Clinton LumberKings

Did You Know?

• NelsonCorp Field was built in 1937 as a Works Progress Administration project and originally named Riverview Stadium.
• The stadium was renamed Alliant Energy Field in 2002, Ashford University Field in 2011, and NelsonCorp Field in 2019.

Clinton baseball history

Baseball in Clinton began in 1895, with sporadic teams over the following decades as the Great Depression, World War I, and World War II affected many franchises. The team had numerous major league affiliations: the Brooklyn Dodgers (1937–38), New York Giants (1939–41), Chicago Cubs (1947–49), Pirates (1954–58 and 1966–68), White Sox (1959–65), Pilots/Brewers (1969–70), Tigers (1971–75), Tigers/White Sox co-op (1976), Dodgers (1977–79), Giants (1980–94), Padres (1995–98), Reds (1999–2000), Expos (2001–02), Rangers (2003–08), and Mariners (2009–18). In September 2018, they entered a two-year player development contract with the Miami Marlins. Except for periods as the C-Sox (1960–65) and part of its time as the Pilots (1966–76), the team used the parent major league club's nickname before adopting the LumberKings name for the 1994 season. The 2010 LumberKings season was the subject of the 2013 book "Class A: Baseball in the Middle of Everywhere" by Lucas Mann. In 2016, under first-year manager Mitch Canham, the team won 86 games, a franchise regular-season record. They swept the Peoria Chiefs in the first playoff round and defeated the Cedar Rapids Kernels in a three-game Western Division final, ending with a Ricky Eusebio walk-off hit in extra innings. The LumberKings lost the Midwest League Championship in four games to the Great Lakes Loons. After game two of that championship, the ballpark was converted overnight into a football field for the inaugural "LumberBowl," where Camanche High School hosted Williamsburg High School on September 16, 2016; Williamsburg won 55–7. Following the 2020 season, Clinton was cut from the Midwest League and affiliated baseball due to MLB's reorganization, then joined the Prospect League for 2021.