THE 1905-1906 OFFSEASON
by Mike Comfort
Despite the league successfully completing two seasons, the league wasn’t immune to financial problems. In June Keokuk and Fort Dodge released some of their highest salaried players, which abruptly stopped Fort Dodge’s winning streak. Ottumwa was struggling to stay afloat as their attendance was not strong, despite being in the midst of winning their 2nd consecutive pennant. One unnamed team even briefly revoked all media passes, so they could save money by forcing media to pay for their entry. This was promptly fixed. Marshalltown claimed $600 in losses and said that they might need to sell players to pay the debt. With that said, not all teams were struggling as Oskaloosa, Boone, and Waterloo were considered to be in good financial shape, although by August every team stated they lost money.
President Norton placed the blame on teams not sticking to a salary limit. He stated that the league could only survive if each team stayed under an $800 limit for the season. Norton said teams in the league were paying salaries comparable to the Three I League and Western Association which were three levels up and in much larger cities. The average salary was $1500 – Boone had the lowest at $1200 and Oskaloosa was the highest at $2000. Norton said that each team lost an average of $400 a month. Expenses included railroad fare ($142), board ($228), salaries ($1400), equipment/grounds/police ($100), combined to be approximately $1870. Monthly revenue was around $1500 which left each team with around $400 in losses. According to Norton, Burlington lost almost $1500. On top of the financial concerns, there was talk of a change to the composition of the league. One suggestion mentioned redistributing teams from the Three I League, Iowa League, and a new league to make for a better travel and balance amongst the leagues. Another report in August said that Oskaloosa was going to drop out of the league after the season due to financial issues and start a new minor league with smaller towns. Oskaloosa’s population was 10 times the size of the rest in this proposed league, which most likely contributed to it not forming. Other rumors that ended up being false were Dubuque joining the Iowa League after being ousted from the Three I, Burlington joining the Three I, and Ottumwa leaving the league due to their inability to get capital for the season. The previous backer of the team Mr. Springfield, who owned the streetcar line in town, had left the city. Potential replacements for Ottumwa included Clinton, Muscatine, and Quincy (IL). Ultimately, just like the previous season, all of the conjecture of team movement proved a waste of time. The Iowa League would return for a 3rd season with the same teams.
Sources
Sioux City Journal, Cedar Rapids Gazette, Clinton Herald, Muscatine Times, Oskaloosa Herald, Waterloo Courier, Council Bluffs Nonpareil, Marshalltown Times, Quad Cities Times
This article is copyright Mike Comfort and used with his permission. You can read more at his Substack by clicking HERE.
Mike Comfort is an Oskaloosa native as well as a baseball and history buff. He resides in Oskaloosa and is an educator and coach.
