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Quincy Gems (affiliated baseball)

(Redirected from Quincy Bluebirds)

The Quincy Gems was the primary name of the minor league baseball team in Quincy, Illinois, that played in various seasons from 1883 to 1973.

Quincy Gems
  • 1883–1973
  • (1883–1894, 1889–1892, 1894–1898,
    1907–1917, 1925–1932, 1946–1956, 1960–1973)
  • Quincy, Illinois
Minor league affiliations
Previous classes
  • Class A (1963–1973)
  • Class A (1894)
  • Class B (1895–1898, 1911–1917, 1925–1932, 1946–1956)
  • Class D (1907–1910, 1960–1962)
Previous leagues
Major league affiliations
Previous teams
Minor league titles
League titles 9 (1889, 1913, 1929, 1931, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1961, 1970)[1]
Team data
Name
  • Quincy Cubs (1965–1973)
  • Quincy Gems (1964)
  • Quincy Jets (1962–1963)
  • Quincy Giants (1960–1961)
  • Quincy Gems (1946–1956)
  • Quincy Indians (1928–1933)
  • Quincy Red Birds (1925–1927)
  • Quincy Gems (1913–1917)
  • Quincy Old Soldiers (1912)
  • Quincy Infants (1911)
  • Quincy Vets (1909–1910)
  • Quincy Gems (1907–1908)
  • Quincy Giants (1899)
  • Quincy (1898)
  • Quincy Little Giants (1897)
  • Quincy Blue Birds (1896)
  • Quincy Ravens (1890–1892, 1894)
  • Quincy Black Birds (1889)
  • Quincy Quincys (1883–1884)
BallparkQ Stadium (1946–1973); Eagles Stadium[2]

Quincy teams played as members of the Midwest League (1960–1973), Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League (1946–1956), Mississippi Valley League (1933), Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League (1911–1917, 1925–1932), Central Association (1908–1910), Iowa State League (1907), Western Association (1894–1898), Illinois-Iowa League (1891–1892), Central Interstate League (1889–1890) and Northwestern League (1883–1884). Quincy won league championships in 1889, 1913, 1929, 1931, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1961 and 1970.

Baseball Hall of Fame members Bruce Sutter, Tony Kubek and Whitey Herzog played for Quincy teams.

The Quincy Gems name returned in 2009 with the Gems playing in the collegiate summer Prospect League.

History

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Beginning play in 1883, Quincy minor league teams played as members of the Midwest League (1960–1973), Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League (1946–1956), Mississippi Valley League (1933), Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League (1911–1917, 1925–1932). Central Association (1908–1910), Iowa State League (1907), Central Interstate League (1889–1890), Western Association (1894–1898), Illinois-Iowa League (1891–1892), Central Interstate League (1889–1890) and Northwestern League (1883–1884).

After beginning play in 1883 as the Quincy Quincys, the team was first called the "Gems" in 1907 and had various other nicknames. Besided the Gems moniker Quincy minor league teams played as the (Quincy Cubs (1965–1973), Quincy Jets (1962–1963), Quincy Giants (1960–1961), Quincy Indians (1928–1933), Quincy Red Birds (1925–1927), Quincy Old Soldiers (1912), Quincy Infants (1911), Quincy Vets (1909–1910), Quincy Giants (1899), Quincy (1898), Quincy Little Giants (1897), Quincy Blue Birds (1896), Quincy Ravens (1890–1892, 1894), Quincy Black Birds (1889) and Quincy Quincys (1883–1884)).

The team was known as the Quincy Ravens from 1890 to 1892, and then again in 1894. The team played in the Illinois Iowa League in 1891 and 1892, before moving to the Western Association in 1894.[3] They were managed by Sam LaRocque and William Wittrock in 1892. Several major leaguers played for the Ravens, one of the most prominent being Sam Gillen who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies. [4] During the 1981 season, Pete Daniels threw 321 innings compiling a 0.79 ERA for the Ravens. [5]

The franchise played in the Western Association (1894–1899), Iowa State League (1907), Central Association (1908–1910), Three-I League (1911–1932, 1946–1956), and the Midwest League (1960–73).[2] They were affiliated with the New York Yankees (1946–1956), the San Francisco Giants (1956–60), New York Mets (1962–63) and the Chicago Cubs (1965–1973).[6]

Overall, the franchise won a total of nine league championships. Quincy captured the Western Association championship in 1889, and Three-I League Championships in 1913, 1929, 1931, 1951, 1953 and 1954. Quincy won the 1961 and 1970 Midwest League Championships, defeating the Waterloo Hawks in 1961 and the Quad City Angels in 1970.

