York Nebraska
East Hill Park
Bruce Esser

York Nebraska
East Hill Park
Baseball Diamond

The baseball field at East Hill Park was the home field for the York Dukes of the Nebraska State League in the late 20's. The current field, pictured above and at right, is a well manicured lawn of green with a clean well tended grandstand.
York took over the Red Cloud franchise in 1911 in the first Nebraska State League. They were named the "Prohibitionists" by a Fremont paper and the nickname stuck. They played their home games at "Parks Park". I am told that this park was near downtown York. The team was in last place in 1911. They improved to third place in 1913 and they were in third place in 1915 when the league folded. This ended minor league baseball in York until 1928.
Photo by Bruce Esser

The visit to York was a pleasant one. The library is modern and well lighted. The folks at the library were helpful. The town was clean and the people were friendly. The York County Historical Society was quite helpful.

York returned to minor league baseball in 1928. The team had a contest to pick a nickname and they became the York "Dukes". The Dukes played at East Hill Park and in 1928 almost 10,000 fans came to see them play. Joe Wilman was their only all star and had a 17-9 record as a pitcher in 1928. They were in 4th place in 1929 and 1930. The team folded after the 1931 season as the depression wreaked havoc on minor league baseball.
York College
Photo by Bruce Esser
York is also home to York College a small college with a long history of excellent undergraduate education. With access to the net places like York offer what to many is the best of both worlds. A safe, collegial, community atmosphere with access to world wide resources. If you are looking for a small Christian college with a reputation for excellence you might want to look at York College. Point of clarification: I am in no way affiliated with the college or any part of it. I was impressed with my one visit to the college and the above is my opinion.
York College
Photo by Bruce Esser

Nebraska State League 1911
York Prohibitionists 1911

Nebraska State League 1912
York Prohibitionists 1912

Nebraska State League 1913
York Prohibitionists 1913

Nebraska State League 1914
York Prohibitionists 1914

Nebraska State League 1915
York Prohibitionists 1915

Nebraska State League 1928
York Dukes 1928

Nebraska State League 1929
York Dukes 1929

Nebraska State League 1930
York Dukes 1930

Nebraska State League 1931
York Dukes 1931

Nebraska Minor League Baseball Home