The West Plains Badgers were a

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 ...

baseball team located in

West Plains, Missouri West Plains is a city in, and the county seat of Howell County, Missouri, United States. The population was 12,184 at the 2020 census. History The history of West Plains can be traced back to 1832, when settler Josiah Howell (after whom Howell ...

. In 1936, the Badgers played briefly as members of the Class D level Northeast Arkansas League before the team relocated during the season to become the

Caruthersville Pilots The Caruthersville Pilots were a minor league baseball team located in Caruthersville, Missouri. The Pilots played as exclusively members of the Class D level Northeast Arkansas League from 1936 to 1940 after a Caruthersville team had played in ...

. The team won the 1936 Northeast Arkansas League championship. The Badgers hosted home games at American Legion Field.

History

Minor league baseball began in West Plains, when the 1936 West Plains "Badgers" became a franchise in the reformed six-team Class D level Northeast Arkansas League. West Plains was chosen as a franchise city in the reformed league after a meeting was held in Jonesboro, Arkansas in February 1936 to establish the league. The Batesville White Sox, Jonesboro Giants, Newport Cardinals, Osceola Indians and Paragould Rebels teams joined West Plains in beginning league play on May 7, 1936. During the season, on June 11, 1936, the West Plains Badgers franchise moved to Caruthersville with an 18–10 record and became the

. Playing in two cities, the West Plains/Caruthersville team won the 1936 league title, playing the season under the direction of manager

Harrison Wickel Harrison Paine "Muck" Wickel (September 6, 1912 – March 25, 1989) was a minor league baseball player, manager as well as a scout and World War II veteran. He was also inducted into the Bucks County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. ...

in both locations. After compiling a 33–38 record while based in Caruthersville, the Pilots ended the regular season with an overall record of 51–48. The team placed fourth in the regular season standings, 17.0 games behind the first place Newport Cardinals and qualified for the playoffs. In the playoffs, the Pilots defeated the Jonesboro Giants 2 games to 1, playing for the first half title. In the Finals, the Pilots defeated the Newport Cardinals 3 games to 2 to claim the 1936 Northeast Arkansas League championship. Caruthersville continued play in the 1937 Northeast Arkansas League. West Plains, Missouri has not hosted another minor league team.

The ballpark

The West Plains Badgers played minor league home games at the American Legion Field. The ballpark was located at Bratton Avenue & N. Howell Avenue in West Plains.

Year–by–year records

Notable alumni

Tom Turner Tom Turner is an English landscape architect, garden designer and garden historian teaching at the University of Greenwich in London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and t ...

(1936) *

(1936, MGR)

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links