Organized baseball was played in Burlington as early as 1867, when a team called the Burlington Crescents played games against other town teams. Due to large crowds at their games, the city of Burlington was chosen as the site to host a state baseball tournament in 1867.
1889 & 1890: Central Interstate League Burlington first hosted minor league baseball in 1889, when the Burlington "Babies" became members of the six-team
Central Interstate League. Burlington joined the
Davenport Hawkeyes,
Evansville Hoosiers,
Peoria Canaries,
Quincy Ravens and
Springfield Senators teams in beginning league play on April 27, 1889. Besides being known as the Babies, the 1889 Burlington team, was also called the "Lightweights." The Lightweights nickname was reportedly due to Burlington having numerous players of smaller stature on their roster. In their first season of minor league baseball play, Burlington named William Henry Lucas as their manager for the 1889 season. Besides four playing appearances as a pitcher in 1887, Lucas was a minor league manager and executive in his baseball field career. He came to Burlington after beginning his managerial career with the
Duluth Jayhawks in 1886 and 1887, In 1888, Lucas managed the
Davenport Hawkeyes franchise, who played in both the
Central Interstate League, which folded during the season with Davenport in first place, and the
Western Association to finish the 1888 season. From 1900 to 1910 Lucas served as the founder or president of numerous minor leagues beginning with the 1900
Montana State League and ending with the 1912
Union Association. In semiprofessional baseball, Rusie had thrown shutouts against the
National League member
Boston Beaneaters and
Washington Nationals teams in two exhibition games. After the two standout pitching performances,
John T. Brush, owner of the National League’s
Indianapolis Hoosiers signed Rusie to a professional contract.
Frank Bancroft the Indianapolis manager assigned Rusie to Burlington to begin his career. Rusie pitched in four games for Burlington before making his major league debut. Rusie made his major league debut with the Indianapolis Hoosiers on May 9, 1889. Rusie went on to a storied career pitching for the Indianapolis Hoosiers,
New York Giants (1890–1898) and briefly with the
Cincinnati Reds (1901). Rusie was traded from the Giants to the Reds in 1901 after experiencing arm trouble, hearing damage from a line drive to the head, and other problems in 1898 that kept him out of baseball for two years. Rusie then retired with a career record of 245 wins against 174 losses, with 1,934 strikeouts and a career 3.07 ERA. He was inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977. At age 15, pitcher
Willie McGill played for Burlington in 1889. McGill began the 1889 season with the playing in the Central Interstate League with the Evansville Hoosiers. He threw a
no-hitter against the
Davenport Hawkeyes before losing six straight games and being acquired by Burlington, for whom he pitched for the remainder of the season. After his season with Burlington, the next season, at age 16, Kelly made his major league debut with the 1890
Cleveland Infants. That season he suffered tragedy when his father died that season in a railroad crash while coming to assist his son who had a drinking problem at the time and been arrested for a drunken assault. McGill also pitched
Cincinnati Kelly's Killers,
St. Louis Browns,
Cincinnati Reds,
Chicago Colts,
St. Louis Browns and the
Philadelphia Phillies in his major league career, which ended at the age of 22. McGill attended the
University of Notre Dame. Following his playing career, McGill later served as a collegiate baseball coach and athletic trainer for
Butler University,
University of Illinois and
Northwestern University. Burlington finished 11.5 games behind the first place Quincy Ravens in the final Central Interstate League standings and no playoffs were held, common in the era. The state of
Iowa is nicknamed as the Hawkeye State. Burlington was the only Iowa team to play in the 1890 Central Interstate League. After his season with the Burlington Hawkeyes, Varney later pitched for the
Washington Senators in the 1894 and 1895 seasons. Varney had a career record of 9-20 with a 6.16 ERA in 35 major league games. The Central Interstate League ended play on August 17, 1890 and Burlington finished 4.0 games behind the first place Evansville Hoosiers in the six-team league final standings. Burlington's
Frank Shugart led the Central Interstate League with both 80 runs scored and 108 total hits in the shortened season. He continued his major league career playing with the
Pittsburgh Pirates,
