Quad Cities River Bandits Founded in 1901 Davenport, Iowa |
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Class-level | |||||
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Current | Class-A (1963–present) | ||||
Previous | Class D (1960-1962) Class B (1946-1952; 1957-1958) |
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Minor league affiliations | |||||
League | Midwest League (1960–present) | ||||
Conference |
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Major league affiliations | |||||
Current | Houston Astros (2013–present) | ||||
Previous |
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Minor league titles | |||||
League titles (11) |
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Team data | |||||
Nickname | Quad Cities River Bandits (2008–present) | ||||
Previous names
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Midwest League
Three-I League
Western League
Mississippi Valley League
Three-I League
Illinois–Iowa League
Central Interstate League
Northwestern League
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Ballpark | Modern Woodmen Park (1931–present) | ||||
Previous parks
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Owner(s)/
Operator(s) |
Main Street Baseball | ||||
Manager | Russ Steinhorn | ||||
General Manager | Andrew Chesser |
Three-I League
Western League
Mississippi Valley League
Three-I League
Illinois–Iowa League
Central Interstate League
Northwestern League
The Quad Cities River Bandits are a Class A minor league baseball team, affiliated with the Houston Astros, that plays in the Midwest League. Its home games are played at Modern Woodmen Park (formerly John O'Donnell Stadium) in Davenport, Iowa, one of the Quad Cities.
Beginning in 1879, Quad City area professional baseball has a history that includes three teams. Davenport, Moline (Moline Plowboys) and Rock Island (Rock Island Islanders) all have hosted minor league baseball teams. The 1879 Davenport Brown Stockings played in the Northwestern League. Other Davenport teams (Onion Weeders, Pilgrims, Hawkeyes) played before the turn of the 20th century in various minor leagues.
In 1901, the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League or "Three-I" had the Davenport River Rats and Rock Island Islanders as charter members. This Davenport team set the foundation of the franchise that exists today. Other charter members of the Three-I League were: Terre Haute, Bloomington, Cedar Rapids, Rockford, Evansville and Decatur. The Davenport franchise changed names frequently in the early years: River Rats (1901–04), Riversides (1905), Knickerbockers (1906), Prodigals (1909–12) and Davenport Blue Sox (1913–1916). Davenport won their first Three-I Championship in 1914.
There was a third Quad City area team was added In July, 1914, when Moline gained a franchise. The Danville Speakers relocated to Moline and the Moline Plowboys were established. The Plowboys would win Three-I Championships in 1915, 1921 and 1937.