THE HISTORY OF THE KC BLUES

The KC Blues first appeared on the baseball landscape in 1888 as a member of the Western Association. During this first year of the KC Blues, a member of the Blues is credited with inventing the catcher's mitt. To read his letter that sits in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, click here. The league disbanded after one year and the KC Blues left the baseball scene until 1890, when the team reemerged in the reformulated Western Association. The KC Blues would remain a baseball organization in Kansas City until the Philadelphia A’s moved to Kansas City in 1955.

In 1894, the KC Blues became charter members of Ban Johnson’s newly reformed Western League. In 1900 Ban Johnson renamed the Western League the American League (yes, the actual first year a professional baseball league was named the American League appeared in 1900. It was in 1901 that the American League declared war on the National League and became a rival major league. Some argue that the 1900 American league should be considered a major league and the official starting point of the American League. To read further about such arguments click here.

The KC Blues came in 5th in 1900 with a record of 69 wins and 70 losses and a team batting average of .274. The roster of the 1900 KC Blues included many players who played either previously or subsequently in the major leagues and included:

1900 KC Blues Roster C – John Gonding AVG. - .187; HR – 0; SB - 4 C – Frank McManus AVG - .234; HR – 0; SB – 7 C – Parke Wilson AVG - .292; HR – 0; SB – 7 1B – Sam Dungan AVG. - .337 (lead league); HR – 1; SB – 6 1B – John Ganzel AVG - .391; HR – 1; SB – 4 2B – Herman “Germany” Schaefer AVG - .256; HR – 1; SB – 30 2B – Ace Stewart AVG - .179; HR – 0; SB - 13 3B – Bill “Scranton Bill” Coughlin AVG - .263; HR – 1; SB - 26 SS – Albert “Butts” Wagner AVG - .276; HR – 0; SB - 14 SS – Billy Clingman AVG - .310; HR – 0; SB - 5 OF – Jack O’Brien AVG - .298; HR – 0; SB – 26 (2nd in the league in hits with 171) OF – Charlie “Eagle Eye” Hemphill AVG - .319 (4th in the league); HR – 1; SB – 26 (lead league in triples with 15) OF - John Farrell AVG - .270; HR – 1; SB - 28 P – Wyatt “Watty” Lee (Played 2 games in the OF) (Pitching) - W – 23; L – 22; GS – 41; CG – 36; IP – 377 (lead the league); Ks - 82 (Hitting) - AVG - .227; HR – 0; SB - 0 P – Case “Casey” Patten (Pitching) – W – 17; L – 20; GS – 30; CG – 31; IP – 334; Ks – 104 (lead the league in walks with 123) (Hitting) – AVG - .206; HR – 0; SB - 0 P - Dale Gear (Played 34 games in the OF) (Pitching) – W – 19; L – 11; GS – 27; CG – 25; IP – 272; Ks – 63 (Hitting) – AVG - .278; HR – 2 (lead the team); SB – 5 P – George “Chummy” Gray (Pitching) – W – 3; L – 3; GS – 12; CG – 3; IP – 74; Ks – 10 (Hitting) – AVG - .185; HR – 0; SB – 0 P – Eli Cates (Pitching) – W 2; L – 5; GS – 8; CG – 5; IP – 66; Ks – 18 (Hitting) - .172; HR – 0; SB – 0 P - Norwood “Gibby” Gibson (Pitching) – W – 2; L – 4; GS – 7; CG – 5; IP – 62; Ks – 17 (Hitting) – AVG - .125; HR – 0; SB – 0 P – Danny “Mickey” Daub (Pitching) – W – 2; L – 3; GS – 3; CG – 1; IP – 36; Ks – 6 (Hitting) – AVG - .278; HR – 0; SB – 0

