{{Use American English|date=March 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox Minor League Baseball | name =Neosho Yankees | firstseason =1937 | lastseason =1940 | allyears = | city =Neosho, Missouri | logo = | uniformlogo = | class level =Class D (1937–1940) | league =Arkansas–Missouri League (1937–1940) | majorleague =New York Yankees (1938–1940) | nickname =Neosho Night Hawks (1937)<br />'''Neosho Yankees''' (1938–1940) | ballpark =Neosho High School Stadium (1937–1940) | classnum = | classchamps = | leaguenum =0 | leaguechamps =None | confnum =1 | conferencechamps =1938 | divnum = | divisionchamps = | wildcardnum =1 | wildcardberths =1937 }} The '''Neosho Yankees''' were a minor league baseball team based in Neosho, Missouri. From 1937 to 1940, Neosho teams played exclusively as members of the Class D level Arkansas–Missouri League, winning the 1938 league pennant. Adopting their nickname, Neosho served as a minor league affiliate of the New York Yankees from 1938 to 1940, after playing in 1937 as the unaffiliated Neosho "Night Hawks."
Neosho teams hosted minor league home games at the Neosho High School Stadium.
==History== Neosho, Missouri first hosted minor league baseball in 1937, when the '''Neosho Night Hawks''' became a member of the five–team Arkansas–Missouri League, playing at Neosho High School Stadium.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi|title=1937 Neosho Night Hawks Statistics|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> The Night Hawks finished the 1937 Arkansas–Missouri League regular season in fourth place with a 52–71 record, finishing 25.0 games behind the first place Rogers Lions. Playing under Manager Dennis Burns, Neosho lost to Rogers 3 games to 1 in the first round of the playoffs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/roster/t-nh13225/y-1937|title=1937 Neosho Night Hawks Roster on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/l-ARMO/y-1937|title=1937 Arkansas-Missouri League (AAL) on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref><ref name="auto3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/league.cgi?code=ARMO&class=D|title=Arkansas-Missouri League (D) Encyclopedia and History|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref><ref name="encyc">{{cite book |title=The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball |editor-first1=Lloyd |editor-last1=Johnson |editor-first2=Miles |editor-last2=Wolff |edition=Third |publisher=Baseball America |date=2007 |isbn=978-1932391176}}</ref>
In 1938, Neosho became an affiliate of the New York Yankees and captured Arkansas–Missouri League pennant.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi?id=49a29f79|title=1938 Neosho Yankees Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> The newly named '''Neosho Yankees''' finished the regular season with a record of 73–42 under returning manager Dennis Burns. Neosho finished 5.5 games ahead of the second place Carthage Pirates, who had just joined the six–team league. In the 1938 Playoffs, Neosho swept the Rogers Reds in three games to advance to the Finals. In the Arkansas–Missouri League Finals, the Carthage Pirates defeated Neosho 4 games to 1.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/roster/t-nh13225/y-1938|title=Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/l-ARMO/y-1938|title=1938 Arkansas-Missouri League (AAL) on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://dutchbaseballhangout.wordpress.com/2015/11/21/minor-league-history-arkansas-missouri-league/|title=Minor League History: Arkansas-Missouri League|date=November 21, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6177007/the-neosho-times/|title=Clipped From The Neosho Times|newspaper=The Neosho Times|date=June 16, 1938|pages=4|via=newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name="auto3"/><ref name="encyc"/>
The Arkansas–Missouri League played with four teams in 1939. In the regular season, the Neosho Yankees ended with a record of 65–61, finishing in third place. Playing again under manager Dennis Burns, Neosho finished 16.5 games behind the first place Fayetteville Angels. Nesho did not qualify for the 1939 playoffs.<ref name="encyc"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/roster/t-nh13225/y-1939|title=Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/l-ARMO/y-1939|title=1939 Arkansas-Missouri League (AAL) on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref><ref name="auto3"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi?id=60318321|title=1939 Neosho Yankees Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref>
Ralph Houk played for Neosho in 1939, in his first professional season. With a salary of $70.00 a month, Houk played well enough (.286) that Neosho hosted a "Ralph Houk Day" at the ballpark.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/ralph-houk/|title = Ralph Houk – Society for American Baseball Research}}</ref>
In 1940, the four–team Arkansas–Missouri League permanently folded during the season, as Neosho played its final minor league season.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi|title=1940 Neosho Yankees Statistics|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> The league folding became unavoidable after the Fayetteville Angels franchise folded due to poor attendance. On July 1, 1940, the league folded after hosting an All-Star game. At the time the league folded, the Neosho Yankees were in second place with a 27–29 record under manager Ed Grayston and were 10.5 games behind the first place Carthage Pirates.<ref name="encyc"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/roster/t-nh13225/y-1940|title=Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/l-ARMO/y-1940|title=1940 Arkansas-Missouri League (AAL) on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref><ref name="auto1"/><ref name="auto3"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/league.cgi?id=a5a218bb|title=1940 Arkansas-Missouri League|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref>
The Arkansas–Missouri League did not return to play in 1941.<ref name="encyc"/> Neosho, Missouri has not hosted another minor league team.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi|title=Neosho, Missouri Encyclopedia|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> thumb|(2020) Neosho High School. Neosho, Missouri.
