Mississippi-Ohio Valley League
| Sport |
Minor League Baseball Class D |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1949 |
| Ceased | 1955 (became Midwest League in 1956) |
| No. of teams | 23 |
| Country | USA |
| Most titles |
2 Danville Dans (1951, 1954) Decatur Commodores (1952-1953) |
| Official website | Midwest League Official Website |
The Mississippi–Ohio Valley League was a Class-D American minor league baseball league. Evolving from the renamed Illinois State League (1947-1948), the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League operated for seven seasons, from 1949 through 1955. In 1956 the league was renamed the Midwest League, which still exists today.
In 1947, the Illinois State League (ISL) (1947-1948) was formed. Charter franchises were in the Illinois cities of Belleville, Centralia, Marion, Mattoon, Mount Vernon and West Frankfort. After the 1948 season, the Marion Indians moved out of Illinois to Kentucky. This necessitated a name change for the league .
The new name was the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League. The league incorporated the new Paducah Chiefs and the five former ISL teams, the Belleville Stags, Centralia Cubs, Mattoon Indians, Mount Vernon Kings, and West Frankfort Cardinals as 1949 charter members. In 1950, Springfield, Illinois joined, leaving the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League, while the league expanded, adding expansion teams in the Paris Lakers, Illinois and the Citizens of Vincennes, Indiana, while the Belleville franchise folded. There was more movement in 1951, as the Springfield Giants and West Frankfort Cardinals both folded and the Paducah Chiefs left to join the Kentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League. The league played 1951 with six teams, as Danville, Illinois joined from the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League.
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