The Northern Utah League was a six–team Class D level baseball

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

that played in the 1921 season. The Northern Utah League featured teams based in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

and

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. The Northern Utah League permanently folded after its only season of minor league play. Today, the league name has been revived by the

summer collegiate baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are Amateur baseball in the United States, amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibi ...

league.

History

The Northern Utah League first began minor league play in the 1921 season as a six–team Class D level league. The Northern Utah League's six charter franchises were based in

Brigham City, Utah Brigham City is a city in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 17,899 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Box Elder County. It lies on the western slope of the Wellsville Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range at ...

(Brigham City),

Lewiston, Idaho Lewiston is a city and the county seat of Nez Perce County, Idaho, United States, in the state's north central region. It is the second-largest city in the northern Idaho region, behind Coeur d'Alene, and ninth-largest in the state. Lewiston is ...

(Lewiston Broncs),

Logan, Utah Logan is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The 2020 census recorded the population was 52,778. Logan is the county seat of Cache County and the principal city of the Logan metropolitan area, which includes Cache County and Franklin ...

(Logan Collegians),

Ogden, Utah Ogden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth ...

(Ogden), Smithfield, Utah (Smithfield) and

Tremonton, Utah Tremonton is a city in Box Elder County, Utah. The population was 7,647 at the time of the 2010 census. History Although the first settlers came to the Tremonton area in 1888, it remained largely uninhabited until just before 1900, when land ag ...

(Tremonton). The Northern Utah League began play on May 4, 1921, playing a split season schedule. The second half began on July 4, 1921. The six–team league final overall standings from database references consisted of Brigham City (7–9), the Lewiston Broncs (4–11), Logan Collegians (8–9), Ogden (11–5), Smithfield (6–10) and Tremonton (12–4). With a 12–4 record, Tremonton had the best record in the league. Records conflict, but the "1921 Northern Utah League Summary" by Ray Olson, the league secretary, has the Brigham City "Peaches" winning the overall championship. In the summary, Brigham City were the league champions after winning the first half standings with a 12–4 record and the championship series. Reportedly, Tremonton won the second half standings, beating Ogden in a three–game playoff series after the two clubs finished the second half season tied with 15–5 records. Tremonton pitcher Franklin Coray reportedly defeated Ogden in the first game, throwing a no–hitter in a 2–0 victory. In a five–game series for the league title, the Brigham Peaches reportedly defeated the Tremonton "Bears" 3 games to 2. On June 11, 1921, Smithfield turned a

triple play In baseball, a triple play (denoted as TP in baseball statistics) is the act of making three outs during the same play. There have only been 733 triple plays in Major League Baseball (MLB) since 1876, an average of just over five per season. Th ...

in a game against the Logan Collegians. On July 3, 1921, Ogden pitcher

Dave Davenport David W. Davenport (February 20, 1890 – October 16, 1954), was a professional baseball player who played pitcher in the Major Leagues from 1914 to 1919. Davenport went on to play for the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Terriers, and the St. Louis B ...

pitched a

perfect game Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New York ...

in a 4–0 Ogden victory over Tremonton. Davenport was later released for being too dominant in the Northern Utah League, after compiling a 7–0 record. Reports have Tremonton player

Spencer Adams Spencer Dewey Adams (June 21, 1898 – November 24, 1970) was a Major League Baseball player. Career He played with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1923, the Washington Senators in 1925, the New York Yankees in 1926 and the St. Louis Browns in 1927. ...

leading the league in batting average, hitting .431. Today, the "Northern Utah League" name has been revived by the

league.

Northern Utah League teams

1921 Northern Utah League overall standings

References

{{Professional Baseball Defunct minor baseball leagues in the United States Baseball leagues in Idaho Baseball leagues in Utah Defunct professional sports leagues in the United States Sports leagues established in 1921 Sports leagues disestablished in 1921 1921 establishments in the United States 1921 disestablishments in the United States