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Uncovering Iowa's contribution to the state's baseball culture

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Uncovering Iowa's contribution to the state's baseball culture

Since the 1850s, baseball has become intertwined with the Quad Cities, eventually setting up in the city of Davenport.

DAVENPORT, Iowa — Boating, barbeque, and baseball—all these words are connected to summer in their own way. For residents in Davenport, Modern Woodmen Park and the Quad Cities River Bandits have become just as ingrained — even receiving national notoriety from publications like “Sports Illustrated” and “USA Today.” Despite national organizations being just outside the Quad Cities metro, we look at how Davenport became a pioneer for minor league baseball.

Foundations of Baseball

When it comes to the beginning of organized baseball in the Quad Cities, it’s best to start in our backyard. As early as the 19th Century, local teams and businesses would gather at their local fields for a game. 

“The first recorded date of any club or team in Iowa is the Amateur Pastime Baseball Club #2 in Davenport on May 28th of 1858, and the first officers included George Davenport as president and J.R. LeClaire as the treasurer,” Society of American Baseball Research (SABR) historian John Leipa said.

For thousands of Iowa men, their first exposure to the sport was spurred by the Civil War. After major battles, it wasn’t uncommon for baseball games to form to wind down from the fighting. In Leipa’s research, Civil War veterans writing to their loved ones back home would discuss watching their first baseball game, and as the war ended, soldiers brought those experiences back to their hometowns. 

“By 1867, there were over 200 town teams, so the game literally exploded after the Civil War,” Leipa said. “Town teams were critical to the development of baseball and the spread of baseball.”

Town teams back then were teams comprised of people with a shared interest in baseball, and could be people of a shared ethnic background or a similar employer; however, unlike intramural teams in the present day, they would often play a best of three series that they called championships. Eventually, the Davenport Brown Stockings were formed in 1879, creating the first minor league team west of the Mississippi.

Davenport’s underdog teams struggled to play against stronger programs from larger metro areas, but historically, the first championship a Davenport organization won took place in 1913 under the Davenport Blue Sox.

Davenport’s Ballpark

Interest surrounding baseball continues to grow into the early 1900s, riding the success of the Blue Sox’s championship. City leaders were considering plans to build a baseball stadium along the Mississippi River in 1911. Support from the community and dedicated members of the media, like sports reporter John O’Donnell, pushed the city of Davenport to begin construction on what was named Municipal Park in 1931. 

“[Baseball] was kind of a way for a lot of people to forget their misery and go to a baseball game,” Leipa said. “You’ve got to put together a quality team, and you’ve got to have community support.”

Despite the appeal of the ballpark, its placement next to the river also posed yearly threats of flooding. Several years in Davenport’s history, the stadium would have feet of floodwater, which forced the active team to practice elsewhere.


RELATED: Quad Cities organizations provide residents with materials ahead of flooding season

“It used to be a big joke that we’d have a big flood, and they’d say — this is a 100-year flood. This is the kind of flood you’d get once in a century,” former QC Times reporter Don Doxsie said. “There were some in the ’60s and ’70s, a really bad one in 1993 where the team couldn’t even play in the stadium for much of the season. They had to play in high school fields and various other places.”

Flooding wasn’t the only concern for Davenport baseball organizations, because other national conflicts like the Great Depression and World War II in the 1930s also put a pause on the ballgame.

“During World War Two, the pool of players was so depleted that most minor leagues just shut down for a few years. I think there was probably a year or two during the depression where things were so bad they just couldn’t field the team,” Doxsie said.

Over the years, as recreational teams fell away and established organizations continued to grow in popularity, officials with Major League Baseball began to take considerable notice of players. Teams as far away as Atlanta and Pittsburgh sponsored Davenport programs for a few years in the hopes of drafting hidden talent from the Midwest.

Baseball Culture Today

With the early 2000s solidifying the sanctioned teams in our region, it was time for Davenport to create its local identity. Since 1971, the ballpark was named John O’Donnell Stadium as a living memorial of O’Donnell’s persistence and dedication to local sports in the Quad Cities.

“[O’Donnell] wrote constantly that we need a stadium. We need a new stadium down on the riverfront. So he really, probably more than anybody, lobbied for this to happen,” Doxsie said. “They named the stadium after him just because that’s an indication of how much he had to do with getting it done.”

