The Quincy Gems was the primary name of the

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

team in

Quincy, Illinois Quincy ( ) is a city in Adams County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Mississippi River, the population was 39,463 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 40,633 in 2010. The Quincy, Illinois, mic ...

, that played in various seasons from 1883 to 1973. Quincy teams played as members of the

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

(1960–1973), Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League (1946–1956),

Mississippi Valley League The Mississippi Valley League (MVL) was a baseball Class D level minor league that operated from 1922 through 1933. Playing its last year as a Class B level league, the league franchises were based in Iowa and Illinois. Like many leagues at the ...

(1933), Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League (1911–1917, 1925–1932),

Central Association The Central Association was an American minor league baseball league. The Central Association began play in 1908, evolving from the 1907 Iowa State League. The Central Association played continuously through 1917 before folding. The league reforme ...

(1908–1910),

Iowa State League The Iowa State League was a minor league baseball league that played from 1904 to 1907 and again in 1912. The Class D (baseball), Class D level league had franchises based in Illinois and Iowa. The Ottumwa Snappers franchise won league championship ...

(1907),

Western Association The Western Association was the name of five different leagues formed in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries. The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Wester ...

(1894–1898), Illinois-Iowa League (1891–1892),

Central Interstate League The Central Interstate League was an independent minor league baseball league that operated from 1888 to 1890. William H. Allen (1888), Henderson Ridgely (1889), E.T. McNeally (1890) and Fitzpatrick (1890) served as the league presidents. The 1 ...

(1889–1890) and

Northwestern League The Northwestern League was a sports league that operated in the Central United States during the early years of professional baseball for six seasons: 1879, 1883–1884, 1886–1887, and 1891. After the 1887 season, the league was replaced by t ...

(1883–1884). Quincy won league championships in 1889, 1913, 1929, 1931, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1961 and 1970.

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

members

Bruce Sutter Howard Bruce Sutter (; January 8, 1953 – October 13, 2022) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1976 and 1988. He was one of the sport's dominant relievers in the late 1970 ...

Tony Kubek Anthony Christopher Kubek (born October 12, 1935) is an American former professional baseball player and television sportscaster, broadcaster. During his nine-year playing career with the New York Yankees, Kubek played in six World Series in the ...

and

Whitey Herzog Dorrel Norman Elvert "Whitey" Herzog (; November 9, 1931 – April 15, 2024) was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager, most notable for his Major League Baseball (MLB) managerial career. Herzog made his major league debut a ...

played for Quincy teams. The Quincy Gems name returned in 2009 with the Gems playing in the collegiate summer

Prospect League The Prospect League is a collegiate summer baseball league comprising teams of college players from North America and beyond. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. So as to maintain their colleg ...

History

Beginning play in 1883, Quincy minor league teams played as members of the

(1960–1973), Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League (1946–1956),

(1933), Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League (1911–1917, 1925–1932).

(1908–1910),

(1907),

(1889–1890),

(1894–1898), Illinois-Iowa League (1891–1892),

(1889–1890) and

(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 The Quincy Cubs were a minor league baseball team located in Quincy, Illinois. The team played in the Midwest League, and were an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. Their home stadium was Q Stadium. The franchise lasted from 1965 to 1973, when the Cu ...

(1965–1973),

Quincy Jets The Quincy Jets were a former single-A minor league affiliate of the New York Mets from 1962 through 1963. The Jets played in the Midwest League at Quincy Stadium in Quincy, Illinois. The Quincy Jets ended the 1963 season with a record of 56 wi ...

(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

in 1894. 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. During the 1891 season, Pete Daniels threw 321 innings compiling a 0.79 ERA for the Ravens. The franchise played in the

(1894–1899),

(1907),

(1908–1910), Three-I League (1911–1932, 1946–1956), and the

(1960–73). They were affiliated with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

(1946–1956), the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

(1956–60),

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

(1962–63) and the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

(1965–1973). 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 The Waterloo Hawks were a National Basketball League and National Basketball Association team based in Waterloo, Iowa. The Hawks remain the only sports franchise ever based in Iowa from any of the current Big Four Leagues. They are not affili ...

in 1961 and the

Quad City Angels QUaD, an acronym for QUEST at DASI, was a ground-based cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization experiment at the South Pole. QUEST (Q and U Extragalactic Sub-mm Telescope) was the original name attributed to the bolometer detector instrume ...

in 1970. After the 1973 season, the franchise was moved to

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...

playing as the

Dubuque Packers Minor league baseball teams have operated in the city of Dubuque, Iowa under a variety of names in various leagues, playing in 52 seasons between 1879 and 1976. Dubuque teams were an affiliate of the Houston Astros (1975–1976), Kansas City Royal ...

in the

for two seasons, before the franchise was folded and not replaced. The Gems name returned in 2009 by the collegiate summer

team called the Gems, who also play at a renovated

Q Stadium QU Stadium is a stadium in Quincy, Illinois originally known as Q Stadium. It is primarily used for baseball, but also has a separate football field. The baseball side of QU Stadium holds 2,000 people and the football/lacrosse side of holds 1,600 ...

Ballparks

Beginning in 1946, Quincy teams played at

. 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 The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to c ...

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 Quincy University (QU) is a Private college, private Franciscans, Franciscan college in Quincy, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1860, it has an enrollment of approximately 1,300 undergraduate and graduate students across five constituent sch ...

from the City of Quincy for $1.00. Today, Q Stadium is home to

teams and the

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

team of the same name, the new Quincy Gems.

Year-by-year record

Notable alumni

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...
Alumni

(1952) Inducted, 2010 *

(1955)

Ford C. Frick Award The Ford C. Frick Award is presented annually by the Baseball Hall of Fame in the United States to a broadcaster for "major contributions to baseball". It is named for Ford C. Frick, former commissioner of baseball. Prior to his career as an exe ...