St. Louis Browns,
Louisville Colonels,
Philadelphia Phillies and
Chicago White Sox teams through , playing in 745 career games and batting .267. Shugart's major league career ended after an incident on August 21, 1901, in which he punched an umpire in the face. During an argument in a game against the
Washington Senators, umpire Jack Haskell had pulled out his watch to give Shugart one minute to get to the bench, but Shugart failed to comply and instead attempted to grab Haskell’s watch away from him. At the same time, teammate
Joe Sugden shoved Haskell, and while Haskell was off-balance, Shugart punched him in the face. After being punched, Haskell held Shugart in a headlock before police, players, and spectators intervened. Shugart was arrested by police, jailed and paid a fine. In the aftermath, he became the first American League player to be banned from baseball, which happened because of the incident. On August 23, 1890, American League founder and president
Ban Johnson banned Shugart from the American League for life, stating "I have expelled Shugart from the league for life for assaulting Umpire Haskell. No slugging will be permitted in this league in the future while I am president of it, and each man who commits that offense will be expelled forthwith. That is final." The
Aurora Hoodoos,
Cedar Rapids Canaries,
Dubuque Giants,
Joliet Convicts,
Monmouth Maple Cities,
Ottawa Pirates,
Ottumwa Coal Palaces and
Sterling Blue Coats teams began play on May 1, 1890, as charter members of the
Illinois-Iowa League without Burlington. During the season, Sterling had compiled a record of 21–51 when the team moved to
Galesburg, Illinois on July 31, 1890. While based in
Galesburg, the team had compiled a record of 8–17 while based in that city, when the franchise moved to Burlington on September 4, 1890. At age 32, Fowler batted .322 on for the 1890 season. Fowler was the first professional black baseball player, beginning his baseball career in 1878, only one year after the first minor league was organized. In the early days of professional baseball there was no official color line. Fowler played in organized baseball with white teams until the color line became established practice. He played until 1904, at age 46. A native of
Cooperstown, New York, Fowler was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, located in his hometown, in 2022. Fowler's induction speech was given by
Dave Winfield, who said, "Fowler made baseball history today, but he's always been a part of American history." The Burlington franchise did not return to the 1891 Illinois-Iowa League, replaced in the eight-team league by the eventual champion
Quincy Ravens team. The Burlington Colts joined the
Cedar Rapids Rabbits,
Clinton Bridegrooms,
Dubuque Colts,
Galesburg Trotters,
Ottumwa Brownies,
Rock Island Tri-Cities and
Waterloo Indians teams in league play. The Eastern Iowa League began play on May 10, 1895, as an eight–team league. Playing in the day game era, the local businesses of the home team regularly closed when their team hosted home games. Former major league player
Paul Hines became the Burlington Colts' player-manager in 1895. Hines had a 20-season major league career through 1891 and he compiled 2,133 hits and a .302 career batting average in 1658 career games, playing for nine different teams. Hines won the
Triple Crown in 1878 and a second
batting championship in 1879. At age 40, Hines played 21 games at first base for Burlington in 1895. The 1895 Eastern Iowa league had a tumultuous season in their only season of play. After the season began, three teams were "expelled" from the league. One of the teams was expelled twice and another team folded. On June 14, 1895, both the Clinton Bridegrooms and the Rock Island Tri-Cities teams were expelled from the Eastern Iowa League. After their expulsion from the league, on July 4, 1895 the Clinton Bridegrooms were allowed to rejoin the Eastern Iowa League. With an overall record of 52–39, the Burlington Colts ended the season 11.0 games behind Dubuque in their second place finish. The
Dubuque Giants franchise of the Eastern Iowa League entered the Western Association with Burlington, creating a ten-team league. Burlington and Dubuque joined the
Des Moines Prohibitionists,
Jacksonville Jacks,
Lincoln Treeplanters,
Omaha Omahogs,
Peoria Distillers,
Quincy Ravens,
Rockford Forest City and the
St. Joseph Saints teams in completing the final portion of the 1895 season, which ended on September 25, 1895. Continuing play in their new league with
Paul Hines and
