Mattoon Phillies

The Mattoon Phillies were a charter member of the Midwest League in 1953. Additionally, Mattoon teams played in the two leagues directly preceding the Midwest League: the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League and the Illinois State League .^[1]

Earlier, Mattoon teams played in the Eastern Illinois League (1907–1908), Kentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League (1906) and Indiana–Illinois League (1899). Mattoon was an affiliate of the Chicago White Sox (1947), Cleveland Indians (1948), Cincinnati Reds (1952), Philadelphia Phillies (1953–1956) and Kansas City Athletics (1957).^[2][3]

The Mattoon Illinois State League franchise was the direct result of the efforts of the Mattoon Athletic Association, which was formed in 1947 by William Zurheider, Clyde Kirk and Charles Heath. The corporation issued 600 shares of stock at $250 and built a new ballpark. Charles Heath was also a founder of the ISL.^[4]

Mattoon had two no-hitters. On August 24, 1954, Tom Cronin defeated the Hannibal Cannibals 2–0 in a no-hitter. On July 16, 1956, Mike Wallace pitched a no-hitter against the Clinton Pirates, winning 6–0.^[5]

In 1958, the Mattoon franchise moved to Keokuk, Iowa and became the Keokuk Indians. The franchise is the oldest in the Midwest League, as it has evolved into today's Fort Wayne TinCaps.^[1][3]

From 1947 to 1956 Mattoon teams were noted to have played minor league home games at the Mattoon Baseball Park. The ballpark hosted the 1948 Illinois State League All–Star Game and the 1950 Mississippi–Ohio Valley League All–Star Game. Baseball Hall of Fame member Earl Weaver played in the 1948 game. The ballpark had a capacity of 2,500 and was destroyed shortly after minor league team moved. The Mattoon Baseball Park was located at DeWitt Avenue & North Logan Street, Mattoon, Illinois.^{[4][1][6][7][8]}