The Wichita Witches carried the most distinctive of the famously fluid team names of Wichita, Kansas in the 1910s, when the papers used Jobbers, Witches, and Wolves at various times, sometimes for the same team in the same season. The Witches name is the one the record books settled on for 1912 through 1917 and again for 1921 and 1922, with no known connection to anything except sounding good next to Wichita.
The 1917 club lost 87 games but cycled through three managers, including Bobby Wallace, the Hall of Fame shortstop, and Frank Isbell, the former White Sox star whose ownership tenure would later give a Wichita team its strangest name, the Izzies. The 1916 team's season ended somewhere else entirely: the franchise relocated to Colorado Springs that September and finished the year as the Millionaires.
The second Witches era opened with the best season in Wichita's early baseball history. The 1921 club went 106-61 under manager Joe Berger and won the Western League championship, playing at Island Park, built on an island in the Arkansas River. The name gave way to the Izzies in 1923, and Wichita cycled through the Larks, Aviators, and Oilers before the Depression took the franchise in 1933.
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 crewneck sweatshirts are classics that anyone is sure to recognize. They are thick, durable Gildan brand crews. They are a cotton/poly blend that stands the test of time.
Size Guide: True to size
- Made with a medium-heavy fabric blend of 50% cotton and 50% polyester (8.0 oz/yd² (271.25 g/m²)), this sweatshirt feels cozy and is the perfect choice for those colder months.
- The classic fit along with the crew neckline deliver a comfy wearing experience with a clean-cut style. Meanwhile, the double-needle stitching at the shoulder, armhole, neck, waistband, and cuff seams add top-tier durability.
- Say goodbye to itchiness thanks to the gray, pearlized tear-away label.
- Made using 100% ethically grown US cotton. Gildan is also a proud member of the US Cotton Trust Protocol ensuring ethical and sustainable means of production. The blank shirt's dyes are OEKO-TEX-certified dyes with low environmental impact.
- Machine wash: cold (max 30C or 90F); Non-chlorine: bleach as needed; Tumble dry: low heat; Do not iron; Do not dryclean.
