The Kewanee A's were a

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

team based in

Kewanee, Illinois Kewanee () is a city in Henry County, Illinois, Henry County, Illinois. "Kewanee" is the Ho-Chunk, Winnebago word for greater prairie-chicken, which lived there. The population was 12,509 in the 2020 census, down from 12,916 in 2010. Geography ...

in the 1948 and 1949 seasons after the nearby Moline A's relocated to Kewanee. The A's played as exclusively as members of the

Central Association The Central Association was an American minor league baseball league. The Central Association began play in 1908, evolving from the 1907 Iowa State League. The Central Association played continuously through 1917 before folding. The league reforme ...

, winning the 1949 league championship. The Kewanee A's were a minor league affiliate of the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...

. The Kewanee A's hosted home minor league games at Northeast Park, which is still in use today. The A's were preceded in Kewanee by the

Kewanee Boilermakers The Kewanee Boilermakers were a minor league baseball team based in Kewanee, Illinois. From 1908 to 1913, the Boilermakers played exclusively as members of the Central Association, hosting home games at Terminal Park. The 1948 Kewanee A's succeed ...

, who played from 1908 to 1913.

History

Minor league baseball began in Kewanee, Illinois in 1908, when the

became charter members of the Class D level

, playing in the league through 1913. After folding in 1913, minor league baseball returned to Kewanee in 1948. On June 18, 1948, the Moline A's of the Central Association moved from

Moline, Illinois Moline ( ) is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in the 2020 census, it is the largest city in Rock Island County and the List of municipalities in Illinois, ninth-most populous in Illinois outside ...

to Kewanee and became the "Kewanee A's". The team was an affiliate of the

. Playing under manager Joe Glenn, the Moline/Kewanee A's finished with an overall record of 53–74 (36–49 in Kewanee), ending the season sixth place in the 1948 Central Association standings. Moline had been a founding member when the Central Association reformed as a six–team league in 1947, along with the Burlington Indians, Clinton Cubs, Hannibal Pilots, Keokuk Pirates and Rockford Rox. In their final season, Kewanee captured the 1949 Central Association championship. The 1949 Kewanee A's finished with a regular season record of 68–60, placing third in the Central Association standings, finishing 12.5 games behind the first place Burlington Indians, to qualify for the playoffs. Kewanee had season attendance of 29,482, playing home games at Northeast Park. Kewanee's John Miller led the Central Association with 158 total hits. In the first round of the 1949 playoffs, playing under the manager Harold Hoffman, Kewanee defeated the Keokuk Pirates three games to none to advance. In the Central Association Finals, Kewanee defeated the Cedar Rapids Rockets four games to two and captured the 1949 Central Association championship. It was the last game played in the league. The Central Association folded permanently after the 1949 season. Of the six Central Association teams, only Cedar Rapids fielded a team in 1950. Kewanee has not hosted another minor league team.

The ballpark

The 1948 and 1949 Kewanee A's played minor league home games at Northeast Park. The ballpark had a capacity of 2,500 in 1948 and 4,000 in 1949. Today, Northeast Park is still in use as a public park. The location is 1200 North Main Street, Kewanee, Illinois.

Timeline

Year–by–year records

Notable alumni

Art Ditmar Arthur John Ditmar (April 3, 1929 – June 11, 2021) was an American starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played with the Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia / Kansas City Athletics (1954–56, 1961–62) and the New York Yankees (1957–61) ...

(1948) * Joe Glenn (1948, MGR) *

Billy Shantz Wilmer Ebert Shantz (July 31, 1927 – December 13, 1993) was an American professional baseball catcher and manager. He appeared in 131 Major League Baseball (MLB) games, 130 of them for the 1954–55 Philadelphia/Kansas City Athletics and one f ...

(1948) * Kewanee A's players

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Kewanee - Baseball Reference
Defunct minor league baseball teams Defunct baseball teams in Illinois Professional baseball teams in Illinois Sports clubs and teams in the Quad Cities Central Association teams Central Association Kewanee, Illinois Baseball teams established in 1948 Baseball teams disestablished in 1949 Philadelphia Athletics minor league affiliates