Minnesota Baseball Association Uniforms
 

So I was idling along today wanting to add this league to my game as an amateur league to keep the glut of free agents busy. But what really got me thinking on recreating this league for OOTP was the fact that these teams play in my backyard. So as a motion to bring some more realty to OOTP, I am going to give this league a go!

From Wikipedia:

Townball has been played in Minnesota since the 1920s. Numbers of teams and leagues operating in Minnesota peaked between the end of World War II (1945) and the arrival of Minnesota's new Major League Baseball team, the Minnesota Twins, in 1961. Since the minimum number of players required to field a team for a single game with no substitutions is nine, then at least 7191 (and in actuality a much larger number) individuals participated in Minnesota townball in the peak year, 1950.

Historically, Townball teams in Minnesota were divided into three classes: AA, A, and B. In Class AA leagues, teams were permitted three players from outside the local area, and salaries were unlimited; essentially, whatever the team's owners or shareholders could afford, they could pay. Because the unrestrained competition and unlimited budgets bankrupted many teams and forced others to move to a lower class, this form of Townball disappeared in Minnesota by 1960, its leagues all victims of their own excesses. Legendary football coach Bud Grant played Class AA townball in Minnesota and Wisconsin and remarked, "I made more money playing [town team] baseball than I did playing for the Minneapolis Lakers...And we won an NBA title while I was playing for them." [3] Another perspective came from a former official from Bird Island, Fabian Sheehan: "We priced ourselves out of the business, but we sure had a good time doing it."

Today there are more than 300 active Townball teams in Minnesota,[2] playing in over 30 leagues throughout Minnesota,[5] with major concentrations in the southern and central areas of the state.[6]

So without further ado...

Minnesota Baseball Association Logo
 

Minnesota Baseball Association Logo

Ada Athletics
 

Ada (/ˈeɪdə/ AY-də) is a city in Norman County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,707 at the 2010 census.

Aitkin Steam
 

Aitkin (/ˈeɪkɪn/ AY-kin) is a city in Aitkin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,165 at the 2010 census.

Andover Aces
 

Andover is a city in Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 30,598 at the 2010 census.

I was literally going to come out of retirement today and the MBA was at the top of my list of projects. I can't compete with your productivity Loaf and it is your home state! Maybe I take on the town ball here in Wisconsin...

Wonderful concept.. I really miss the good old days of semi-pro baseball and town baseball.

You really stirred my wonderful memories of the 40s and 50s... Sunday afternoons spent watching the local guys play ball... actually these games inspired my love of sports... in 1950 my cousin was an 18-year-old pitcher for the Monumental Park Red Sox in Florence, Alabama... I was 10 years old... I would count his strikeouts at each game... it was the beginning of a lifelong love of baseball... and it's still alive today in OOTPB, which is greatly enhanced by great graphics guys like you, low, txranger, knuckler and No Pepper... and many others, too many to name.

Memories of the semi-pro teams like the Monsanto Maulers in Tennessee, the Florence Raiders, Reynolds Ramblers and Russellville Travelers in Northwest Alabama and the Ponchatoula Athletics, Vacherie Vols and Norco Oilers in Louisiana.

I recently started a town ball league... the fictional North Island Recreational League... thanks for the great logos, jerseys and caps you did in your High School Thread... I used quite a few of them.
I'm having so much fun with a small townball league, that I will soon expand with the South Island Recreational League... low graciously did 10 of the 12 teams' graphics... the SIRL will join the NIRL on the Dynasty Forum.

Thank again for the memories... and all of your wonderful logos, jerseys and caps.

Eugene, the time you describe seems like an alien world as compared to today.
I remember as a youngster believing that I was going to play in the big leagues, the reality of it being very unlikely didn't slap me in the face until I was about 16 or so.
Growing up when I did, I was unaware of townball. I wish I had stuck with baseball, I would have had no shame being a Class B All Star!
I can only imagine a time where there wasn't all the meaningless noise and distractions where a small quaint ball park rooting on your local 9 was the place to be.
It's a mystical place to me, almost seems like a fantasy, too good to be true. Yet, at one time it was the biggest show in town, and probably the state.
I'm sure with the memories and insight you have, you're the fella I'd love to have a few beers with and just listen to the good stories!

Arlington A's
 

Arlington is a city in Sibley County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,233 at the 2010 census.

Austin Greyhounds
 

Austin is a city in, and the county seat of, Mower County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 24,718 at the 2010 census.


Hormel Foods Corporation is Austin's largest employer, and the town is sometimes called "SPAM Town USA".[9] Austin is home to Hormel's corporate headquarters, a factory that makes most of North America's SPAM tinned meat, and the Spam Museum. Austin is also home to the Hormel Institute, a leading cancer research institution operated by the University of Minnesota with significant support from the Mayo Clinic.

Adrian A's
 

Adrian is a city in Nobles County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,209 at the 2010 census.

Albertville Villains
 

Albertville is a city in Wright County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 7,044 at the 2010 census.

In the 40s and 50s... we had only a few forms of entertainment... radio, TV, which was in its infancy during this time... many towns only had one TV stations... and more importantly very few people had TVs in their house… my family got our first one in 1953... we also had the movies... but we had to go out at night because of the summer heat... no one had air conditioning... we sat on the front porch to cool off, listening to the radio: the Grand Old Opry, Jack Benny Program, George Burns and Gracie Allen Program or our grandparents and parents talking about their lives growning up... or went to the movies (the movies had AC)… or better yet... we went to see the local minor league team... or the local semi-pro teams.

Back then sports were very limited on TV... you had to go to the football, basketball or baseball game in person to see them.

You have to realize that in the 40s and early 50s... that was the Golden Age of Baseball... it was the only game in town in the spring and summer... sports seasons back then did not overlap... football was from
September to December... basketball December to March... baseball from March to September... unlike today with the overlapping seasons, an athlete could letter in all sports... nowadays, they can only pick one and they must sadly train year round in it or they won't be on the team.

I'll take my wonderful days of "sandlot baseball" over the overly-organized youth "modern day baseball"l any day...we played sunup to sundown with no parents around... we played for the sheer joy of the game in an unorganized and unsupervised way... thank goodness, we didn't have those ungodly travel teams that cost a family a fortune and only allow the talented and well-off kids to play... we 1950's middle-class and poor scrubs wouldn't get a chance to play these days.

I think travel teams are a curse... look at the arm problems caused by them... old pitchers prior to 1970 didn't have a lot of arm trouble like they do today.

On the sandlot, we didn't hurt our arms overthrowing fast balls and breaking balls like they do today... our arms developed naturally and hence we didn't have arm trouble... I think we threw a lot more balls back then, too, thus strengthening our arms.

Here are your Atwater Chuckers!

Also joining the Chuckers in the Cornbelt League, the Big Island Bullfrogs!

Cornbelt League's Granite Falls Kilowatts

What else do I have here...the Raymond Rockets

Milroy Yankees

Sacred Heart Saints, apparently with an "invisible logo". Have faith, it's there!

And the Marshall A's