Baseball in Paducah, Kentucky

Overview

The record of the Mississippi-Ohio Valley League franchise in Paducah, Kentucky.

Although Paducah is near by to the Illinois State League cities, it isn't in Illinois. So when the Chiefs joined the ISL before the 1949 season, the league's name changed to show the large river valleys that dominate the local terrain, becoming the Mississippi-Ohio Valley League.

Paducah played two M-OV seasons, finishing fourth both times. Both years' teams were mainly composed of local players; many would spend several seasons in the M-OV or Kitty Leagues before retiring to real life. Although the second Paducah team was the stronger nine, the first took home the championship by winning the post-season playoff. The two Paducah squads had no players in common, even though they were largely composed of M-OV "careerists."

Summary

• Mississippi-Ohio Valley League seasons: 2
• Won/Lost overall: 121/120, .502
• Best season: 67/55, .549 (1950--fourth place)
• Championship Playoffs Won: 1
• Best MWL Won/Lost Record: no seasons

Paducah joined the Midwest League predecessor Mississippi-Ohio Valley League in 1949. This franchise was the successor to the Marion team. The team joined the Kitty League--their more usual turf--after the 1950 season.

The M-OV had a major re-shuffling after the 1950 season; this franchise was not directly replaced.

Seasonal Results
Other Leagues

Team Name

• Paducah Chiefs, 1949-50

Affiliation

• Independent, 1949-50

Officers, Managers, & Coaches

Ballpark

• Brooks Stadium

Attendance record

• 54,859 (1949)

Ballparks & Attendance

Best Seasons

• Hitter: Dick Martz (1949) .278, 5 HR, 100 RBI
• Pitcher: Barry Dosser (1950) 2.68, 20 wins

Best Big League Career

• Billy Queen (1949)
  • long-time major league coach, manager, and GM Jim Frey played for Paducah in 1950

Awards

• none

Paducah Highlights

Team Records

Hitters

• Batting: Jim Frey (1950) .325
• Home Runs: Art Oliver (1949) 17
• Runs Batted In: Dick Martz (1949) 100

Seasonal Hitting Leaders

Pitchers

• Wins: Barry Dosser (1950) 20
• Won/Lost (10 decisions): Barry Dosser (1950) 20/7, .741
• Earned Run Average: Barry Dosser (1950) 2.68
• Strikeouts: Lee Westover (1950) 119

Seasonal Pitching Leaders

Notes

This summary originated as the May 13, 2001, Midwest League Tidbit on the Midwest League Mailing List.

Sources

These pages draw heavily on several sources:

• STATS All-Time Handbook
• Pat Doyle's Professional Baseball Player Database
• Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball
• 1950 Spink Guide
• 1951 Baseball Blue Book
• 1981 Midwest League Record Book
• baseball-reference.com

Notes

The MWL Record Book is a little confused about Barry Dosser; they call him Barry Loeser in the league's list of 20 game winners. Perhaps they have mistaken him for West Frankfort's Dick Loeser. This was already wrong in 1981; it remained wrong in the 2000 edition.

Billy Queen and Jim Frey had remarkably similar playing careers, even playing for the same teams several times. The important difference is that Queen appeared in three games for the big league Braves in '54, striking out twice in two plate appearances and making a couple plays in the outfield.

I'd welcome any details and reasons for the franchise shuffle after the 1950 season.