==The ballpark== Neosho teams were noted to have played minor league home games at '''High School Stadium'''. High School Stadium had a capacity of 1,000 in 1939, with dimensions of (Left, Center, Right) 310–340–310. The ballpark location was noted as near South Neosho Boulevard & Stadium Drive. Today, the Neosho High School stadium is named Bob Anderson Stadium. The location is 511 South Neosho Boulevard, Neosho, Missouri.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.neoshosd.org/site/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.neoshosd.org%2Fsite%2Fdefault.aspx%3FPageType%3D3%26DomainID%3D81%26ModuleInstanceID%3D144%26ViewID%3D6446EE88-D30C-497E-9316-3F8874B3E108%26RenderLoc%3D0%26FlexDataID%3D2191%26PageID%3D157|title=Neosho School District breaks ground on End Zone Facility|website=www.neoshosd.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/venues/v-1823|title=High School Stadium in Neosho, MO history and teams on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://digitalballparks.com/Yankees.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041111094442/http://www.digitalballparks.com/Yankees.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=November 11, 2004|title=New York Yankees Baseball Stadium Minor League Affiliations and Yankees Baseball Parks|website=digitalballparks.com}}</ref>
==Timeline== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size: 95%;" ! Year(s) !! # Yrs. !! Team !! Level !! League!!Affiliate!!Ballpark |- |1937 || 1 || Neosho Night Hawks || rowspan=2|Class D || rowspan=2|Arkansas–Missouri League||None|| rowspan=2|Neosho High School Stadium |- |1938–1940 || 3 || Neosho Yankees ||New York Yankees |}
==Year–by–year records== {| class="wikitable" |- style="background: #F2F2F2;" ! Year !! Record !! Finish !! Manager !! Playoffs |- align=center | 1937 || 52–71 || 4th || Dennis Burns || Lost in 1st round |- align=center | 1938 || 37–42 || 1st || Dennis Burns || '''Won league pennant'''<br />Lost in League Finals |- align=center | 1939 || 65–61 || 3rd || Dennis Burns || Did not qualify |- align=center | 1940 || 27–29 || 2nd || Ed Grayston || League disbanded July 1 |- align=center |} <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/roster/t-ny13226/y-1938|title=1938 Neosho Yankees minor league baseball Roster on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/roster/t-ny13226/y-1939|title=1939 Neosho Yankees minor league baseball Roster on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/roster/t-ny13226/y-1940|title=1940 Neosho Yankees minor league baseball Roster on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/roster/t-nh13225/y-1937|title=1937 Neosho Night Hawks minor league baseball Roster on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/l-ARMO/y-1940|title=1940 Arkansas-Missouri League (AAL) Minor League Baseball on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref><ref name="encyc"/>
==Notable alumni== *Dennis Burns (1937–1939, MGR) *Ralph Houk (1939) Manager: 2x World Series Champion - New York Yankees (1960–1961) *Chuck Orsborn (1939)
==See also== *Neosho Yankees players
==References== {{Reflist|2}}
==External links== *[https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi?city=Neosho&state=MO&country=US Neosho - Baseball Reference]
Category:Baseball teams established in 1937 Category:Defunct minor league baseball teams Category:1937 establishments in Missouri Category:1940 disestablishments in Missouri Category:Defunct baseball teams in Missouri Category:Professional baseball teams in Missouri Category:New York Yankees minor league affiliates Category:Baseball teams disestablished in 1940 Yankees Category:Defunct Arkansas-Missouri League teams