Historical Minor League Schedules

[The Game]

Originally Posted by joefromchicago

1930 PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Teams:

Hollywood Stars
Los Angeles Angels
Mission (San Francisco) Reds
Oakland Oaks
Portland Beavers
Sacramento Senators
San Francisco Seals
Seattle Indians

Schedule Characteristics:

SCHEDULE type="ILN_BGY_G201_T8_C_" inter_league="0" balanced_games="1" games_per_team="201" start_month="4" start_day="8" start_day_of_week="3"

Each team plays 201 games. Teams play between 99 and 102 home games, and teams play each other between 28 and 30 times during the season.

The PCL had a split schedule in 1930. The first half of the season ended after the games on July 13.

Season starts on April 8 and ends on October 19. Teams play every day from Tuesday through Sunday. For the most part, no games on Mondays, unless it's a holiday. There are three games scheduled for Mondays (all involving Seattle) that are designated "special," and which could be rescheduled as parts of double-headers, presumably at the home team's option. Double-headers on Sundays and holidays - Memorial Day (5/30), Independence Day (7/4), Labor Day (9/1), and Admission Day (9/9). Weekday games start at 3:00. Saturday games start at 1:00. Double-header games start at noon and 3:00, except for the first games of Sacramento's Sunday double-headers which start at 10:00 a.m. These games were held at Stockton, about 50 miles south of Sacramento.


Attachment 369891

EDIT: corrected a discrepancy between league games and games per team. The corrected file is now attached.

I can't get this one to load, what am i doing wrong? I changed games from 200 to 201 even tried the split season option and that didn't work. Not sure what else to try.

[joefromchicago]

Your start date is wrong. It should be April 8. I got it to load with no problems, so try that and see if that fixes it.

EDIT: well, the other problem is that it appears you're trying to load the 1922 schedule instead of the 1930 schedule. That schedule has only 200 games, so the structure is different.

[joefromchicago]

1935 PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Teams:

Hollywood Stars
Los Angeles Angels
Mission (SF) Reds
Oakland Oaks
Portland Beavers
Sacramento Senators
San Francisco Seals
Seattle Indians

Schedule Characteristics:

"ILN_BGY_G177_T8_C_" inter_league="0" balanced_games="1" games_per_team="177" start_month="4" start_day="6" start_day_of_week="7"

Each team plays either 175 or 177 games. Teams play each other between 19 and 32 times during the season.

Season starts on April 6 and ends on September 22. Double-headers on Sundays and holidays - Memorial Day (5/30), Independence Day (7/4), Labor Day (9/2), and Admission Day (9/9 - California). Weekday games start at 7:00. Weekend games start at 1:00. Double-header games start at noon and 3:00.

The PCL traditionally scheduled a single series per week, with games on Tuesday through Saturday and double-headers on Sundays and holidays. In 1935, the league experimented with three- and four-game series. That experiment evidently did not work, as the league reverted to the traditional single-series-per-week format in 1936.


Pacific Coast League 1935.lsdl

[Le Grande Orange]

I'd offer this caution about the 1935 PCL schedule: it was substantially modified during the season from its originally published form. Similar to the 1934 season, Los Angeles appeared to be running away with the pennant by early June. In response the league opted to split the season to try and maintain fan interest, which also involved changes to the schedule. The revised schedule was published in the July 11th issue of The Sporting News.

[joefromchicago]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

I'd offer this caution about the 1935 PCL schedule: it was substantially modified during the season from its originally published form. Similar to the 1934 season, Los Angeles appeared to be running away with the pennant by early June. In response the league opted to split the season to try and maintain fan interest, which also involved changes to the schedule. The revised schedule was published in the July 11th issue of The Sporting News.

Thanks for that information. That might help explain why the league altered the schedule in the first place.

The schedules I post here are always the ones that were published in the pre-season, so they don't account for any changes that might have occurred afterwards.

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by joefromchicago

Thanks for that information. That might help explain why the league altered the schedule in the first place.

The schedules I post here are always the ones that were published in the pre-season, so they don't account for any changes that might have occurred afterwards.

I forget where I first read it, but for the 1934 and 1935 PCL seasons Los Angeles was doing so well that the league decided to split the season and revise the schedule to try and keep fan interest up. In the case of 1934 it didn't help in that LA was so good that season it dominated the second half as well. In 1935 the Angels faltered in the second half and San Francisco finished in first (and won the playoff).

