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Moline Plowboys
Minor league affiliations
Previous classesClass 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
Minor league titles
League titles 4 1894, 1915, 1921, 1937
Team data
Previous names
  • Moline A's (1947–1948)
  • Moline Plowboys (1914–1917, 1919–1932, 1937–1941)
  • Rock Island-Moline Islanders (1894)
  • Rock Island-Moline Twins (1892)
Previous parks
  • Browning Field (1920–1932, 1937–1941, 1947–1948)
  • Athletic Park/Three-I Park (1914, 1917, 1919)
  • Twin Cities Park (1892, 1894)

The Moline Plowboys was a primary name of the minor league baseball teams based in Moline, Illinois, one of the Quad Cities. Moline teams played as members the 1892 Illinois-Iowa League, 1894 Western Association, the Mississippi Valley League (1924–1932), Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League (1914–1923, 1937–1941) and Central Association (1947–1948), winning four league championships. 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).

Moline's home minor league 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]

Warren Giles, National League President, 1962

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.[5] In 1894, the Rock Island-Moline Islanders played as a member of the Western Association and captured the Western Association championship with a record of 72–50.[citation needed][6][7]

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.[8] The name "Plowboys" corresponds to Moline's local industry of plow production. Moline was home to companies such as Deere, Moline Plow Company, and Minneapolis-Moline in the era.[9][10]

Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Warren Giles was team President of the Plowboys from 1919 to 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.[11]

Moline won Three-I Championships in 1915, 1921 and 1937. The Plowboys were an affiliate of the Detroit Tigers in 1932 and the Chicago Cubs from 1937 to 1940.

The franchise reemerged as the Moline A's in 1947–1948, playing in the Central Association as an affiliate of the Philadelphia Athletics.[12] 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.[citation needed][6][1]

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.[13]

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.[14][15][16]

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.[17][15][18]

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.[17][19]

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.[15][19]

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 records

Year Record Finish Manager Playoffs / notes
1914 20–33 8th Connie Walsh / William Neal No playoffs held
1915 75–51 1st George Hughes League Champions
1916 59–76 5th George Hughes No playoffs held
1917 27–38 6th Ned Pettigrew / Bob Tarleton season shortened to July 8
1919 40–81 6th George Hughes No playoffs held
1920 69–70 4th Earle Mack No playoffs held
1921 78–55 1st Earle Mack League Champions
1922 49–89 8th Earle Mack No playoffs held
1923 45–91 8th Bobby Coltrin / Jim Shollenberger No playoffs held
1924 59–65 5th Jim Shollenberger No playoffs held
1925 73–52 2nd Jim Shollenberger No playoffs held
1926 71–50 2nd Jim Shollenberger No playoffs held
1927 63–55 5th Fritz Mollwitz No playoffs held
1928 69–54 2nd Richard Manchester No playoffs held
1929 63–63 4th Richard Manchester No playoffs held
1930 63–62 4th Riley Parker No playoffs held
1931 68–58 3rd Riley Parker No playoffs held
1932 55–66 6th Ernie Lorbeer No playoffs held
1937 74–41 2nd Mike Gazella League Champions
1938 67–59 3rd Mike Gazella lost league finals
1939 49–73 6th (t) Mike Gazella Did not qualify
1940 46–78 7th Mike Gazella Did not qualify
1941 43–82 8th Joe Mowry Did not qualify
1947 51–74 6th Elwood Wheaton / Joe Glenn Did not qualify
1948 17–25 NA Joe Glenn Moved to Kewanee June 18

[6]

Notable alumni

Baseball Hall of Fame alumni

Notable alumni

See also

Moline A's players
Moline Plowboys players

Eddie Waitkus

References

  1. ^ a b "Moline, Illinois Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com.
  2. ^ "Moline, Illinois Minor League History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2011-02-10.
  3. ^ a b "Warren Giles | Society for American Baseball Research". sabr.org.
  4. ^ "Minor League Baseball History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
  5. ^ "1892 Rock Island-Moline Twins Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  6. ^ a b c Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (Third ed.). Baseball America. ISBN 978-1932391176.
  7. ^ "1894 Rock Island-Moline Islanders Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  8. ^ "1914 Danville Speakers/Moline Plowboys Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  9. ^ "The Rise and Fall of Moline Plow Co. - Farm Collector". www.farmcollector.com. September 7, 2016.
  10. ^ "Moline History". The Prairie Gold Rush.
  11. ^ "Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League (D) Encyclopedia and History". Baseball-Reference.com.
  12. ^ "1947 Central Association". Baseball-Reference.com.
  13. ^ "Twin City Park in Rock Island, IL history and teams on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  14. ^ "Three Eye Park Minor League History | Baseball-Reference.com". Archived from the original on 2015-10-14.
  15. ^ a b c Emery, Tom (25 March 2014). "From Giles to Higbe to 'The Natural,' Moline Plowboys entertained for decades". Dispatch-Argus-QCOnline.
  16. ^ "Three-I Park in Moline, IL history and teams on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  17. ^ a b "Browning Field Minor League History | Baseball-Reference.com". Archived from the original on 2015-10-13.
  18. ^ "Browning Field in Moline, IL history and teams on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  19. ^ a b Green, Doug (4 October 2012). "Moline's Browning Field turns 100". The Quad-City Times.
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