The Peoria Distillers were a minor league baseball team that existed on-and-off from 1894 to 1917. They played in the

Western Association The Western Association was the name of five different leagues formed in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries. The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Western ...

from 1894 to 1896; the

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...

in 1900, 1904 and 1917; the Western League from 1902 to 1903; and the Three-I League from 1905 to 1917. Under managers David Drohan and Charley Stis, they won their first League Championship in 1911. In 1916, they won their second and final League Championship under the guidance of William Jackson.Baseball Reference Bullpen
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Joe McGinnity Joseph Jerome McGinnity (March 20, 1871 – November 14, 1929) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the late 19th and early 20th century. McGinnity played in MLB for ten years, pitching for the National League's ...

, nicknamed "Iron Man," who would go on to have a long career in the Major Leagues and be inducted in the

National Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

, pitched every inning of a 21-inning game for the Peoria Distillers in 1898. His manager in Peoria was Pat Wright. George Stone baseball card

Others who played for the Distillers in the 19th century and proceeded to the majors included

Harry Bay Harry Elbert "Deerfoot" Bay (January 17, 1878 – March 19, 1952) was a professional baseball player who played outfield in the major leagues from 1901 to 1908. Bay played for the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Bronchos/Naps. Early life He atte ...

, Jimmy Burke,

Frank Dillon Frank Edward Dillon (October 17, 1873 – September 12, 1931), known in later years as Pop Dillon, was an American baseball player and manager. He played 22 seasons in professional baseball from 1894 to 1915, including five years in Major League ...

, Frank Donnelly,

Dan Dugdale Daniel Edward Dugdale (October 28, 1864 – March 9, 1934) was a Major League Baseball catcher. He played for the 1886 Kansas City Cowboys and 1894 Washington Senators in the National League. He continued to play ball in the minor leagues through ...

Hi Ebright Hiram C. Ebright (June 12, 1859 – October 24, 1916) was an American baseball player. He played in 16 games for the Washington Nationals (1886–1889), Washington Nationals of the National League (baseball), National League, hitting .254 in 59 ...

Zaza Harvey Ervin King "Zaza" Harvey (January 5, 1879 – June 3, 1954) was an outfielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1900 to 1902 for the Chicago Orphans, Chicago White Sox, and Cleveland Bronchos. Pro career Zaza Harvey made his professional ...

, John Roach and

Harry Truby Harry Garvin Truby (May 12, 1870 – March 21, 1953), was an infielder in the Major Leagues in 1895 and 1896. Truby played for the Chicago Colts and Pittsburgh Pirates. In 70 games over two seasons, Truby posted a .281 batting average Batt ...

. In 1902 George Stone, who later was the 1906 American League batting champion, played for the team. In 1913, outfielder

Max Flack Max John Flack (February 5, 1890 – July 31, 1975) was a Major League Baseball outfielder. He played twelve seasons in the majors from 1914 to 1925 for the Chicago Chi-Feds/Whales (1914–15) of the Federal League, then the Chicago Cubs (1916–2 ...

played for the Distillers, and would go on to play for St. Louis in the

1918 World Series The 1918 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1918 season. The 15th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Boston Red Sox against the National League champion Chicago Cubs. The ...

Pants Rowland Clarence Henry "Pants" Rowland (February 12, 1878 – May 17, 1969) was a Major League Baseball manager for the Chicago White Sox from 1915 through 1918 who went on to become a major figure in minor league baseball. He was born in Platteville, ...

was the Peoria team's manager in 1913, then was hired by

Charles Comiskey Charles Albert Comiskey (August 15, 1859 – October 26, 1931), nicknamed "Commy" or "The Old Roman", was an American Major League Baseball player, manager and team owner. He was a key person in the formation of the American League, and was also ...

to be manager of the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

. He guided them to the

1917 World Series The 1917 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1917 season. The 14th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Chicago White Sox against the National League champion New York Giants ...

championship, the last one won by the White Sox until 2005.

References

Baseball teams established in 1894 Baseball teams disestablished in 1917 1894 establishments in Illinois 1917 disestablishments in Illinois Defunct minor league baseball teams Defunct baseball teams in Illinois Distillers Professional baseball teams in Illinois Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League teams Central League teams Defunct Western League teams Defunct Western Association teams {{Illinois-baseball-team-stub