Then, in 2007, the current owner of the Quad Cities River Bandits, Dave Heller, bought the rights to the team, and the rights to the stadium’s name were sold to Modern Woodmen of America, bringing a fresh look to Davenport baseball.

“We’re not a baseball company, we’re not an entertainment company, we are in the memory-making business, and if we can make a memory for a young family, we really accomplished something,” Dave Heller, owner of the Quad Cities River Bandits, said.

RELATED: Modern Woodmen Park voted again ‘Best Minor-League Ballpark in America’

Over the years, Heller and his team have remodeled the field to better protect it from flooding better, allowing games to continue despite the Mississippi River’s levels. Amenities like the Ferris wheel and other rides have also brought newer families to the ballpark for summer fun.

“We love it because of the people, and to bring them together from both sides of the river and entertain them and show them a great time and show them a great value for very little money, that’s what we’re all about,” Heller said.

Iowa’s Legacy in the Game

When it comes to the talent produced in the Quad Cities, there are at least eight players who started in Davenport and later solidified their legacy in the major leagues. Four of them eventually got voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Those players include:

  • Billy Wagner, who was voted into the Hall of Fame in 2025.
  • Joe Mauer, who was voted into the Hall of Fame in 2024.
  • Bid McPhee, who was posthumously voted into the Hall of Fame in 2000.
  • Jim Bunning, who was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1996.

Players who were drafted into the MLB from the state of Iowa include:

  • Scott Pose, who switched teams a couple of times, was initially drafted by the Miami Marlins in 1993.
  • Eugene “Gene” Baker began his career with the Kansas City Monarchs before playing for the Chicago Cubs in 1953.
  • Tom Walsh had a brief career with the Chicago Cubs in 1906, but later left to support his father’s railroad business.
  • Calvin “Cal” McVeigh, who played for multiple teams, was initially drafted to the Boston Red Sox in 1871.

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Transfer outside hitter commits to Wisconsin volleyball

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December 29, 2025

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What are Wisconsin football's biggest needs in the transfer portal

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Meet the 2025 Press Herald All-Region volleyball team

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December 29, 2025

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Yarmouth’s Grace Keaney hits a shot during the Clippers’ game against York on on Sept. 9. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)

Caleb Atwood, Scarborough junior outside hitter

Maya Babcock, York senior libero

Liana Edwards, Gorham junior setter

Anna Grace Hebert, Cheverus sophomore libero

Grace Keaney, Yarmouth senior middle hitter/outside hitter

Charlotte MacDonald, Kennebunk senior setter

Bella Parrotta, York senior setter

Addie Petit, Thornton Academy junior setter

Anabelle Talley, Greely junior outside hitter

Quinn Wherley, Kennebunk senior libero



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Ripon’s Adriana Dorn is Modesto Bee Volleyball Player of Year

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December 29, 2025

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Ripon High School’s Adriana Dorn is The Modesto Bee Volleyball Player of Year.

Ripon High School’s Adriana Dorn is The Modesto Bee Volleyball Player of Year.


Andy Alfaro

aalfaro@modbee.com

The Ripon High volleyball team spent the majority of the 2025 season ranked in the top 10 of the MaxPreps Sac-Joaquin Section rankings. The team came back to reverse sweep Pitman High in a highly anticipated five-set, top-10 thriller and then, weeks later, secured a third consecutive undefeated Trans-Valley League season, three-peating as league champions.

But none of that was senior Adriana Dorn’s favorite part of the season.

Asked about her favorite memory from the season, the decorated leader thought back to a loss.

Dorn and the Indians were trailing two sets to zero in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championship match against Christian Brothers (Ripon was moved up after winning the 2024 title in D-IV).

Ripon’s Adriana Dorn floats a ball over the net during the Sac-Joaquin Section D3 volleyball championship match with Christian Brothers at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento on Nov. 8, 2025.
Ripon’s Adriana Dorn floats a ball over the net during the Sac-Joaquin Section D3 volleyball championship match with Christian Brothers at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento on Nov. 8, 2025. Andy Alfaro aalfaro@modbee.com

They rallied back to produce arguably the most exciting match of the championship day slate at Cosumnes River College, winning the next two sets and forcing a winner-take-all fifth set. Though they lost 15-8, the team showed the hundreds of attendees what Dorn knew about her team all along.

