Peoria Chiefs

The Peoria Chiefs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The team was established in 1983 as the Peoria Suns. They are located in Peoria, Illinois, and were named for the Peoria Indian tribe for which the city was named. In 2005, the team replaced the indigenous imagery associated with the Chiefs name and moved to a logo of a dalmatian depicted as a fire chief. The Chiefs play their home games at Dozer Park, which opened in 2002. They previously played at Vonachen Stadium near Bradley University from 1983 through 2001. The Chiefs have made the playoffs a total of 13 times, through eight wild-card berths, three first-half titles, and two second-half titles.

The history of professional baseball in Peoria dates to the late 19th century. The Peoria Reds, Peoria Canaries, and Peoria Blackbirds played in several early leagues during parts of 1878 to 1895. The first ballpark used by these teams was reportedly called Sylvan Park and was located at the corner of Northeast Glendale Avenue and Spring Street on the location of the present-day St. Augustine Manor. In 1883, the club moved a few blocks toward Peoria Lake, to a facility called Lake View Park, on the southeast corner of Northeast Adams Street and Grant Street, which would remain the home of various Peoria clubs for the next four decades.

The 1895 club was dubbed the Peoria Distillers, referencing the Hiram Walker plant. From 1891 to 1911, Frank E. Murphy from Green Bay, Wisconsin, became involved with baseball, beginning with the purchase of the Peoria team of the Midwest League, which he later renamed the Peoria Hoosiers. That nickname would stick with the various Peoria clubs for the next couple of decades, including their first stretch with the Three-I League from 1905 to 1917. After the resumption of following the peak of American involvement in World War I, the Peoria Tractors name gained favor in 1919, with the growth of the nearby branch of the company later called Caterpillar Inc.

In 1923, the team opened a new ballpark called Woodruff Field in honor of a long-time mayor of Peoria. The new park was just across Grant Street from Lake View Park. The Tractors continued to play in several leagues before folding after the 1937 season. The city was then without professional baseball for the next 15 years. The name Peoria Chiefs first appeared with a new franchise in the Three-I League in 1953. This club disbanded after 1957, and Peoria was again without professional ball, for the next 25 years until the current Chiefs set up shop. The Woodruff Field site is now a softball facility called Woodruff Park.

The Peoria Suns were established in 1983. They played their home games at Meinen Field, built in 1968, near the Bradley University campus. The team's name was changed to the Chiefs in 1984. The 1984 team was managed by future Major League Baseball manager Joe Maddon.

The 1988 team, managed by future major league manager Jim Tracy, was the subject of Joseph Bosco's book The Boys Who Would Be Cubs.

Meinen Field was renovated before the 1992 season and renamed Vonachen Stadium in honor of Chiefs owner Pete Vonachen. The team moved to Dozer Park in downtown Peoria on May 24, 2002. During the new park's first year, the team set a franchise attendance record of 254,407 and won the Midwest League championship.

Former Cubs catcher Jody Davis managed the 2006 team.