Quad Cities Angels

History

Quad Cities-area professional baseball began in 1879, with teams in Davenport, Moline (Moline Plowboys), Rock Island (Rock Island Islanders), and nearby Kewanee, Illinois. In 1901, the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League (Three-I League) was founded with the Davenport River Rats and Rock Island Islanders as charter members.

The Davenport franchise changed names frequently, playing as the River Rats, Riversides, Knickerbockers, Prodigals, and Blue Sox, with the Blue Sox winning the 1914 Three-I League Championship. The Moline Plowboys were established in July 1914 when the Danville Speakers relocated to Moline, and they won Three-I League Championships in 1915, 1921, and 1937. The Moline Plowboys/Moline A's were affiliates of the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns, Chicago Cubs, and Philadelphia Athletics, while the Rock Island Islanders were affiliates of the St. Louis Browns and Cincinnati Reds.

Ballparks

Early Davenport teams played Sunday games on Sullivan Island outside of town, likely to avoid Sunday activity laws. The Davenport teams from 1901 to 1916 played at Davenport Base Ball Park, also called Blue Sox Stadium, located at Bowditch & Second Streets or Third Street & Telegraph Road. The Davenport Blue Sox of 1929 and 1930 played at Fairgrounds Park within the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, a ballpark with a capacity of 5,500. The city of Davenport then sought a riverfront stadium with lights, and the Davenport Levee Commission proposed a new brick stadium.

On May 26, 1931, Municipal Stadium opened, built with local labor for $165,000, featuring light towers and a grandstand facing the Mississippi River. It was nicknamed "The Muny" and renamed John O'Donnell Stadium in 1971. The ballpark has hosted eight Midwest League All-Star Games in six decades, exhibitions against Negro league teams in the 1930s, and a 1942 exhibition between the St. Louis Browns and Pittsburgh Pirates. It has survived major Mississippi River floods in 1965, 1969, 1993, and 2001, with the Great Flood of 1993 causing especially severe damage.

Did You Know?

• The Quad City Angels of 1964 became the first Midwest League franchise to draw more than 100,000 fans in a season.
• The Quad City Angels were managed by Chuck Tanner in both 1963 and 1964.
• The Quad City Angels won Midwest League titles in 1968 and 1971.
• The Angels affiliation ran from 1962 through 1992, with a six-year break when the team was the Quad Cities Cubs (1979–1984).