Grand Rapids Furniture Makers

The Grand Rapids Furniture Makers, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, took their name from the city's reputation as "Furniture City," built on its furniture manufacturing industry since the mid-1800s. The name had already seen use in Grand Rapids twice before, in the Interstate League in 1899 and the Western Association in 1901, before the club's final run in the Class B Central League in 1911.

Grand Rapids started the year 25-36 under manager Doc Parker before the franchise relocated to Newark, Ohio on June 27, 1911, finishing out the season there as the Newark Skeeters.

In the 1800s and first half of the 1900s, teams existed in thousands of small towns across the United States, as Americans looked for recreational activities and entertainment in the era before TV.

The Central League itself was a Class B circuit that ran, often sporadically, from 1903 into the 1930s (with a later 1948-51 revival), fielding teams mostly from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.