Anderson Lawmen

The Anderson Lawmen of Anderson, Indiana played three seasons of independent professional baseball at Memorial Field and came up just short in all three. The nickname honored the Anderson city police and the Indiana State Police, according to Rick Worth's Baseball Team Names, 1869-2012.

In 1995 the Lawmen went 33-26 in a four-club independent league that played entirely within Indiana, one game behind the champion Lafayette Leopards, and drew 12,579 fans, second in the league. Designated hitter Brian Heigle hit .347, led the league with 6 home runs and 51 RBI, and was named MVP. General manager Dan Beauchamp was the league's executive of the year. Heigle was joined on the All-Star team by outfielder Mike Shirley (.325, 18 steals) and pitchers Dylan Tedders and Dustin Riggs, who led the league with 83 strikeouts.

In 1996 Anderson and Lafayette moved to the new four-team Heartland League. The Lawmen went 32-28 and finished a half-game behind Lafayette, despite leading the league with 418 runs. Outfielder Toby Ricard hit .353 and led the league in runs, hits and triples, and first baseman Chris Webb hit .351. The third All-Star was second baseman Ron D'Auteuil (.325), who had managed East Chicago the summer before. Attendance slipped to 9,611.

The Heartland League grew to eight teams in 1997. Anderson went 13-21 in the first half, then 19-16 in the second to take the northern title. The Lawmen swept the Altoona Rail Kings in the semifinals and lost the finals to the Columbia Mules, three games to one. They drew 7,134, the fewest in the league and about 207 a game. There was no 1998 season in Anderson.