Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League
| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1901 |
| Ceased | 1961 |
| No. of teams | 31 Cities |
| Country | USA |
| Most titles | 8 Evansville Braves/ Bees/ Hubs (1957, 1956, 1954, 1952, 1949, 1941, 1938, 1930) |
| Classification | D (1901) B (1902–1961) |
| Official website | Most cities today: Midwest League Official Website |
The Illinois-Indiana–Iowa League was a minor league baseball organization that operated for the better part of 60 years, mostly in those three states. The league began play in 1901 and disbanded after the 1961 season. It was popularly known as the Three–I League and also sometimes jokingly as the Three-Eye League.
Contents
1 History
2 Three-I Most Valuable Player(s)
3 Ball parks
4 Year By Year 1901-1932
5 All former teams (1901–1961)
6 External links
7 References
History
The Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League was founded in 1901 with Rock Island, IL native Michael H. Sexton serving as President. Eight charter members began play in 1901: the Bloomington Blues, Cedar Rapids Rabbitts, Davenport River Rats, Decatur Commodores, Evansville River Rats and Rock Island Islanders, Rockford Red Sox and Terre Haute Hottentots.[1]Bloomington, Illinois, Decatur, Illinois and Terre Haute, Indiana had left the Central League to join expansion teams in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Davenport, Iowa, Evansville, Indiana, Rockford, Illinois, and Rock Island, Illinois and form the Class D league. Two expansion teams, Davenport and Evansville, chose "River Rats" as their team name.[2] For the second season, 1902, the league became Class B, a classification it retained for the next 59 seasons of league operation.[3]
The Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League was inactive during some years of World War I (1918), the Great Depression (1933-1934, 1936) and World War II (1943-1945), similar to many minor leagues that were forced to suspend operations or disband during those severe times.[2][4]
As with many minor leagues, especially at the lower classifications, league membership fluctuated a great deal over its six decades. Overall, the league hosted teams in 31 cities during its existence.[5] At various times it had teams in such medium-sized cities as Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Bloomington, Decatur, Danville, Peoria, Springfield, Evansville and Terre Haute. It was a Class B league in the old classification system that ran from Class D up to Class Triple-A.
The 1955 Keokuk Kernels are ranked #30 in the Top-100 All Time teams by MiLB.com.[6] The Kernels finished with a 92-34 record and were led by Russ Nixon and Mudcat Grant.[6]
Since 1956 its territory had largely been supplanted by the Midwest League, which began in 1947 as the Class D Illinois State League. After 1956 there were no Illinois or Indiana teams in the league. The final 1961 Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League franchises were the Fox Cities Foxes, Burlington Bees, Topeka Reds, Lincoln Chiefs, Cedar Rapids Braves and Des Moines Demons.[7] In 1962, Appleton (Fox Cities), Burlington, and Cedar Rapids joined the Midwest League and the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League folded operations when those franchises switched leagues.[8]
The league's unique name made it a convenient reference point for any mention of the minor leagues. Casey Stengel made the following comment in later life, evidently still feeling stung from having been traded by the New York Giants to the Boston Braves in the 1923–1924 off-season, despite having hit 2 game-winning home runs in the World Series: "It's lucky I didn't hit 3 home runs in three games, or McGraw would have traded me to the 3-I League!"
Three-I Most Valuable Player(s)
- 1961 Tommy Harper, Topeka Reds (Cincinnati Reds), 15-yr MLB player; All-Star
- 1960 unknown
- 1959 Cal Emery Des Moines Demons (Philadelphia Phillies), Successful Minor League Manager
- 1958 Frank Howard, Green Bay Bluejays (Los Angeles Dodgers), 16-yr MLB player; 4-time All-Star
- 1957 unknown
- 1956 Don Nottebart, Evansville Braves (Milwaukee Braves), Threw first no-hitter in Astrodome; gave up Willie Mays' 500th home run
- 1955 Johnny Romano, Waterloo White Hawks (Chicago White Sox), 10-yr MLB player; 2-time All-Star
Ball parks
Bosse Field Evansville, Indiana
Browning Field Moline, Illinois
Community Field Burlington, Iowa
Douglas Park Rock Island, Illinois
Fans Field Bloomington, Illinois
Fans Field Decatur, Illinois
Lanphier Park Springfield, Illinois
Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, Indiana
Memorial Stadium Davenport, Iowa
Q Stadium Quincy, Illinois
Veterans Memorial Stadium Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Year By Year 1901-1932
1901Terre Haute won the title behind the impressive pitching of Mordecai Brown, future Chicago Cubs mound star.
