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The La Grande Babes were a minor league baseball team based in La Grande, Oregon in 1908, as numerous Le Grande teams played minor league baseball between 1891 and 1913, with different nicknames each season. La Grande teams played as members of the 1891 Pacific Interstate League, 1902 and 1908 Inland Empire League and Western Tri-State League in 1912 and 1913. Lagrande captured two league championships, as the La Grande Rhonders won the 1891 Pacific Interstate League title and the La Grande Babes won the 1908 Inland Empire League championship.

History

La Grande, Oregon first hosted minor league baseball in 1891. La Grande won a championship in their first season. The La Grande Grand Rhonders were one of four franchises who formed the Pacific Interstate League. The Independent level league began play with the Baker Bunch Grassers, Pendleton Giants/Ho Hos and Walla Walla Walla Wallas joining La Grande as charter members in beginning league play on June 6, 1891.

The La Grande Grand Rhonders began play in the Pacific Interstate League and won the Pacific Interstate League championship. La Grande finished the season with a 20–10 record under manager A. Miller, finishing 2.0 games ahead of second place Pendelton. In the final standings, La Grande was followed by the Pendleton Giants/Ho Hos (18–12), Walla Walla Walla Wallas (16–14) and Baker Bunch Grassers (6–24) in the final Pacific Interstate League standings. The Pacific Interstate League permanently folded following the 1891 season.

La Grande resumed minor league play in 1902, as the La Grande Beetpullers became charter members of the 1902 Inland Empire League, which formed as a Class D level four–team league. Other charter members were the Baker City Gold Diggers, Pendleton Indians and Walla Walla Sharpshooters. The official 1902 league standings and statistics are unknown. Local papers show Pendleton defeating La Grande 2–0 and Walla Walla defeating Baker 6–0 on in games on August 25, 1902.

The team records on August 25, 1902, were reported to be: Pendleton 21–8, Walla Walla 14–15, La Grande 12–16 and Baker City 10–18. The La Grande managers were Walsh, Black and Al Ray.

La Grande resumed play as the Inland Empire League formed again in 1908, with the same four cities hosting franchises, including La Grande. The La Grande Babes won the league championship under manager O'Brien, playing with the Baker Nuggets/Miners, Pendleton Pets/Wheat Growers and Walla Walla Walla Wallas. The league began play on June 10, 1908. However, the league permanently disbanded on Sunday, July 12, 1908 due to extreme heat.

At the time the league folded on July 12, 1908, the La Grande Babes were in first place. La Grande, with a 19–12 record were 2.5 games ahead of the 2nd place Baker Nuggets/Miners, who finished with a record of 15–15. They were followed by the Walla Walla Walla Wallas (14–17) and Pendleton Pets/Wheat Growers (14–18) in the final standings. The Inland league did not return to play after the 1908 season.

In 1912, the La Grande Pippins began play as charter members of the four–team Class D level Western Tri-State League, along with the Boise Irrigators, Pendleton Buckaroos and Walla Walla Bears. The Golddiggers ended the season with a record of 31–67, playing under managers James Bradley and Jack Barry. The Pippins placed fourth, finishing 30.0 games behind the 1st place Walla Walla Bears.

In the final minor league season for La Grange, the 1913 La Grange Spuds continued play as members of the six–team the Western Tri-State League but folded before the end of the season. On June 22, 1913, La Grange folded with a 16–31 record, having played under manager Karl King.

La Grange, Oregon has not hosted another minor league team.

The ballpark

A regional newspaper reported on June 22, 1912 that La Grange played a home game at a ballpark named Stanfield.

Timeline

Year–by–year records

Notable alumni

• Pat Flaherty (1891)
• Fred Osborne (1891)
• Jud Smith (1891)
• La Grande Grand Rhonders players

References

1. ^ "1891 Pacific Inter-State League (PISL) minor league baseball Standings on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
2. "1891 La Grande Grand Rhonders minor league baseball Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
3. "1891 La Grande Grand Rhonders Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
4. ^ Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (Third ed.). Baseball America. ISBN 978-1932391176.
5. "1902 Inland Empire League". Baseball-Reference.com.
6. "Long Beach's first baseball star". Signal Tribune. April 9, 2019.
7. "Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, July 26, 1902, Page 5, Image 5 « Historic Oregon Newspapers". oregonnews.uoregon.edu.
8. "Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, August 29, 1902, Page 5, Image 5 « Historic Oregon Newspapers". oregonnews.uoregon.edu.
9. "1902 La Grande Beetpullers Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
10. "1908 Inland Empire League". Baseball-Reference.com.
11. "1908 Inland Empire League (IEL) minor league baseball on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
12. "1908 Baker City Nuggets Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
13. "1908 La Grande Babes Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
14. "1908 Inland Empire League (IEL) minor league baseball Standings on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
15. "Inland Empire League (D) Encyclopedia and History". Baseball-Reference.com.
16. "1912 La Grande Pippins minor league baseball Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
17. "1912 La Grande Pippins Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
18. "1913 La Grande Spuds minor league baseball Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
19. "1913 La Grande Spuds Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
20. "Unknown in La Grande, OR minor league baseball history and teams on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
21. "East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, June 22, 1912, EVENING EDITION, Page PAGE SIX, Image 6 « Historic Oregon Newspapers".

External links

• La Grande - Baseball Reference

• Defunct minor league baseball teams
• Defunct baseball teams in Oregon
• Baseball teams established in 1908
• Baseball teams disestablished in 1908
• Inland Empire League teams
• La Grande, Oregon
• Union County, Oregon