“Even though we didn’t win, we played with so much grit and so much fight,” she said. “Every single point, we gave it our all. Even if we didn’t come out on top, that was just a really important game and one of my last as a Ripon High volleyball player.”

Dorn grew into a leadership role for the Stanislaus District’s top-ranked team, according to MaxPreps. She guided the Indians to a fourth straight section championship appearance and a fourth straight CIF Northern California Regional playoff berth.

Dorn was one of the top hitters in California, finishing ninth in hitting percentage (.408), and eighth in kills (544). Those numbers rank second and fourth in the section, respectively.

In her final high school season, Dorn finished with career highs in not only kills and hit percentage but kills per set (5.3) and kill percentage (51.9%). Dorn this season also was named the TVL’s Most Valuable Player for the second straight year.

For her efforts, Dorn is The Bee’s Volleyball Player of the Year for a second straight season.

“I’m just honored,” she said of winning the award for a second straight season. “I’m blessed to play with such a really good group of girls two years in a row and they helped me achieve this. I couldn’t have done any of it without them.”

Ripon High School’s Adriana Dorn is The Modesto Bee Volleyball Player of Year
Ripon High School’s Adriana Dorn is The Modesto Bee Volleyball Player of Year Andy Alfaro aalfaro@modbee.com

A successful senior season

Dorn, a four-year varsity player, saw her skills improve and her role change every year she played. As a freshman, she tallied 254 assists and just 76 kills. As a senior, her 544 kills were a team high.

She also grew as a leader.

“This program has taught me so many lessons and given me so many memories that I’ll cherish forever.”

As a senior, she reached the milestone of 1,000 career kills, was one of the driving forces in Ripon’s third straight season with over 25 overall wins and led the team through one of toughest volleyball leagues in California, beating multiple state qualifiers and a state champion twice in a 12-0 TVL season.

“Our first goal was always to win league,” Dorn said. “I think (head coach) Greg (Soliz) did a good job preparing us for that. Those games are always really fun because you have rivalries like RC and Escalon. They’re super fun to compete in.”

While her ability to put the ball away as an outside hitter earned her back-to-back Bee Player of the Year honors, Dorn’s versatility has made her a coveted recruit across the West Coast.

According to recruiting website prepdig.com, she is the No. 13 overall player in California and the state’s No. 4 ranked setter/right side.

“I’m willing to do anything to help the team,” she said. “I love to set and I love to hit. I’m good with doing whatever one.”

Fourth title game caps decorated career

In addition to over 1,300 kills, Dorn’s career was defined by winning. The most she lost in a season was 11 games as a freshman. In her final three high school seasons, Ripon never lost more than seven games in a season.

Dorn has never missed a section title match. Each varsity season, her teams played for a blue banner. They won titles during her freshman and junior seasons, 2022 and 2024, and lost in her sophomore and senior seasons, 2023 and 2025. In her four-year varsity career, Dorn and the Indians went 110-27 overall and 44-2 in league matches.

She still remembers her first section title match as a wide-eyed 14-year-old under the brightest lights the SJS offers. She jokingly said she had “no idea what I was doing playing in front of a crowd that big.”

As a senior, she became one of the team’s steady voices, talking the players through tough stretches in a match and guiding them to a near comeback in front of a rowdy crowd in a college gym.

“This was my fourth section championship and I was just able to kind of drown out the noise and just focus on the team,” she said. “My time (at Ripon) has really taught me that.”

2025 Modesto Bee All District Teams

COACH OF THE YEAR

Coming into the season, Pitman head coach Ariah Amini knew his team would be young in key areas. The girls lost their starting middle and second-leading hitter, their leader in service aces, blocks and their starting setter.

He also knew they would be returning some talent, like kills leader and Portland State signee Maryn Hall and key players like Kayliyah Williams, Aila Reich and Alyssa Moreno.

It was just about how everyone would fit together.

Amini asked players to step into bigger roles than they had last season. He had some returners play out of position, coaching them through tough nonleague matchups as they prepared to defend their three-time undefeated run as Central California Athletic League champions.

Though the Pride fell in the Division I quarterfinals, it did not mark the end of their season.

As the season progressed, the Pride only got better. They ended the season with 27 wins and just 11 losses and finished as undefeated CCAL champions for the fourth straight season. The Pride have now won 40 straight league games.

For his efforts, Amini was named CCAL Coach of the Year for the second time and is The Bee’s 2025 Volleyball Coach of the Year.