| Team Name | Record |
| Terre Haute Hottentots | 72-39 |
| Bloomington Blues | 68-44 |
| Cedar Rapids Rabbits | 67-45 |
| Rockford Red Sox | 57-55 |
| Davenport River Rats | 51-61 |
| Evansville River Rats | 47-65 |
| Rock Island Islanders | 45-66 |
| Decatur Commodores | 40-72 |
1902
| Rockford Red Sox | 74-52 |
| Terre Haute Hottentots | 70-53 |
| Cedar Rapids Rabbits | 64-55 |
| Rock Island Islanders | 58-61 |
| Davenport River Rats | 59-63 |
| Evansville River Rats | 57-67 |
| Decatur Commodores | 55-69 |
| Bloomington Blues | 54-71 |
1903
Evansville and Terre Haute joined the Central League. New teams in Dubuque, Iowa and Joliet, Illinois formed. Joliet, with a record of 14-19, moved to Springfield, Illinois on June 12, where they had a record of 28-61.
| Bloomington Bloomers | 72-47 |
| Decatur Commodores | 67-51 |
| Davenport River Rats | 65-53 |
| Rock Island Islanders | 64-54 |
| Cedar Rapids Rabbits | 60-60 |
| Rockford Red Sox | 58-60 |
| Dubuque Shamrocks | 49-72 |
Joliet Standards/Springfield Foot Trackers | 42-80 |
1904
| Springfield Hustlers | 72-48 |
| Cedar Rapids Rabbits | 70-52 |
| Dubuque Shamrocks | 69-54 |
| Bloomington Bloomers | 60-61 |
| Decatur Commodores | 59-62 |
| Rock Island Islanders | 57-65 |
| Davenport River Rats | 52-69 |
| Rockford Red Sox | 48-76 |
1905
The Rockford team folded, and a new team in Peoria, Illinois formed.
| Dubuque Shamrocks | 70-53 |
| Rock Island Islanders | 68-55 |
| Springfield Senators | 64-58 |
| Decatur Commodores | 63-58 |
| Cedar Rapids Rabbits | 63-61 |
| Bloomington Bloomers | 60-65 |
| Davenport Riversides | 56-67 |
| Peoria Distillers | 48-75 |
After the season ended, Cedar Rapids lost to the Burlington, Iowa team from the Iowa State League 4 games to 3.
1906
| Cedar Rapids Rabbits | 79-43 |
| Peoria Distillers | 74-48 |
| Dubuque Dubs | 64-55 |
| Springfield Senators | 64-56 |
| Rock Island Islanders | 58-66 |
| Decatur Commodores | 48-67 |
| Bloomington Bloomers | 51-74 |
| Davenport Knickerbockers | 45-74 |
1907
The Davenport team folded. The team from Clinton, Iowa joined after leaving the Iowa State League.
| Rock Island Islanders | 86-46 |
| Decatur Commodores | 80-47 |
| Springfield Senators | 81-50 |
| Peoria Distillers | 77-52 |
| Cedar Rapids Rabbits | 72-61 |
| Clinton Infants | 53-78 |
| Bloomington Bloomers | 51-79 |
| Dubuque Dubs | 22-109 |
1908
| Springfield Senators | 82-54 |
| Decatur Commodores | 77-59 |
| Cedar Rapids Rabbits | 69-63 |
| Peoria Distillers | 77-52 |
| Dubuque Dubs | 67-69 |
| Bloomington Bloomers | 64-73 |
| Rock Island Islanders | 59-76 |
| Clinton Adults | 55-78 |
1909
The Clinton team folded. A new team in Davenport, Iowa formed.
