Pete Vonachen

Harold Albert "Pete" Vonachen, Jr. (August 31, 1925 – June 10, 2013) was an American businessman and Minor league baseball team owner. Born in Peoria, Illinois, he was often dubbed "Peoria's Mr. Baseball, although this was usually only done for press consumption.

Vonachen was a Spalding Institute graduate in 1943 and earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Bradley University in 1949. In the interim, he served in the United States Navy from December 1943 through May 1946.

An avid sports enthusiast and premiere restaurateur, Vonachen saved professional baseball for Peoria when he purchased the town's Class-A Midwest League franchise after the 1983 season, turning it into a model for the nation.

Professional baseball in Peoria can be traced back to 1878, when William Morgan, an early minor league operator, formed an independent club named the Peoria Reds, which frequently beat National League clubs. One notable player who started his career with the Peoria Reds in 1878 was pitcher Charles Radbourn, who was among the first group of players inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939.

In 1883, the Peoria Reds became one of the founding members of the Northwestern League, one of the first organized baseball circuits in the Midwest. After that, many Peoria teams played in several early leagues for the next five decades. During the time baseball was not present in Peoria, the United States entered World War II, which led to a shortage of professional baseball players throughout the entire country. This scenario led to the formation of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1943. Then, the Peoria Redwings joined the ladies league in 1946. The AAGPBL folded in 1954, but made its mark not only in Peoria, but in baseball history as evidenced in the film A League of Their Own.

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