, 2009 *

(1973) Inducted, 2006

Notable alumni

Hank Bauer Henry Albert Bauer (July 31, 1922 – February 9, 2007) was an American right fielder and manager in Major League Baseball. He played with the New York Yankees (–) and Kansas City Athletics (–); he batted and threw right-handed. He served as ...

(1946) 6x MLB All-Star; 1966 MLB Manager of the Year;

Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame The Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame is a team Hall of Fame dedicated to representing the most significant contributors to the history of the Baltimore Orioles professional baseball team since the first season of Baltimore baseball in 1954, which has ...

Lew Burdette Selva Lewis Burdette, Jr. (November 22, 1926 – February 6, 2007) was an American right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the Boston / Milwaukee Braves. The team's top right-hander during its years in Mil ...

(1948) 2× MLB All-Star; 1957

World Series MVP The Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is given to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the World Series, which is the final round of the MLB postseason. The a ...

; Braves Hall of Fame * Jim Finigan (1964) 2x MLB All-Star * Jim Ray Hart (1960) MLB all-Star *

Woodie Held Woodson George "Woodie" Held (March 25, 1932 – June 11, 2009) was an American shortstop/outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for the New York Yankees, Kansas City Athletics, Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators, Baltimor ...

(1953) * Vern Hoscheit (1953-1956) * Walter Holke (1929) * Baby Doll Jacobson (1929) .311 Lifetime Batting Average * Buddy Kerr (1960, MGR) MLB All-Star * Pete LaCock (1970) *

Dennis Lamp Dennis Patrick Lamp (born September 23, 1952) is an American former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball. From 1977 through 1992, the breaking ball specialist played for the Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Oa ...

(1973) *

Hal Lanier Harold Clifton Lanier (born July 4, 1942) is an American former infielder, coach and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Known as a brainy, defense-first player, he won National League Manager of the Year as a rookie manager for leading the ...

(1961) MLB MGR: 1986 NL Manager of the Year * Sam Mertes (1894) 1903 NL RBI Leader *

Joe Niekro Joseph Franklin Niekro ( ; November 7, 1944 – October 27, 2006) was an American professional baseball pitcher. During a 22-year baseball career, he pitched from 1967 to 1988 for seven different teams, primarily for the Houston Astros. He was ...

(1966) MLB All-Star; Houston Astros Hall of Fame * Bill North (1970) 1974, 1975 AL Stolen Base Leader *

Fritz Ostermueller Frederick Raymond "Fritz" Ostermueller (September 15, 1907 – December 17, 1957) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1934 to 1948, playing for the Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Browns, Brooklyn Dodgers, and Pittsburgh ...

(1926) 1938 NL Saves Leader * Ray Powell (1931) *

Gary Ross Gary Ross (born November 3, 1956) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. He is best known for writing and directing the fantasy comedy-drama film '' Pleasantville'' (1998), the sports drama film ''Seabiscuit'' (2003), the dystopia ...

(1967) * Hal Smith (1951) * Russ Snyder (1954) *

Tom Sturdivant Thomas Virgil Sturdivant (April 28, 1930 – February 28, 2009), nicknamed "Snake", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played for the New York Yankees, Kansas City Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators, Pittsburgh Pirat ...

(1948-1950) * Gus Suhr (1925) MLB All-Star * Steve Sundra (1932) * Lee Thomas (1955) 2x MLB All-Star *

Marv Throneberry Marvin Eugene Throneberry (September 2, 1933 – June 23, 1994) was an American Major League Baseball player. Affectionately known as "Marvelous Marv", he was the starting first baseman for the 1962 New York Mets, a team which set the modern re ...

(1953)

Miller Lite Miller Lite is a 4.2% ABV reduced calorie light American lager beer produced by Molson Coors. It was introduced in 1973 in limited markets by the Miller Brewing Company (then owned by Philip Morris, Inc.) and began being distributed nationa ...

commercials *

Hal Trosky Harold Arthur Trosky Sr. (born Harold Arthur Trojovsky; November 11, 1912 – June 18, 1979) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman for the Cleveland Indians (1933–1941) and the Chic ...

(1932) 1936 AL RBI Leader;

Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame This is a list of award winners and league leaders for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball. Awards Most Valuable Player *George Burns (1926) * Lou Boudreau (1948) * Al Rosen (1953) Cy Young * Gaylord Perry (1972) * CC Sabathia ...

* Rabbit Warstler (1927) * Dutch Zwilling (1951) 1914 NL Home Run Leader; 1915 NL RBI Leader

Photos

BruceSutterCardinals.jpg, Hall of Fame Pitcher

File:Whitey Herzog - 1983 - standing.jpg, Hall of Famer

, 1983 Tony Kubek 1961.png,

, 1961 HalTroskyGoudeycard.jpg,

, Goudey card File:Ed Walker (baseball).jpg, Ed Walker, Quincy Vets, 1910 Baby Doll Jacobson 1919.jpg, Baby Doll Jacobson, 1919 File:Marv Throneberry 1961.jpg,

, 1961 File:Hank Bauer 1953.jpg,

, 1953

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quincy Gems (Minor League Team) Baseball teams established in 1883 Defunct Midwest League teams Defunct baseball teams in Illinois New York Yankees minor league affiliates Professional baseball teams in Illinois Central Association Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League teams San Francisco Giants minor league affiliates Sports clubs and teams in Quincy, Illinois 1883 establishments in Illinois 1973 disestablishments in Illinois Central Association teams Iowa State League teams Baseball teams disestablished in 1973

History

Ballparks

Year-by-year record

Notable alumni

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ... Alumni

Notable alumni

See also

Photos

References

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...
Alumni