| Rock Island Islanders | 90-48 |
| Springfield Senators | 81-53 |
| Davenport Prodigals | 77-59 |
| Burlington Bloomers | 70-67 |
| Peoria Distillers | 69-67 |
| Dubuque Dubs | 64-71 |
| Decatur Commodores | 63-73 |
| Cedar Rapids Rabbits | 31-107 |
1910
After the previous disappointing season, Cedar Rapids folded. The Decatur team moved to the Northern Association. The team from Waterloo, Iowa left the Central Association to join here. A new team from Danville, Illinois formed and joined the league as well.
| Springfield Senators | 88-48 |
| Rock Island Islanders | 81-56 |
| Peoria Distillers | 75-64 |
| Waterloo Boosters | 72-67 |
| Bloomington Bloomers | 60-76 |
| Dubuque Dubs | 60-79 |
| Davenport Prodigals | 59-80 |
| Danville Speakers | 57-82 |
1911
The team from Bloomington folded. The Quincy, Illinois team from the Central Association joined the league. The Springfield team, with a 12-4 record, moved to Decatur, Illinois on May 31, where their record was 57-56.
| Peoria Distillers | 76-59 |
| Springfield Senators/Decatur Nomads | 69-60 |
| Quincy Infants | 71-63 |
| Danville Speakers | 69-62 |
| Davenport Prodigals | 69-69 |
| Dubuque Hustlers | 67-70 |
| Waterloo Boosters | 59-76 |
| Rock Island Islanders | 58-79 |
1912
The teams from Rock Island and Waterloo folded. New teams from Springfield, Illinois and Bloomington, Indiana joined the league.
| Springfield Senators | 90-44 |
| Davenport Prodigals | 75-60 |
| Decatur Commodores | 69-67 |
| Quincy Old Soldiers | 67-70 |
| Dubuque Dubs | 65-73 |
| Danville Speakers | 63-71 |
| Bloomington Bloomers | 58-78 |
| Peoria Distillers | 56-80 |
1913
| Quincy Gems | 79-60 |
| Dubuque Dubs | 74-62 |
| Davenport Blue Sox | 68-66 |
| Danville Speakers | 69-68 |
| Decatur Commodores | 67-68 |
| Springfield Watchmakers | 66-70 |
| Bloomington Bloomers | 64-71 |
| Peoria Distillers | 57-79 |
1914
The Danville team, with a record of 26-53, moved to Moline, Illinois on July 14, where their record was 20-33.
| Davenport Blue Sox | 83-52 |
| Peoria Distillers | 81-56 |
| Springfield Watchmakers | 72-60 |
| Decatur Commodores | 72-64 |
| Dubuque Dubs | 64-69 |
| Quincy Gems | 61-71 |
| Bloomington Bloomers | 56-77 |
Danville Speakers/Moline Plowboys | 46-86 |
1915
The Springfield team folded. A new team in Rockford, Illinois formed. Dubuque moved to Freeport, Illinois during the season. The Decatur team folded on August 10. The league adopted a playoff system in which the team with the best record in the first half of the season would play the team with the best record in the second half of the season.
| Moline Plowboys | 75-51 (2nd half winner) |
| Davenport Blue Sox | 76-52 (1st half winner) |
| Rockford Wakes | 72-58 |
| Quincy Gems | 62-56 |
| Peoria Distillers | 68-63 |
| Dubuque Dubs/Freeport Comeons | 48-76 |
| Bloomington Bloomers | 48-76 |
| Decatur Commodores | 37-57 |
Moline beat Davenport 4 games to 2 for the title.
