The Alton Blues were a minor league baseball team based in Alton, Illinois. In 1917, the Blues played as members of the Class B level Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League, hosting home games at Sportsman's Park. The league folded during the 1917 season with the Blues in last place.

History

Minor league baseball began in Alton, Illinois in 1917, when the Alton "Blues" became members of the eight–team, Class B level Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League. The Blues replaced the

Davenport Blue Sox The Davenport Blue Sox was the name given to three minor league baseball teams based in Davenport, Iowa. The first version of the Blue Sox played in the Class B Three-I League from 1913–1916. The second played in the Class D Mississippi Valle ...

franchise in the league, which was nicknamed the "Three–I League." Alton was joined by the Bloomington Bloomers,

Hannibal Mules Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

, Moline Plowboys, Peoria Distillers, Quincy Gems, Rockford Rox and Rock Island Islanders in the beginning league play on May 3, 1917. The Blues were so named, matching the blue trim on their uniforms. On July 8, 1917, in the midst of World War I, the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League League received approval to cease play. The Alton Blues were in last place with a record of 18–44, playing under managers Harry Bay and Jim Duggan when the league folded. 8th place Alton finished 23.0 games behind the 1st place Peoria Distillers. The Alton Blues finished behind Peoria (43–23), Rockford Rox (39–21), Hannibal Mules (39–27), Rock Island Islanders (36–26), Moline Plowboys (27–38), Quincy Gems (27–38) and Bloomington Bloomers (25–37) in the 1917 league standings. After the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League shortened the 1917 season, the league did not play in 1918 due to World War I, with many minor leagues folding during for the 1918 season. The Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League returned in 1919 as a six–team league, but without Alton and a lineup of the Bloomington Bloomers, Evansville Evas, Moline Plowboys, Peoria Tractors, Rockford Rox and Terre Haute Browns. Alton, Illinois has not hosted another minor league team. In 2021, organized baseball returned to Alton, Illinois when the

Alton River Dragons The Alton River Dragons are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Alton, Illinois. They 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 ba ...

franchise began play. The River Dragons became members of the

Prospect League The Prospect League is a collegiate summer baseball league comprising teams of college players from North America and beyond. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. So as to maintain their colleg ...

, a

summer collegiate baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are Amateur baseball in the United States, amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibi ...

league.

The ballpark

The 1917 Alton Blues were noted to have played minor league home games at Sportsman's Park. While the Alton Blues played there, it was nicknamed "Three-I League Park." The ballpark was built in 1911. Today, the Alton Police Department occupies the site. The location is 1700 East Broadway, Alton, Illinois. Aerial view of Alton Illinois during June 2008 flood

Aerial view of Alton Illinois during June 2008 flood

Year–by–year record

Notable alumni

* Harry Bay (1917, MGR) 2× AL stolen base leader * Jim Duggan (1917, MGR) *

Frank Fletcher Frank Fletcher may refer to: *Frank Friday Fletcher (1855–1928), U.S. Navy admiral, namesake of the USS ''Fletcher'' (DD-445) * Frank Jack Fletcher (1885–1973), U.S. Navy admiral, namesake of the USS ''Fletcher'' (DD-992) *Frank Fletcher (baseba ...

(1917) * Bill Cristall (1917) *

Mickey O'Neil George Michael Jakob O'Neil (April 12, 1900 in St. Louis, Missouri – April 8, 1964), was a professional baseball player who played catcher from 1919 to 1927. O'Neil was coaching third base for the Brooklyn Robins when Babe Herman "doubled int ...

(1917)

References

{{reflist, 2

External links