Moline Plowboys
Moline Plowboys 1892–1948 (1892, 1894, 1914–1917, 1919–1932, 1937–1941, 1947–1948) Moline, Illinois | |
Minor league affiliations | |
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Previous classes | Class C (1947–1948) Class B (1937–1941; 1919–1923; 1914–1917) Class D (1924–1932) Class A (1894)[1] |
Previous leagues | Central Association (1947–1948) Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League (1937–1941) Mississippi Valley League (1924–1932) Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League (1914–1917, 1919–1923) Western Association (1894) Illinois-Iowa League (1892) |
Major league affiliations | |
Previous teams |
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Minor league titles | |
League titles | 4 1894, 1915, 1921, 1937 |
Team data | |
Previous names |
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Previous parks |
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The Moline Plowboys was a primary name of the minor league baseball teams based in Moline, Illinois, one of the Quad Cities, between 1892 and 1948. Moline teams played as members the Illinois-Iowa League (1892), Western Association (1894), Mississippi Valley League (1924–1932), Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League (1914–1923, 1937–1941) and the Central Association (1947–1948). The franchise played as the "Moline A's" in 1947–1948.
Moline was an affiliate of the Detroit Tigers (1932), Chicago Cubs (1937–1940) and Philadelphia Athletics (1947–1948).
The Plowboys' ballpark from 1920 to 1948 was Browning Field.[2]
Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Warren Giles was President of the Plowboys franchise from 1919 to 1922.[3]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/1962_Baseball_Guide_p4.jpg/220px-1962_Baseball_Guide_p4.jpg)
History[]
Tracing back to 1879, Quad City professional baseball includes Minor League teams in Davenport, Iowa, Moline, Illinois and Rock Island, Illinois, as well as nearby Kewanee, Illinois. The 1879 Davenport Brown Stockings played one season in the Northwestern League and the Rock Island Islanders began play in 1883. Moline began play in 1914. The Davenport team was the foundation of today's Quad City River Bandits, the surviving franchise of the three.[4]
Moline and Rock Island partnered with two early teams. In 1892, the Rock Island-Moline Twins played in the final season of the Illinois-Iowa League. In 1894, Rock Island played as a member of the Western Association as the Rock Island-Moline Islanders that season and captured the Western Association Championship in 1894 (72-50).[5]
The Quad Cities area was able to support two teams, with the Davenport Blue Sox and the Rock Island Islanders. In July 1914, a third Quad City team was added when the Danville Speakers relocated to Moline and the Moline Plowboys were established. The name "Plowboys" referred to the city of Moline's local industry of plow production. Moline was home to companies such as Deere, Moline Plow Company, and Minneapolis-Moline.
Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Warren Giles was team President of the Plowboys from 1919–1922. Giles later became president and general manager of the Cincinnati Reds (1937–1951) and president of the National League (1951–1969).[3] From 1920 to 1922, the Plowboys were managed by Earle Mack, son of Baseball Hall of Fame owner/manager Connie Mack.[6]
Moline won Three-I Championships in 1915, 1921 and 1937. The Plowboys were an affiliate of the Detroit Tigers (1932), Chicago Cubs (1937–1940). They franchise reemerged as the Moline A's in 1947–1948, playing in the Central Association as an affiliate of the Philadelphia Athletics. Moline moved to Kewanee, Illinois, on June 18, 1948, becoming the Kewanee A's and winning the Central Association Championship in 1949, the year the league folded. Moline has not hosted another minor league baseball franchise.[7]
The ballparks[]
The 1892 and 1894 Rock Island-Moline teams played at Twin City Park. The ballpark was located at 5th Avenue & 43rd Street in Rock Island, Illinois.[8]
From 1914-1919, the Plowboy teams played at Athletic Park, also nicknamed "Three-I Park". The ballpark was located at 4th Avenue and 37th Street Moline, Illinois.[9][10][11]
The Plowboys' ballpark from 1920 to 1948 was Browning Field. The 5,600 capacity park had dimensions (LF-CF-RF) of 550-440-377. The first night game at the park was July 11, 1930. Located at 16th Street & 23rd Avenue Moline, Illinois, Browning Field and the adjacent Wharton Field House are still in use today by the athletic teams of Moline High School.[12][10][13]
In an exhibition game on April 12, 1920 the Plowboys defeated the Chicago White Sox 7-1 in the first "major-league" game played at Browning Field. The Chicago Cubs played an exhibition at Browning Field against their affiliate Plowboys on April 14, 1938.[12][14]
Babe Ruth appeared at Browning Field on June 26, 1940. 2,600 were in attendance for the Plowboys exhibition game featuring Ruth. Ruth put on a batting practice exhibition as well.[10][15]
Timeline[]
