Iowa was hot bed for early Minor League action

Rocket City Trash Pandas. Albuquerque Isotopes. Montgomery Biscuits. Even the Quad Cities River Bandits and the Cedar Rapids Kernels. It’s easy to assume that attention-grabbing Minor League team names that max out on fun are a modern phenomenon, perhaps even a passing phase.

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With the MiLB at Field of Dreams game set to get underway Tuesday, it’s a good time to take a look back at the earliest days of Minors action in the state of Iowa. The pro game there goes back to even before the 1901 establishment of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues (often considered the founding of Minor League Baseball as we know it today). Even an admittedly incompletely romp through the Iowa-based leagues and teams of the late 19th and early 20th centuries reveals a mix of unlikely identities, Midwestern cheer, a rich history and a wacky, irreverent spirit seemingly eternal in Minor League ball.

Western Association

Years active: 1895-1899, reborn in 1901 with no Iowa teams
Notable teams: Des Moines Prohibitionists, Peoria Distillers, Cedar Rapids Rabbits/Bunnies, Rock Island Islanders
Players with old-timey names: Dewey McDougal (Quincy, 1895; Cedar Rapids, 1897-98), Judge McCredie (Des Moines, 1896-97; Quincy 1898), Elmer Stricklett (Rock Island, 1899)
You probably didn’t know: Things got a bit tipsy between the Distillers and the Prohibitionists; the Distillers’ had the better record of the two by 2.5 games in 1895, but the Prohibitionists were in first place by a wide margin when the league disbanded (temporarily) on Aug. 1, 1896.

Central Interstate League

Years active: 1888-90
Notable teams: Burlington Babies (also called the “Lightweights,” in 1889, reportedly on account of a number of undersized players on the roster), Peoria Canaries, Davenport Hawkeyes
Players with old-timey names: Trick McSorley (Davenport, 1888; Peoria, 1890), Hunkey Hines (Burlington, 1890), Peck Sharp (Dubuque, 1888; Monmouth, 1889)
You probably didn’t know: The league disbanded in July of its inaugural season but the next spring reformed and stuck around for two more years.

Three-I League (aka Illinois-Indiana-Iowa-League)

Years active (first iteration): 1901-1917
Notable teams: Dubuque Shamrocks, Davenport River Rats (1901-1904), Davenport Knickerbockers (1906), Davenport Prodigals (1909-12), Cedar Rapids Rabbits, Clinton Infants, Waterloo Boosters
Players with old-timey names: Cornelius Walsh (Cedar Rapids, 1908; Peoria, 1909-10, 1911; Bloomington, 1910; Danville, 1911-14; Davenport, 1914); Rube Vinson (Peoria, 1906), Dad Meek (Rockford, 1904)
You probably didn’t know: Clarence ‘Pants’ Rowland, who helmed the White Sox to victory in the 1917 World Series and was president of the Pacific Coast League at the height of its glory days, got his start as a manager leading the 1903 Dubuque Shamrocks.

Iowa League of Professional Base Ball Clubs (aka Iowa State League)

Years active: 1904-07, 1912
Notable teams: Waterloo Microbes, Burlington River Rats, Ottumwa Standpatters, Fort Dodge Gypsumites, Clear Lake Fish Eaters
Players with old-timey names: J.H. Mekenson (Burlington, 1904), Melvin Blexuld (Keokuk, 1905), Harry Hofer (Quincy, 1907), Ernest Anklam (Waterloo, 1904-06)
You probably didn’t know: The Ottumwa team was also called the Snappers, after player-manager/inaugural league batting champion Snapper Kennedy, and the Champs in 1906 after winning back-to-back titles in ’04-05. “Standpatters” was a term originating in poker (to refuse to draw new cards), and in the early 20th century it often referred to members of the era’s Republican Party who remained staunchly and steadfastly opposed to the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act.

Central Association

Years active (first iteration): 1908-1917
Notable teams: Charles City Tractorites, Mason City Claydiggers, Ottumwa Speedboys, Muscatine Camels (1911), Muscatine Wallopers (1912-13), Muscatine Buttonmakers (1914)
Players with old-timey names: Toots Gard (Quincy, 1910; Ottumwa, 1911), Ziggy Hasbrook (Muscatine, 1913-16), Ferd Eunick (Marshalltown, 1916-17), Leo Hammerschmidt (Marshalltown)
You probably didn’t know: A reborn version of the Iowa League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, the Central Association featured no fewer than two no-hitters in its inaugural campaign -- with Ottumwa falling victim twice. Edward Eis threw one in an 11-0 Burlington victory on May 31, and A.J. Patrick pulled off the trick for Jacksonville (Illinois) in a 4-1 win on June 27.