Mississippi Valley League
The Mississippi Valley League was a class D league which ran from 1922-1933, playing its last year as a class B league. Rock Island, IL was represented for the full run of the league. Many of the cities in the Mississippi Valley League also participated in the Three-I League. In this run of the league there were eight teams from Iowa represented, along with five from Illinois.
Cities Represented[edit]
1922-1933[edit]
- Burlington, IA: Burlington Bees 1924-1932
- Cedar Rapids, IA: Cedar Rapids Bunnies 1922-1932
- Davenport, IA: Davenport Blue Sox 1929-1933, moved to Western League 1934-1937
- Dubuque, IA: Dubuque Climbers 1922-1923; Dubuque Dubs 1924; Dubuque Ironmen 1925; Dubuque Speasmen 1926; Dubuque Dubs 1927-1928; Dubuque Tigers 1929-1932
- Keokuk, IA: Keokuk Indians 1929-1933
- Marshalltown, IA: Marshalltown Ansons 1922-1928
- Moline, IL: Moline Plowboys 1924-1932, moved from Three-I League 1919-1923
- Ottumwa, IA: Ottumwa Cardinals 1922-1925; Ottumwa Packers 1926-1928
- Peoria, IL: Peoria Tractors 1933, moved to Central League 1934
- Quincy, IL: Quincy Indians 1933
- Rock Island, IL: Rock Island Islanders 1922-1933, moved from Three-I League 1920-1921
- Springfield, IL: Springfield Senators 1933
- Waterloo, IA: Waterloo Hawks 1922-1932
Teams & Statistics[edit]
1922-1925[edit]
1922 Mississippi Valley League - schedule
President: Michael H. Sexton
Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cedar Rapids Bunnies | 92 | 37 | .713 | - | Bill Speas |
Marshalltown Ansons | 73 | 55 | .570 | 18.5 | Frank Boyle |
Rock Island Islanders | 66 | 63 | .512 | 26 | Jimmy Conzelman |
Waterloo Hawks | 59 | 68 | .465 | 32 | Pat Ragan |
Ottumwa Cardinals | 49 | 76 | .392 | 41 | Jim Drohan / Carl Bond |
Dubuque Climbers | 44 | 84 | .344 | 47.5 | Larry Mullen / Harry Henge / Joe McGinnity |
Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fred Leach | Waterloo | BA | .383 | Frank Johnson (minors) | Cedar Rap | W | 24 | |
Bill Speas | Cedar Rapids | Runs | 128 | Charles Schwiete | Marshall | SO | 180 | |
Bill Speas | Cedar Rapids | Hits | 182 | Frank Johnson (minors) | Cedar Rap | Pct | .828; 24-5 | |
Fred Leach | Waterloo | HR | 13 |
1923 Mississippi Valley League - schedule
President: Michael H. Sexton
Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dubuque Climbers | 78 | 50 | .609 | - | Joe McGinnity |
Ottumwa Cardinals | 73 | 53 | .579 | 4 | Wally Mattick |
Cedar Rapids Bunnies | 69 | 56 | .552 | 7.5 | Bill Speas |
Waterloo Hawks | 58 | 69 | .457 | 19.5 | Bert Weeden |
Rock Island Islanders | 53 | 73 | .421 | 24 | Tommy Thompson |
Marshalltown Ansons | 48 | 78 | .381 | 29 | Frank Boyle |
Playoffs: None Scheduled.
Player StatisticsPlayer | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bill Speas | Cedar Rapids | BA | .363 | John Dill | Ottumwa | W | 22 | |
John Armstrong | Dubuque | Runs | 93 | George Brown | Waterloo | SO | 175 | |
Bill Speas | Cedar Rapids | Hits | 182 | Emil Levson | Cedar Rapids | Pct | .826; 19-4 | |
Andrew McEwan | Waterloo | HR | 8 | J. Johnson | Cedar Rapids | IP | 317 |
1924 Mississippi Valley League - schedule
President: Michael H. Sexton
Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Waterloo Hawks | 84 | 40 | .678 | - | Cletus Dixon |
Dubuque Dubs | 70 | 51 | .579 | 12.5 | John Armstrong |
Rock Island Islanders | 64 | 57 | .529 | 18.5 | Preston Gray |
Ottumwa Cardinals | 58 | 61 | .487 | 23.5 | Wally Mattick |
Moline Plowboys | 59 | 65 | .478 | 25 | Jim Shollenberger |
Burlington Bees | 54 | 67 | .446 | 28.5 | Henry Wingfield |
Cedar Rapids Bunnies | 54 | 67 | .446 | 28.5 | Bill Speas |
Marshalltown Ansons | 43 | 78 | .355 | 39.5 | Jack Lacey / Frank Boyle |
Playoffs: None Scheduled.
