The Lake Linden Lakers were a minor league baseball team based in Lake Linden, Michigan. The 1904 and 1905 Lakers were followed by the 1906 Lake Linden "Sandy Cities," as the Lake Linden teams played as members of the 1904 Copper Country League, 1905 Copper Country Soo League and 1906 Northern-Copper Country League, winning the 1905 league championship. Lake Linden hosted home games at the Lake Linden Ball Park.
| Lake Linden Lakers | |
|---|---|
| Minor league affiliations | |
| Class | Class D (1904–1905) Class C (1906) |
| League | Copper Country League (1904) Copper Country Soo League (1905) Northern-Copper Country League (1906) |
| Major league affiliations | |
| Team | None |
| Minor league titles | |
| League titles (1) | 1905 |
| Team data | |
| Name | Lake Linden Lakers (1904–1905) Lake Linden Sandy Cities (1906) |
| Ballpark | Lake Linden Ball Park (1904–1906) |
History
editLake Linden, Michigan began minor league play in 1904 as members of the four–team Class D level Copper Country League, with final league records unknown.[1][2]
The 1905 Lake Linden Lakers won a league championship. Playing as members of the four–team Class D level Copper Country Soo League, Lake Linden finished the season with a record of 57–36, placing second in the regular season standings playing under manager Perry Glass. The Lakers finished 2.0 games behind the first place Calumet Aristocrats and ahead of the third place Hancock Infants and 4th place Sault Ste. Marie Soos in the final regular season standing. In the league playoff, Lake Linden swept Calumet in four games and won the championship.[3][1][2][4][5][6][7]
In 1906, the Hancock Infants became charter members of the eight–team Class C level Northern-Copper Country League, which was a merger between the Northern League and Copper County Soo League.[8]
Beginning play in the new league, the 1906 Lake Linden Sandy Cities placed fifth the Northern-Copper Country League during the season. The 1906 team is also referred to as "Sandy Lakes" in some references. After beginning league play on May 17, 1906, Sandy Lakes finished with a 40–56 record, playing under manager William Foster, finishing 20.0 games behind 1first place Calumet. In the final league standings, the Calumet Aristocrats finished ahead of Houghton Giants (56–65), Winnipeg Maroons (57–38), Duluth White Sox (52–44), Lake Linden Sandy Lakes (40–56) and Fargo Trolley Dodgers (35–59). The Hancock Infants (29–34) and Grand Forks Forkers (13–40) teams both folded on July 29, 1906 prior to the end of the season. The Northern-Copper Country League permanently folded after the 1906 season.[9][10][11][7]
Lake Linden, Michigan has not hosted another minor league team.[12]
The ballparks
editThe Lake Linden minor league teams played minor leaguehome games at Linden Lake Ball Park. The ballpark was referenced to have been located south of Lake Linden, Michigan.[13]
Timeline
edit| Year(s) | # Yrs. | Team | Level | League | Ballpark |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1904 | 1 | Lake Linden Lakers | Class D | Copper Country League | Linden Lake Ball Park |
| 1905 | 1 | Copper Country Soo League | |||
| 1906 | 1 | Lake Linden Sandy Cities | Class C | Northern-Copper Country League |
Year–by–year records
edit| Year | Record | Finish | Manager | Playoffs/notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1904 | 00–00 | NA | NA | League records unknown |
| 1905 | 57–36 | 2nd | Perry Glass | League Champions |
| 1906 | 40–56 | 5th | William Foster | No playoffs held |
Notable alumni
edit- Joe Burg (1905)
- Joe Koukalik (1905)
- Jack Lelivelt (1906)
References
edit- ^ a b "1904 Lake Linden Lakers Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ a b "1904 Copper Country League". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "1905 Copper Country Soo League". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "1904 Portage Lake Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "1905 Lake Linden Lakers minor league baseball Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
- ^ "1905 Lake Linden Lakers Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ a b Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (Third ed.). Baseball America. ISBN 978-1932391176.
- ^ "1906 Northern-Copper Country League". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "1906 Lake Linden Lakers minor league baseball Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
- ^ "1906 Northern Copper Country League (NCCL) minor league baseball on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
- ^ "1906 Lake Linden Sandy Cities Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Lake Linden, Michigan Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Lake Linden Ball Park in Lake Linden, MI minor league baseball history and teams on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.