Bill Krieg serving as managers, the Burlington Colts compiled a 13–13 record in completing the 1895 Western Association season. Although he did not make his major league debut until he was age 29, as Weimer pitched for eight years in the minor leagues, he became one of the top left-handed pitchers in baseball. Weimer's career ERA of 2.23 ranks 14th all-time, just behind
Mariano Rivera and
Walter Johnson and he is ranked 10th all-time among post-1900 era pitchers. Beginning with the 1903
Chicago Cubs, Weimer had a record of 21–9 with a 2.30 ERA in his 1903 rookie season, following up with a 20–14 record and a 1.91 ERA in 1904 and an 18–12 record with a 2.26 ERA for the 1905 Chicago Cubs. In his major league career, Weimer posted a 97–69 record with 657
strikeouts and a 2.23
ERA in
innings pitched, while also pitching with the
Cincinnati Reds (1906–1908) and
New York Giants (1909). After joining the league to play the final weeks of the 1895 season, both Burlington and Dubuque continued play in 1896 Western Association. Burlington and Dubuque continued league play with the
Cedar Rapids Bunnies, Des Moines Prohibitionists, Peoria Distillers,
Quincy Bluebirds,
Rockford Forest City and St. Joseph Saints teams, as the league schedule began on April 23, 1896. The eight-team Western Association ended their season on August 1, 1896, with Burlington in the lower tier of the league standings. Burlington finished 28.5 games behind the first place Des Moines Prohibitionists in the final standings, as the league held no playoffs. Hartzel played 14-seasons in the major leagues as was an
outfielder for the
Louisville Colonels (1898–99),
Cincinnati Reds (1900),
Chicago Orphans (1901) and
Philadelphia Athletics (1902–11). Hartzel played o on the
1910 World Series champion Athletics and led the American League in stolen bases and runs scored in 1902. He led the American league in bases on balls five times in his career. In his 14-year career, he played in 1,356-game major league games, and recorded a .276 batting average with 826 runs, 31 home runs, 341
RBI, 247
stolen bases and 837
bases on balls and an OBP of .384. Before the 1910 World Series, Philadelphia A's manager
Connie Mack asked all his players to "take the pledge" not to drink alcohol during the World Series. Hartsel told Mack he needed a drink the night before the final game and Mack told him to do what he thought best, but in these circumstances "if it was me, I'd die before I took a drink." In the clinching Game 5 of the series, Mack chose Hartsel as the leadoff hitter for Philadelphia and he led off the game with a single and stolen base to score a run. In the game he played left field and scored two runs with two stolen bases in the 7-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs at
West Side Grounds in Chicago. It was the only game Hartsel played during the series. Pitcher
Frank Kitson played for the 1897 Burlington Colts had compiled a 14–17 record for the Colts when he was promoted to the major leagues. On August 12, 1897, Kitson was purchased from Burlington by the
Baltimore Orioles and he immediately joined the roster of major league Orioles. Oriole manager
Ned Hanlon arranged for the acquisition of Kitson without having seen him pitch in person. Making his first major league start for Baltimore on May 19, 1898, Kitson threw a complete game shut against the
Pittsburgh Pirates. Pitching in 249 major league games with the
Baltimore Orioles (1898–1899),
Brooklyn Superbas (1900–1902),
Detroit Tigers (1903–1905),
Washington Senators (1906–1907) and
New York Highlanders (1907), Kitson had a career 128–117 record with a 3.18 ERA. As a hitter, he had a career .240 batting average with 4 home runs and 95 RBI. Despite folding before completing the previous season, the Western Association continued play in 1897 as an eight-team Class B level league. The Burlington Colts team finished the 1897 season in last place. The Colts ended the Western Association season with a final record of 39–85 and ended the season in eighth place. Burlington was managed by Dal Williams and Bob Berryhill. With their last place finish, Burlington finished 44.5 games behind the first place
Cedar Rapids Bunnies in the final standings. The Burlington Hawkeyes team folded on June 5, 1898. Burlington had a record of 7–17, playing the season under manager
Bill Krieg when the team folded. Shortly after Burlington folded, the Cedar Rapids Bunnies folded on June 9, 1898, leaving the Western Association with six remaining teams. When the
Rock Island-Moline Islanders team disbanded on June 26, 1898, it caused the Western Association to disband. Burlington joined the newly formed league, which was formed as an eight-team,
Class D level league, consisting entirely of Iowa based franchises. The River Rats joined the
