The Quad Cities River Bandits is a Class A minor league baseball team, affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals, that plays in the Midwest League. Its home games are played at Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport, Iowa.

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Franchise history

The club became part of the Midwest League in 1960 and was affiliated with the Milwaukee Braves for its first two seasons before joining the farm system of the new Los Angeles (later California) Angels for the 1962 season. Except for a five-year affiliation with the Chicago Cubs (1979-84), the Angels stayed in the Quad Cities through the 1992 season. The team was affiliated with the Houston Astros from 1993 to 1998 and the Minnesota Twins from 1999 to 2004 before joining the Cardinals' farm system for the 2005 season. ^[1]

The team used the nickname of its major-league parent through the 1991 season. It was known as the Quad City River Bandits from 1992 through the 2003 season. On October 20, 2003, the team was renamed the Swing of the Quad Cities ; the nickname, like the previous one, was chosen as the winning entry in a "name the team" contest. On December 13, 2007, the team announced it would return to its earlier moniker, becoming the Quad Cities River Bandits. More than 48 percent of voters in a contest sponsored by the franchise's new owners preferred the River Bandits name over the Swing and four other finalists: the Channel Cats, the Current, the River Eagles, and the Talons. ^[2]

The non-profit Quad City Baseball Fans Association operated the franchise from 1960 to 1986. In 1986 Chicago businessman Harry Semrow purchased the team but sold it after the 1987 season due to poor health. Richard Holtzman, another Chicago businessman who owned as many as five minor league teams, owned the franchise from 1987 until 1998. In 1998, Holtzman sold the team to Seventh Inning Stretch, a company owned by Kevin Krause, a businessman out of Mason City, Iowa, and son of Kum & Go co-founder William Krause. On December 28, 2006, Krause agreed to sell the team to Florida-based Main Street Baseball for an undisclosed price; the sale was completed on November 29, 2007. ^{[3] [4]}

The team's attendance record of 260,471 was set in 1994. ^[5] All games are broadcast on WKBF (AM).

Notable alumni

Major League Baseball players who have played in Davenport over the years include: ^[6]

• Garret Anderson (1991)
• Rick Ankiel (2005)
• Dante Bichette (1985)
• Rico Carty (1960)
• Chad Curtis (1989-1990)
• Shawon Dunston (1983)
• Damion Easley (1990)
• Jim Edmonds (1989)
• Scott Elarton (1994-1995)
• Chuck Finley (1986)
• Carlos Guillén (1996)
• Brian Harper (1978)
• Bryan Harvey (1985)
• Roberto Hernández (1987-1988)
• Richard Hidalgo (1994)
• Jason Kubel (2002)
• Carney Lansford (1976)
• Brad Lidge (1998)
• Joe Mather (2005)
• Joe Mauer (2002)
• Mark Mulder (2006 1 game coming from DL)
• Pat Neshek (2003)
• Orlando Palmeiro (1992)
• Glen Perkins (2003)
• Colby Rasmus (2006)
• Jerry Remy (1973)
• Michael Restovich (1999)
• Johan Santana (1998)
• Mark Sweeney (1992)
• Frank Tanana (1972)
• Dickie Thon (1976)
• Billy Wagner (1994)

Roster

Players				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 27 Jared Bradford -- Brian Broderick 22 Richard Castillo 32 Chuckie Fick 33 Matthew Frevert 41 Dylan Gonzalez 44 Deryk Hooker 30 Ryan Kulik 31 Lance Lynn 25 Kenneth Maiques 29 Jameson Maj 16 Scott McGregor 7 Jorge Rondon 33 Eduardo Sanchez 39 Matt Spade 34 Jonathan Stambaugh ‡12 Joshua Wilson		Catchers 4 Roberto Espinoza 23 Blake Murphy Infielders 3 Domnit Bolivar 10 Ross Oeder 26 Nicholas Peoples 21 Carlos Pupo 18 Francisco Rivera 5 Curt Smith 31 Niko Vasquez Outfielders 24 Adron Chambers 35 Jon Edwards 8 D'Marcus Ingram 28 Thomas Pham		Manager 15 Steve Dillard Coaches 13 Joe Kruzel (hitting) 19 Ace Adams (pitching) † Disabled list * On St. Louis Cardinals 40-man roster ‡ Reserve list § Suspended list updated 2008-10-22

References

1. Davenport, Iowa, in the Midwest League
2. The Fans Have Spoken: 'River Bandits' Returns to the Quad Cities
3. Florida Group Buys Swing of Q-C
4. It's official: Main Street Iowa completes purchase of Swing
5. Davenport's Modern Woodmen Park | MWLguide.com
6. From the QCA to the Big Leagues