Midwest League

Midwest League

Midwest League logo
Sport	Baseball
Founded	1954
No. of teams	16
Country	USA
Most recent champion(s)	Great Lakes Loons (2016)
Most titles	Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (8 titles)
Classification	Class A
TV partner(s)	Fox Sports Midwest
Official website	Official Website

The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league, established in 1954 and based in the Midwestern United States. It is a Class A league that plays a full season; its players are typically players in their second or third year of professional play.

The Midwest League began as the Illinois State League (1947-1948), then became the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League (1949-1955). In 1956, the Mississippi-Ohio Valley League was renamed the Midwest League. Today, the league has 16 teams in two divisions.

The Midwest League directly evolved from two earlier leagues in the region. In 1947, the Class D Illinois State League (ISL) began operation with six Illinois teams – the Belleville Stags, Centralia Cubs, Marion Indians, Mattoon Indians, Mount Vernon Braves and the West Frankfort Cardinals. In 1949, the ISL changed its name to the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League after Marion moved their franchise to Kentucky and became the Paducah Chiefs. In 1954, the Mississippi-Ohio Valley League expanded, adding teams in Clinton and Dubuque, Iowa. The Mississippi-Ohio Valley League was then renamed Midwest League in 1956.

The original teams in 1956, the first year of Midwest League play, were: Clinton Pirates, Decatur Commodores, Dubuque Packers, Kokomo Dodgers, Lafayette Red Sox, Mattoon Phillies, Michigan City White Caps and the Paris Lakers. Mattoon is the oldest franchise in the MWL, evolving into today's Fort Wayne TinCaps, while Clinton is the oldest MWL locale.