Boone Coal Miners,
Fort Dodge Gypsum Eaters,
Keokuk Indians,
Marshalltown Grays,
Oskaloosa Quakers,
Ottumwa Snappers and
Waterloo Microbes teams in beginning league play on May 6, 1904. The Iowa State League had the formal name as the "
Iowa League of Professional Baseball Clubs". The "River Rats" nickname corresponds to Burlington's location and history as a port on the
Mississippi River. The first Burlington franchise
no hitter game was thrown on May 17, 1904. Burlington River Rat pitcher J.H. Mekenson defeated the Ottumwa Snappers 4-0 in the game, striking out 5. ,
St. Louis Browns. Stovall was the player-manager for Burlington to begin the 1904 season. He was purchased by the
Cleveland Naps from Burlington and began his major league career. During the 1904 season, Burlington player-manager
George Stovall left the team when he was promoted to the major leagues, making his debut on July 4, 1904, playing for the
Cleveland Naps. Stovall was batting .300 for Burlington at the time at age 26. Stovall's contact he was sold to Cleveland for a figure reported to be between $700 and $1,000. Stovall subsequently began a tenure as a major league player and then became a manager. Stovall played for the Naps (1904–1911),
St. Louis Browns (1912–1913) and the
Federal League's
Kansas City Packers (1914–1915). Stovall served as a player-manager for each team beginning in 1911. In 1913, Stovall was initially suspended for spitting tobacco juice on umpire Charlie Ferguson after having taken Ferguson's cap and thrown it to the ground. However,
American League president
Ban Johnson ultimately ordered that Stovall be fired. He was immediately succeeded by
Branch Rickey as manager of the Browns. In their first season of play in the new Iowa State League, the Burlington River Rats ended their 1904 season in last place. With Le Mars, Black signed
Baseball Hall of Fame member
Branch Rickey to his first professional baseball contract at age 18. After his playing career ended, Rickey became a manager and then a front office executive, best known for signing
Jackie Robinson to the
Brooklyn Dodgers while serving as Brooklyn's General Manager. In 1905, the Burlington team became known as the "Flint Hills." The nickname corresponds to local history. The area now known as Burlington, Iowa, was originally called "Shoquoquon" (Shok-ko-kon), meaning "Flint Hills" by the
Sauk and
Meskwaki peoples, who gathered flint there, which was used for their for tools and weapons. The Burlington city site was first called Flint Hills in 1833 and was renamed to Burlington in 1844. The 1905 Burlington Flint Hills finished in last place in the 1905 Iowa State League. In their second consecutive last place finish, Burlington ended the season with a 37–83 record. The Flint Hills managers were Rusty Owens, Tommy Reynolds and
Charlie Frisbee as the team finished in eighth place in the eight-team league. In 1905 with Burlington, Reitz batted .200 in 15 games and 50 at bats.
1906 Pathfinder championship season In 1906, Burlington became known at the "Pathfinders." The Pathfinder is a Burlington nickname. The
Burlington High School yearbook is called The Pathfinder. New Burlington Pathfinder manager Ned Egan began a four-season successful tenure with Burlington in 1906. Eagan came to Burlington after managing the 1905
Keokuk Indians. Egan managed sixteen total seasons in the minor leagues through the 1917 season with the
Waterloo Lions when he was 39. Ned Egan died on May 6, 1918, at age 40 in Chicago, Illinois. Egan, who was nicknamed as the "
Connie Mack" of the minors, was found dead in his room at the
Grand Pacific Hotel having been despondent over his ill health. Egan had sustained a major back injury from a collision while ice skating near his home in
Minnesota. The injury had caused him to resign his 1918 managerial position and 3-year contract with the
[Milwaukee Brewers. Led by Ned Egan, the 1906 Burlington Pathfinders went from last place to first place in winning the Iowa State League championship. The Pathfinders ended the season with a record of 83–39 and finished in first place in the final Iowa State League standings, capturing the championship of the eight-team league, as no playoffs were held. When his playing career ended after brief pitching tenures with the
Chicago Cubs and
Pittsburgh Pirates, Slapnicka served as the
General Manager of the
Cleveland Indians from 1935 to 1940, and then was a major league
scout for the Indians through his retirement in 1961. As a scout, Slapnicka signed 31 major league players, including
Baseball Hall of Fame members
Bob Feller,
Bob Lemon,
Earl Averill, and
Lou Boudreau as well as all-stars
