The La Junta Railroaders were a minor league baseball team based in

La Junta, Colorado La Junta is a home rule municipality in , the county seat of, and the most populous municipality of Otero County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,322 at the 2020 United States Census. La Junta is located on the Arkansas Ri ...

. The Railroaders played in the 1912 season as members of the Class D level

Rocky Mountain League The Rocky Mountain League was a minor league baseball league that operated in 1912. The Class D level league featured teams based in Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming. The short–lived Rocky Mountain League folded during the 1912 season. Hist ...

. La Junta hosted home games at City Park.

History

In 1912, minor league baseball began in La Junta, Colorado, when the La Junta "Railroaders" became charter members of the four–team Class D level

. The league started the season with the

Cañon City Swastikas The Cañon City Swastikas were a minor league baseball team based in Cañon City, Colorado, in 1912. Cañon City briefly played in the 1912 season as members of the Class D (baseball), Class D level Rocky Mountain League, before the Cañon City fra ...

Colorado Springs Millionaires The Colorado Springs Millionaires were a minor league baseball team, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado that played primarily in the Western League. History The first Colorado Springs team played in the Colorado State League in 1889 and 1896 ...

and Pueblo Indians teams joining the La Junta Railroaders in Rocky Mountain League play. The "Railroaders" moniker corresponds to local industry, with the city of La Junta located along the railroad line and the founding of the city being tied to the railroad access. Both freight and passenger trains accessed La Junta, which had a large rail yard, as well as a passenger depot built in 1895 called the El Otero. Today, the rail yard is still utilized by BNSF and the La Junta station serves

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passengers. Before the 1912 season was scheduled to conclude, the Rocky Mountain League permanently folded on July 5, 1912. The La Junta Railroaders were in fourth place with a 11–22 record when the league disbanded. The Railroaders finished 13.0 games behind the first place Pueblo/

Cheyenne Indians The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...

team in the final standings. The La Junta Railroaders were managed by J.F. Waller, Bill Annis and Tubby Graves. At the time he managed La Junta, Tubby Graves was serving as the head football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

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 tea ...

coach at

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. La Junta was the only Rocky Mountain League franchise that did not relocate during the season. After 1912, La Junta has not hosted another minor league team.

The ballpark

The 1912 La Junta Railroaders played minor league home games at City Park. City Park was established in 1905 and is still in use today as a public park. The park is located at 10th Street and Colorado Avenue in La Junta, Colorado.

Timeline

Year–by–year records

Notable alumni

* Bill Annis (1912, MGR) * Tubby Graves (1912, MGR) * J.F. Waller (1912, MGR) * Complete roster information for the 1912 La Junta Railroaders is unknown.

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

La Junta - Baseball Reference
Defunct minor league baseball teams Professional baseball teams in Colorado Defunct baseball teams in Colorado Baseball teams established in 1912 Baseball teams disestablished in 1912 Rocky Mountain League teams Otero County, Colorado 1912 establishments in Colorado 1912 disestablishments in Colorado