Muskegon Muskies
The Muskegon Muskies, based in Muskegon, Michigan, played in the Class B Central League in 1917 and again from 1920 to 1922, after the league itself paused for a couple of years and the same group of cities picked back up where they'd left off. Muskegon's run in the league actually started a year earlier, in 1916, under a different name, the Reds. That 1916 club featured a future Hall of Famer, Bucky Harris, who would go on to manage three different major league teams over parts of three decades.
The Muskies' best season came right out of the gate in 1917: a 65-57 record for fourth place in an eight-team league under manager Jimmy Hamilton. Pitcher Paul Wachtel led the Central League with 176 strikeouts that year and threw a no-hitter against Richmond on August 26.
When the Muskies returned in 1920, the results were rougher: a 47-77 finish, last in a four-team league, under manager Doc White, a former Chicago White Sox pitcher. The team improved in each of the next two seasons, going 63-67 for fourth place in 1921 and 67-62 for third in 1922.
A couple of Muskies pitchers and catchers from those years went on to brief major league careers: Tony Welzer reached the Boston Red Sox in 1926 and 1927, and Al Stokes later played for the St. Louis Browns. When the Central League folded after the 1922 season, Muskegon moved into the Michigan-Ontario League for 1923 and 1924, continuing on as the Muskegon Anglers.
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.
