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 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.
