Midwest League History

The 1960s

An overview of Midwest League history between 1960 and 1969.

Given time and opportunity, the Midwest League stabilized. In the sixties, the MWL found its permanent identity. Although teams still shifted cities and made other changes, and although the league expanded from eight to ten teams, the year-to-year continuities had finally become clear.

During these years the league moved to larger cities; indeed, it almost completely abandoned its original Southern Illinois base. By the end of the period, the league had placed several teams in Iowa and was beginning to foreshadow the modern Midwest League.

The Three-I League collapsed after the 1961 season and the Midwest League welcomed the refugee Appleton, Cedar Rapids, and Davenport franchises. Kokomo retired from the fray at that time, leaving the league with an even number of teams. The MWL played the 1969 season with only nine teams as John Petrakis' Dubuque team, always a shoestring operation, failed to make it out the gate. The franchise would move to Danville for 1970.

While the MWL's franchises had finally settled down, the affiliation picture remained pretty erratic, and some teams' development contracts changed almost annually. While there were no Co-op teams during this decade, the 1964 Quincy team functioned as the MWL's last truly independent franchise. Independence wasn't a good experience; that team won just 42 games.

Until 1962 the MWL was a Class D member of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues; thereafter it was a Class A league.