Player StatisticsPlayer | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fred Schulte | Waterloo | BA | .368 | Ovid McCracken | Waterloo | W | 23 | |
Hal Anderson | Ottumwa | Runs | 126 | Richard Didier | Ottumwa | SO | 145 | |
Fred Schulte | Waterloo | Hits | 167 | Claude Willoughby | Waterloo | Pct | .750; 21-7 | |
Fred Schulte | Waterloo | 3B | 25 | |||||
Stan Keyes | Rock Island | HR | 20 |
1925 Mississippi Valley League - schedule
President: Belden Hill
Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Attend | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cedar Rapids Bunnies | 74 | 51 | .592 | - | 43,429 | Bill Speas |
Moline Plowboys | 73 | 52 | .584 | 1 | 39,738 | Jim Schollenberger |
Rock Island Islanders | 65 | 60 | .520 | 9 | 43,157 | Preston Gray |
Ottumwa Cardinals | 61 | 64 | .488 | 13 | 30,572 | Wally Mattick |
Dubuque Ironmen | 60 | 65 | .480 | 14 | 46,175 | Joe McGinnity / John Armstrong |
Waterloo Hawks | 59 | 66 | .472 | 15 | 54,702 | Cletus Dixon |
Marshalltown Ansons | 55 | 70 | .440 | 19 | 30,442 | Frank Boyle |
Burlington Bees | 53 | 72 | .424 | 22 | 42,179 | Dick Speer / Whitey Mann / Ed Reichle |
Playoffs: None Scheduled.
Player StatisticsPlayer | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Al Groski | Ottumwa | BA | .360 | George Valentine | Cedar Rapids | W | 26 | |
John Armstrong | Dubuque | Runs | 104 | Archie Kelsey | Waterloo | SO | 174 | |
Ed Farber | Rock Island | Hits | 174 | George Valentine | Cedar Rapids | Pct | .765; 26-8 | |
Chester Guppy | Moline | HR | 17 | |||||
Ed Farber | Rock Island | 2B | 52 |
1926-1929[edit]
1926 Mississippi Valley League - schedule
President: Belden Hill
Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ottumwa Packers | 75 | 45 | .625 | - | Pat Harkins |
Moline Plowboys | 71 | 50 | .587 | 4.5 | Jim Shollenberger |
Waterloo Hawks | 67 | 52 | .563 | 7.5 | Cletus Dixon |
Burlington Bees | 68 | 53 | .562 | 7.5 | Ed Reichle |
Rock Island Islanders | 65 | 55 | .542 | 10 | Preston Gray |
Dubuque Speasmen | 56 | 63 | .471 | 18.5 | Bill Speas |
Marshalltown Ansons | 41 | 79 | .342 | 34 | Lane /Coffin / Brannigan / O'Leary |
Cedar Rapids Bunnies | 38 | 84 | .311 | 38 | Fred Beck / Jack Lacy / Dutch White |
Playoffs: None Scheduled.
Player StatisticsPlayer | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Red Worthington | Waterloo | BA | .389 | Alvin Bauer | Ottumwa | W | 25 | |
Les Smith | Ottumwa | Runs | 99 | Robert Shanklin | Rock Island | SO | 188 | |
Red Worthington | Waterloo | Hits | 185 | Alvin Bauer | Ottumwa | Pct | .862; 25-4 | |
Les Smith | Ottumwa | HR | 20 | |||||
Nick Conrad | Marshalltown | SAC | 36 |
1927 Mississippi Valley League - [1]
President: Michael H. Sexton
Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dubuque Dubs | 66 | 41 | .617 | 1.5 | Bill Speas |
Waterloo Hawks | 75 | 47 | .615 | - | Cletus Dixon |
Burlington Bees | 71 | 52 | .577 | 4.5 | Ed Reichle |
Marshalltown Ansons | 65 | 54 | .546 | 8.5 | Jim Shollenberger |
Moline Plowboys | 63 | 55 | .534 | 10 | Fritz Mollwitz |
Cedar Rapids Bunnies | 50 | 70 | .417 | 24 | Pete Hughes (manager) / Spoke Emery |
Rock Island Islanders | 40 | 75 | .348 | 31.5 | Joe Kernan (minors) |
Ottumwa Packers | 41 | 77 | .347 | 32 | Pat Harkins |
Playoffs: None Scheduled.
Player StatisticsPlayer | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jim Stroner | Rock Island | BA | .380 | Duncan Grant | Waterloo | W | 22 | |
James Worth | Dubuque | Runs | 127 | Harold McKain | Waterloo | SO | 147 | |
James Worth | Dubuque | Hits | 171 | Duncan Grant | Waterloo | SO | 147 | |
Len Koenecke | Moline | HR | 20 | Elbert Fisch | Dubuque | Pct | .800; 20-5 |
1928 Mississippi Valley League - schedule
President: Belden Hill
Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Waterloo Hawks | 81 | 41 | .664 | - | Cletus Dixon |
Moline Plowboys | 69 | 54 | .561 | 12.5 | Richard Manchester |
Rock Island Islanders | 67 | 59 | .532 | 16 | Pat Patterson |
Dubuque Dubs | 63 | 60 | .512 | 18.5 | Bill Speas / John Armstrong |
Burlington Bees | 59 | 61 | .492 | 21 | Ed Reichle |
Marshalltown Ansons | 58 | 65 | .472 | 22.5 | Jim Shollenberger / Tomer / Diamond |
Ottumwa Packers | 48 | 72 | .400 | 32 | Preston Gray / Bill Speas |
Cedar Rapids Bunnies | 45 | 78 | .366 | 36.5 | Spoke Emery / Bob Hasbrook |
Playoffs: None Scheduled.
Player StatisticsPlayer | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Len Koenecke | Moline | BA | .389 | Duncan Grant | Waterloo | W | 21 | |
Walter Genin | Rock Island | Runs | 115 | Ray Wolf | Moline | W | 21 | |
Len Koenecke | Moline | Hits | 182 | Bob Weiland | Moline | SO | 209 | |
Len Koenecke | Moline | HR | 22 | Duncan Grant | Waterloo | Pct | .808; 21-5 |
1929 Mississippi Valley League - schedule
President: Belden Hill
Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dubuque Tigers | 75 | 51 | .595 | - | Pat Patterson |
Waterloo Hawks | 72 | 54 | .571 | 3 | Cletus Dixon |
Davenport Blue Sox | 69 | 57 | .548 | 6 | Ed Reichle |
Moline Plowboys | 63 | 63 | .500 | 12 | Richard Manchester |
Burlington Bees | 62 | 64 | .492 | 13 | George Young (minors02) |
Keokuk Indians | 60 | 65 | .480 | 14.5 | Ben Diamond |
Cedar Rapids Bunnies | 58 | 67 | .464 | 16.5 | Bill Speas / Tibb Serre |
Rock Island Islanders | 44 | 82 | .349 | 31 | Walt Genin / Buck Wheat |
Playoffs: None Scheduled.