1916
The Freeport team folded. New teams in Hannibal, Missouri and Rock Island, Illinois formed and joined the league. The playoff system was apparently dropped.
| Peoria Distillers | 84-50 |
| Hannibal Mules | 79-57 |
| Bloomington Bloomers | 76-56 |
| Rockford Wakes | 67-66 |
| Moline Plowboys | 59-76 |
| Rock Island Islanders | 57-76 |
| Quincy Gems | 57-77 |
| Davenport Blue Sox | 56-77 |
1917
The Davenport team folded. A new team in Alton, Illinois formed and joined the league.
| Peoria Distillers | 43-23 |
| Rockford Rox | 39-21 |
| Hannibal Mules | 39-27 |
| Rock Island Islanders | 36-26 |
| Quincy Gems | 27-38 |
| Moline Plowboys | 27-38 |
| Bloomington Bloomers | 25-37 |
| Alton Blues | 18-44 |
1918
The league suspended operations because of World War I.
1919
The teams in Alton, Hannibal, Quincy, and Rock Island folded. New teams in Evansville, Indiana and Terre Haute, Indiana formed and joined the league.
| Bloomington Bloomers | 80-41 |
| Peoria Tractors | 68-54 |
| Evansville Black Sox | 63-58 |
| Rockford Rox | 63-60 |
| Terre Haute Browns | 50-70 |
| Moline Plowboys | 40-81 |
1920
New teams in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Rock Island, Illinois formed and joined the league. Evansville changed their names to the "Evas".
| Bloomington Bloomers | 82-57 |
| Evansville Evas | 80-56 |
| Rockford Rox | 70-70 |
| Moline Plowboys | 69-70 |
| Cedar Rapids Rabbits | 68-69 |
| Peoria Tractors | 67-71 |
| Terre Haute Browns | 58-77 |
| Rock Island Islanders | 57-81 |
1921
| Moline Plowboys | 78-55 |
| Rockford Rox | 72-64 |
| Terre Haute Tots | 70-65 |
| Peoria Tractors | 70-69 |
| Evansville Evas | 67-69 |
| Bloomington Bloomers | 65-69 |
| Cedar Rapids Rabbits | 62-72 |
| Rock Island Islanders | 57-78 |
1922
The teams in Cedar Rapids and Rock Island moved to the Mississippi Valley League. New teams in Danville and Decatur formed and joines the league.
| Terre Haute Tots | 85-51 |
| Decatur Commodores | 78-58 |
| Peoria Tractors | 76-60 |
| Evansville Evas | 76-64 |
| Rockford Rox | 74-65 |
| Bloomington Bloomers | 63-75 |
| Danville Veterans | 50-87 |
| Moline Plowboys | 49-89 |
1923
| Decatur Commodores | 81-54 |
| Rockford Rox | 76-63 |
| Terre Haute Tots | 71-60 |
| Bloomington Bloomers | 72-64 |
| Evansville Evas | 72-65 |
| Peoria Tractors | 71-65 |
| Danville Veterans | 55-81 |
| Moline Plowboys | 45-91 |
1924
The Rockford team folded. The Moline team moved to the Mississippi Valley League.
| Terre Haute Tots | 75-62 |
| Evansville Little Evas | 75-64 |
| Bloomington Bloomers | 71-64 |
| Peoria Tractors | 71-66 |
| Danville Veterans | 59-75 |
| Decatur Commodores | 58-78 |
1925
New teams in Quincy and Springfield formed and joined the league.
| Peoria Tractors | 89-48 |
| Terre Haute Tots | 81-54 |
| Evansville Pocketeers | 72-63 |
| Danville Veterans | 69-66 |
| Decatur Commodores | 62-73 |
| Bloomington Bloomers | 56-74 |
| Springfield Senators | 56-79 |
| Quincy Red Birds | 54-82 |
1926
| Springfield Senators | 77-59 |
| Peoria Tractors | 75-62 |
| Terre Haute Tots | 73-61 |
| Danville Veterans | 72-65 |
| Evansville Hubs | 72-66 |
| Decatur Commodores | 69-67 |
| Quincy Red Birds | 62-75 |
| Bloomington Bloomers | 43-88 |
Springfield played Bay City of the Michigan State League and won 4 games to none. They were leading against Des Moines of the Western League 3 games to 1 when the series was canceled due to cold weather.
