Alton River Dragons

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Alton River Dragons
Alton River Dragons Logo.png
Information
LeagueProspect League (West Conference - Prairie Land Divison)
LocationAlton, Illinois
BallparkLloyd Hopkins Field
Year founded2020
League championships0
Division championships0
OwnershipSteve Marso
ManagerDarrell Handelsman
Websitewww.altonbaseball.com

The Alton River Dragons are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Alton, Illinois. The Alton River Dragons were founded in 2020 and began play in 2021 as members of the Prospect League.

History[]

On January 29, 2020, the Prospect League of collegiate summer baseball announced that Alton, Illinois had been granted a franchise for the upcoming season.[1][2][3] Alton previously hosted a minor league team when the 1917 Alton Blues played as members of the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League.[4]

The Alton franchise owner was announced as Steve Marso, who owned previous franchises in summer collegiate baseball. Dallas Martz was hired as the Alton General Manager.[5][6]

The "River Dragons" moniker was announced for the Alton franchise on August 14, 2020. The name was chosen after a public submittal process.[2][5]

On November 12, 2020, the Alton River Dragons announced the hiring of Darrell Handelsman to manage the 2021 Alton team. The Alton franchise had previously hired Brock Moss to manage the first team, but Moss had since accepted a position at Texas A&M International University, making him unavailable to coach Alton in the summer.[7][8][9][10]

The ballpark[]

The Alton River Dragons play at Lloyd Hopkins Field in Gordon Moore Park. Renovations were discussed for the ballpark in anticipation of the 2021 season. The ballpark had previously hosted the Bluff City Bombers of the Central Illinois Collegiate League. The ballpark is located at 98 Arnold Palmer Road, Cottage Hills, Illinois, 62018.[3][5][11]

References[]

  1. ^ "Prospect League Announces Expansion To Alton, Illinois for 2021". ProspectLeague.com (Press release). Prospect Collegiate Baseball LLC. January 29, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Feeney, Colin (August 8, 2020). "Alton Awarded Prospect League Baseball Franchise, Team Name Set To Be Revealed At Lloyd Hopkins Field Friday". RiverBender.com. Alton, Illinois.
  3. ^ a b "Alton to field new Prospect League baseball franchise". The Telegraph. Alton, Illinois. January 29, 2020.
  4. ^ "1917 Alton Blues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  5. ^ a b c Rhodes, Chris; Brannan, Dan (August 14, 2020). "New Prospect League Team Announces Name: It's The Alton River Dragons". RiverBender.com. Alton, Illinois.
  6. ^ "Alton River Dragons to Start Play in 2021". Alton Daily News. December 1, 2020. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020.
  7. ^ "River Dragons Hire Darrell Handelsman As Field Manager". ProspectLeague.com (Press release). Prospect Collegiate Baseball LLC. November 12, 2020.
  8. ^ "Alton River Dragons Name Brock Moss Inaugural Field Manager". ProspectLeague.com (Press release). Prospect Collegiate Baseball LLC. September 16, 2020.
  9. ^ "Moss Steps Down As River Dragons Manager". ProspectLeague.com (Press release). Prospect Collegiate Baseball LLC. November 2, 2020.
  10. ^ Hayes, Pete (November 13, 2020). "BASEBALL: Alton River Dragons manager brings experience, enthusiasm". The Telegraph. Alton, Illinois.
  11. ^ "Alton River Dragons". ProspectLeague.com. Prospect Collegiate Baseball LLC.

External links[]

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