Player StatisticsPlayer | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Spot Grant | Cedar Rapids | BA | .368 | Albert Eckert | Dubuque | W | 19 | |
Paul Speraw | Dubuque | Runs | 112 | H.H. Miller | Cedar Rapids | W | 19 | |
Ed Hendee | Davenport | Hits | 183 | Fred Witte | Davenport | W | 19 | |
Ken Storm | Waterloo | HR | 23 | Lester Neisslie | Moline | SO | 141 | |
Jack Frost | Waterloo | AB | 547 | Johnny Niggeling | Waterloo | Pct | .789;15-4 |
1930-1932[edit]
1930 Mississippi Valley League - schedule
President: Belden Hill
Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cedar Rapids Bunnies | 71 | 55 | .564 | - | Paul Speraw |
Rock Island Islanders | 70 | 56 | .556 | 1 | Clarence Roper |
Davenport Blue Sox | 64 | 61 | .512 | 6.5 | Ed Reichle |
Moline Plowboys | 63 | 62 | .504 | 7.5 | Riley Parker |
Waterloo Hawks | 63 | 63 | .500 | 8 | Cletus Dixon |
Burlington Bees | 61 | 65 | .484 | 10 | George Young (minors02) |
Keokuk Indians | 56 | 70 | .445 | 15 | Schwartz / Patterson / Wingfield / Schinski |
Dubuque Tigers | 55 | 71 | .437 | 16 | Richard Manchester / Ed Woerber |
Playoffs: None Scheduled.
Player StatisticsPlayer | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Riley Parker | Moline | BA | .376 | Delano Wetherell | Rock Island | W | 21 | |
Dick Esrey | Moline | Runs | 114 | Delano Wetherell | Rock Island | So | 217 | |
Dick Esrey | Moline | Hits | 183 | Walter Murphy | Rock Island | Pct | .667; 10-5 | |
Joe Prerost | Waterloo | HR | 15 | |||||
John Kerr | Cedar Rapids | SB | 84 |
1931 Mississippi Valley League - schedule
President: Belden Hill
Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Keokuk Indians | 73 | 51 | .589 | - | Bob Rice |
Cedar Rapids Bunnies | 74 | 52 | .587 | - | Paul Speraw |
Moline Plowboys | 68 | 58 | .540 | 6 | Riley Parker |
Burlington Bees | 64 | 60 | .516 | 9 | Art Mueller |
Rock Island Islanders | 61 | 65 | .484 | 13 | Clarence Roper |
Waterloo Hawks | 57 | 68 | .456 | 16.5 | Dick Manchester / Babe Thomas |
Davenport Blue Sox | 53 | 73 | .421 | 21 | Ed Reichle / Cletus Dixon |
Dubuque Tigers | 51 | 74 | .408 | 22.5 | Preston Gray / Ed Hendee / Elmer Peters |
Playoffs: None Scheduled.
Attendance: Cedar Rapids, 63,000; Davenport, 80,000; Dubuque, 12,000;
Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Riley Parker | Moline | BA | .374 | Gil Paulsen | Burlington | W | 19 | |
Pep Young | Keokuk | Runs | 125 | John Ziegler | Cedar Rapids | W | 19 | |
Dick Esrey | Moline | Hits | 176 | Al Gizelbach | Burlington | SO | 185 | |
Malcolm Pickett | Moline | HR | 13 | Gil Paulsen | Burlington | ERA | 2.21 | |
Fred Newton | Rock Island | PCT | .750 12-4 |
1932 Mississippi Valley League - [2]
President: Charles A. Logan
Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Davenport Blue Sox | 78 | 47 | .624 | - | Cletus Dixon |
Rock Island Islanders | 70 | 56 | .556 | 8.5 | George Young (minors02) / Riley Parker |
Burlington Bees | 69 | 60 | .535 | 11 | Art Mueller / Jack Tesar |
Keokuk Indians | 67 | 61 | .523 | 12.5 | Bob Rice |
Cedar Rapids Bunnies | 65 | 60 | .520 | 13 | Paul Speraw |
Moline Plowboys | 55 | 66 | .455 | 21 | Ernie Lorbeer |
Waterloo Hawks | 52 | 73 | .416 | 26 | Doc Bennett |
Dubuque Tigers | 47 | 80 | .370 | 32 | Clarence Roper / Dave Lamb |
Playoffs: Rock Island 4 games, Davenport 2;.
