Mississippi Valley League

Mississippi Valley LeagueClassification| Class D (1922–1932)
Class B (1933)

|

Sport| Minor League Baseball
Founder| Michael H. Sexton
First season| 1922; 103 years ago (1922)
Ceased| 1933; 92 years ago (1933)
President| Michael H. Sexton (1922–1924)
Belden Hill (1925–1926)
Michael H. Sexton (1927
Belden Hill (1928–1931)
Charles A. Logan (1932–1933)
No. of teams| 13
Country| United States of America
Most titles| 3
Cedar Rapids Bunnies (1922, 1925, 1930)
Dubuque Dubs (1923, 1927, 1929)
Related
competitions| Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League
Midwest League
Official website| https://www.milb.com/midwest

The Mississippi Valley League (MVL) was a baseball Class D level minor league that operated from 1922 through 1933. Playing its last year as a Class B level league, the league franchises were based in Iowa and Illinois. Like many leagues at the time, the Great Depression led to its demise. The Mississippi Valley League was founded by Michael H. Sexton, of Rock Island, Illinois, who was then president of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues.[1]

## History

[edit]

The league began play in 1922 with six teams: the Cedar Rapids Bunnies, Marshalltown Ansons, Rock Island Islanders, Waterloo Hawks, Ottumwa Cardinals and the Dubuque Climbers. There were no formal playoffs, and the Bunnies finished in first place.[2] All teams from 1922 returned for 1923 with the Climbers finishing first in the league. Again, there were no formal playoffs.[3][4]

In 1924, the league expanded to eight teams, adding the Moline Plowboys and Burlington Bees. The Dubuque Climbers became the Dubuque Dubs, though the other teams remained the same. The Hawks finished first in the league.[5][4]

All teams from 1924 returned for 1925, with the Dubs becoming the Dubuque Ironmen. The Bunnies finished first in the league for the second time four years.[6] In 1926, the Ottumwa Cardinals became the Ottumwa Packers and the Dubuque Dubs became the Dubuque Speasmen, named after their manager Bill Speas. The Packers finished in first place.[7]

In 1927, the Speasmen returned to their former name the Dubuque Dubs. All other teams returned intact from the year before. Dubuque finished first in the league.[8] The same teams played in 1928, with the Hawks finishing in first place.[9] 1929 saw multiple league changes. The Dubs became the Dubuque Tigers. The Marshalltown Ansons and Ottumwa Packers left the league and were replaced by the Keokuk Indians and Davenport Blue Sox. The Tigers finished first in the league.[10]

All teams from 1929 returned for 1930, with the Bunnies finishing in first place for the third time in league history.[11] The teams remained intact for 1931 as well, with the Keokuk Indians finishing in first place.[12] 1932 featured no new teams, though it did have a new feature - a playoff system. All teams returned from 1931, and the Blue Sox finishing in first place. They however lost in the league playoffs four games to two to the Islanders, so the Islanders were the league champions.[13]

In 1933, the league featured only six teams for the first time since 1923. It also moved up in rank from Class-D to Class-B, and saw three new arrivals (Peoria Tractors, Quincy Indians, Springfield Senators) as well as multiple departures (Burlington Bees, Cedar Rapids Bunnies, Moline Plowboys, Waterloo Hawks, Dubuque Tigers). The Blue Sox finished in first place and defeated the Islanders four games to one in the playoffs to become league champions.[14]

The 1933 Davenport Blue Sox are ranked #58 in the All-time Top 100 teams by MiLB.com.[15] The Blue Sox finished the season 82-32, as Como Cotelle hit .407 and Ed Hall drove in 151 runs.[citation needed]

The Rock Island Islanders were the only team to play in the league through its entire 12-year existence.[16][4]

## Cities represented: 1922–1933

[edit]

* Burlington, IA: Burlington Bees (1924–1932)
* Cedar Rapids, IA: Cedar Rapids Bunnies (1922–1932)
* Davenport, IA: Davenport Blue Sox (1929–1933)
* 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)
* Ottumwa, IA: Ottumwa Cardinals (1922–1925); Ottumwa Packers (1926–1928)
* Peoria, IL: Peoria Tractors (1933)
* Quincy, IL: Quincy Indians (1933)
* Rock Island, IL: Rock Island Islanders (1922–1933)
* Springfield, IL: Springfield Senators (1933)
* Waterloo, IA: Waterloo Hawks (1922–1932)

## Mississippi Valley League standings and statistics

[edit]

### 1922 to 1927

[edit]

1922 Mississippi Valley League
schedule

Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers

|
|
|
|
|

Cedar Rapids Bunnies | 92 | 37 | .713 | \-- | Bill Speas
Marshalltown Ansons | 73 | 55 | .570 | 18½ | 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 | 47½ | Larry Mullen /
Harry Henge / Joe McGinnity
Player statistics Player | Team | Stat | Tot |  | Player | Team | Stat | Tot

