Class titles 1 (1929) Founded 1888 Years active 1888–1954 | Previous names Kansas City Blues League American Association | |
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Previous Triple-A (1946–1954)
Double-A (1908–1945)
A (1902–1907) Previous leagues Western League (1901)
American League (1900)
Western League (1894–1899)
Western Association (1888), (1890–1891), (1893) Previous New York Yankees (1936–1954)
Pittsburgh Pirates (1935) League titles 8 (1888, 1890, 1898, 1901, 1929, 1938, 1952, 1953) | ||
The Kansas City Blues are a former minor league baseball team located in Kansas City, Missouri, in the Midwestern United States. The team was one of the eight founding members of the American Association.
The Blues did not field particularly competitive teams until 1918, when they won the AA pennant. The team won again in 1923, and again in 1929. They won the Junior World Series championship both years, defeating the Baltimore Orioles (minor league) and the Rochester Red Wings of the International League (respectively) in best-of-nine series.
In 1935, the Blues became a farm club of the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1936 they became an affiliate of the New York Yankees. They won the AA championships five times in the 1930s and 1940s. They defeated the Newark Bears (International League), another Yankees farm club, in the 1938 Junior World Series
When the American League Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas City in 1955, the Blues moved to Denver, Colorado.
The official website of Minor League Baseball calls the Blues teams of 1929 and 1939 two of the 100 greatest Minor League Baseball teams ever.
Players and managers
Well-known members of the 1929 Junior World Series-winning Kansas City Blues included:
Other well-known players and managers include: