The Streator Boosters were a minor league baseball team based in

Streator, Illinois Streator is a city in LaSalle and Livingston counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city is situated on the Vermilion River approximately southwest of Chicago in the prairie and farm land of north-central Illinois. As of the 2020 cens ...

. Beginning play as the Streator "Speedboys" in 1912, Streator teams played as members of the Class D level Illinois-Missouri League from 1912 to 1914 and the

Bi-State League The Bi-State League was an American baseball minor league formed in 1934 with teams in Virginia and North Carolina. The league held together for nine seasons, being represented by ten cities from North Carolina and eight from Virginia. Only the ...

in 1915, winning the 1915 league championship. Streator hosted minor league home games at Streator City Park.

History

The Streator Speedboys began minor league baseball play, joining the 1912 Class D level Illinois-Missouri League. In their first season of play, Streator finished the regular season with a 46–65 record, placing last in the six–team Illinois–Missouri League standings and finishing the season 21.0 games behind the first place

Lincoln Abes The Lincoln Abes were a minor league baseball team based in Lincoln, Illinois. From 1910 to 1914, the Abes played as members of the Class D level Illinois-Missouri League. Lincoln won consecutive league championships in 1912 and 1913 and wer ...

. The Speedboys played the season under Manager Jake Leuter. Streator finished behind the

70–47,

Pekin Celestials The Pekin Celestials were an Illinois–Missouri League baseball team based in Pekin, Illinois, USA that played from 1909 to 1913. In their very first season, the Celestials had four different managers. Two future major league baseball players pl ...

61–55,

Canton Highlanders Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

57–56,

Clinton Champs Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a give ...

Kankakee Kanks The Kankakee Kanks were a minor league baseball team located in Kankakee, Illinois. Kankakee teams played a member of the Class D level Northern Association in 1910, playing as the Kankakee "Kays" and the Illinois-Missouri League from 1912 to 191 ...

56–56 and the Champaign-Urbana Velvets 53–64 in the standings. Streator played their home games at Streator City Park. In their second season, the renamed Streator Boosters continued play in the 1913 Illinois–Missouri League. Streator placed fourth in the league with a record of 30–57, as two league teams folded during the season. Bob Coyle and Bob Kahl were the 1913 Streator managers. Streator ended the season 29.0 games behind the first place Lincoln Abes after both Pekin and Canton folded on July 19, 1913. Streator's Roy Phillips led the league with 13

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...

and teammate E.H. Kennedy had led league hitters with 92 total hits. The 1914 Streator Boosters ended the Illinois–Missouri League regular season with a record of 40–48. Streator placed third in the Illinois–Missouri League standings, playing under managers John Ray and Henry Seebach. The Illinois–Missouri League saw the

and

fold on July 3, 1914, ending the season with four teams as Streator finished 21.0 games behind the first place Champaign-Urbana Velvets. The Illinois–Missouri League permanently folded after the 1914 season. After the demise of the Illinois–Missouri League, the 1915 Streator Boosters became charter members of the short–lived Class D level

and won a championship in a shortened season. The

Aurora Foxes An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

Elgin Watch Makers The Elgin Watch Makers were a minor league baseball team based in Elgin, Illinois in 1915. Elgin teams played as members of the Class D level Northern Association in 1910 and Bi-State League in 1915, winning the 1910 league championship. Elgin p ...

Freeport Pretzels The Freeport Pretzels were a minor league baseball franchise based in Freeport, Illinois. Between 1908 and 1915, Freeport teams played as members of the Wisconsin State League (1905–1907), Wisconsin-Illinois League (1908–1909), 1910 Norther ...

Ottawa Indians The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ), said to mean "traders", are an Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ethnic group who primarily inhabit land in the Indigenous peoples of the Eastern Woodlands, Eastern Woodlands region, c ...

and

Racine Belles The Racine Belles were one of the original teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League playing from through out of Racine, Wisconsin. The Belles won the league's first championship. The team played its home games at Horlick Fi ...

joined Streator in the six-team league. On July 7, 1915, Streator was in first place with a 30–18 record when the Bi–State League permanently folded. Jack Herbert was the manager as Streator finished 1.5 games ahead of second place Racine. Booster player Eddie Wise led the league with 5 home runs. The Bi-State League did not return to play in 1915. Streator has not hosted another minor league team following the 1915 Streator Boosters.

The ballpark

Streator minor league teams played home games at Streator City Park. The Streator City Park is still in use today as a public park, located in the 200 block of North Park Street in Streator, Illinois. Streator IL Streator City Park1

Timeline

Year–by–year records

Notable alumni

Shags Horan Joseph Patrick "Shags" Horan (September 6, 1895 – February 13, 1969) was an outfielder in Major League Baseball. Horan played for the New York Yankees in 1924, and he also spent 11 seasons in the minor leagues, winning two batting titles. He was ...

(1915) *

Bill Ludwig William Patrick Ludwig (25 May 1934 – 11 April 2022) was an Australian trade union official, who served as National President of the Australian Workers' Union (AWU), with a brief interruption, from 1989 to 2017. He served two terms from ...

(1914) *

George Orme George William Orme (September 16, 1891 – March 16, 1962) was a backup outfielder in Major League Baseball who played briefly for the Boston Red Sox during the season. Listed at 5' 10", 160 lb., Orme batted and threw right-handed. H ...

(1915) *

Tom Sheehan Thomas Clancy Sheehan (March 31, 1894 – October 29, 1982) was an American pitcher, scout, coach and manager in Major League Baseball. Born in Grand Ridge, Illinois, Sheehan, a right-hander, had a six-year pitching career from 1915–16, 1921 ...

(1913) *

Dan Tipple Daniel Slaughter ("Rusty" or "Big Dan") Tipple (February 13, 1890 – March 26, 1960), was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played in with the New York Yankees. He batted and threw right-handed. Tipple had a 1-1 record, with a 0.95 ERA, in ...

(1912) *

Streator Boosters players Streator is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, LaSalle and Livingston County, Illinois, Livingston counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city is situated on the Vermilion River (Illinois River tributary), Vermilion River approximately so ...

Streator Speedboys players Streator is a city in LaSalle and Livingston counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city is situated on the Vermilion River approximately southwest of Chicago in the prairie and farm land of north-central Illinois. As of the 2020 cens ...

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Streator - Baseball Reference
Defunct minor league baseball teams Professional baseball teams in Illinois Defunct baseball teams in Illinois Baseball teams established in 1913 Baseball teams disestablished in 1915 Illinois-Missouri League teams Streator, Illinois Bi-State League teams