Lincoln Links: Difference between revisions

| name = Lincoln Links<br>Lincoln A's<br>Lincoln Chiefs

*'''Class B''' (1959–1961)

*'''Class A''' (1947–1958; 1924–1927; 1906–1917)

* '''Class D''' (1938–1939; 1928–1936; 1922–1923)

*[[Western League (defunct minor league1900–1958)|Western League]] (1947–1958; 1924–1927; 1906–1917)

*[[AtlantaMilwaukee Braves (1953–69)|Milwaukee Braves]] (1953–1954)

*[[Oakland Athletics|Philadelphia Athletics]] (1947–1952)

*[[Baltimore Orioles|St. Louis Browns]] (1938–1939)

*Landis Field,
*Antelope Park

| leaguechamps = {{hlist|1923; |1934; |1956; |1957}}

}}<!-- Infobox ends -->The '''Lincoln Links''' were an [[United States|American]] [[minor league baseball]] franchise that represented [[Lincoln, Nebraska]], for 18 seasons over a 23-year period (1917–19391917–39) during the 20th Centurycentury. They played in the Class A [[Western League (defunct minor league1900–1958)|Western League]] (1917; 1924–19271924–27), the Class D [[Nebraska State League]] (1922–19231922–23; 1928–19361928–36; 1938) and the Class D [[Western League (baseball, 1939–41)|Western League of 1939–19411939–41]] (1939).

Lincoln was first represented in [[professional baseball|organized baseball]] in 1886 as the ''Tree Planters'' in the reorganized [[Western League (original)|original Western League]]. Lincoln's 19th Century-century teams played in various leagues between 1886 and 1895. In 1906, Lincoln joined the Class A Western League as the ''Ducklings'' (1906), ''Treeplanters'' (1907), ''Railsplitters'' (1908–19131908–13) and ''Tigers'' (1914–19161914–16).<ref name="nyha">[httphttps://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?city=Lincoln&state=NE&country=US BR Minors]</ref> During this time, team nicknames were often unofficially assigned by sportswriters, and ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball,'', published by [[Baseball America]] in 2007, lists other nicknames for the Lincoln franchise of the time, including ''Greenbackers'' and ''Antelopes.''

Adopted in 1917, ''Links'' was the most widely used of the several nicknames associated with Lincoln teams during the 20th century. They played home games at Antelope Park (through 1917) and Landis Field (after 1922)<ref name="koty">[http://www.nebaseballhistory.com/landis.html Nebraska Baseball History web site]</ref> and won Nebraska State League championships in 1923 (under [[manager (baseball)|manager]] O.A. Beltzer), and 1934 (under Cy Lingle and [[Pug Griffin]]). Upon the introduction of the [[farm system]], the Links were linked with [[Major League Baseball]]'s [[St. Louis Cardinals]] (1933–19341933–34), [[Cincinnati Reds]] (1936, as the ''Red Links''), and [[Baltimore Orioles|St. Louis Browns]] (1938–19391938–39).<ref name="nyha"/>

The Class A Western League had folded during the [[Great Depression]] in 1937, but with the boom in baseball attendance following [[World War II]], it was revived in 1947 by [[U.S. Senator]] [[Edwin C. Johnson]] of [[Colorado]].

Lincoln was one of six cities represented in the 1947 Western League as the ''A's,'', reflecting its affiliation with the [[Oakland Athletics|Philadelphia Athletics]]. The Lincoln A's moved into a new ballpark, Sherman Field, named for franchise owner [[Charles "Cy" Sherman]],<ref>Cy Sherman Dies; Dean of American Sports Writers, The Lincoln Star (Lincoln, Nebraska) May 23, 1951, page 1 and 2, accessed October 17, 2016 at https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7061146// and https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7061235//</ref> and played for six seasons (1947–19521947–52), making the playoffs twice. [[Baseball Hall of Fame]] [[second baseman]] [[Nellie Fox]] [[batting average (baseball)|batted]] .311 for the 1948 Lincoln A's in his last season as a minor leaguer.

However, in 1953 the Athletics abandoned Lincoln and were replaced by the [[AtlantaMilwaukee Braves (1953–69)|Milwaukee Braves]], who fielded a club identified by its final nickname, the ''Lincoln Chiefs.'' The Chiefs struggled on the field for their first three seasons, but in 1956, in the team's second year as an affiliate of the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]], they won the Western League's first- half and playoff championships. The 1956 Chiefs, managed by [[Larry Shepard]], were paced by two standout performances. [[First baseman]] [[Dick Stuart]] clubbed 66 [[home runs]] — still the fourth-most in minor league history — and also led the league with 158 [[runs batted in]]. [[Pitcher]] [[Bennie Daniels]], meanwhile, compiled a 15–3 [[Win–loss record (pitching)|win–loss record]].

The Chiefs played for three more seasons in organized baseball as a member of the Class B [[Illinois-Indiana-IowaIllinois–Indiana–Iowa League]] and an affiliate of the [[Chicago White Sox]]. But the Three-I League was also suffering from the woes that plagued the Western circuit, and it disbanded after the 1961 season.

==Notable alumni of the Lincoln A's and Chiefs (1947–19611947–61)==

*[[Dick Hall (baseball)|Dick Hall]]

*[[Ken Hamlin (baseball)|Ken Hamlin]]

[[Category:ProfessionalDefunct baseball teams in Nebraska]]

[[Category:SportsBaseball clubsteams established in 19171906]]

[[Category:SportsBaseball clubsteams establisheddisestablished in 19471961]]

[[Category:Sports1961 clubs disestablisheddisestablishments in 1939Nebraska]]

[[Category:SportsIllinois-Indiana-Iowa clubsLeague disestablished in 1961teams]]