Pitman, a top 15 team in the section all season, advanced to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs, competing against the best schools the area offers. As the No. 5 seed, they beat Franklin of Elk Grove in a competitive five-set match.

Despite not advancing to the section semifinals and earning an automatic bid into the CIF Northern California Regional playoffs, they did receive an at-large bid granted by the seeding committee. The Pride hosted a first round match in the Division III NorCal tournament as the No. 3 seed, but fell in a competitive five-set thriller to Shasta.

Pitman secured its fourth straight season with at least 25 wins and the third straight under Amini. The league champions had the CCAL MVP, co-Defensive Player of the Year and Setter of the Year.

FIRST TEAM

OH: Zaniyah Corneille, Sophomore, Downey

OH: Faye Dobson, Sophomore, Big Valley Christian

OH: Maryn Hall, Senior, Pitman

OH: Amelia Spaulding, Junior, Turlock

OH/OPP: Olivia Piazza, Junior, Hughson

MB/MH: Brynn Bohn, Senior, Ripon Christian

MH/MB: Emma Gomes, Senior, Hilmar

L: Audrey Mensonides, Senior, Turlock

L: Aila Reich, Senior, Pitman

S: Stella Pires, Senior, Hilmar

S: Jaedyn Riley, Senior, Oakdale

S: Alayna Sprinkle, Junior, Ripon

S: Izabella Ziencina, Sophomore, Pitman

SECOND TEAM

OH: Alyssa Colston, Senior, Hilmar

OH: Jorie Eskes, Junior, Ripon

OH/OPP: Ashlyn Malone, Sophomore, Ripon

OH/OPP: Alyssa Thomas, Senior, Central Catholic

OH/OPP: Addison Yarbrough, Freshman, Hughson

MH/MB: Reese Ahlem, Junior, Hilmar

MB/MH: Haley Kootstra, Senior, Ripon Christian

DS/L: Caitlin Echegoyen, Freshman, Big Valley Christian

DS/L: Izzy Piazza, Sophomore, Hughson

S: Ella Alavezos, Senior, Big Valley Christian

S: Alanna Blanco, Senior, Ripon Christian

S: Aniston Hunt, Junior, Escalon

S: Alyssa Vasquez, Senior, Davis

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Quinton Hamilton

The Modesto Bee

Quinton Hamilton covers high school sports for The Modesto Bee. He is a Southern California native and received his bachelor’s degree from Pacific Union College and a master’s in journalism from Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. Quinton has worked at the Record-Journal in Meriden and helped on projects at Hearst Connecticut.



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Virginia Volleyball Adds Reese Wuebker

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December 29, 2025

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia volleyball head coach Shannon Wells announced on Monday (Dec. 29) the addition of Reese Wuebker (Centreville, Ohio), an outside hitter from Ohio State. Wuebker intends to enroll and join the Cavaliers for the spring semester.

 

“We knew exactly what we were looking for to round out our 2026 roster and it is an important one for us as we have goals of the NCAA tournament: A six-rotation outside hitter who could stabilize our back row, terminate and bring a winning mentality to our gym,” Wells said. “Reese checks every one of those boxes. Her two years competing in the Big 10 have prepared her to win at the highest level and her drive to be the best is evident every day. Just as important, she’s an outstanding teammate who will step into a leadership role right away. We’re thrilled to welcome Reese to the UVA volleyball family.”

 

Wuebker comes to Grounds after a pair of seasons with the Buckeyes. She saw action in 48 matches throughout her two-year stint at Ohio State.

 

During the 2025 campaign, Wuebker posted 260 kills, 157 digs, 14 service aces and 11 total blocks. She ranked second on the squad by averaging 2.65 kills per set and 1.60 digs per set. Wuebker notched 12 matches with double-digit kills, including a season-best 21 kill performance against Wright State. Overall, she recorded three double-doubles during the season.

 

As a freshman at Ohio State, Wuebker registered 102 kills, 97 kills, 21 total blocks and nine service aces. She tallied double-digit digs in a pair of contests and recorded a career-high five blocks in a match against ACC foe Miami.

 

Wuebker prepped at Centerville High School, where she was named Conference and District Player of the Year as a senior and was a three-time first team all-conference performer. She played her club volleyball at Tri State Elite and earned Prep Volleyball All-American honors in 2023.

