Iowa State League

The Iowa State League was a class D loop that played from 1904 through 1907. In 1908 it was renamed the Central Association. There were eleven cities that were represented in the league. Nine of those were from Iowa and the remaining two hailed from Illinois. Six of these teams participated in each year the league was in operation.

In 1912 the Iowa State League returned as an independent league.

The Ottumwa, IA squad won the league's first championship in 1904 and followed that up with a repeat performance in the 1905 season. The Burlington Pathfinders won in 1906 and the final league championship in 1907 went to yet another Iowa outfit, the Waterloo Cubs, to keep the league title in their home state.

Six of the league's teams were to go with the newly named Central Association, where they enjoyed a comfortable run from 1908 through 1917.

Cities Represented

• Boone, IA: Boone Coal Miners 1904; Boone Greyhounds 1905; Boone Miners 1906
• Burlington, IA: Burlington River Rats 1904; Burlington Flint Hills 1905; Burlington Pathfinders 1906-1907, moved to Central Association 1908
• Clear Lake, IA: Clear Lake Fish Eaters 1912
• Clinton, IA: Clinton Miners 1906
• Emmetsburg, IA: Emmetsburg 1912
• Estherville, IA: Estherville 1912
• Fort Dodge, IA: Fort Dodge Gypsum Eaters 1904; Fort Dodge Gypsumites 1905-1906; Fort Dodge Boosters 1912
• Jacksonville, IL: Jacksonville Lunatics 1907, moved to Central Association 1908
• Keokuk, IA: Keokuk Indians 1904-1907, moved to Central Association 1908
• Marshalltown, IA: Marshalltown Grays 1904-1905; Marshalltown Brownies 1906; Marshalltown Snappers 1907
• Mason City, IA: Mason City Cementmakers 1912
• Oskaloosa, IA: Oskaloosa Quakers 1904-1907, moved to Central Association 1908
• Ottumwa, IA: Ottumwa Snappers 1904-1905; Ottumwa Champs 1906; Ottumwa Packers 1907, moved to Central Association 1908
• Quincy, IL: Quincy Gems 1907, moved to Central Association 1908
• Waterloo, IA: Waterloo Microbes 1904-1906; Waterloo Cubs 1907

In 1906, Boone moved to Clinton July 14.

Teams & Statistics

1904

1904 Iowa State League - schedule
President: Frank S. Norton

Team Standings	W	L	PCT	GB	Attend	Managers
Ottumwa Snappers	70	36	.660	-	17,630	Snapper Kennedy
Waterloo Microbes	64	43	.598	6.5	18,695	James Myers (50-36) / Charles Cole (14-7)
Marshalltown Grays	60	49	.550	11.5	23,117	Robert Warner
Keokuk Indians	58	50	.537	13	15,741	Tom Hackett
Ft. Dodge Gypsum Eaters	57	52	.523	14.5	13,582	Frank Boyle
Boone Coal Miners	50	61	.450	22.5	16,581	Tommy Reynolds / Walter Holcomb / O.P. DePew
Oskaloosa Quakers	38	69	.355	32.5	16,620	William Tilley / Red Donahue
Burlington River Rats	36	73	.330	35.5	21,352	Sullivan /George Stovall /Bob Black

Player Statistics

Player	Team	Stat	Tot		Player	Team	Stat	Tot
Snapper Kennedy	Ottumwa	BA	.325		Louis Schaub	Ottumwa	W	23
Snapper Kennedy	Ottumwa	Hits	142		Louis Schaub	Ottumwa	SO	298
Joe Beaver	Ottumwa	Runs	76		Louis Schaub	Ottumwa	Pct	.767; 23-7
Al Spencer	Ottumwa	Runs	76

