The Mississippi–Ohio Valley League was a Class-D American minor league baseball league. Evolving from the renamed

Illinois State League The Illinois State League (ISL) was a baseball minor league formed in 1947. The Illinois State League operated in 1947–1948 and evolved to become today's Midwest League. The Class D league was composed entirely of new franchises, each located i ...

(1947-1948), the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League operated for seven seasons, from 1949 through 1955. In 1956 the league was renamed the Midwest League, which still exists today.

History

In 1947, the

was formed. Charter franchises were in the Illinois cities of Belleville, Centralia, Marion, Mattoon, Mount Vernon and West Frankfort. After the 1948 season, the

Marion Indians The Marion Indians were a minor league baseball team based in Marion, Illinois. In 1947 and 1948, the Indians were charter members of the Class D level Illinois State League, which evolved into today's Midwest League. Hosting home games at Mario ...

moved out of Illinois to Kentucky. This necessitated a name change for the league. The league changed names in 1949 to the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League. The league incorporated the new

Paducah Chiefs The Paducah Chiefs are a collegiate summer baseball team in Paducah, Kentucky. They are a member of the Ohio Valley League. The Chiefs has been the primary nickname for various Paducah teams, who began play in 1897. Early incarnations of the Padu ...

and the five former Illinois State League teams, the Belleville Stags,

Centralia Cubs The Centralia Cubs, based in Centralia, Illinois, US, were one namesake of the Centralia franchise that played in the Illinois State League (1947–1948) and Mississippi–Ohio Valley League (1949–1952), the two leagues that were the direct pred ...

Mattoon Indians Mattoon may refer to: Places *Mattoon, Illinois Mattoon ( ) is a city in Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 16,870 as of the 2020 census. The city is home to Lake Land College and has close ties with its neighbor, Charlest ...

, Mount Vernon Kings, and West Frankfort Cardinals as 1949 charter members. In 1950, a

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

franchise left the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League, the join the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League. The Mississippi–Ohio Valley League added expansion teams in the Paris Lakers and

Vincennes Velvets The Vincennes Velvets was the final moniker of the minor league baseball teams based in Vincennes, Indiana, United States. From 1950 to 1952, Vincennes played as members of the Class D level Mississippi–Ohio Valley League, which evolved to beco ...

. The Belleville franchise folded. There was more movement in 1951, as the Springfield Giants and West Frankfort Cardinals both folded and the

left to join the

Kentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League The Kentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League (or ''KITTY League'') was a Class D level minor league baseball circuit that went through six different periods of play between 1903 and 1955. The League hosted teams in 29 cities from the states of Il ...

. The league played 1951 with six teams, as Danville Dans joined from the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League. In 1952, the league again expanded to eight teams, adding the Commodores in

Decatur, Illinois Decatur ( ) is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois, with a population of 70,522 as of the 2020 Census. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Ce ...

and Cardinals in Hannibal, Missouri, while Vincennes relocated to

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio. It is located approximately south of Cleveland and south of Akron in Northeast Ohio. The city lies on the edge of Ohio's extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes and ...

. In 1953, the Canton and Centralia franchises both folded and the league returned to six teams. There was expansion again in 1954, as two Iowa teams, the

Clinton Pirates Clinton is an England, English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton, Cambridgeshire, Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton ha ...

and Dubuque Packers returned the league to eight members. In the final season of the league, the Danville Dans moved to

Kokomo, Indiana Kokomo ( ) is a city in Indiana and the county seat of Howard County, Indiana, United States. It is the principal city of the Kokomo, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Howard County, the Kokomo-Peru CSA, which includ ...

and became the

Kokomo Giants Kokomo may refer to: Animals * Kokomo (gorilla), a western lowland gorilla at the San Diego Zoo * Kokomo Jr., a name given to two performing chimpanzees in the 1950s and 1960s Music Songs * "Kokomo Blues", by Scrapper Blackwell (1928) * "K ...

and Mount Vernon moved to Lafayette, Indiana as the Lafayette Red Sox. Following the 1955 season, Hannibal moved to become the Michigan City White Caps, joining Kokomo, Lafayette, Clinton, Dubuque, Decatur, Mattoon and Paris in the renamed Midwest League. The Midwest League still exists today, with 16 teams.

Cities represented

* Belleville, IL: Belleville Stags 1949, moved from

1947–1948 * Canton, IL:

Canton Citizens The Canton Citizens were a minor league baseball team based in Canton, Illinois, United States. In 1952, the franchise was relocated from Vincennes, Indiana, during the season. The Canton Citizens played as members of the Class D level Mississi ...

