# Union Association (minor league)

The Union Association was a Class D level Minor league baseball circuit that operated from 1911 through 1914, with franchises based in Idaho, Montana and Utah. It was unrelated to the like-named 1884 major league.

## History

Beginning play in 1914, the Union Association was classified as a Class D league, based in the Rocky Mountains of the Western United States. The 1911 charter members were the Great Falls Electrics, Salt Lake City Skyscrapers, Butte Miners, Boise Irrigators, Helena Senators and Missoula.
Frank Huelsman was a star player in the league, completing the Triple Crown in 1911 and 1913, while winning three of the four league batting titles. The Salt Lake City, Helena and Ogden franchises played for the entire duration of the Union Association. On July 20, 1914, Boise and Murray disbanded, then on August 5, 1914 Butte dropped out, which led to the disbandment of the entire league. Despite the rest of the league disbanding, Salt Lake City and Ogden played 16 games against each other to complete their seasons.

## Teams

| City | Team | Seasons |
| Boise, Idaho | Boise Irrigators | 1911, 1914 |
| Butte, Montana | Butte Miners | 1911–1914 |
| Great Falls, Montana | Great Falls Great Falls Electrics | 1911–1912 1913 |
| Helena, Montana | Helena Senators | 1911–1914 |
| Missoula, Montana | Missoula | 1911–1913 |
| Murray, Utah | Murray Infants | 1914 |
| Ogden, Utah | Ogden Canners | 1912–1914 |
| Salt Lake City, Utah | Salt Lake City Skyscrapers | 1911–1914 |

## Champions

| Season | Champion |
| 1911 | Great Falls Electrics |
| 1912 | Missoula |
| 1913 | Great Falls Electrics |
| 1914 | Ogden Canners |

## Standings & statistics

1911 Union Association - schedule
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
| Great Falls | 90 | 46 | .662 | – | George Reed |
| Salt Lake City Skyscrapers | 85 | 58 | .594 | 8.5 | Cliff Blankenship |
| Butte Miners | 77 | 60 | .562 | 13.5 | John McCloskey |
| Boise Irrigators | 64 | 78 | .451 | 29.0 | Hugh Kellackey |
| Helena Senators | 60 | 78 | .435 | 31.0 | Charles Irby |
| Missoula | 42 | 98 | .300 | 50.0 | William Joyce / Charles McCaffery |
Player statistics :
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot |
| Frank Huelsman | Great Falls | BA | .411 | Roswell Hildebrand | Great Falls | W | 30 |
| Howard Murphy | Great Falls | Runs | 146 | Amos Morgan | Salt Lake City | SO | 267 |
| Howard Murphy | Great Falls | Hits | 220 | Leo Dressen | Salt Lake City | PCT | .813 13–3 |
| Frank Huelsman | Great Falls | RBI | 125 |
| Frank Huelsman | Great Falls | HR | 17 |
1912 Union Association - schedule
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
| Missoula | 83 | 51 | .620 | – | Cliff Blankenship |
| Salt Lake City Skyscrapers | 77 | 61 | .558 | 8.0 | Art Weaver |
| Great Falls | 72 | 61 | .541 | 10.5 | George Reed |
| Ogden Canners | 71 | 68 | .511 | 14.5 | John McCloskey |
| Butte Miners | 53 | 82 | .393 | 30.5 | Charles McCaffery /Jesse Stovall |
| Helena Senators | 50 | 83 | .376 | 32.5 | Charles Irby |
Player statistics :
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot |
| Howard Murphy | Great Falls | BA | .390 | Joe Bush | Missoula | W | 29 |
| Jacob Bauer | Salt Lake City | Runs | 143 | Joe Bush | Missoula | PCT | .709 29–12 |
| Howard Murphy | Great Falls | Hits | 240 |
| Frank Huelsman | Great Falls | RBI | 114 |
| A.E. Spencer | Helena | HR | 14 |
| Mike Killilay | Helena | 3B | 25 |
1913 Union Association - schedule
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
| Great Falls Electrics | 78 | 42 | .650 | – | Harry Hester |
| Salt Lake City Skyscrapers | 75 | 47 | .615 | 4.0 | John McCloskey |
| Butte Miners | 54 | 64 | .458 | 23.0 | Arthur Merkle / Frank Kafora |
| Missoula | 54 | 68 | .443 | 25.0 | Cliff Blankenship / Nig Perrine |
| Helena Senators | 52 | 67 | .437 | 25.5 | Danny Shay |
| Ogden Canners | 49 | 74 | .398 | 30.5 | George Knight / Dad Gimlin |
Player statistics :
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot |
| Frank Huelsman | Salt Lake | BA | .423 | Amos Morgan | Salt Lake | W | 26 |
| Frank Huelsman | Salt Lake | Runs | 123 | Pat Bohen | Missoula | SO | 228 |
| Frank Huelsman | Salt Lake | Hits | 200 | Amos Morgan | Salt Lake | PCT | .722 26–10 |
| Frank Huelsman | Salt Lake | RBI | 126 |
| Frank Huelsman | Salt Lake | HR | 22 |
1914 Union Association - schedule
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
| Ogden Canners | 54 | 32 | .628 | – | Dad Gimlin |
| Salt Lake City Skyscrapers | 52 | 34 | .605 | 2.0 | Harry Hester |
| Butte Miners | 44 | 40 | .524 | 9.0 | Ducky Holmes |
| Helena Senators | 27 | 53 | .338 | 24.0 | Jesse Garrett / William Quigley |
| Boise Irrigators | 32 | 39 | .451 | NA | Ervin Jensen |
| Murray Infants | 31 | 42 | .425 | NA | Cliff Blankenship |
Boise and Murray disbanded July 20; Butte disbanded August 5; League disbanded August 5. Ogden & Salt Lake played 16 games with each other to complete their seasons; Ogden won 10 games and Salt Lake won 6. Playoff: Ogden 4, Salt Lake 2.
Player statistics :
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot |
| Frank Huelsman | Salt Lake | BA | .424 | Amos Morgan | Salt Lake | W | 16 |
| Swede Risberg | Ogden | Runs | 84 | George Knight | Ogden | W | 16 |
| Fred Carmen | Ogden/Boise | Hits | 130 | Tom Tomer | Boise/Salt Lake | SO | 124 |
| Frank Huelsman | Salt Lake | HR | 23 | Amos Morgan | Salt Lake | PCT | .762 16–5 |