The Leavenworth Soldiers was the first professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

team from Leavenworth, Kansas. The club played in the Western League from 1886 to 1888. Their first year, they tied the Lincoln Tree Planters for last place at 31-49 despite the presence of

Jake Beckley Jacob Peter Beckley (August 4, 1867 – June 25, 1918), nicknamed "Eagle Eye", was an American professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Alleghenys, Pittsburgh Burghers, Pittsburgh Pirates, New Y ...

, who hit .341 and led the Western League with 113 hits while showing some pop. In 1887, the Soldiers were 27-27 when they disbanded on July 8 due to poor attendance. Beckley had another fine year, hitting .401 with 33 doubles between Leavenworth and Lincoln. In 1888, Leavenworth returned to the loop and went 7-7 under L. M. Cretors. They were in second place when the league stopped operations on June 21. A J. Curran was leading the club in batting average at .300.

References

Defunct minor league baseball teams Defunct baseball teams in Kansas Professional baseball teams in Kansas Baseball teams disestablished in 1888 Baseball teams established in 1886 {{Kansas-baseball-team-stub