Other Major League Organizations C - John Gonding None C – Frank McManus – 1899 – Washington; 1903 – Brooklyn; 1904 – Detroit and New York (AL) Major League Totals – AVG. - .224; HR – 0; RBI – 2; SB - 3 C – Parke Wilson – 1893-1899 - New York Major League Totals - AVG - .265; HR – 3; RBI – 170; SB – 54 1B – Sam Dungan – 1892-1894 & 1900 – Chicago (NL); 1894 – Louisville; 1901 – Washington Major League Totals – AVG. - .301; HR – 3; RBI – 197; SB - 38 1B - John Ganzel – 1898 - Pittsburgh; 1900 – Chicago; 1901 – New York (NL); 1903-1904 – New York (AL); 1907-1908 – Cincinnati Major League Totals – AVG - .251; HR – 18; RBI – 336; SB – 48 2B - Germany Schaefer – 1901-1902 – Chicago (NL); 1905-1909 – Detroit; 1909-1914 – Washington; 1916 – New York (AL); 1918 - Cleveland Major League Totals – AVG - .257; HR – 9; RBI – 308; SB - 201 2B - Ace Stewart – 1897 – Chicago (NL) Major League Totals – AVG - .241; HR – 8; RBI – 76; SB - 14 3B – Bill Coughlin – 1899, 1901-1904 – Washington; 1904-1908 - Detroit Major League Totals – AVG - .252; HR – 15; RBI – 380; SB - 159 SS - Butts Wagner – 1898 – Washington & Brooklyn Major League Totals – AVG - .226; HR – 1; RBI – 34; SB - 4 SS – Billy Clingman – 1890-1891 Cincinnati; 1895 – Pittsburgh; 1896-1899 – Louisville; 1900 – Chicago (NL); 1901 – Washington; 1902 - Cleveland Major League Totals – AVG - .246; HR – 8; RBI – 301; SB - 98 OF – Jack O’Brien – 1899 & 1901 – Washington; 1901 – Cleveland; 1903 - Boston (AL) Major League Totals – AVG - .259; HR – 9; RBI – 133; SB - 42 OF – Charlie Hemphill – 1899 – St. Louis & Cleveland; 1901 – Boston (AL); 1902 - St. Louis (AL) & Cleveland; 1903-1907 St. Louis (AL); 1908-1911 New York (AL) Major League Totals – AVG - .271; HR – 22; RBI – 421; SB - 207 OF – John Farrell – 1901 – Washington; 1902-1905 – St. Louis (NL) Major League Totals – AVG - .261; HR – 4; RBI – 141; SB - 68 P – Watty Lee – 1901-1903 – Washington; 1904 - Pittsburgh Major League Totals (Ptiching)- W – 30; L – 36; ERA – 4.29; GS – 65; GC – 51; Sv – 0; Ks - 162 Major League Totals (Hitting) – AVG - .242; HR – 4; RBI – 70; SB - 13 P - Case Patten – 1901-1908 – Washington; 1908 – Boston (AL) Major League Totals (Pitching) – W – 106; L – 128; ERA – 3.36; GS – 238; CG – 206; SV – 5; Ks - 757 Major League Totals (Hitting) – None Available P - Dale Gear – 1896-1897 – Cleveland; 1901 – Washington Major League Totals (Pitching) – W – 4; L – 13; ERA – 4.21; GS – 18; CG – 16; Sv – 1; KS – 41 Major League Totals (Hitting) – AVG - .239; HR – 0; RBI – 25; SB – 4 P – Chummy Gray – 1899 – Pittsburgh Major League Totals (Pitching) – W – 3; L – 3; ERA – 3.44; GS – 7; CG – 6; Sv – 0; Ks – 9 Major League Totals (Hitting) – None Available P – Eli Cates – 1908 – Washington Major League Totals (Pitching) – W – 4; L – 8; ERA – 2.53; GS – 10; CG – 7; Sv – 0; Ks – 33 Major League Totals (Hitting) – AVG - .186; HR – 0; RBI – 3; SB – 0 P – Norwood Gibson – 1903-1906 – Boston (AL) Major League Totals (Pitching) – W – 34; L – 32; ERA – 2.93; GS – 72; CG – 56; Sv – 0; Ks – 258 Major League Totals (Hitting) – None Available P – Danny Daub – 1892 – Cincinnati; 1893-1897 – Brooklyn Major League Totals (Pitching) – W – 45; L – 52; ERA – 4.75; GS – 103; CG – 74; Sv – 0; Ks – 185 Major League Totals (Hitting) – None Available

Many of the players on the 1900 KC Blues went on to play with the Washington Senators in 1901, while the 1901 KC Blues went back to the Western League and played until 1904. In 1904, the KC Blues joined the American Association and played in the American Association until 1955. George Muehlebach (the same Muehlebach that built the Muehlebach Hotel in Kansas City, which became known as the White House West during the Harry S. Truman administration) purchased an interest in the KC Blues in 1915. By 1923 Muehlebach owned controlling interest in the KC Blues.

George Muehlebach sold the KC Blues in 1932 to a partnership that included Hall of Famer Tris Speaker. Speaker’s partnership sold the KC Blues to Kansas City resident Johnny Kling shortly after the beginning of the Great Depression. Jacob Ruppert, owner of the New York Yankees purchased the KC Blues from Kling in 1937 and the Blues became a minor league team for the Yankees. Many Yankee greats including Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Phil Rizzuto, Johnny Mize and Casey Stengel either played or managed for the Blues. The KC Blues remained a New York Yankee farm team until the A’s moved to Kansas City in 1955. The 1939 KC Blues are considered the 12th best team in minor league history. To read more click here. Lou Gehrig took his final swings in a Yankee uniform against the KC Blues. To read more about that day, click here

The KC Blues won many championships over the years, including:

Sources of Information

--- Unions to Royals: The Story of Professional Baseball in Kansas City
--- The Great Encyclopedia of 19th-Century Major League Baseball
--- Total Baseball, 6th Edition, The Official Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball