Kansas City Blues (American Association)

Kansas City Blues
1888–1954 (1888, 1890–1891, 1893–1901, 1902–1954) Kansas City, Missouri
Minor league affiliations
Class	Triple-A (1946–1954) Double-A (1908–1945) Class A (1902–1907)
League	American Association (1902–1954) Western League (1901) American League (1900) Western League (1894–1899) Western Association (1888, 1890–1891, 1893)
Major league affiliations
Team	New York Yankees (1936–1954) Pittsburgh Pirates (1935)
Minor league titles
Class titles (3)	1923 1929 1938
League titles (10)	1888 1890 1898 1901 1918 1923 1929 1938 1952 1953
Team data
Name	Kansas City Blues (1902; 1904–1954) Kansas City Cowboys (1903)
Ballpark	Blues Stadium (1923–1954)

The Kansas City Blues were a minor league baseball team located in Kansas City, Missouri, in the Midwestern United States. The team was one of the eight founding members of the American Association.^[1]

The Blues did not field particularly competitive teams until 1918, when they won the AA pennant. The team won again in 1923, and again in 1929. They won the Junior World Series championship both years, defeating the Baltimore Orioles and the Rochester Red Wings of the International League, respectively, in best-of-nine series.^[1]

In 1935, the Blues became a farm club of the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1936 they became an affiliate of the New York Yankees. They won the AA championships five times in the 1930s and 1940s. They defeated the Newark Bears, another Yankees farm club, in the 1938 Junior World Series.

When the American League Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas City in 1955, the Blues moved to Denver, Colorado, and became the Denver Bears.

The 1923, 1929, and 1939 Blues were recognized as being among the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time.^[2]