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|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Fred Leach | Waterloo | BA | .383 |  | Frank Johnson | Cedar Rap | W | 24
Bill Speas | Cedar Rapids | Runs | 128 |  | Charles Schwiete | Marshall | SO | 180
Bill Speas | Cedar Rapids | Hits | 182 |  | Frank Johnson | Cedar Rap | Pct | .828; 24-5
Fred Leach | Waterloo | HR | 13 |

1923 Mississippi Valley League
schedule

Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers

|
|
|
|
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Dubuque Climbers | 78 | 50 | .609 | \-- | Joe McGinnity
Ottumwa Cardinals | 73 | 53 | .579 | 4 | Wally Mattick
Cedar Rapids Bunnies | 69 | 56 | .552 | 7½ | Bill Speas
Waterloo Hawks | 58 | 69 | .457 | 19½ | Bert Weeden
Rock Island Islanders | 53 | 73 | .421 | 24 | Tommy Thompson
Marshalltown Ansons | 48 | 78 | .381 | 29 | Frank Boyle

Playoffs: None Scheduled.

Player statistics Player | Team | Stat | Tot |  | Player | Team | Stat | Tot

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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

Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers

|
|
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|
|

Waterloo Hawks | 84 | 40 | .678 | \-- | Cletus Dixon
Dubuque Dubs | 70 | 51 | .579 | 12½ | John Armstrong
Rock Island Islanders | 64 | 57 | .529 | 18½ | Preston Gray
Ottumwa Cardinals | 58 | 61 | .487 | 23½ | Wally Mattick
Moline Plowboys | 59 | 65 | .478 | 25 | Jim Shollenberger
Burlington Bees | 54 | 67 | .446 | 28½ | Henry Wingfield
Cedar Rapids Bunnies | 54 | 67 | .446 | 28½ | Bill Speas
Marshalltown Ansons | 43 | 78 | .355 | 39½ | Jack Lacey / Frank Boyle

Playoffs: None Scheduled.

Player statistics Player | Team | Stat | Tot |  | Player | Team | Stat | Tot

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|
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|
|

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

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 statistics Player | Team | Stat | Tot |  | Player | Team | Stat | Tot

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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

1926 Mississippi Valley League
schedule

Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers

|
|
|
|
|

Ottumwa Packers | 75 | 45 | .625 | \-- | Pat Harkins
Moline Plowboys | 71 | 50 | .587 | 4½ | Jim Shollenberger
Waterloo Hawks | 67 | 52 | .563 | 7½ | Cletus Dixon
Burlington Bees | 68 | 53 | .562 | 7½ | Ed Reichle
Rock Island Islanders | 65 | 55 | .542 | 10 | Preston Gray
Dubuque Speasmen | 56 | 63 | .471 | 18½ | Bill Speas
Marshalltown Ansons | 41 | 79 | .342 | 34 | Elmer Lane / Casey Coffin /
Dick Brannigan / Dan O'Leary
Cedar Rapids Bunnies | 38 | 84 | .311 | 38 | Fred Beck /
Jack Lacy / Dutch White

Playoffs: None Scheduled.

Player statistics Player | Team | Stat | Tot |  | Player | Team | Stat | Tot

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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
schedule

Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers

|
|
|
|
|

Dubuque Dubs | 66 | 41 | .617 | \-- | Bill Speas
Waterloo Hawks | 75 | 47 | .615 | ½ | Cletus Dixon
Burlington Bees | 71 | 52 | .577 | 4½ | Ed Reichle
Marshalltown Ansons | 65 | 54 | .546 | 8½ | Jim Shollenberger
Moline Plowboys | 63 | 55 | .534 | 10 | Fritz Mollwitz
Cedar Rapids Bunnies | 50 | 70 | .417 | 24 | Pete Hughes/ Spoke Emery
Rock Island Islanders | 40 | 75 | .348 | 31½ | Joe Kernan
Ottumwa Packers | 41 | 77 | .347 | 32 | Pat Harkins

Playoffs: None Scheduled.

Player statistics Player | Team | Stat | Tot |  | Player | Team | Stat | Tot

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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 to 1933

[edit]

1928 Mississippi Valley League
schedule

Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers

|
|
|
|
|

Waterloo Hawks | 81 | 41 | .664 | \-- | Cletus Dixon
Moline Plowboys | 69 | 54 | .561 | 12½ | Richard Manchester
Rock Island Islanders | 67 | 59 | .532 | 16 | Lester Patterson
Dubuque Dubs | 63 | 60 | .512 | 18½ | Bill Speas / John Armstrong
Burlington Bees | 59 | 61 | .492 | 21 | Ed Reichle
Marshalltown Ansons | 58 | 65 | .472 | 22½ | Jim Shollenberger /
George Tomer / Ben Diamond
Ottumwa Packers | 48 | 72 | .400 | 32 | Preston Gray / Bill Speas
Cedar Rapids Bunnies | 45 | 78 | .366 | 36½ | Spoke Emery / Bob Hasbrook

Playoffs: None Scheduled.

