Decatur Commodores

Last updated

Decatur Commodores
Minor league affiliations
Previous classesClass-A (1963–74)
Class-D (1952–1962)
Class-B (1902–1909; 1911–15; 1922–1932; 1935; 1937–48)
Previous leagues
Midwest League (1956–1974) Mississippi–Ohio Valley League (1952-55)
Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League (Three-I) (1901–1909; 1911–1915; 1922–1932; 1935; 1937–1942; 1946–50)
Northern Association (1910)
Central League (1900)
Illinois-Indiana league (1889)
Central Interstate League (1888) [1]
Major league affiliations
Previous teams
San Francisco Giants (1962–1974)
Detroit Tigers (1957–1961; 1932)
St. Louis Cardinals (1955–56; 1946–47; 1937–1942)
Cincinnati Reds (1950)
Chicago Cubs (1948–49)
[1]
Minor league titles
League titles (4)1928; 1952; 1953; 1957
Team data
NameCommodores (60 Seasons)
Previous names
Decatur Cubs (1949)
Decatur Nomads (1911)
Unknown (1888-89) [1]
Previous parks
Fans Field (1927–1974) [2]
Staley Field (1922-1926) [3]
Downing Racetrack (1911-1915) [4]

The Decatur Commodores were a professional minor league baseball team based in Decatur, Illinois that played for 64 seasons. The Commodores are the primary ancestor of today's Kane County Cougars. They played, with sporadic interruptions, from 1900 to 1974 in a variety of minor leagues, but spent the majority of their existence in the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League (the "Three-I" League), later joining the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League (1952–1955) and the Midwest League (1956–1974). While they spent most of their years as an independent without formal major league baseball team affiliation, their primary affiliations were with the St. Louis Cardinals and later the San Francisco Giants, with isolated affiliations with the Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies.

Contents

The ballparks

The Commodores played home games at Fans Field (1924–1974). Fans Field had a 5,200-seat grandstand which was demolished when the team moved to Wausau, Wisconsin in 1974 and became the Wausau Timbers. The field is still being used as a softball field.

Before the 1927 construction of Fans Field, the Commodores played at Racetrack Ballpark (1911-1915) and Staley Field (1922–1926). They shared Staley Field with the football team for which it was built, the Decatur Staleys. The Staleys were the early NFL franchise started by A.E. Staley and headed by George Halas that relocated from Decatur in 1922 and became the Chicago Bears. [5]

The Commodores began play at Downing Racetrack (now called Hess Park) in 1901. The ball club played at the racetrack until 1915, but a tornado destroyed the grandstand on July 15. The structure was razed, but the Commies continued to play until ceasing operations on August 10. [3] [4] [6]

Commodores nickname

The nickname Commodores refers to Stephen Decatur, for whom the city is named. The team was often called the "Commies" for short, from a time before that became a slang term for "Communist". In their final years, they wore hand-me-down Giants uniforms, although still called the "Commodores", leading some fans to call them the "Commodore Giants".

League Championships

No-hitters

The following no-hitters were pitched by Decatur pitchers in Midwest League play.

DatePitcherOpponentScoreNotesRef
May 31, 1952Ed Garrett Mt. Vernon 5–1 [7]
July 28, 1954John Bumgarner Clinton 1–0 [8]
August 3, 1958Jerry FieldsClinton5–0 [9]
August 18, 1960 Bob Sprout Waterloo 3–022 strikeouts [10]
June 20, 1961Vern OrndorffClinton3–07 Innings, Perfect Game [11] [12]
August 13, 1963Ollie Brown Wisconsin Rapids 8–0 [13]
June 7, 1966Jesse HugginsWisconsin Rapids1–07 Innings [14]
August 15, 1969Gary LavelleClinton4–07 Innings [15]
May 31, 1972Doug Capilla Appleton 1–07 Innings [16]
June 12, 1974Jeff Little Dubuque 1–07 Innings [17]

Notable alumni

Baseball Hall of Fame alumni

Other notable alumni

Memorable games

In fiction

The Commodores appear in Harry Turtledove's Worldwar series, an alternate history in which aliens invade Earth in 1942 and the Second World War turns into an interplanetary war. Members of the team are on a train which the aliens attack at the beginning of the invasion. One ball player is kidnapped by the invaders and is eventually taken by them to China, while another player and the team's manager escape and join the forces fighting the invasion. A considerable part of the series is described from these three characters' points of view, in which their baseball background plays a significant role in a number of ways.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Decatur, Illinois Encyclopedia".
  2. "Fans Field Minor League History | Baseball-Reference.com". Archived from the original on February 23, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Staley Field Minor League History". Archived from the original on March 1, 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Downing Racetrack Minor League History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2015.
  5. "History of the Decatur Staleys / Chicago Bears".
  6. Fallstrom, Bob (August 16, 2010). "Collecting the Commodores: Retired police officer's hobby inspired by love of team, book" . Herald-Review.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2025. Retrieved March 10, 2025.
  7. "Mount Vernon Defeated by Decatur, 5-1". The Decatur Daily Review. June 1, 1952. p. 13. Retrieved March 10, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  8. "No-Hitter for Bumgarner at Clinton". The Decatur Daily Review. July 29, 1954. p. 12. Retrieved March 10, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  9. Millard, Howard V. (August 4, 1958). "Jerry Fields in No-Hitter As Commodores Win 5-0". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 6. Retrieved March 10, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  10. Kyle, Forrest R. (August 19, 1960). "Bob Sprout 'Pretty Nervous' As No-Hitter Neared Reality". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 9. Retrieved March 10, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  11. Kyle, Forrest R. (June 21, 1961). "Vern Orndorff Submits Proof That Baseball Scouts Can Be Wrong". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 37. Retrieved March 10, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  12. Kyle, Forrest R. (June 21, 1961). "Perfect Game by Orndorff". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 37. Retrieved March 10, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Ollie Brown Wins 8-0 on No-Hitter". The Decatur Daily Review. August 14, 1963. p. 14. Retrieved March 10, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  14. "No-Hitter for Huggins". The Decatur Daily Review. June 8, 1966. p. 13. Retrieved March 10, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  15. McGee, Mac (August 16, 1969). "No-Hitter for Lavelle As Decatur Wins Pair". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 6. Retrieved March 10, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  16. Kyle, Forrest R. (June 1, 1972). "Capilla's No-Hitter Gives Decatur Sweep". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 13. Retrieved March 10, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Little Knew He Was Close". The Decatur Daily Review. June 13, 1974. p. 13. Retrieved March 10, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  18. Fallstrom, Bob (November 14, 2006). "Commodores player went on to success as engineer" . Herald-Review. Archived from the original on March 10, 2025. Retrieved March 10, 2025.
  19. "Freedom History". Archived from the original on August 31, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  20. "The Marathon Game: Endless Baseball, its Prelude, and its Aftermath in the 1909 Three-I League". baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved July 7, 2012..
  21. "Sprout emerged as strikeout king in 1960". Minor League Baseball . Retrieved December 28, 2013.