After the 1973 season, the franchise was moved to Dubuque, Iowa playing as the Dubuque Packers in the Midwest League for two seasons, before the franchise was folded and not replaced.

The Gems name returned in 2009 by the collegiate summer Prospect League team called the Gems, who also play at a renovated Q Stadium.[7][8] [9]

Ballparks

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Beginning in 1946, Quincy teams played at Q Stadium.

Previously, the team played at Eagles Stadium, which was located at the same site.

Q Stadium was constructed on the Eagles Stadium site as a Works Project Administration project in 1939. Q stadium is still an active baseball stadium, located at 1800 Sycamore Street, Quincy, IL 62301. The stadium is bounded by Sycamore Street (north, left field); football stadium and North 20th Street (east, right field); Spruce Street (south, first base); and North 18th Street (west, third base).

In 1984, the stadium was purchased by Quincy University from the City of Quincy for $1.00. Today, Q Stadium is home to Quincy University teams and the collegiate summer baseball team of the same name, the new Quincy Gems.[10][11]

Year-by-year record

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Year Record Finish Manager Playoffs
1897 56-69 6th Bill Traffley / Eugene McGreevy
1889 66-50 1st George Brackett none League Champs
1890 41-42 4th Billy Murray none
1891 65-35 1st Billy Murray
1892 12-23 NA Bill Whitrock (6/15)/ John Godar? / Sam LaRoque
1907 61-66 6th Harry Hofer none
1908 73-55 3rd Harry Hofer none
1909 62-73 6th Louis Cook / Harry Hofer
1910 88-50 1st Bade Myers
1911 71-63 3rd Bade Myers none
1912 67-70 4th Bade Myers none
1913 79-60 1st Thomas Hackett / Nick Kahl League Champs
1914 61-71 6th Nick Kahl none
1915 65-56 4th John Castle
1916 57-77 7th John Castle none
1917 27-38 5th Ted Waring Season shortened to July 8
1925 54-82 8th Newt Hunter (41-68) / Henry Wingfield (13-14) none
1926 62-75 7th Henry Wingfield (19-28) / Henry Wetzel (43-47) none
1927 63-75 6th Charles Schmidt (3-4) / Mack Allison (22-23) / Charles Knoll (38-48) none
1928 50-85 8th Joe Riggert / Hal Irelan
1929 82-56 1st Walter Holke none League Champs
1930 78-58 2nd Ray Schmidt
1931 67-49 2nd Walter Holke League Champs
1932 38-31 3rd Syl Simon Team withdrew July 15, causing league to fold
1933 53-59 4th Joe Klugmann
1946 37-82 8th Edward Marleau / Cedric Durst
1947 50-75 7th Gordie Hinkle
1948 81-45 1st James Adlam Lost in 1st round
1949 59-67 5th James Adlam
1950 64-60 4th James Adlam Lost in 1st round
1951 65-65 3rd Dutch Zwilling League Champs
1952 54-72 7th Paul Chervinko
1953 70-58 2nd Vern Hoscheit League Champs
1954 71-64 4th Vern Hoscheit League Champs
1955 52-74 7th Vern Hoscheit
1956 56-64 5th Vern Hoscheit
1960 55-66 6th Sam Calderone none
1961 67-59 4th Buddy Kerr League Champs
1962 68-57 4th Ken Deal
1963 56-68 9th Sheriff Robinson / Wally Millies none
1964 42-78 10th Jim Finigan / Les Peden
1965 69-50 2nd Walt Dixon none
1966 61-63 5th Walt Dixon
1967 58-63 6th Harry Bright
1968 59-59 5th Walt Dixon
1969 64-55 3rd Walt Dixon none
1970 68-45 1st Walt Dixon League Champs
1971 61-63 6th Dick LeMay
1972 61-67 7th Dick LeMay
1973 61-64 7th Walt Dixon

Notable alumni

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Baseball Hall of Fame Alumni

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Notable alumni

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See also

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Photos

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References

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  1. ^ "Midwest League 1970". Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Quincy, Illinois Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  3. ^ "1892 Quincy Ravens Statistics -- Register | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-02-09.
  4. ^ "Sam Gillen Stats | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2017-11-04.
  5. ^ "Pete Daniels Minor & Winter Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
  6. ^ "Quincy, Illinois Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com.
  7. ^ "1976 Midwest League". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  8. ^ "Prospect League Standings". Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  9. ^ "Quincy Gems sold to local group for $120,000". Herald-Whig. 2014-09-05. Retrieved 2018-06-21.
  10. ^ "History of the Quincy Gems – Quincy Gems".
  11. ^ "Prospect League Stadiums". Archived from the original on February 1, 2022. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
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