Moline Plowboys

The Moline Plowboys was a primary name of the minor league baseball teams based in Moline, Illinois, one of the Quad Cities. Moline teams played as members the 1892 Illinois-Iowa League, 1894 Western Association, the Mississippi Valley League (1924–1932), Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League (1914–1923, 1937–1941) and Central Association (1947–1948), winning four league championships. The franchise played as the "Moline A's" in 1947–1948.

Moline was an affiliate of the Detroit Tigers (1932), Chicago Cubs (1937–1940) and Philadelphia Athletics (1947–1948).

Moline's home minor league ballpark from 1920 to 1948 was Browning Field.

Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Warren Giles was President of the Plowboys franchise from 1919 to 1922.

Tracing back to 1879, Quad City professional baseball includes Minor League teams in Davenport, Iowa, Moline, Illinois and Rock Island, Illinois, as well as nearby Kewanee, Illinois. The 1879 Davenport Brown Stockings played one season in the Northwestern League and the Rock Island Islanders began play in 1883. Moline began play in 1914. The Davenport team was the foundation of today's Quad City River Bandits, the surviving franchise of the three.

Moline and Rock Island partnered with two early teams. In 1892, the Rock Island-Moline Twins played in the final season of the Illinois-Iowa League. In 1894, the Rock Island-Moline Islanders played as a member of the Western Association and captured the Western Association championship with a record of 72–50.^{[citation needed]}

The Quad Cities area was able to support two teams, with the Davenport Blue Sox and the Rock Island Islanders. In July 1914, a third Quad City team was added when the Danville Speakers relocated to Moline and the Moline Plowboys were established. The name "Plowboys" corresponds to Moline's local industry of plow production. Moline was home to companies such as Deere, Moline Plow Company, and Minneapolis-Moline in the era.

Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Warren Giles was team President of the Plowboys from 1919 to 1922. Giles later became president and general manager of the Cincinnati Reds (1937–1951) and president of the National League (1951–1969). From 1920 to 1922, the Plowboys were managed by Earle Mack, son of Baseball Hall of Fame owner/manager Connie Mack.