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The Illinois–Missouri League was an American minor league baseball league. The Class D league began operations in 1908, and continued through 1914 with teams located in Illinois and Missouri. The Lincoln Abes won consecutive league titles in 1912–1913. Baseball Hall of Fame members Grover Cleveland Alexander (1909 Galesburg Boosters) and Ray Schalk (1911 Taylorville Christians) are league alumni.

Cities represented: 1908–1914

• Beardstown, IL: Beardstown Infants 1909–1910
• Canton, IL: Canton Chinks 1908–1911; Canton Highlanders 1912; Canton Chinks 1913
• Champaign, IL & Urbana, IL: Champaign-Urbana Velvets 1911; Champaign Velvets 1912–1914
• Clinton, IL: Clinton Champs 1910–1912
• Galesburg, IL: Galesburg Hornets 1908; Galesburg Boosters 1909
• Hannibal, MO: Hannibal Cannibals 1908, moved to Central Association
• Havana, IL: Havana Perfectos 1908
• Jacksonville, IL: Jacksonville Jacks 1910
• Kankakee, IL: Kankakee Kanks 1912–1914
• LaSalle, IL: LaSalle Blue Sox 1914
• Lincoln, IL: Lincoln Abes 1910–1914
• Macomb, IL: Macomb Potters 1908–1910
• Monmouth, IL: Monmouth Browns 1908–1909, moved to Central Association
• Ottawa, IL: Ottawa Indians 1914
• Pekin, IL: Pekin Celestials 1909–1913
• Streator, IL: Streator Speedboys 1912; Streator Boosters 1913–1914
• Taylorville, IL: Taylorville Christians 1911

Standings and statistics

1908 Illinois–Missouri League
The league was formed. Newly formed teams in Canton, Illinois, Galesburg, Illinois, Hannibal, Missouri, Havana, Illinois, Macomb, Illinois, and Monmouth, Illinois were the charter cities in the league.

1909 Illinois–Missouri League
Hannibal left the to join the American Association. The Havana Perfectos folded. The Beardstown Infants and Pekin Celestials joined the league.

1910 Illinois–Missouri League
The teams from Galesburg and Monmouth joined the Central Association. The Clinton Champs and Lincoln Abes joined the league. Beardstown moved to Jacksonville, Illinois on July 21, and folded with Macomb on August 17. schedule

Beardstown (38–26) moved to Jacksonville July 21; Jacksonville disbanded August 17; Macomb disbanded August 17.

1911 Illinois–Missouri League
New teams in Champaign-Urbana Velvets and Taylorville Christians joined the league. schedule

1912 Illinois–Missouri League
Taylorville folded. The Streator Speedboys joined the league. The Champaign–Urbana Velvets changed their name to the Champaign Velvets. Clinton moved to Kankakee, Illinois on May 16 with a 2–5 record; thereafter, they went 54–51 as the Kankakee Kanks. schedule

1913 Illinois–Missouri League
Canton and Pekin folded on July 10, before the end of the season. The league instituted a split–season schedule. The playoff system developed in which the best record of the first–half of the season would play the best record of the second–half of the season. schedule

Playoff: Lincoln won the first half, Lincoln & Champaign tied for the second half. Lincoln was awarded the championship when Champaign refused to play off the second half tie.

1914 Illinois–Missouri League
The LaSalle Blue Sox and Ottawa Indians formed and joined the league. Kankakee and Lincoln both folded on July 3, before the season ended. schedule

Lincoln & Kankakee disbanded July 3.
Ottawa and Streator left the league to join the Bi-State League. The teams in Champaign and LaSalle folded, and the league itself folded.

References

1. ^ Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (Third ed.). Baseball America. ISBN 978-1932391176.
2. "Illinois-Missouri League (D) Encyclopedia and History". Baseball-Reference.com.

External references

• Sumner, Benjamin Barrett. Minor League Baseball Standings:All North American Leagues, Through 1999. Jefferson, N.C.:McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0781-6

• Defunct minor baseball leagues in the United States
• Baseball leagues in Illinois
• Baseball leagues in Missouri
• 1908 establishments in Illinois
• 1908 establishments in Missouri
• 1914 disestablishments in Illinois
• 1914 disestablishments in Missouri