1927
| Danville Veterans | 86-50 |
| Peoria Tractors | 87-51 |
| Springfield Senators | 72-66 |
| Terre Haute Tots | 70-66 |
| Decatur Commodores | 62-70 |
| Quincy Red Birds | 63-75 |
| Bloomington Bloomers | 55-83 |
| Evansville Hubs | 50-84 |
1928
The league returned to the playoff format in which the team with the best record in the first half of the season played the team with the best records in the second half of the season for the title.
| Decatur Commodores | 81-49 (2nd half winner) |
| Terre Haute Tots | 75-59 (1st half winner) |
| Danville Veterans | 69-57 |
| Peoria Tractors | 69-66 |
| Evansville Hubs | 62-68 |
| Bloomington Bloomers | 61-69 |
| Springfield Senators | 60-79 |
| Quincy Indians | 50-85 |
Decatur beat Terre Haute for the title 4 games to 1, with 1 tie.
1929
Two teams with the nickname "Tractors" played in the league this season.
| Quincy Indians | 82-56 |
| Decatur Commodores | 81-57 |
| Evansville Hubs | 79-57 |
| Terre Haute Tots | 72-66 |
| Bloomington Bloomers | 70-70 |
| Peoria Tractors | 61-76 |
| Springfield Tractors | 59-77 |
| Danville Veterans | 46-91 |
Quincy played Canton of the Central League after the season ended and lost 4 games to 2.
1930
The league returned to the best record in the 1st half vs. best record in the 2nd half playoff system.
| Evansville Hubs | 79-55 (2nd half winner) |
| Quincy Indians | 78-58 |
| Decatur Commodores | 77-59 |
| Danville Veterans | 71-67 (1st half winner) |
| Springfield Senators | 62-70 |
| Peoria Tractors | 57-77 |
| Bloomington Cubs | 57-78 |
| Terre Haute Tots | 53-76 |
Danville defeated Evansville 4 games to 2 for the title. Danville went on to play Springfield of the Central League and lead 3 games to 2 when the series was cancelled because of poor attendance.
1931
| Springfield Senators | 72-45 (1st half winner) |
| Quincy Indians | 67-49 (2nd half winner) |
| Evansville Hubs | 67-58 |
| Decatur Commodores | 64-57 |
| Bloomington Cubs | 58-61 |
| Terre Haute Tots | 55-68 |
| Peoria Tractors | 51-68 |
| Danville Veterans | 44-72 |
Quincy beat Springfield 4 games to 2 for the championship.
1932
The teams in Bloomington and Evansville folded before the season, and the Springfield and Decatur teams folded on July 12.
| Team Name | Affiliation | Record |
| Terre Haute Tots | 42-27 (1st half winner) | |
| Peoria Tractors | 20-38 (2nd half winner) | |
| Quincy Indians | Cleveland Indians | 38-31 |
| Danville Veterans | St. Louis Cardinals | 29-39 |
| Springfield Senators | 32-37 | |
| Decatur Commodores | 24-43 |
The Terre Haute, Peoria, Quincy, and Danville teams all folded on July 15, as did the league itself. The league was restarted in 1935, 1937–1942, and 1946–1961.
All former teams (1901–1961)
Alton, Illinois
Bloomington, Illinois |
|
|
External links
Triple-I ballpark photos: http://www.digitalballparks.com/TripleI.html
References
^ "1901 Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
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^ "Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League (B) Encyclopedia and History - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
^ "Register League Encyclopedia - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
^ Batterson, Steve. "Era comes to close for Q-C minor league baseball". qctimes.com.
^ ab "Top 100 Teams - MiLB.com History - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com.
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- Sumner, Benjamin Barrett. Minor League Baseball Standings:All North American Leagues, Through 1999. Jefferson, N.C.:McFarland.
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