Dubuque Baseball Club 1879–1976 (1879, 1888, 1890, 1895–1899, 1903–1915, 1917, 1922–1932, 1954–1968, 1974–1976) Dubuque, Iowa |
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Previous |
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Minor league affiliations | |
League | Midwest League (1956–1968, 1974–1976) |
Previous leagues
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Major league affiliations | |
Previous |
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Minor league titles | |
League titles | 5 (1905, 1927, 1929, 1955, 1962) |
Team data | |
Previous names
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Previous parks
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John Petrakis Field, Municipal Stadium |
Minor league baseball teams have operated in the city of Dubuque, Iowa under a variety of names and participating in various leagues. The city has hosted teams in 52 seasons between 1879 and 1976.
The earliest known professional team was the Dubuque Red Stockings, who played in an early version of the Northwestern League in 1879. Dubuque also had early teams that played in the Central Interstate League in 1888, Illinois–Iowa League in 1890, Eastern Iowa League in 1895 and Western Association from 1895–1899.
The Dubuque Shamrocks played in the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League from 1903–1905, winning the league title in 1905.
The team name became the Dubuque Dubs in 1906 and they played in the Three-I League from 1906–1915, when they moved to Freeport, Illinois to become the Freeport Comeons on July 14, 1915.
The Dubs returned in 1917 in the Central Association, but also moved mid-season, to Charles City, Iowa, where they became the Charles City Tractorites.
Multiple players with major league experience played for the team, including Hall of Fame pitcher Red Faber and 223-game winner Mel Harder.
The Dubuque Climbers played in the Mississippi Valley League from 1922 to 1923.
Of note, Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Joe McGinnity played for the team both years, managing the squad the latter season. The then 51-year-old was 5-8 in 19 games in 1922 and 15-12 with a 3.93 ERA in 42 games in 1923, at the age of 53. He led the squad to a first-place finish in the standings in 1923.