Mattoon Phillies

The Mattoon Phillies was the primary nickname for a minor league baseball franchise in Mattoon, Illinois. Mattoon was a founding franchise in the Midwest League and played in the leagues directly preceding the MWL: the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League (1949–1955) and the Illinois State League (1947–1948). The franchise is the oldest in the MWL, evolving into today's Fort Wayne TinCaps. Earlier, Mattoon had teams in the Eastern Illinois League (1907–1908), Kentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League (1906) and Indiana–Illinois League (1899). Mattoon was affiliated with the Chicago White Sox (1947), Cleveland Indians (1948), Cincinnati Reds (1952), Philadelphia Phillies (1953–1956) and Kansas City Athletics (1957). The team moved to Iowa and became the Keokuk Cardinals in 1958.

The Mattoon Illinois State League (ISL) franchise was the direct result of the efforts of the Mattoon Athletic Association, which was formed in 1947 by William Zurheider, Clyde Kirk and Charles Heath. The corporation issued 600 shares of stock at $250 and built a new ballpark. Charles Heath was also a founder of the ISL.

Mattoon played their home games at the Mattoon Baseball Park. The park was located at DeWitt Avenue and North Logan Street. The ballpark hosted the 1948 Illinois State League All-Star Game and the 1950 Mississippi–Ohio Valley League All-Star Game.Baseball Hall of Fame member Earl Weaver played in the 1948 game. The ballpark had a capacity of 2,500 and was destroyed shortly after the team left in the late 1950s.