The Union Association was a Class D level Minor league baseball circuit that operated from through , with franchises 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 Wyomi ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

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 ...

. It was unrelated to the like-named 1884 major league.

History

Beginning play in 1914, the Union Association was classified as a Class D league, based in the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

of the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the We ...

. The 1911 charter members were the

Great Falls Electrics The Great Falls Electrics were a minor league baseball team that operated out of Great Falls, Montana. The team was formed in 1911 as part of the old Union Association league. They also played in the Northwestern League from 1916 to 1917. The team ...

, Salt Lake City Skyscrapers, Butte Miners, Boise Irrigators, Helena Senators and

Missoula Missoula ( ; fla, label=Salish language, Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula Cou ...

Frank Huelsman Frank Elmer Huelsman (June 5, 1874 – June 9, 1959) was an American professional baseball left fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Browns (NL), Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns (AL), and Washi ...

was a star player in the league, completing the

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tri ...

in 1911 and 1913, while winning 3 of the 4 league batting titles. The

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

, Helena and Ogden franchises played for the entire duration of the Union Association. On July 20, 1914,

Boise Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown area' ...

and

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

disbanded, then on August 5, 1914

Butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word me ...

dropped out, which led to the disbandment of the entire league. Despite the rest of the league disbanding,

and Ogden played 16 games against each other to complete their seasons.

Teams

Champions

Standings & statistics

1911 Union Association
schedule
1912 Union Association
schedule
1913 Union Association
schedule
1914 Union Association
schedule
Boise and Murray disbanded July 20; Butte disbanded August 5; League disbanded August 5.
Ogden & Salt Lake played 16 games with each other to complete their seasons; Ogden won 10 games and Salt Lake won 6.
Playoff: Ogden 4, Salt Lake 2.

References

Sources

''The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia'' – Gary Gillette, Peter Gammons, Pete Palmer. Publisher: Sterling Publishing (NY), 2007. Format: Paperback, 1824 pp. Language: English. Defunct minor baseball leagues in the United States 1911 establishments in the United States 1914 disestablishments in the United States Baseball leagues in Idaho Baseball leagues in Utah Baseball leagues in Montana Sports leagues established in 1911 Sports leagues disestablished in 1914 {{Baseball-league-stub