Year(s) | # Yrs. | Team | Level | League | Affiliate | Ballpark |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1892 | 1 | Rock Island-Moline Twins | Independent | Illinois-Iowa League | None | Twin City Park |
1894 | 1 | Rock Island-Moline Islanders | Class A | Western Association | ||
1914–1917, 1919–1923 | 9 | Moline Plowboys | Class B | Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League | Athletic Park | |
1924–1931 | 8 | Class D | Mississippi Valley League | Browning Field | ||
1932 | 1 | Detroit Tigers | ||||
1937–1940 | 4 | Class B | Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League | Chicago Cubs | ||
1941 | 1 | None | ||||
1947–1948 | 2 | Moline A's | Class C | Central Association | Philadelphia Athletics |
Year-by-year record[]
Year | Record | Finish | Manager | Playoffs |
---|---|---|---|---|
1914 | 20–33 | 8th | Connie Walsh / William Neal | none |
1915 | 75–51 | 1st | George Hughes | League Champions |
1916 | 59–76 | 5th | George Hughes | none |
1917 | 27–38 | 6th | Ned Pettigrew / Bob Tarleton | season shortened to July 8 |
1919 | 40–81 | 6th | George Hughes | none |
1920 | 69–70 | 4th | Earle Mack | none |
1921 | 78–55 | 1st | Earle Mack | League Champions |
1922 | 49–89 | 8th | Earle Mack | none |
1923 | 45–91 | 8th | Bobby Coltrin / Jim Shollenberger | none |
1924 | 59–65 | 5th | Jim Shollenberger | none |
1925 | 73–52 | 2nd | Jim Shollenberger | none |
1926 | 71–50 | 2nd | Jim Shollenberger | none |
1927 | 63–55 | 5th | Fritz Mollwitz | none |
1928 | 69–54 | 2nd | Richard Manchester | none |
1929 | 63���63 | 4th | Richard Manchester | none |
1930 | 63–62 | 4th | Riley Parker | none |
1931 | 68–58 | 3rd | Riley Parker | none |
1932 | 55–66 | 6th | Ernie Lorbeer | none |
1937 | 74–41 | 2nd | Mike Gazella | League Champions |
1938 | 67–59 | 3rd | Mike Gazella | lost league finals |
1939 | 49–73 | 6th (t) | Mike Gazella | none |
1940 | 46–78 | 7th | Mike Gazella | none |
1941 | 43–82 | 8th | Joe Mowry | none |
1947 | 51–74 | 6th | Elwood Wheaton / Joe Glenn | none |
1948 | 17–25 | -- | Joe Glenn | moved to Kewanee June 18 |
Notable alumni[]
Baseball Hall of Fame alumni[]
- Warren Giles (1919–1921, Team President) Inducted, 1979
Notable alumni[]
- Elden Auker (1932)
- Bill Barrett (1921)
- Art Ditmar (1948)
- Rube Ehrhardt (1917)
- Hod Eller (1915)
- Joe Glenn (1947)
- Fred Heimach (1921)
- Kirby Higbe (1937) 2x MLB All-Star; 1941 NL wins leader
- Len Koenecke (1932) (List of baseball players who died during their careers)
- Peanuts Lowrey (1937) MLB All-Star
- Earle Mack (1920–1922, MGR)
- Lennie Merullo (1939)
- Fritz Mollwitz (1927)
- Lou Novikoff (1938)
- Claude Passeau (1932) 5x MLB All-Star; 1938 NL strikeouts leader
- Fred Smith (1921)
- Evar Swanson (1924)
- Mike Tresh (1932) MLB All-Star
- Dutch Ulrich (1922)
- Jake Wade (1932)
- Eddie Waitkus (1939) 2x MLB All-Star; shot by obsessed fan 1949.
- Bob Weiland (1928)
- Hank Wyse (1940) MLB All-Star
See also[]
Moline A's players, Moline Plowboys players
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Eddie_Waitkus.jpg)
External links[]
References[]
- ^ "Moline, Illinois Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Moline, Illinois Minor League History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2011-02-10.
- ^ a b "Warren Giles | Society for American Baseball Research". sabr.org.
- ^ "Minor League Baseball History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
- ^ "Two-I League - BR Bullpen". www.baseball-reference.com.
- ^ "Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League (D) Encyclopedia and History". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Moline A's - BR Bullpen". www.baseball-reference.com.
- ^ "Twin City Park in Rock Island, IL history and teams on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
- ^ https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/park.cgi?id=IL029[bare URL]
- ^ a b c Emery, Tom. "From Giles to Higbe to 'The Natural,' Moline Plowboys entertained for decades". Dispatch-Argus-QCOnline.
- ^ "Three-I Park in Moline, IL history and teams on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
- ^ a b https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/park.cgi?id=IL030[bare URL]
- ^ "Browning Field in Moline, IL history and teams on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
- ^ http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs193/1102126619946/archive/1118710125156.html
- ^ Green, Doug. "Moline's Browning Field turns 100". The Quad-City Times.
- Professional baseball teams in Illinois
- Defunct baseball teams in Illinois
- Sports teams in the Quad Cities
- Defunct minor league baseball teams
- Detroit Tigers minor league affiliates
- Chicago Cubs minor league affiliates
- Central Association
- Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League teams
- Philadelphia Athletics minor league affiliates
- 1914 establishments in Illinois
- 1948 disestablishments in Illinois
- Baseball teams established in 1914
- Baseball teams disestablished in 1941
- Moline, Illinois
- Rock Island County, Illinois
- Central Association teams