Sterling Infants

The Sterling Infants were a minor league baseball team based in Sterling, Illinois. The Sterling Infants played the 1910 season as members of the Class D level Northern Association. Previously, the 1890 Sterling Blue Coats were members of the Illinois-Iowa League.

Sterling Infants
1890–1910
(1890, 1910)
Sterling, Illinois
Minor league affiliations
Previous classesIndependent (1890)
Class D (1910)
Previous leagues
Illinois-Iowa League (1890)
Northern Association (1910)
Major league affiliations
Previous teamsNone (1890, 1910)
Minor league titles
League titles None
Team data
Previous names
Sterling Blue Coats (1890)
Sterling Infants (1910)
Previous parks
Sporting Association Grounds

History

The Sterling Blue Coats were members of the 1890 Independent Illinois-Iowa League. Sterling began play in the eight–team league. Sterling was 21–51 on July 31, 1890 when the franchise moved to nearby Galesburg, Illinois. Then, Galesburg (8–17) moved again to Burlington, Iowa on September 4, 1890 to become the Burlington Hawkeyes, before the franchise disbanded on September 10, 1890.[1][2][3][4]

The 1890 Sterling/Galesburg/Burlington team finished with a 30–72 overall record when they disbanded. The team was 8th in the Illinois-Iowa League, 33.5 games behind the 1st place Ottumwa Coal Palace Kings (63–43). Bud Fowler played for the Sterling/Galesburg/Burlington team. Fowler was the first known African-American to play professional baseball, becoming a pioneer for baseball players.[5] [2][1]

Minor league baseball returned to Sterling in 1910. On June 21, 1910, the Joliet Jolly-ites of the Class D level Northern Association. After the frnachise moved to Sterling with a 21–18 record, the Sterling Infants played the remainder of the season, having a 3–16 record in Sterling to finish with a 24–34 overall record. The Joliet Jolly-ites/Sterling Infants finished 6th in the Northern Association standings under Manager Hunkey Hines. The Northern League permanently disbanded on July 19, 1910. Sterling has not hosted a minor league team since 1910.[6][7][8][9][10]

The ballpark

Sterling teams played at the Sporting Association Grounds in Sterling, Illinois. The address of the Sterling Association Grounds ballpark is unknown.[11][12]

Timeline
Year(s)# Yrs.TeamLevelLeague
18901Sterling Blue CoatsIndependentIllinois-Iowa League
19101Sterling InfantsClass DNorthern Association

Year-by-year records
YearRecordFinishManagerPlayoffs/Notes
189030–728thJames Donnelly/Charles Wirsche/Al Weddige/Clarence(21–51) Moved to Galesburg/Burlington
191024–346thHunkey HinesJoliet moved to Sterling (3–16)

Notable alumni

See also

Sterling (minor league baseball) players

References
  1. "1890 Illinois-Iowa League (IIL) Standings on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  2. "Two-I League - BR Bullpen". www.baseball-reference.com.
  3. "1890 Sterling Blue Coats/Galesburg/Burlington Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  4. "Sterling Blue Coats - BR Bullpen". www.baseball-reference.com.
  5. "Breaking Barriers". Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  6. "1910 Joliet Jolly-ites/Sterling Infants Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  7. "Northern Association (D) Encyclopedia and History". Baseball-Reference.com.
  8. "Sterling Infants - BR Bullpen". www.baseball-reference.com.
  9. "1910 Joliet Jolly-ites/Sterling Infants Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  10. "Northern Association - BR Bullpen". www.baseball-reference.com.
  11. "Sporting Association Grounds in Sterling, IL history and teams on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  12. "Sterling Standard Newspaper Archives | Jan 30, 1890, p. 8". newspaperarchive.com.
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