball right-handed pitcher. He was a member of the 1967 World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals. Following his playing career, Lamabe became a min ...

Bob Locker Robert Awtry Locker (March 15, 1938 – August 15, 2022) was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1965 to 1975 for five different teams. The sinker-balling Locker never made a start in his big-league career. ...

Jerry McNertney Gerald Edward McNertney (born August 7, 1936) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher in 1964 and then from 1966 to 1973. Career Born in Boone, Iowa, McNertney signed with th ...

Dan Osinski Daniel Osinski (November 17, 1933 – September 13, 2013), nicknamed "The Silencer", was an American Major League Baseball relief pitcher. The , right-hander was signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent before the 1952 season. H ...

Arnie Portocarrero Arnold Mario Portocarrero (July 5, 1931 – June 21, 1986) was an American professional baseball player and right-handed pitcher who appeared in 166 games pitched in the major leagues over all or parts of seven seasons for the Philadelphia / Kan ...

Bobby Shantz Robert Clayton Shantz (born September 26, 1925) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from through , and won the 1952 American League Most Valuable Player Award as a ...

Al Weis Albert John Weis (born April 2, 1938) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an infielder from 1962 to 1971 for the Chicago White Sox and the New York Mets. A light-hitting batter with only seven ...

Dave Wickersham David Clifford Wickersham (September 27, 1935 – June 18, 2022) was an American baseball pitcher who played ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Kansas City Athletics, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Ka ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lincoln Links Chicago White Sox minor league affiliates Cincinnati Reds minor league affiliates Defunct minor league baseball teams Milwaukee Braves minor league affiliates Philadelphia Athletics minor league affiliates Pittsburgh Pirates minor league affiliates Defunct baseball teams in Nebraska St. Louis Browns minor league affiliates St. Louis Cardinals minor league affiliates Baseball teams established in 1906 Baseball teams disestablished in 1961 1961 disestablishments in Nebraska Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League teams 1906 establishments in Nebraska Sports in Lincoln, Nebraska Defunct Western League teams Nebraska State League teams