90 years ago on this day (1935): capping 15 days of competition, the championship game was held at newly-built Lawrence Stadium in downtown Wichita for the inaugural "Little World Series", now known as the National Baseball Congress World Series.
The Bismarck Churchills of North Dakota were the very first champions, defeating the Halliburton Cementers of Oklahoma in the title game 5-2; the Churchills roster contained a mix of white minor leaguers, and negro leaguers.
Negro League pitcher Satchel Paige was named MVP of the first NBC tournament.
The final top 10 finishers at that initial tournament were:
1. Bismarck Churchills (N.Dak.)
2. Halliburton Cementers (OK)
3. Shelby Cleveland Mills (NC)
4. Rossville Municipal (GA)
5. Shawnee Athletics (OK)
6. Omaha Ford V-Eight (Neb.)
7. Denver White Elephants
8. Yuma Cubs (AZ)
9. Denver United Fuel
10.Memphis Red Sox (TN)
The NBC World Series is an annual collegiate and semi-pro baseball tournament held in Wichita.
When the national tournament started in 1935, participants were primarily town teams and industrial teams. with rosters featuring aging former minor league and major league ballplayers, and players ineligible for major league baseball.
National Baseball Congress founder Hap Dumont was director of the National Tournament Committee of Wichita that put on the tournament.
32 teams were invited to the first national tournament. A focus was put on diversity, with five teams classified as "integrated," one team consisted of Native Americans, and another of Japanese players.
A future Baseball Hall of Famer, Paige was signed to a $1,000 personal-appearance contract for the 1935 tournament (the equivalent of more than $23,000 in today's money). A victim of the baseball color barrier, Paige was not eligible to play minor or major league baseball.
Wichita's previous baseball stadium, Island Park, was located on an island in the Arkansas River, just north of the Douglas Street bridge; Island Park burnt down in 1933 when a cigarette ignited the wooden structure.
Without a venue to host his baseball games, Dumont petitioned the city of Wichita for a federal W.P.A. project to construct a new stadium. He presented an idea for a national, semi-professional baseball tournament to be held in Wichita. Lawrence Stadium was constructed prior to the 1934 baseball season.