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Southern Michigan Association, 1914 Season
Includes teams from Bay City and Saginaw.

1914 Season. (Added Apr., 2009)

Spalding's Official Base Ball Guide for 1913-1914

Southern Michigan Association
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Page 241.

During the season of 1914 the Southern Michigan Association assumed quite a burden by operation with a circuit of ten clubs and with a divided season. Both of these are not wholly innovations, but as a double burden are an irksome load for a minor league to carry. The association lived through the ordeal and completed its season with all of its clubs intact.

The first half of the season was won by Bay City, with a comparatively wide margin. Battle Creek was second and the Saginaw club was sixth. With one more defeat than victory to its credit. In the second half Saginaw spurted forward at a fast rate and finished in the lead, with Battle Creek again second. The latter played better than it did in the first half.

With a divided season there was of course, a post-season series. In the play-off between Bay City and Saginaw the latter club won the first three games. With only one victory needed to clinch the championship, Saginaw was not able to defeat Bay City again until after the latter has won three games, making the series a tie. Saginaw, however, took the decisive game, but it took ten innings to do so.

Battle Creek had been the champions of 1913, and made the strongest fight in the league against Saginaw and Bay City. Toledo was a fair third in the first half of the season, but seemed strangely out of place in this circuit, and in the second half played a dismal game, winning only ten contests out sixty-eight.

Harris of Bay City led the league in batting, with .386 for 139 games. Jenkins of the same team, was the premier base stealer, having a total of sixty-one in 133 games. He also holds the record for most runs last season in the association, 140, although Harris was pretty close, with 135. Hoffman of Flint had the most home runs, twelve. J. Jenkins, also of Bay City, led the pitchers, winning twenty-three and losing four games. Robbins of Saginaw struck out most batters, 338 in forty-three games. South Bend has 111 double plays, while Adrian has almost as many, 104, yet the latter team was consistently ninth in both sections of the double schedule.

The standing of the clubs and championship winners in previous years are given herewith. The complete official averages for the past season will be found in the Spalding's Official Base Ball Record, which contains records of all leagues, the Hall of Fame, All-American selections, best-on-records, world series records, and records of leaders in past years; also college records, schedules, notes, managers' and captains' names and pictures. 500 pages. Illustrated. Price, 25 cents.

CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS IN PREVIOUS YEARS.

1906 – Mt. Clemens 1907 – Tecumseh 1908 – Saginaw 1909 – Saginaw

1910 – Kalamazoo 1911 – Kalamazoo 1912 – Adrian 1913 – Battle Creek

STANDINGS OF CLUBS

Team - Won, Lost, Percentage.
First Half: Bay City – 51, 25, .671 Battle Creeek – 44, 35, .557 Toledo – 43, 35, .551 Flint – 39, 37, .513 South Bend – 38, 38, .500 Saginaw – 38, 39, .494 Mt. Clemens – 36, 38, .0486 Jackson – 33, 44, .467 Adrian – 33, 44, .429 Kalamazoo – 26, 52, .333	Second Half: Saginaw – 52, 16, .765 Battle Creek – 48, 22, .686 South Bend – 47, 22, .681 Bay City – 45, 25, .643 Jackson – 36, 32, .529 Flint – 36, 33, .522 Mt. Clemens – 27, 42, .391 Kalamazoo – 23, 45, .338 Adrian – 20, 49, .290 Toledo – 10, 58, .147

In the play-off Saginaw won the first three games, Bay City the next three, and Saginaw won the decisive game in ten innings.

Individual Batting. (Bay City only)

(Name - Games, At Bats, Runs, Hits, Percentage)

Harris - 139, 510, 135, 197, .386. (league best)
Coombs - 129, 513, 110, 182, .355.
Potts - 15, 57, 14, 18, .316.
Barry - 132, 501, 73, 161, .299.
Donnelly - 126, 436, 62, 129, .296.
Harwell - 133, 557, 116, 161, .289.
Brubaker - 83, 303, 45, 81, .267.
Jenkins, J - 46, 134, 8, 27, .201.
Bussey - 38, 118, 7, 23, .195.
Thomas - 43, 126, 12, 34, .175.
Hickman - 52, 158, 17, 24, .152.

Page 250.

SOUTHERN MICHIGAN ASSOCIATION.
By A. S. Burkhart, President-Secretary-Treasurer.

This league started off as if it would have the most successful season since its formation in 1906, but just after opening day, the Saginaw Valley, in which the two largest cities in the circuit (Saginaw and Bay City) are located, suffered a severe flood, with the result that both teams were compelled to transfer many games.

The president of the league, James P. Bowen of Saginaw, was compelled to resign his position July 2, as he found that the work of the office interfered with his legal duties, and the vice-president of the league, A. S. Burkhart, president of the Saginaw club, filled out Mr. Bowen's unexpired term.

The Saginaw and Bay City clubs withdrew from the league under date of July 13, but have again entered for 1913.

The Battle Creek club started out as if they were going to make a runaway race for the pennant, but the Adrian club, which started slow, gradually pulled up on them and in the last week of the race overhauled them and went into Battle Creek for the last three days of the season with a two-game lead. In order to win the pennant Battle Creek had to win all four games (a postponed game being played the first day), or to get a tie had to win three out of the four games. On the first day each won two games. They succeeded in winning the Saturday game in a ten-inning struggle, but were given a terrible trouncing in the last game, Adrian beating them, 11 to 0.

There had been rumors of Battle Creek playing ineligible players and Acting-President Burkhart started a quiet investigation, with the result that he forfeited twelve games that Battle Creek had won from various clubs while playing M. J. Donovan, under the name of Murray, this man being on the suspended list of the Dayton club, and two games that they won from Adrian in the last four-game series for playing Coleman of the Kewanee club under the name of Burke. This penalty put Battle Creek last.

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