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2006
National Baseball Hall of Fame Inductee BRUCE SUTTER
played for the Class-A Quincy Cubs of the Midwest League
in 1973.
Sutter
appeared in 40 games, all in relief, compiling a 3-3
record, five saves, a 4.13 ERA, and 76 strikeouts with
only 27 walks in 85 innings pitched.
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Baseball
Hall of Famer & Minnesota Twins great KIRBY PUCKETT
passed away on March 6, 2006. Puckett played for the
Quincy Rivermen of the Central Illinois Collegiate
League.
During
the Rivermen's 1981 season, Kirby Puckett was a CICL All-Star,
and lead the league in hitting. |
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Quincy
University (QU) Stadium was built under the Works Progress
Administration (WPA) for the Quincy Public Schools in
1939, which was obtained from quarries located along the
Mississippi River bluff.
- Home to the Quincy
Gems, Prospect League
- Quincy University Hawks, Great Lakes Valley Conference
- Home to the Quincy Gems, Three-I League (1946-56); Quincy Giants (1960-61), Jets (1962-63), Gems (1964), Cubs (1965-73), Midwest League
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Learn
more about the history of baseball in Quincy, QU Stadium,
and the Quincy Gems at www.quincygems.com |
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Arthur Fromme (1883-1956) - Born in Quincy, Art Fromme pitched in the Major Leagues from 1906 to 1915. He made his professional debut on September 14, 1906 for the St. Louis Cardinals, when he pitched the following 2 seasons, which included throwing 4 shut-outs in 1909. Fromme also played for the Cincinnati Reds (1910-1913) and New York Giants (1913-1915).
Art Fromme's record was 80-90, with 638 strikeouts and a 2.90 ERA.
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While
on a barnstorming tour two weeks before the
1907 World Series, the Chicago Cubs made a stop
in Quincy. The Buds were part of the I-I League
(the "Illinois-Iowa" League),
and were a .500 team. The Cubs were just coming
off a 116-36 season in 1906, and a 107-45 season
in 1907. The 116 wins in the 1906 season was
only matched by the 2001 Seattle Mariners (116-46).
The '07 Cubs were considered one of the greatest
baseball clubs ever assembled, with the legendary
Tinkers-to-Evers-to-Chance combo patrolling
the infield, and the most dominating pitching
staff in the league with multiple 20 game winners.
They would go on to sweep the Detroit Tigers
in the World Series two weeks after the game
in Quincy. That same Cubs team would also repeat
as World Champs in 1908. As for this game against
the Buds, on that September day in Quincy, the
mighty Chicago Cubs lost, 5-2. Had
it not been for 2 costly Quincy errors, the
Cubs could have been shut out.
Read
two 1907 articles from the Quincy Daily Herald
Quincy vs. Chicago, at Sportsman's
Park, 1907
Sportsman's Park was betweeen 17th and 18th,
Cherry and Cedar.
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1907 Chicago Cubs |
1907 Quincy Buds |
Quincy Daily Herald |
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CLICK A PHOTO FOR THE
LARGE VERSION |
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Quincy's Jim Finigan was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before the 1948 season, and traded to the Philadelphia Athletics in an 11-player deal on December 16, 1953.
Finigan made his major league debut on April 25, 1954 against the New York Yankees at Connie Mack Stadium, and went on to have a great rookie season as the A's regular third baseman. He hit .302 in 136 games with 7 home runs , 51 runs batted in , a .421 slugging percentage, and finished second to the Yankees' Bob Grim in the American League Rookie of the Year voting. He also was a member of the American League All-Star team.
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In 1955, now playing in Kansas City, Finigan split time between second base and third base and was again named to the All-Star squad. His batting average dropped but his run production increased. In 150 games he hit .255 with 9 home runs and 68 RBI. He also scored 15 more runs than the previous year.
His playing time decreased over the next four years, and his days as a regular player were over. His final game in the big leagues was played on July 5, 1959 with Baltimore.
Finigan was the last Philadelphia A's regular to hit .300 or better.
Career totals include 512 games played , 422 hits , 19 home runs , 168 runs batted in , 195 runs scored , a .264 batting average , and an on base percentage of .342. He played for the Philadelphia Athletics (1954), Kansas City Athletics (1955-1956), Detroit Tigers (1957), San Francisco Giants (1958), and Baltimore Orioles (1959) |
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Arthur Fromme (1884-1962) - Born in Quincy,
pitcher in the Major Leagues from 1912-1919. He played for the New York Giants (1912-1914, 1917-1918), Philadelphia Phillies (1915-1916), Chicago Cubs (1917) and Boston Braves (1919).
Art Fromme had 80 wins, 571 strikeouts and a 2.77 ERA.
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Elvin Walter Tappe was player and manager for the Chicago Cubs. Born in Quincy on May 21, 1927 in Quincy, El and his twin brother Mel were both standouts with the QHS basketball and baseball teams. After serving in the Navy, both played sports at Quincy University. Regarded as a superb defensive catcher, El was drafted by the Cubs in the 1951 minor league draft.
After playing in the minors, he made his major league debut on April 24, 1954. In 1960, Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley instituted the "College of Coaches" in which the team's coaches would rotate duties as manager. Tappe managed the majority of the 1961 season, 95 games, as well as 20 games in 1962. Brother Mel also coached with the Cubs.
Both Tappes are members of the Quincy University Hall of Fame, charter member of the QHS Sports Hall of Fame, did play-by-play broadcasts on Quincy radio for 25 years, and ran Tappe's Sporting Goods in Quincy. |
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Major league pitcher Rick Reuschel was born in Quincy on May 16, 1949. Reuschel provided a strong arm for the Chicago Cubs increasingly mediocre staff. His best year was in 1977 when Reuschel won 20 games. From 1975 to 1978, his brother Paul was a relief pitcher for the Cubs while Rick was a starting pitcher. Rick was sent to the New York Yankees in 1981, where he pitched in the World Series.
Reuschel was traded to the San Francisco Giants, pitching well for several years before finally hanging the spikes up. In 1989, Reuschel won 17 games for the Giants as he helped lead them to the World Series. Reuschel won the Hutch Award in 1985 (for fighting spirit & competitive desire to win), and won the 1985 Comeback Player of the Year Award.
Reuschel was a three time All-Star (1977, 1987, 1989) and a 2 time Glod Glove Award winner. In a 19-year career, he had a record of 214-191 in 557 games (529 starts). Reuschel had 102 career complete games and 26 of those were shutouts. Rick Reuschel is one of the top 100 winning pitchers of all time. He was also ranked #31 Greatest Cubs Player of All-Time by the Cubs blog Bleed Cubbie Blue.
On August 21, 1975, pitching against the L.A. Dogers, Paul and Rick Reuschel became the first brothers to combine for a shutout. Paul traded to the Cleveland Indians in June of '78, where he played until after the 1979 season. |
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