The Moline Plowboys was a primary name of the minor league baseball teams based in

Moline, Illinois Moline ( ) is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in 2020, it is the largest city in Rock Island County. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline and Rock Island ...

, one of the

Quad Cities The Quad Cities is a region of cities (originally four, see History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport and Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in northwestern Illinois. These cities are th ...

. Moline teams played as members the 1892 Illinois-Iowa League, 1894

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 Wester ...

, the Mississippi Valley League (1924–1932), Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League (1914–1923, 1937–1941) and

Central Association The Central Association was an American minor league baseball league. It began operations in 1908, as it was essentially renamed from the 1907 Iowa State League. The Central Association ran continuously through 1917. It was reorganized thirty year ...

(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 The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

(1932),

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

(1937–1940) and

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, the team became the Oakl ...

(1947–1948). Moline's home minor league ballpark from 1920 to 1948 was Browning Field.

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 ...

inductee Warren Giles was President of the Plowboys franchise from 1919 to 1922. 1962 Baseball Guide p4

History

Tracing back to 1879, Quad City professional baseball includes

Minor League Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in N ...

teams in Davenport, Iowa,

and

Rock Island, Illinois Rock Island is a city in and the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The original Rock Island, from which the city name is derived, is now called Arsenal Island. The population was 37,108 at the 2020 census. Located on ...

, as well as nearby

Kewanee, Illinois Kewanee () is a city in Henry County, Illinois, Henry County, Illinois, United States. "Kewanee" is the Ho-Chunk, Winnebago word for greater prairie chicken, which lived there. The population was 12,509 at the 2020 census, down from 12,944 in 20 ...

. The 1879 Davenport Brown Stockings played one season in the

Northwestern League The Northwestern League was a sports league that operated in the Central United States during the early years of professional baseball for five seasons: 1879, 1883–1884, and 1886–1887. After the 1887 season, the league was replaced by the ...

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 Quad as a word or prefix usually means 'four'. It may refer to: Government * Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States * Quadrilateral group, an informal group which i ...

, the surviving franchise of the three. 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, the Rock Island-Moline Islanders played as a member of the

and captured the Western Association championship with a record of 72–50. 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" corresponds to Moline's local industry of

plow A plough or plow (Differences between American and British spellings, US; both ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses, but in modern farms are draw ...

production. Moline was home to companies such as

Deere Deere is an English family name. It is variant spelling of Dear. This name as two possible origins, the first is derived from the Middle English (1200-1500) personal name "Dere," from the Old English pre 7th century "Deora," meaning beloved and used ...

Moline Plow Company The Moline Plow Company was an American manufacturer of plows and other farm implements, headquartered in Moline, Illinois, USA. Moline Plow was formed in the 1870s when the firm of Candee & Swan, a competitor of Deere and Company (also of M ...

, and Minneapolis-Moline in the era.

inductee Warren Giles was team President of the Plowboys from 1919 to 1922. Giles later became president and general manager of the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

(1937–1951) and president of the National League (1951–1969). From 1920 to 1922, the Plowboys were managed by

Earle Mack Earle Thaddeus Mack (born Earle Thaddeus McGillicuddy; February 1, 1890 – February 4, 1967), was an American player and coach in Major League Baseball, and, during parts of two seasons, manager of the Philadelphia Athletics when his fathe ...

, son of

owner/manager

Connie Mack Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds untoucha ...

. Moline won Three-I Championships in 1915, 1921 and 1937. The Plowboys were an affiliate of the

in 1932 and the

from 1937 to 1940. The franchise reemerged as the Moline A's in 1947–1948, playing in the

as an affiliate of the

. Moline moved to

, 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.

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. 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. 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. In an exhibition game on April 12, 1920 the Plowboys defeated 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 ...

7–1 in the first "major-league" game played at Browning Field. The

played an exhibition at Browning Field against their affiliate Plowboys on April 14, 1938.

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

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.

Timeline

Year–by–year records

Notable alumni

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 ...
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 (1947–1948 MGR) * Fred Heimach (1921) *

Kirby Higbe Walter Kirby Higbe (April 8, 1915 – May 6, 1985) was an American right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1937 to 1950. Best known for his time with the Brooklyn Dodgers, he was a two-time National League (NL) All-S ...

(1937) 2x MLB All–Star * Len Koenecke (1932) ( List of baseball players who died during their careers) * Peanuts Lowrey (1937) MLB All-Star *

(1920–1922, MGR) * Lennie Merullo (1939) * Fritz Mollwitz (1927) * Lou Novikoff (1938) * Claude Passeau (1932) 5x MLB All–Star *

Fred Smith Fred, Frederic, or Frederick Smith may refer to: In literature *Frederick Smith, 2nd Earl of Birkenhead (1907–1975), British peer and biographer *Frederick Smith, 3rd Earl of Birkenhead (1936–1985), British peer and author * Frederick E. Smith ...

(1921) * Evar Swanson (1924) *

Mike Tresh Michael Tresh Jr (February 23, 1914 – October 4, 1966) was a professional baseball catcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox (1938–1948) and Cleveland Indians (1949). Tresh batted and threw right-handed. His ...

(1932) MLB All–Star * Dutch Ulrich (1922) * Jake Wade (1932) * Eddie Waitkus (1939) 2x MLB All–Star * Bob Weiland (1928) * Hank Wyse (1940) MLB All–Star

External links

Baseball Reference

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moline Plowboys 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 Mississippi Valley League teams

History

The ballparks

Timeline

Year–by–year records

Notable alumni

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 ... alumni

Notable alumni

See also

External links

References

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 ...
alumni