The Council Bluffs Rails existed for two months in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and packed a full franchise saga into them. In May 1935 the owner of the Omaha Packers, a Western League fixture for 35 years, stopped making payroll. The league took over the club, and on June 25 the franchise moved across the Missouri River to Council Bluffs. The Council Bluffs Nonpareil ran a naming contest that drew 1,100 entries, including the Beat-em-Alls, the Mormons, and the Wild Roses, before a local man named J. Vincent Crowe won with the Rails, a nod to the city's identity as one of the great railroad junctions of the West.
The team itself was good. The Rails opened 9-3 and sat within half a game of second place, and business manager Ad Liska, a former pitcher for the Washington Senators and Philadelphia Phillies, put himself in uniform and won seven straight games on the mound. Liska even put up $1,000 of his own money to keep the club alive. But the 40-cent trolley toll across the river kept Omaha fans home, Depression-era finances kept collapsing around the league, and the Rails disbanded on August 27, 1935, ending Council Bluffs' professional baseball history.
Council Bluffs had hosted one previous professional club, the 1903 Bluffers of the Class D Iowa-South Dakota League.
The Western League was a Class A circuit for most of its life, operating from 1900 through 1937 and again from 1947 through 1958, fielding teams across the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain states, including Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Missouri, Oklahoma, and later Texas and New Mexico. For its first decade it stood just one step below the major leagues. An earlier league of the same name, which ran from 1885 to 1899, renamed itself the American League in 1900 and lives on today as one half of Major League Baseball.
Retro Baseball Revival celebrates historic baseball teams with unique apparel, honoring their legacy and bringing history to one-of-a-kind clothing with our old school retro baseball tees from defunct Minor League Baseball teams. All of our high quality apparel is designed, printed, and shipped within the USA. This collection features 100% original designs based on the history and nicknames of historic minor league teams.
Our premium lightweight shirts are the hugely popular Bella+Canvas brand 3001 tees. They are much lighter and thinner feeling than a traditional heavyweight tee. They also are more form fitting and feel more snug. These are generally 90% to 100% cotton, although please note that heather colors in this item are 52% cotton.
Size Guide: Fit is true to size or a little snug. Considering ordering one size up if you are normally between sizes.
Brand: Bella Canvas | Product ID: 3001
- Made with 100% Airlume combed and ring-spun cotton, a lightweight fabric (4.2 oz/yd² (142 g/m²)) that is easy to layer, breathable. Perfect for active and leisure wear.
- The retail fit that is perfect for casual and semi-formal settings. The crew neckline adds a classic, neat style that's perfect for accessorizing.
- Bella+Canvas manufactures all its products in the US and internationally in humane, no-sweat-shop, sustainable way and is part of the Fair Labor Association as well as Platinum WRAP certified.
- The tear-away label minimizes skin irritations.
- Fabric blends: Ash and Heather Prism colors - 99% cotton, 1% polyester; Heather and Solid Blend colors - 52% cotton, 48% polyester; Athletic Heather and Black Heather - 90% cotton, 10% polyester.
