Evansville Evas

The Evansville Evas was a primary nickname of an early minor league baseball teams in Evansville, Indiana. Early Evansville teams played as members of the Southern Association (1895), Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League (1901–1902), Central League (1903–1911; 1913–1917), Kentucky-Illinois-Tennessee League(1912), Central League (1913–1917) and Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League (1919–1931).

Evansville Evas
1887–1931
(1887, 1889–1892 1895–1897, 1901–1931)
Evansville, Indiana
Minor league affiliations
Previous classesClass B (1902–1911; 1913–1917; 1919–1931)
Class D (1901, 1912)
Previous leagues
Southern Association (1895)
Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League (1901–1902)
Central League (1903–1911; 1913–1917)
Kentucky-Illinois-Tennessee League(1912)
Central League (1913–1917)
Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League (1919–1931)
Major league affiliations
Previous teams
Minor league titles
League titles 2 1908, 1915,
Team data
Previous names
Evansville Hubs (1926–1931)
Evansville Evas (1916–1924)
Evansville Little Evas (1924)
Evansville Pocketeers (1925)
Evansville Strikers (1911)
Evansville Yankees (1912)
Evansville River Rats (1913–1917; 1901–1910)
Evansville Hoosiers (1889–1896)
Evansville Brewers (1896)
Evansville Black Birds (1895)
Evansville Red (1887)
Previous parks
Louisiana Street Park (1895–1914)
Bosse Field (1915–1931)

Beginning in 1915, Evansville played home games at Bosse Field, which is the third oldest baseball stadium in the United States, still in use today by the Evansville Otters of the Frontier League.

Evansville was an affiliate of the Detroit Tigers from 1928 to 1931.

Baseball Hall of Fame members Hank Greenberg (1931), Chuck Klein (1927) and Edd Roush (1912–1913) played for Evansville during the early era, joining Warren Spahn as Evansville alumni inducted into the Hall of Fame.

The Evansville Evas and Hubs directly preceded the 1938 Evansville Bees, who rejoined the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League.

History

After early Evansville minor league teams began play in 1887 as the Evansville Red, other teams followed in the late 1800s: Evansville Hoosiers (1889-1892; 1896), Evansville Brewers (1897) and the 1895 Evansville Black Birds of the Southern Association.[1]

In 1901, the Evansville River Rats began league play in the new Class D Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League (Three-I) as a 1901 charter franchise. Evansville joined the Bloomington Blues, Cedar Rapids Rabbitts, Davenport River Rats, Decatur Commodores, Rock Island Islanders, Rockford Red Sox and Terre Haute Hottentots in the new league.[2] Bloomington, Illinois, Decatur, Illinois and Terre Haute, Indiana left the Central League to join, while Evansville and the others were new franchises.[2]

On May 10, 1910, Evansville River Rats pitcher Bill Cristall pitched an 11–inning no–hitter in a losing effort. Cristall lost by the score of 1-0 to the Grand Rapids Raiders in an 11 inning game. Evansville had a second no–hitter when River Rats pitcher Paul Paul Fitterly threw a no–hitter against the Terre Haute Terre-iers on August 6, 1913, in a 5–0 Evansville victory. Evas pitcher Paul Winchell threw the third franchise no–hitter in a 1–0 Evansville victory over the Springfield Reapers on August 3, 1916. The fourth no–hitter was thrown by Tom Karnaghan on May 13, 1917 in a 1–0 Evansville Evas win over the South Bend Benders. The fifth franchise no–hitter was thrown by Evas pitcher Frank Winchell on August 22, 1919, as Evansville defeated the Moline Plowboys 2–0.[3]

Over the next thirty years, the team shifted names and leagues as the Evansville Hubs (1926–1931), Evansville Evas (1916–1924), Evansville Little Evas (1924), Evansville Pocketeers (1925), Evansville Strikers (1911), Evansville Yankees (1912) and original Evansville River Rats (1913–1917; 1901–1910) took the field in Evansville. The Evansville teams played in the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League (1901–1902; 1919–1931), Central League (1903–1911; 1913–1917) and Kentucky-Illinois-Tennessee League (1912).[1]

Evansville played as an affiliate of the Detroit Tigers (1928–1931).[4][5]

The Evansville franchise stopped play after the 1931 season during the Great Depression. Evansville was without baseball until the 1938 Evansville Bees returned to Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League play as an affiliate of the Bostin Braves/Boston Bees. That era of Evansville baseball ran through 1957.[1]

Today, Evansville hosts the Evansville Otters of the Frontier League, who continue play at Bosse Field.[6]

The ballparks

Early Evansville teams played at Louisiana Street Park through 1914. The park was located at East Louisiana Street and Read Avenue.[7]

Beginning in 1915, Evansville teams played at Bosse Field. Still in use today, the ballpark is located at 1701 Main Street & Morgan Street in Evansville, Indiana.[8] Bosse Field is currently home to the Evansville Otters in the independent Frontier League. Behind MLB's Fenway Park, which opened in 1912 and Wrigley Field, which opened in 1914, Bosse Field is the third oldest baseball park in the United States. The first game at Bosse Field was played on June 17, 1915.[6][9]

Hank Greenberg

Notable alumni

Baseball Hall of Fame alumni

Other notable alumni

See also

Evansville Hoosiers players, Evansville Hubs players, Evansville Evas players, Evansville Pocketeers players, Evansville River Rats players, Evansville Strikers players, Evansville Yankees players, Evansville Brewers players, Evansville Black Birds players, Evansville Red players

References
  1. "Evansville, Indiana Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com.
  2. "1901 Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League". Baseball-Reference.com.
  3. "Minor League No-Hitters 1910-1919 - BR Bullpen". www.baseball-reference.com.
  4. "Evansville Hubs - BR Bullpen". www.baseball-reference.com.
  5. https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/roster/t-eh11468/y-1930>
  6. "Evansville Otters – Frontier League".
  7. "1914 Evansville River Rats Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  8. https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/park.cgi?id=IN004
  9. "EvansvilleOtters". July 5, 2008. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008.
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