Mel Harder,
Herb Score and
Roger Maris. At age 18,
Lee Magee played for Burlington in 1907, in his first professional season, splitting the season in the league with Burlington and the
Waterloo Cubs. After making his major league debut with the 1911
St. Louis Cardinals, Magee played for seven teams in nine seasons. He was briefly the manager of the 1915
Brooklyn Tip-Tops of the
Federal League. In 1919, while playing with the
Chicago Cubs, Magee and
Hal Chase of the
Philadelphia Phillies were both accused of fixing a game on August 31, 1919. The pair was indited by the
Cook County, Illinois grand jury who were investigating the
Black Sox scandal. In response to the inditement the Cubs and president
Bill Veeck immediately released Magee. In 1920, Magee filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Cubs for $9,500 in lost wages and claimed to have damning counter evidence which would be the "biggest bomb in baseball history". A jury ruled in favor of the Cubs in the lawsuit on June 9, 1920. Magee never played in professional baseball again. As the defending champions, the Burlington Pathfinders ended the 1907 Iowa State League season as the league runner-up. The Pathfinders final record of 77–51, left the team in second place under returning manager Ned Egan. In the eight-team Class D level league, Burlington finished 4.0 games behind the first place
Waterloo Cubs, while drawing 43,420 fans to lead the league in attendance.
1908 to 1914: Burlington Pathfinders / Central Association The Central Association formed in 1908, with the Burlington Pathfinders as a charter member. Burlington joined the Class D level league with six teams other that played with them in the 1907 Iowa State League. One new franchise joined in forming the new league. Burlington joined the
Jacksonville Lunatics,
Keokuk Indians,
Oskaloosa Quakers,
Ottumwa Packers,
Quincy Gems and the
Waterloo Lulus, all who had been members of the 1907 Iowa State League. The
Kewanee Boilermakers based in
Kewanee, Illinois, were a new franchise. The Central Association began the league schedule on May 7, 1908. On May 31, 1908, pitcher Edward Eis of the Burlington Pathfinders threw the second Burlington
no-hitter in franchise history in an 8-0 Burlington victory over the Ottumwa Packers. Eis had 5 strikeouts in the game. Burlington pitcher
Hack Spencer threw the second Burlington no-hitter of the season on September 12, 1909. Playing on the road at the
Waterloo Lulus, Spencer walked 2 and struck out 6 batters in the game.
1909 championship season With Ned Egan managing the team for the final time, the 1909 Burlington Pathfinders won their second Central Association championship. The Pathfinders had a final record of 83–51 to finish in first place in the eight-team Central Association. No playoffs were held and Burlington finished just 1.0 game ahead of the second place
Hannibal Cannibals (83–53) in the final standings. The managerial position with Burlington was his only season as a manager and the 1910 season was his last season in professional baseball at age 33. As defending league champions, Burlington Pathfinders ended the 1910 season in next to last place in the eight-team Central Association. Burlington ended season record of 56–81 to finish in seventh place. Playing under new manager Phil Geier, the pathfinders finished 31.5 games behind the first place
Quincy Vets in the final standings of the eight-team Class D level league. The 1911 season saw the Burlington improve as the Pathfinders were the Central Association league runner-up to their former manager's team. Burlington had an 81-44 record to finish in second place, playing the season under manager new manager Richard Rohn. The Pathfinders ended the season 4.5 games behind the first place
Ottumwa Speedboys (87-41), who were managed by Ned Egan. In the 12–0 Pathfinders' win, Bell walked 3 and struck out 9 batters in the complete game victory. The 1912 Burlington Pathfinders ended their Central Association in third place. The Pathfinders had a record of 73–53 under returning manager Richard Rohn. No playoffs were held. The Pathfinders finished 4.5 games behind the first place Ottawa Speedboys and their manager Ned Egan. Burlington led the eight-team Central Association in home attendance, drawing 25,000. Shanley was actually leading the league in hitting when he left the team in late August. His contract was purchased by the
St. Louis Browns, where he was promoted to begin his major league career. ,
Cleveland Indians. Burns played for Burlington in 1913 in his only minor league season. Burns was the 1926 AL
Most Valuable Player and played on three World Series championship teams, retiring as a career .307 hitter. At age 20,
