Kansas State League

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The Kansas State League was a small, intermittent minor league baseball league in Kansas that operated from 1887 to 1914. It had a few different classifications over its life and involved a series of reorganizations and name changes.

Class levels and timeline
- 1887, 1895–1896: No classification
- 1905–1906, 1909–1911, 1913–1914: Class D
- First season: 1887; final season: 1914
- The league at times merged or changed names. In 1911 the Kansas State League stopped operating and merged with the Central Kansas League (CKL). The CKL played in 1912, then briefly used the Kansas State League name again in 1913 before finally disbanding after the 1914 season.

Teams and titles
- The league featured 42 teams at various times.
- Most titles: Great Bend Millers (2: 1911, 1913) and Independence Coyotes (2: 1896, 1906).

Notable events and changes
- 1887: Wichita moved to the Western League; Joplin, Webb City, and Winfield joined midseason and then disbanded; the schedule was short and the league folded in August.
- 1895–1896: Leavenworth suspended in 1895, then moved; 1896 saw Parsons disband and the league fold in August.
- 1905: Lincoln Center and Great Bend joined; Kingman disbanded, and Hoisington replaced Kingman.
- 1905 also saw two no-hitters: Lefty Holmes (Great Bend) and Salter (Minneapolis).
- 1906: Pittsburg moved to Vinita; Iola moved to Cherryvale; Fort Scott and Vinita disbanded; games after July 10 were restarted.
- 1909: Winfield bought partial interest in the Arkansas City franchise; Strong City–Cottonwood Falls moved to Larned.
- 1910–1911: Crop failures and drought contributed to instability; Wellington played 10 home games in Wichita in June 1911; the league disbanded on July 11, 1911.
- 1913: Junction City disbanded July 9 and Manhattan followed July 10.
- 1914: The league’s final season before it permanently ended.

Presidents
- The league was led by several presidents over the years, including Walden (1887), Harry T. Mote (1895), W.H. Thompson (1896), George T. Tremble (1905), Edward Bero, Jr. (1906), P. H. Hostutler (1909–1910), C. A. Case (1911), and Roy C. Gafford (1911, 1913–1914).

Related competition
- The Kansas State League was connected to the Oklahoma-Kansas League, a nearby minor league competition.

In short, the Kansas State League was a lively but unstable minor league in Kansas that had several resurgences and ultimately stopped play after the 1914 season.