 



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Meet the 2025 Varsity Maine All-State volleyball team

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December 29, 2025

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Caleb Atwood, Scarborough junior outside hitter: Atwood guided Scarborough to the top seed in Class A. She had 162 kills and 62 digs, and was exceptional at the line with a 92.3 service percentage and 39 aces. “She’s someone we tried to gameplan against,” Thornton coach Corey Huot said.

Maya Babcock, York senior libero: With Babcock in back, the Wildcats had someone who made a habit of turning kills into game-turning rallies. She totaled 363 digs, and also dished out 36 assists while adding 34 aces. “(She was) the best defensive player I saw this year,” Washington Academy coach Corey Schwinn said.

Liana Edwards, Gorham junior setter: Our choice for Varsity Maine Player of the Year for the second straight season was the versatile centerpiece for the three-time Class A champion Rams. Her precise passing helped Gorham hit an extra gear, but she was also a strong defender and hitter. The University of Rhode Island commit totaled 337 assists, 171 digs and 90 kills.

Lily Hennessey, Washington Academy senior setter: The Raiders’ attack featured options from all angles, and setting them up was Hennessey, who ran everything with what coach Corey Schwinn called “pinpoint accuracy.” She handed out 460 assists and also totaled 43 aces for the season.

Grace Keaney, Yarmouth senior middle hitter/outside hitter: A dominant middle hitter, the 6-foot-3 Keaney also had the versatility to affect the game elsewhere on the line. The University of Rhode Island commit, a three-time Varsity Maine All-State selection, totaled 149 kills with what Washington Academy coach Corey Schwinn called a “terminating swing,” as well as 87 digs and 41 aces.

Bella Parrotta, York senior setter: With Parrotta at the center of the operation, the Wildcats overpowered most of their opponents en route to a second Class B final appearance. She totaled the 1,000th assist of her career and finished with a whopping 425 for the season, and she added 130 digs, 64 aces and 43 kills.

Addie Petit, Thornton Academy junior setter: Petit was a game-changer for the Golden Trojans and guided them to their first Class A final. The SMAA first-team pick had 369 assists, 98 digs and 40 aces. “She’s amazing,” Gorham coach Emma Tirrell said.

Kellan Schwinn, Washington Academy senior outside hitter: A three-time All-State selection, Schwinn did everything well for the Class B champions. Her powerful, consistent and accurate hits allowed her to take over matches, and she led the Raiders with 199 kills, 107 digs, and 75 aces.

Anabelle Talley, Greely junior outside hitter: Talley was the big hitter that helped the Rangers reach the Class B semifinals. The two-time Varsity Maine selection totaled 193 kills, 158 digs and 30 aces this fall, and was credited with a .479 hitting percentage. “If she got swinging, we were in trouble,” Yarmouth coach Erin Hancock said.

Quinn Wherley, Kennebunk senior libero: While setter Charlotte MacDonald ran the offense, Whirley was the full-tilt defender whose anticipation and hustle allowed her to get to hit after hit, even those she seemingly wouldn’t be able to reach. She piled up 264 digs, handed out 20 assists and was an excellent server with 61 aces.

COACH OF THE YEAR

Corey Huot, Thornton Academy: Huot, the SMAA Coach of the Year, guided the Golden Trojans to their first state championship match. To get there, the fourth-seeded Trojans had to take down No. 1 Scarborough. He also led the Trojans to a victory over eventual state champion Gorham during the regular season.

Drew Bonifant covers sports for the Press Herald, with beats in high school football, basketball and baseball. He was previously part of the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel sports team. A New Hampshire…
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West Ottawa graduate Alexa Borgman is a volleyball All-American

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1 hour ago

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December 29, 2025

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Dec. 29, 2025, 4:00 a.m. ET

When Alexa Borgman was a high school volleyball player, her height, power and athleticism loaded her with potential.

But at West Ottawa, she was never the best player on the court, leaving her a little uncertain about her abilities – but they were there.

Borgman just needed the right college situation to grow her confidence.

Fast forward four years and Borgman was NCCAA Regional Player of the Year and second-team All-American at Grace University.

“I felt like I left everything on the court this year and I dominated, and that showed in my stats quite a bit,” she said. “I just wanted to play with a passion this year. When I was first-team all-region I just broke into tears because I never expected it, then the bigger awards came, and I was just in shock.”





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