Independence Producers

• Location: Independence, KS
• League: Southwestern League 1921-1924; Western Association 1925, 1928-1932
• Affiliation:
• Ballpark: Riverside Park

Team History

The Independence Producers were the hosts of the first night game in organized baseball history, which was played on April 28, 1930 at Riverside Park, under temporary lights. The visiting Muskogee Chiefs defeated their hosts, 3-1. the game had originally been scheduled for Opening Day, on Saturday April 26th, but was rained out. As the following day, a Sunday, called for a day game, the historic occasion was moved back two days. It was pressing for Independence to get the game in, as a rival team, the Des Moines Demons of the Western League, was planning to play under the lights for its home opener, scheduled for May 2nd.

Year-by-Year Record

Year	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs	Notes
1921	103-38	1st	Ted Waring	none League Champs
1922	79-58	4th	Ted Waring / Walt Fromm
1923	49-85	8th	Drummond Brown
1924	45-21	--	Pat Mason	--	Team disbanded on July 5
1925	44-105	6th	Mick Reidy / Pat O'Byrne
1928	66-67	4th	Jimmy Payton	Lost League Finals
1929	71-78	4th	Marty Purtell
1930	76-56	1st	Marty Purtell	League Champs
1931	77-69	3rd	Marty Purtell	none
1932	12-10 / 4-12	--	Marty Purtell		Independence moved to Joplin on May 23, Joplin (7-10) moved back on June 10 Independence moved to Hutchinson (35-36) on July 20

Further Reading

• Mark Metcalf: "Organized Baseball's Night Birth", The Baseball Research Journal, SABR, Volume 45, Number 2 (Fall 2016), pp. 47-49.

External Link

• 1921 Independence Producers