George Burns played for Burlington in 1913 in his first professional season, having signed his first professional contract in 1913 for $150 a month. Later in the 1913 season, Burns was moved to the Class A level
Sioux City Packers in the
Western Association. In 1914, after his only minor league season, Burns began his major league career at the first baseman for the
Detroit Tigers. Burns was the AL 1926
Most Valuable Player playing for the
Cleveland Indians,
batting .358 and setting a then major league record with 64
doubles. In the era, players could win only one MVP award in their career. Burns retired as career .307 hitter, with 2,018
total hits. His 1,671 games at first base were the most by an AL right-handed player are third in major league history. Burns was on winning teams in the
1920 World Series,
1928 World Series and
1929 World Series. The 1913 Burlington Pathfinders ended their season in fifth place in the eight-team Central Association final standings and finished under .500. With a record final of 63–66, Burlington continued play under returning manager Richard Rohn and Thomas Hayden. No playoffs held In 1926, Jacobs was suspended for 10 days after being caught with foreign substances while on the pitchers mound. On July 19, 1914,
Grover Baichley was acquired by the Burlington Pathfinders from the
Champaign Velvets of the
Illinois–Missouri League. The deal was completed by Burlington president Thomas C. Hayden, who also served as a
scout for the
American League's
St. Louis Browns. At the time of the trade, Baichley had a 2.07
earned run average and a 15-2
win-loss record, having won 15 games in a row before the deal. He made his debut with Burlington on July 23, against the
Rock Island Islanders, striking out 10 and throwing a three-hitter in an 8-1 Burlington victory. On August 12, 1914, Baichley and the Pathfinders defeated the St. Louis Browns in an exhibition game hosted at Burlington. After an undefeated season with Burlington, he was offered a contract by the St. Louis Browns and made his major league debut on August 24, 1914. His major league career was affected by
lumbago. Richard Rohn did not return to Burlington in 1914 and became manager of the
Salina Coyotes. George Manush was hired to replace Rohn at age 29. Manush had been the player-manager of the Keokuk Indians in 1913 and had previously played for Burlington. A native of
Tuscumbia, Alabama, George Manush was the older brother of Baseball Hall of Fame member
Heinie Manush and was one of six Manush brothers to play professional baseball. A professional plumber, George Manush remained as a resident and business owner in Burlington and died in the city at age 37 in 1923 when he was electrocuted in an automobile accident. As a 17 year old, Heine Manush had lived and worked in Burlington with his older brother in George's plumbing business before embarking on his own baseball career. The 1914 Burlington Pathfinders improved to second place in the eight-team Central Association. The Pathfinders had a final record of 75–53 to finish as the league runner-up in the eight-team league, managed by George Manush. Burlington ended the season 2.5 games behind the first place
Waterloo Jays in the final standings. In capturing the league championship the Burlington Pathfinders ended the season in first place with a final record of 81–38. No playoffs were held and Burlington finished a dominant 18.5 games ahead of the second place
Muscatine Muskies (63–57). The league ended the season with seven teams after the
Clinton Pilots folded during the season. Pitcher Lefty Miller returned and won 22 games for Burlington in 1915, compiling a 22–10 record with a 2.42 ERA in 313 innings pitched at age 28. Miller did not pitch professionally again after the 1915 championship Burlington season. Miller graduated from medical school, which he balanced with his baseball career. Miller embarked on a career as a physician after his professional baseball career ended.
1916: Final Central Association season As the defending league champions, the Burlington Pathfinders played their final season in 1916 and relocated during the Central Association campaign. On July 20, 1916, the Burlington Pathfinders had compiled a record of 41–29 playing under Richard Rohen when the team was relocated to
Ottumwa, Iowa, finishing the season playing as the
Ottumwa Packers. After compiling a record of 21–35 while based in Ottumwa, the team ended the season with an overall record of 62–64 to end the season in fourth place. Richard Rohn was replaced as manager by catcher George Boelzle during the season. ==The ballpark==