1905

1905 Iowa State League - schedule
President: Frank S. Norton

Team Standings	W	L	PCT	GB	Attend	Managers
Ottumwa Snappers	74	45	.621	-	22,261	Snapper Kennedy
Ft. Dodge Gypsumites	73	49	.599	2.5	19,270	Frank Boyle
Boone Greyhounds	65	54	.546	9	19,588	Frank Haller
Oskaloosa Quakers	65	56	.537	10	22,256	Howard Cassiboine
Keokuk Indians	59	62	.488	16	18,931	Ned Egan
Marshalltown Grays	55	66	.454	20	no report	Bobby Warner
Waterloo Microbes	56	69	.448	21	19,754	Harry Meek / Frank Lohr
Burlington Flint Hills	37	83	.368	37.5	26,635	Rusty Owens (6/5)/ Reynolds (7/5)/ Charlie Frisbee

Player Statistics

Player	Team	Stat	Tot		Player	Team	Stat	Tot
Harry Meek	Waterloo/Boone	BA	.320		Harry Corns	Boone	W	25
Harry Meek	Waterloo/Boone	Hits	152		Melvin Blexurd	Keokuk	SO	207
John Bassey	Boone	Runs	83		Fred Steel	Oskaloosa	Pct	.857; 18-3
Red Fisher	Boone	Runs	83

1906

1906 Iowa State League - schedule
President: L. S. Peckham

Team Standings	W	L	PCT	GB	Managers
Burlington Pathfinders	83	39	.680	-	Ned Egan
Oskaloosa Quakers	75	49	.605	9	Ham Patterson
Fort Dodge Gypsumites	68	49	.581	12.5	Frank Boyle
Marshalltown Brownies	65	55	.542	17	Rollo Brown
Keokuk Indians	53	67	.442	24	Pat McAndrews
Boone/Clinton Miners #	46	70	.397	34	William Wooley / Pat Ryan / Johnson
Waterloo Microbes	48	76	.387	36	Charlie Frisbee / Ernest G. Anklam
Ottumwa Champs	44	77	.364	38.5	William Niles / William Everett

# Boone moved to Clinton July 14.

Player Statistics

Player	Team	Stat	Tot		Player	Team	Stat	Tot
William Davidson	Ft. Dodge	BA	.344		Frank Shaw	Oscaloosa	W	29
Cy Neighbors	Burlington	Hits	161		Joe Bills	Keokuk	SO	209
Cy Neighbors	Burlington	Runs	96		Frank Dick	Marshalltown	Pct	.857; 18-3

1907

1907 Iowa State League - schedule
President: L. S. Peckham

Team Standings	W	L	PCT	GB	Attend	Managers
Waterloo Cubs	79	45	.637	-	27,992	Frank Boyle
Burlington Pathfinders	77	51	.602	4	43,420	Ned Egan
Oskaloosa Quakers	70	55	.560	9.5	22,585	Ham Patterson
Jacksonville Lunatics	63	61	.508	16	29,448	Frank Belt
Marshalltown Snappers	62	61	.504	16.5	14,992	Snapper Kennedy
Quincy Gems	61	66	.480	19.5	37,000	Harry Hofer
Ottumwa Packers	51	74	.408	28.5	24,974	Jack Corbett
Keokuk Indians	39	89	.305	42	20,760	Cy Black / Charles Yeager

Player Statistics

Player	Team	Stat	Tot		Player	Team	Stat	Tot
John House	Burlington	BA	.308		Frank Green	Burlington	W	28
John House	Burlington	Hits	158		Fred Steel	Oscaloosa	Pct	.817; 9-2
John House	Burlington	Runs	91

1912

1912 Iowa State League - schedule
President: D.M. Conroy/James Williams

Team Standings	W	L	PCT	GB	Managers
Mason City Cementmakers	38	27	.585	-	Frank Barber
Fort Dodge Boosters	34	25	.576	1	Connie Collins
Estherville	28	22	.560	2.5	Harry Welch
Emmetsburg	24	38	.387	12.5	Ed Smithson
Clear Lake Fish Eaters #	11	24	.314	NA	Dick Wells/M. Bacon

# Clear Lake ceased operations July 14 after playing two games of the second half; the games were both deleted from the league records
Playoffs: Estherville 4 games, Fort Dodge 1

Source

The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: Second and Third Editions