Rockford, IL

Rockford, located in northern Illinois on the Rock River 60 miles northwest of Chicago, IL, was a hotbed of early baseball. Al Spalding claimed that when he arrived there as a child in 1863, baseball was already being played. By 1865 there were three clubs. By 1866, Spalding, Ross Barnes and Bob Addy were playing ball there. The Forest Citys did an eastern tour in 1869. Rockford fielded a team as part of the National Association in its inaugural season, in 1871, and while the team did not continue in later years, there were other teams under the name "Forest City" who played after that in Rockford.

Source: Rockford Forest Citys

Teams that have played here

• Rockford Forest Citys, National Association (1871)
• Rockford, Central Inter-State League (1888)
• Rockford Hustlers, Two-I League (1892)
• Rockford Forest City, Western Association (1895-1897)
• Rockford Rough Riders, Western Association (1899)
• Rockford Red Sox, Three-I League (1901-1904)
• Rockford Reds, Wisconsin-Illinois League (1908-1910)
• Rockford Wolverines, Wisconsin-Illinois League (1911-1913)
• Rockford Wolves, Wisconsin-Illinois League (1914)
• Rockford Wakes, Three-I League (1915-1916)
• Rockford Rox, Three-I League (1917, 1919-1923)
• Rockford Peaches, AAGPBL, (1943-1954)
• Rockford Rox, Central Association (1947-1949)
• Rockford Expos, Midwest League (1988-1992)
• Rockford Royals, Midwest League (1993-1994)
• Rockford Cubbies, Midwest League (1995-1998)
• Rockford Reds, Midwest League (1999)
• Rockford RiverHawks, Frontier League (2002-2009, 2011-2012)
• Rockford RiverHawks, Northern League (2010)
• Rockford Aviators, Frontier League (2013-2015)
• Rockford Rivets, Northwoods League (2016-present)

Persons who were born here

• Josh Bell, infielder
• Frank Calacurcio, minor league infielder
• Hal Carlson, pitcher
• Jean Cione, AAGPBL pitcher
• Fred Cone, outfielder
• Raymond Goetz, arbitrator
• Ryan Jamison, minor league pitcher
• Orville Jorgens, pitcher
• Gene Lamont, catcher; manager
• Rodney Myers, pitcher
• Bill Pinckard, NPB outfielder
• Ken Rudolph, catcher
• Chris Salberg, minor league pitcher
• Joe Saporito, minor league player
• Cody Scarpetta, minor league pitcher
• Jake Smolinski, outfielder
• Harry Sullivan, pitcher
• Ed Swartwood, outfielder; umpire
• Charlie Swindells, catcher
• Dan Tipple, pitcher

Persons who died here

• Varney Anderson, pitcher
• Al Barker, outfielder
• George Bird, outfielder
• Mike Golden, outfielder/pitcher
• Thomas Griffin, infielder
• Hunkey Hines, outfielder
• Dottie Key, AAGPBL infielder
• A.N. Nichols, umpire
• Irene Ruhnke, AAGPBL player
• Joe Saporito, minor league player
• Charlie Sproull, pitcher
• Harry Sullivan, pitcher
• Hiram Waldo, pre-MLB executive

Educational institutions located here

• Auburn High School
• Boylan Catholic High School
• Guilford High School
• Rockford College
• Rockford East High School
• Rock Valley College
• St. Thomas Catholic High School for Boys (formerly)

Further Reading

• Joey Pollizze: "Rockford celebrates 30 years of 'A League of Their Own'", mlb.com, July 3, 2022. [1]