Player Statistics Player | Team | Stat | Tot |  | Player | Team | Stat | Tot

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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

Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers

|
|
|
|
|

Dubuque Tigers | 75 | 51 | .595 | \-- | Lester 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
Keokuk Indians | 60 | 65 | .480 | 14½ | Ben Diamond
Cedar Rapids Bunnies | 58 | 67 | .464 | 16½ | Bill Speas / Tibb Serre
Rock Island Islanders | 44 | 82 | .349 | 31 | Walt Genin / Buck Wheat

Playoffs: None Scheduled.

Player statistics Player | Team | Stat | Tot |  | Player | Team | Stat | Tot

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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 Mississippi Valley League
schedule

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 | 6½ | Ed Reichle
Moline Plowboys | 63 | 62 | .504 | 7½ | Riley Parker
Waterloo Hawks | 63 | 63 | .500 | 8 | Cletus Dixon
Burlington Bees | 61 | 65 | .484 | 10 | George Young
Keokuk Indians | 56 | 70 | .445 | 15 | Sam Schwartz / Lester Patterson /
Henry Wingfield / John Schinski
Dubuque Tigers | 55 | 71 | .437 | 16 | Richard Manchester / Ed Woerber

Playoffs: None Scheduled.

Player statistics Player | Team | Stat | Tot |  | Player | Team | Stat | Tot

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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

Keokuk Indians | 73 | 51 | .589 | \-- | Bob Rice

|
|
|
|
|

Cedar Rapids Bunnies | 74 | 52 | .587 | ½ | 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 | 16½ | Dick Manchester / Babe Thomas
Davenport Blue Sox | 53 | 73 | .421 | 21 | Ed Reichle / Cletus Dixon
Dubuque Tigers | 51 | 74 | .408 | 22½ | Preston Gray /
Ed Hendee / Elmer Peters

Playoffs: None Scheduled

Player Statistics 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
schedule

Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers

|
|
|
|
|

Davenport Blue Sox | 78 | 47 | .624 | \-- | Cletus Dixon
Rock Island Islanders | 70 | 56 | .556 | 8½ | George Young/ Riley Parker
Burlington Bees | 69 | 60 | .535 | 11 | Art Mueller / Jack Tesar
Keokuk Indians | 67 | 61 | .523 | 12½ | 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.

Player statistics Player | Team | Stat | Tot |  | Player | Team | Stat | Tot

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|
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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 Mississippi Valley League
schedule

Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers

|
|
|
|
|

Davenport Blue Sox | 82 | 32 | .719 | - | Cletus Dixon
Rock Island Islanders | 64 | 53 | .547 | 19½ | Riley Parker
Peoria Tractors | 62 | 53 | .539 | 20½ | Paul Speraw / Frank Murphy
Quincy Indians | 53 | 59 | .473 | 28 | Joe Klugmann
Springfield Senators | 43 | 70 | .381 | 38½ | Clay Hopper
Keokuk Indians | 40 | 77 | .342 | 43½ | Ed Sicking / Ray Caldwell

Playoffs: Davenport 4 games, Rock Island 1

Player statistics Player | Team | Stat | Tot |  | Player | Team | Stat | Tot

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|
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|
|
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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

[4]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Minor League Presidents | MiLB.com History | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com.
2. ^ "1922 Mississippi Valley League". Baseball-Reference.com.
3. ^ "1923 Mississippi Valley League | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
4. ^ a b c d Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (Third ed.). Baseball America. ISBN 978-1932391176.
5. ^ "1924 Mississippi Valley League". Baseball-Reference.com.
6. ^ "1925 Mississippi Valley League | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
7. ^ "1926 Mississippi Valley League". Baseball-Reference.com.
8. ^ "1927 Mississippi Valley League". Baseball-Reference.com.
9. ^ "1928 Mississippi Valley League". Baseball-Reference.com.
10. ^ "1929 Mississippi Valley League". Baseball-Reference.com.
11. ^ "1930 Mississippi Valley League". Baseball-Reference.com.
12. ^ "1931 Mississippi Valley League". Baseball-Reference.com.
13. ^ "1932 Mississippi Valley League | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
14. ^ "1933 Mississippi Valley League". Baseball-Reference.com.
15. ^ "Top 100 Teams | MiLB.com History | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com.
16. ^ "Mississippi Valley League (D) Encyclopedia and History". Baseball-Reference.com.