Union Association (minor league)

Union Association
ClassificationClass D (1911–1914)
SportMinor League Baseball
First season1911
Ceased1914
PresidentWilliam Henry Lucas (1911–1912)
Van Patte (1912)
E. C. Mulroney (1913)
Edward F. Murphy (1914)
No. of teams8
CountryUnited States of America
Most titles2
Great Falls Electrics (1911, 1913)

The Union Association was a Class D level Minor league baseball circuit that operated from 1911 through 1914, with franchises based in Idaho, Montana and Utah. 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 of the Western United States. The 1911 charter members were the Great Falls Electrics, Salt Lake City Skyscrapers, Butte Miners, Boise Irrigators, Helena Senators and Missoula.[1][2]

Frank Huelsman was a star player in the league, completing the Triple Crown in 1911 and 1913, while winning three of the four league batting titles. The Salt Lake City, Helena and Ogden franchises played for the entire duration of the Union Association. On July 20, 1914, Boise and Murray disbanded, then on August 5, 1914 Butte dropped out, which led to the disbandment of the entire league. Despite the rest of the league disbanding, Salt Lake City and Ogden played 16 games against each other to complete their seasons.[1]

Teams

City Team Seasons
Boise, Idaho Boise Irrigators 1911, 1914
Butte, Montana Butte Miners 1911–1914
Great Falls, Montana Great Falls
Great Falls Electrics		 1911–1912
1913
Helena, Montana Helena Senators 1911–1914
Missoula, Montana Missoula 1911–1913
Murray, Utah Murray Infants 1914
Ogden, Utah Ogden Canners 1912–1914
Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City Skyscrapers 1911–1914

[1]

Champions

Season Champion
1911 Great Falls Electrics
1912 Missoula
1913 Great Falls Electrics
1914 Ogden Canners

[1]

Standings & statistics

1911 Union Association - schedule

Team standings W L PCT GB Managers
Great Falls 90 46 .662 – George Reed
Salt Lake City Skyscrapers 85 58 .594 8.5 Cliff Blankenship
Butte Miners 77 60 .562 13.5 John McCloskey
Boise Irrigators 64 78 .451 29.0 Hugh Kellackey
Helena Senators 60 78 .435 31.0 Charles Irby
Missoula 42 98 .300 50.0 William Joyce / Charles McCaffery
Player statistics
Player Team Stat Tot Player Team Stat Tot
Frank Huelsman Great Falls BA .411 Roswell Hildebrand Great Falls W 30
Howard Murphy Great Falls Runs 146 Amos Morgan Salt Lake City SO 267
Howard Murphy Great Falls Hits 220 Leo Dressen Salt Lake City PCT .813 13–3
Frank Huelsman Great Falls RBI 125
Frank Huelsman Great Falls HR 17

[1]

1912 Union Association - schedule

Team standings W L PCT GB Managers
Missoula 83 51 .620 – Cliff Blankenship
Salt Lake City Skyscrapers 77 61 .558 8.0 Art Weaver
Great Falls 72 61 .541 10.5 George Reed
Ogden Canners 71 68 .511 14.5 John McCloskey
Butte Miners 53 82 .393 30.5 Charles McCaffery /Jesse Stovall
Helena Senators 50 83 .376 32.5 Charles Irby
Player statistics
Player Team Stat Tot Player Team Stat Tot
Howard Murphy Great Falls BA .390 Joe Bush Missoula W 29
Jacob Bauer Salt Lake City Runs 143 Joe Bush Missoula PCT .709 29–12
Howard Murphy Great Falls Hits 240
Frank Huelsman Great Falls RBI 114
A.E. Spencer Helena HR 14
Mike Killilay Helena 3B 25

[1]

1913 Union Association - schedule

Team standings W L PCT GB Managers
Great Falls Electrics 78 42 .650 – Harry Hester
Salt Lake City Skyscrapers 75 47 .615 4.0 John McCloskey
Butte Miners 54 64 .458 23.0 Arthur Merkle / Frank Kafora
Missoula 54 68 .443 25.0 Cliff Blankenship / Nig Perrine
Helena Senators 52 67 .437 25.5 Danny Shay
Ogden Canners 49 74 .398 30.5 George Knight / Dad Gimlin
Player statistics
Player Team Stat Tot Player Team Stat Tot
Frank Huelsman Salt Lake BA .423 Amos Morgan Salt Lake W 26
Frank Huelsman Salt Lake Runs 123 Pat Bohen Missoula SO 228
Frank Huelsman Salt Lake Hits 200 Amos Morgan Salt Lake PCT .722 26–10
Frank Huelsman Salt Lake RBI 126
Frank Huelsman Salt Lake HR 22

[1]

1914 Union Association - schedule

Team standings W L PCT GB Managers
Ogden Canners 54 32 .628 – Dad Gimlin
Salt Lake City Skyscrapers 52 34 .605 2.0 Harry Hester
Butte Miners 44 40 .524 9.0 Ducky Holmes
Helena Senators 27 53 .338 24.0 Jesse Garrett / William Quigley
Boise Irrigators 32 39 .451 NA Ervin Jensen
Murray Infants 31 42 .425 NA Cliff Blankenship

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.[1]

Player statistics
Player Team Stat Tot Player Team Stat Tot
Frank Huelsman Salt Lake BA .424 Amos Morgan Salt Lake W 16
Swede Risberg Ogden Runs 84 George Knight Ogden W 16
Fred Carmen Ogden/Boise Hits 130 Tom Tomer Boise/Salt Lake SO 124
Frank Huelsman Salt Lake HR 23 Amos Morgan Salt Lake PCT .762 16–5

[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lloyd Johnson; Miles Wolff, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (Third ed.). Baseball America. ISBN 978-1932391176.
  2. ^ "1911 Union Association". Baseball-Reference.com.

Sources

The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia – Gary Gillette, Peter Gammons, Pete Palmer. Publisher: Sterling Publishing (NY), 2007. Format: Paperback, 1824 pp. Language: English. ISBN 1-4027-4771-3


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