Attendance: Davenport, 64,895;
Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brown Braley | Keokuk | BA | .374 | Fred Newton | Davenport | W | 20 | |
Harold Patchett | Moline | Runs | 90 | Ed Linke | Davenport | SO | 228 | |
Thomas Leonard | Rock Island | Hits | 163 | Fred Newton | Davenport | Pct | .800; 20-5 | |
Lawrence Wilbanks | Moline | HR | 9 | |||||
William Mizeur | Cedar Rapids | RBI | 86 |
1933 Class B[edit]
1933 Mississippi Valley League - schedule
President: Charles R. Logan
Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Davenport Blue Sox | 82 | 32 | .719 | - | Cletus Dixon |
Rock Island Islanders | 64 | 53 | .547 | 19.5 | Riley Parker |
Peoria Tractors | 62 | 53 | .539 | 20.5 | Paul Speraw / Frank Murphy (minors) |
Quincy Indians | 53 | 59 | .473 | 28 | Joe Klugmann |
Springfield Senators | 43 | 70 | .381 | 38.5 | Clay Hopper |
Keokuk Indians | 40 | 77 | .342 | 43.5 | Ed Sicking / Ray Caldwell |
Playoffs: Davenport 4 games, Rock Island 1;.
Attendance: Davenport, 73,000; Rock Island, 51,007
Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Como Cotelle | Davenport | BA | .407 | Al Piechota | Davenport | W | 19 | |
George Meyer | Davenport | Runs | 130 | Ray Harrell | Quincy | SO | 193 | |
Simon Rosenthal | Quincy | Hits | 166 | Al Hollingsworth | Rock Island | ERA | 3.11 | |
Ed Hall | Davenport | HR | 28 | Torsten Lengquist | Davenport | PCT | .833 10-2 | |
Ed Hall | Davenport | RBI | 151 |
League Records 1922-1933[edit]
Batting | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Yr | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Yr | |
E. J. Hyde | Dubuque | GA | 134 | 23 | Como Cotelle | Davenport | BA | .407 | 33 | |
Jack Frost | Waterloo | AB | 547 | 29 | George Meyer | Davenport | Runs | 130 | 33 | |
Red Worthington | Waterloo | Hits | 185 | 26 | Ed Hall | Davenport | RBI | 151 | 33 | |
Eddie Farber | Rock Island | 2B | 52 | 25 | Fred Schulte | Waterloo | 3B | 25 | 24 | |
Ed Hall | Davenport | HR | 28 | 33 | Ken Storm | Davenport | EBH | 67 | 31 | |
Ed Hall | Davenport | EBH | 67 | 33 | Len Koenecke | Moline | TB | 290 | 28 | |
Nick Conrad | Marshalltown | SAC | 36 | 26 | John Kerr | Cedar Rapids | SB | 84 | 30 | |
Cletus Dixon | Davenport | BB | 113 | 33 | Lucas Newton | Burlington | SO | 96 | 26 | |
Dick Manchester | Dubuq/Rock Is | HBP | 22 | 30 |
Pitching | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Yr | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Yr | |
Chick Holmes | Moline | GA | 44 | 30 | Louis Keil | Ottumwa | GA | 44 | 23 | |
George Valentine | Cedar Rapids | W | 26 | 25 | Phil Hamilton | Marshalltown | L | 23 | 23 | |
Alvin Bauer | Ottumwa | Pct | .862 | 26 | Gil Paulsen | Burlington | ERA | 2.21 | 31 | |
J. Johnson | Cedar Rapids | IP | 317 | 23 | Ed Linke | Davenport | SO | 228 | 32 | |
Steamboat Struss | Rock Island | BB | 170 | 32 | Edward Irvin | Marsh/Rock | HB | 35 | 23 |
Hall of Fame Alumni[edit]
- Joe McGinnity, 1922-1923 Dubuque Climbers; 1925 Dubuque Ironmen
Notable League Alumni[edit]
- Nick Etten, 1933 Davenport Blue Sox 1945 MLB All-Star; 1944 AL home run leader; 1945 AL RBI leader
- Hersh Martin, 1933 Springfield Senators; 1938 MLB All-Star
- Claude Passeau, 1932 Moline Plowboys; 4 x MLB All-Star
- Hal Trosky, 1932 Burlington Bees; 1936 AL RBI Leader
- Ray Starr, 1927 Marshalltown Ansons; 1942 MLB All-Star
- Como Cotelle, 1926, Rock Island Islanders, 1933 Davenport Blue Sox; .407, (1933)
Source[edit]
The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: Second Edition.
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