1952 *

Centralia, IL Centralia is a city in Clinton, Jefferson, Marion, and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Illinois with the largest portion in Marion County. The city is the largest in three of the counties; Clinton, Marion, and Washington, but is not a cou ...

1949, moved from

1947–1948;

Centralia Sterlings The Centralia Sterlings were a Mississippi–Ohio Valley League baseball team based in Centralia, Illinois Centralia is a city in Clinton, Jefferson, Marion, and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Illinois with the largest portion in Mario ...

1950; Centralia Zeros 1951–1952 *

Clinton, IA Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 24,469 as of 2020. Clinton, along with DeWitt (also located in Clinton County), was named in honor of the sixth governor of New York, DeWitt Clin ...

1954–1955, moved to Midwest League 1956–1959 * Danville, IL: Danville Dans 1951–1954 * Decatur, IL: Decatur Commies 1952–1955, moved to Midwest League 1956–1974 * Dubuque, IA: Dubuque Packers 1954–1955, moved to Midwest League 1956–1967 * Hannibal, MO:

Hannibal Stags Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

1952; Hannibal Cardinals 1953–1954;

Hannibal Citizens Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Pu ...

1955 * Kokomo, IN:

1955 *

Lafayette, IN Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whic ...

Lafayette Chiefs Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

1955 * Mattoon, IL:

1949–1954, moved from

1947–1948; Mattoon Phillies 1955, moved to Midwest League 1956 *

Mount Vernon, IL Mount Vernon is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 14,600 at the 2020 census. Mount Vernon is the principal city of the Mount Vernon Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all ...

: Mount Vernon Kings 1949–1954 * Paducah, KY:

1949–1950, moved to

Kitty League Kitty or Kittie may refer to: Animals * Cat, a small, domesticated carnivorous mammal ** Kitten, a young cat Film * Kitty Films, an anime production company in Japan * ''Kitty'' (1929 film), based on the Deeping novel; the first British talki ...

1951–1955 *

Paris, IL Paris is a city in Edgar County, Illinois, south of Chicago and west of Indianapolis. The population was 8,291 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat and largest city of Edgar County. History Paris was established in 1826 on land donated ...

: Paris Lakers 1950–1955, moved to Midwest League 1956–1959 * Springfield, IL: Springfield Giants 1950 *

Vincennes, IN Vincennes is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Indiana, United States. It is located on the lower Wabash River in the southwestern part of the state, nearly halfway between Evansville and Terre Haute. Founded in 1732 by French fur ...

Vincennes Citizens Vincennes (, ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is next to but does not include the Château de Vincennes and Bois de Vincennes, which are attache ...

1950;

1951–1952 *

West Frankfort, IL West Frankfort is a city in Franklin County, Illinois. The population was 8,182 at the 2010 census. The city is well known for its rich history of coal. The city is part of the Metro Lakeland area. History Although one might associate the name ...

: West Frankfort Cardinals 1949–1950, moved from

1947–1948

Standings & statistics

1949 Mississippi–Ohio Valley League Playoffs: Mattoon 3 games, Centralia 0; Paducah 3 games, West Frankfort 0;
Finals: Paducah 4 games, Mattoon 3. 1950 Mississippi–Ohio Valley League
schedule
Playoffs: Centralia 3 games, Mattoon 1; Paducah 3 games, West Frankfort 0;
Finals: Cancelled; Bad Weather & Military Call–up. 1951 Mississippi–Ohio Valley League Playoffs: Mt. Vernon 2 games, Centralia 0. Danville 2 games, Paris 1.
Finals: Danville 2 games, Mt. Vernon 0. 1952 Mississippi–Ohio Valley League
schedule
Vincennes moved to Canton June 7.
Playoffs: Hannibal 3 games, Danville 1. Decatur 3 games, Paris 2.
Finals: Decatur 3 games, Hannibal 1. 1953 Mississippi–Ohio Valley League
schedule
Playoffs: Decatur 3 games, Hannibal 0. Paris 3 games, Mattoon 0.
Finals: Decatur 3 games, Paris 2. 1954 Mississippi–Ohio Valley League
schedule
Playoffs: Clinton 2 games, Decatur 0. Danville 2 games, Dubuque 1. .
Finals: Danville 3 games, Clinton 1. 1955 Mississippi–Ohio Valley League
schedule
Playoffs: Dubuque 2 games, Clinton 0. Mattoon 2 games, Kokomo 0. .
Finals: Dubuque 3 games, Mattoon 0. Hannibal folded and all other teams from the league became charter members of the new, Class D level Midwest League, now a Low Class A circuit, and the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League folded.

History

Cities represented

Standings & statistics

References

Further reading