The Paducah Chiefs are a collegiate summer baseball team in Paducah, Kentucky. They are a member of the Ohio Valley League.[1] The Chiefs has been the primary nickname for various Paducah teams, who began play in 1897.
The Chiefs, though finishing fourth in the regular season standings in 1949, went on to win the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League playoffs and championship.[4][3] In 1950 the Chiefs again finished fourth in the regular season standings,[3] but made through the playoffs to the league championship series against the Centralia Sterlings; the championship series was cancelled due to bad weather.[4] After that season the Chiefs left the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League for the KITTY League.[4]
The team was also known as the Paducah Indians for much of its history.
The Modern Era
In 1996, Dr. Frank "Doc" Hideg and a group of volunteers resurrected Brooks Stadium. It proved to be a vital step in bringing amateur baseball back to Paducah, as in 2015, the Brooks Stadium Commission was approached by the Ohio Valley League about adding a team in Paducah. Under the leadership of General Manager Greg McKeel and Brooks Stadium Commission President Doc Hideg, the Chiefs returned to Brooks Stadium in Paducah in the summer of 2016.[1]
The ballparks
The franchise played at numerous parks in Paducah.
From 1949 to 1955 Paducah teams played at Brooks Stadium, located at 25th Street and C Street, now 2400 Brooks Stadium Drive.[7][8] Brooks Stadium hosted the Mississippi-Ohio Valley League All-Star Game in 1949.[9] The ballpark has remained in use to this day as the baseball home for the nearby Paducah Tilghman High School.
Brooks Stadium in June 2022
Earlier, the team played at Hook's Park, located at 8th street and Terrell, from 1935 to 1941.[10] In 1922 and 1923 Paducah played at League Park.[11] Early teams played at Wallace Park located at Broadway and Labelle.[12]