I have text files of the revised 1934 and 1935 PCL schedules. (The 1935 file appears strangely incomplete, however. I could have sworn I finished it, but it seems I might not have.)

Other minor leagues have also split the season into halves while the season was in progress due to a club doing very well, though usually this did not involve changing the schedule. It's also happened when clubs have dropped out of a league—the season is split at that point so as to create a fairer competition for the remainder of the season. (Naturally, if clubs fold schedule revisions are sometimes required.)

[The Game]

Originally Posted by joefromchicago

Your start date is wrong. It should be April 8. I got it to load with no problems, so try that and see if that fixes it.

EDIT: well, the other problem is that it appears you're trying to load the 1922 schedule instead of the 1930 schedule. That schedule has only 200 games, so the structure is different.

I'll check the start date and see if that helps. I already had the 1922 schedule loaded and was trying the 1930 schedule.

[joefromchicago]

Originally Posted by The Game

I'll check the start date and see if that helps. I already had the 1922 schedule loaded and was trying the 1930 schedule.

Actually, the start date has no effect. I duplicated your settings and the schedule loaded fine,* so there must be some glitch somewhere in your settings or in the file. Did you check the file itself to make sure it hasn't been corrupted?

*One minor problem: April 4, 1931 was a Saturday, so the schedule should start on the Tuesday that immediately follows, i.e. April 7. It doesn't - it starts on April 14, which pushes the end date to Oct. 25. You might want to change the start date to April 7.

[joefromchicago]

1950 EASTERN LEAGUE

Teams:

Albany Senators
Binghamton Triplets
Elmira Pioneers
Hartford Chiefs
Scranton Miners
Utica Blue Sox
Wilkes-Barre Indians
Williamsport Grays

Schedule Characteristics:

ILN_BGY_G140_T8_C_" inter_league="0" balanced_games="1" games_per_team="140" start_month="4" start_day="26" start_day_of_week="4"

Each team plays 140 games. Teams play each other 20 times during the season.

Season starts on April 26 and ends on September 10. Weekday games start at 7:00. Weekend games start at 1:00. Weeknight (twi-night) double-header games start at 4:00 and 7:00. Weekend and holiday double-header games start at noon and 3:00, except for split home-and-home double-headers between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, which start at 1:00 and 7:00.


Eastern League 1950.lsdl

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by joefromchicago

The association between the Mexican League and the Texas League lasted only two years (1959-60).

I forgot to nitpick this earlier. The association between the Mexican and Texas Leagues lasted three seasons, from 1959 through 1961.

For those interested, here are the associations which have existed in minor league baseball history:

1959-1961: Pan-American Association (Texas League and Mexican League)
1971: Dixie Association* (Southern League and Texas League)
1988-1991: Triple-A Alliance (American Association and International League)

In all three of the above the two leagues played interleague regular season contests, and the champions of each league met to determine the grand champion.

*Actually, I disagree with it being considered an association. Most reference works list separate standings for the Southern and Texas Leagues for 1971. But if one looks at the league standings published in contemporary sources such as The Sporting News, as well as the original schedule issued for the league, it's clear the Dixie Association operated as a single 14-team entity for standings and playoff purposes. So I think it's more accurate to regard the Dixie Association as a temporary one-year merger of the Southern and Texas Leagues.

One could arguably also include as an association the independent Northern League from 1999-2002. In that instance the Northeast League technically joined the Northern League, becoming the "East Division" while the existing Northern League clubs became the "Central Division". What's a bit weird is that these "Divisions" were themselves broken down into two divisions (either East and West or North and South). There was no regular season interleague play between the Central and East "Divisions" though the respective champions of each met in a grand final. In OOTP terms it's probably easier to think of it as an association, with the Northern League as one subleague and the Northeast League as the other, but with the association name being "Northern League".

In terms of regular season interleague play, the Carolina and Western Carolinas League played such contests for the 1975 and 1976 seasons, but there was no larger organization comprising both and no playoff was held between the respective league champions. The same is true for the independent American Association and Can-Am Leagues for the 2012-2014 seasons.

[joefromchicago]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

I forgot to nitpick this earlier. The association between the Mexican and Texas Leagues lasted three seasons, from 1959 through 1961.

Thanks for that correction. The sources I consulted said that it only lasted two years.

That being said, I don't want this thread to turn into a general discussion about schedules. My idea here is just to post schedules that gamers can use if they want the "feel" of a railroad-era league. That's why I'm posting what I consider to be representative samples of league schedules rather than, say, posting a string of schedules from a single league. I'll be more than happy to join a discussion of the history of baseball schedules in some other thread.

[joefromchicago]

1900 NEW YORK STATE LEAGUE

Teams:

Albany Senators
Binghamton Crickets
Cortland Wagonmakers
Oswego Pioneers
Rome Romans
Schenectady Electricians
Troy Washerwomen
Utica Reds

Schedule Characteristics:

SCHEDULE type="ILN_BGY_G104_T8_C_" inter_league="0" balanced_games="1" games_per_team="104" start_month="5" start_day="11" start_day_of_week="6"

Each team plays 104 games. Teams play each other from 14 to 16 times.

Season starts on May 11 and ends on September 8. Weekday games start at 3:00. Saturday games start at 1:00. Double-header games on holidays (Decoration Day (5/30), Independence Day (7/4), and Labor Day (9/3)) start at noon and 3:00, except for split home-and-home double-headers between Albany and Troy, Cortland and Binghamton, and Utica and Rome, which start at 10:00 and 3:00. No Sunday games.

Baseball Reference says that the season lasted 118 games rather than 104. This schedule is based on the one published in The Sporting Life on April 7, 1900. There may have been changes made mid-season. In addition, there were several errors and gaps in the schedule (e.g. Schenectady is listed as playing in two places on August 24), and I've made what I think are reasonable corrections.


New York League 1900.lsdl

[Bottom Of The Sixth]

I just came across this thread for the 1st time, today.

Super great stuff, Joe.

Thanks for putting so much time into it and being so willing to share it with the community!

[joefromchicago]

1936 KENTUCKY-ILLINOIS-TENNESSEE (KITTY) LEAGUE

Teams:

Cape Girardeau (MO)
Hopkinsville (KY) Hoppers
Jackson (TN) Generals
Lexington (TN) Giants
Mayfield (KY) Clothiers
Paducah (KY) Indians
Portageville (MO) Pirates
Union City (TN) Greyhounds

(Baseball Reference lists the Fulton (KY) Eagles instead of Cape Girardeau)

Schedule Characteristics:

SCHEDULE type="ILN_BGY_G120_T8_C_" inter_league="0" balanced_games="1" games_per_team="120" start_month="5" start_day="19" start_day_of_week="3"

Each team plays 120 games. Teams play each other from 16 to 18 times.

Season starts on May 19 and ends on September 13. Weekday games start at 7:00. Weekend and holiday games start at 1:00. Double-header games start at noon and 3:00, except for split home-and-home double-headers on July 4 between Mayfield and Paducah and between Jackson and Lexington which start at 10:00 and 3:00.

This schedule posed a number of problems. The biggest had Cape Girardeau and Jackson playing three straight double-headers. That was clearly a mistake, but there was no obvious solution, so I deleted one game and reassigned another to an open date.


Kitty League 1936.lsdl

This will be the last schedule that I post here for a while as I turn my attention to another project. Time permitting, though, I still intend to post here sporadically.

[The Game]

Joe, any chance you could maker the schedules from the AAGPBL?
http://www.aagpbl.org/index.cfm/team...acine-belles/3

If not it's cool.

[joefromchicago]

Originally Posted by The Game

Joe, any chance you could maker the schedules from the AAGPBL?
http://www.aagpbl.org/index.cfm/team...acine-belles/3

If not it's cool.

I'd be delighted, but I don't see any schedules on that site. Do you know of any websites or resources that might have the schedules?

[Bottom Of The Sixth]

Originally Posted by joefromchicago

I'd be delighted, but I don't see any schedules on that site. Do you know of any websites or resources that might have the schedules?

I have not had any luck locating a schedule however, I located the following info from this web site:

History Engine: Tools for Collaborative Education and Research | Episodes


In summary: 108 game 1943 season starting in Mid-May to the 1st of Sept.

Had a 5 game World Series.
--------------------------------------------------

This source states they had a 126 game season in 1948:

A League of Their Own: the real story - Chicago Tribune

[joefromchicago]

I'm really surprised they played such long seasons. I would have guessed 50-60 games, tops.

I'll keep my eyes peeled for any schedules that might have been published in the local newspapers. If anyone can find these schedules, I'll be glad to do them.

[txranger]

Bump for a great thread, thanks Joe!!!

[Elektranaut]

Joe,you have my admiration what you have achieved here...its great to have the option of using the older and less conventional schedules