River City League--Founded 1981
The River City League has an
unbroken string of competition going back to 1981. Below is a summary for
each team that has been a part of the River City League. Also, below the
summaries are the current all-time record holders of the River City League.
The league was formed in
January of 1981 after founder, Greg Conway, (Me), read an article in the
fairly new sports magazine, Inside Sports, describing the first year
of the famous Rotisserie League, (1980).
I wrote the rules based
on what I read about in the article but strayed on various points. We were
to be a combined league and more stat categories were to be used. Also,
since a baseball strike was a possiblity for the coming year, rules were
constructed to deal with this. A near fatal flaw in the early days was
corrected when stat services sprung up a couple of years later. We did
not add up stats on a weekly basis at first but rather the players you
had at the end of the year were what you based your points on. Surprisingly
the race still came down to the last week in these early years but trading
abuses flourished. St. Louis vs. Dallas football game tickets were traded
for some hot pitcher one August night. Trading guidelines were tightened
up the next year.
Winter meetings were scheduled
every year to tidy up the rules and add new changes. We added such things
as a minor-reserve, a draft to follow the auction to fill the minor-reserve,
and the ability to retain some players at an increased price. Most of the
basics have remained the same.
We remained with a
stat service for several years until a couple of us gained access to the
internet. We have been doing our own stats with an online service for several
years now.
The league had
one highlight of the year besides the great auction day. Every June we
entered a team in the Easter Seals softball tournament. We had been one
of the top 3 or 4 money raising teams for ten straight years and won about
90% of our games. The highlight of the the day, however, was after the
games when we all gathered under a tree near the fields and begin a huge
trading session. Trading could last for hours, long after the beer ran
out and many a big name player had switched teams here. Sadly, the Easter
Seals tournament is no longer being held and for the last couple of years
we have struggled to find an acceptable substitute.
The Teams
Born Losers/Thunderbirds (1981-1988) Owner: Rick
Lewis
An original team, the Born Losers changed their name to the Thunderbirds
in 1982. After a 3rd place finish in '81 and a 2nd in '82, the Thunderbirds
reeled off 5 straight 1sts before finally dropping to 3rd in 1988. The
disappointment of the 3rd place finish was enough to bring about the ending
of the Thunderbirds. They dropped out of the River City League. The Thunderbirds'
success was due, in large, to the rosters that always seemed to have Ripken,
Murray, Sandberg and Gary Carter as the anchors.
Clubbers (1981-2012) Owner: Greg Conway
An original team. My team. The only original
team still in the River City League. We won the league the first two years
and won again in 1988. From 1983 through 1991, the Clubbers never finished
below 4th place, (3rd, 2nd, 4th, 4th, 2nd, 1st, 3rd, 3rd, 2nd), until
a disasterous 1992 auction. That year the Clubbers never spent a week out
of last place. They bounced back somewhat in '93 and '94 with 4th and 3rd
place finishes but slumped badly to 6th in '95 and 9th in '96. In 1997,
however the Clubbers returned to the top again with their 4th Championship.
In the early years, the Clubbers stayed at or near the top with Red Sox
sluggers Rice and Evans and Harvey Wallbangers, Yount and Cooper. Carlton
and Valenzuela anchored early pitching staffs and Clemens was a frequent
Clubber later on. The '97 team won with a good auction that produced Bagwell,
Mo Vaughn, Clemens again and Nomar Garciaparra. A pitching collapse doomed
the Clubbers to 8th place finishes in '98 and '99. In 2000, the Clubbers
rebounded to 3rd but nosedived to 14th in 2001. With Nomar, Bagwell and
Guerrero the Clubbers won their 5th Championship in 2002, tying the Boneheads
and the Born Losers/Thunderbirds for the most all-time. With a simular
team in 2003, the Clubbers dropped to a 4th place tie with the help of
a lot of key injuries. They continued to drop in 2004, to a 6th place finish,
then rebounded in 2005 to finish 4th again. At this point they have finished
in the second division, (out of the money), five times, the same amount
of times they finished 1st.
In 2006, in one of the closest races ever, the
Clubbers finished in 2nd place, one half point out of first, losing on
the final day to the Halos when the Cardnals rested their star/Clubber
pitcher, Carpenter, for the playoffs. The next year, in even a closer race,
the Clubbers tied for first place with the EBraves . This race obviously,
also came down to the final day which was in fact, a playoff game between
the Padres and the Rockies. It was the Clubbers' 6th championship, albiet,
a shared one. In 2008, the Clubbers fought off the Nons, Boneheads and
EBraves, all of who spent time at the top during the last 2 months of the
season and held on to win their 7th championship. In 2009, The Clubbers
could not sustain the fight and dropped to 4th place. In 2010, the Clubbers
made another comeback and won their 8th championship with a strong offense.
They never contended in 2011 though the offense was still fairly strong.
Their pitching was the 3rd worst in the league and they finished 10th.
Pitching was still hard to find in 2012. The Clubbers led the league in
hitting but finished 4th as their pitching let them down once more.
Crowe's Crows (1981) Owner: John Crowe
The Crows were mildly competetive through the
first half of the inaugural season, then lost interest and finished 5th.
They did not return.
Dodgers/Bangers (1981-1986) Owner: Brad Ritzert
The Dodgers, an original team, changed their name to the Bangers in
1982. The team was competetive but couldn't finish strong enough. They
fnished 4th three times, 5th and 6th and finally 10th in their last year.
A new baby demanded more time then was available and the Bangers dropped
out.
Ravenswood Ravens (1981-1991) Owner: Harry McCarty
An original team, the Ravens were up and down in the standings, finishing
as high as 2nd, ('81 and '85), and as low as 8th, ('86 and '90). The main
weapon for the Ravens seemed to be pitching and stolen bases. McCarty's
favorite team was the St. Louis Cardinals and guys like McGee and Coleman
were frequently on the Ravens. In an unusual transaction in 1986, the Ravens
franchise was sold to the 714 All Stars, who had disbanded their franchise.
The Ravens then started anew. The change brought only a slight improvement,
8th in '86, 6th in '87. The Ravens dropped out when McCarty moved to Carbondale
for further schooling. Harry died in 2001 of an undetermined heart aliment.
Rockers (1981-1985) Owner: Wayne Moore
Another original team, the Rockers could not seem to get out of the
middle of the pack. This probably led to their demise. Reggie Jackson was
another reason the Rockers disbanded. The favorite player of Moore, his
movement to the Angels' team seemed to lessen the enjoyment. The Rockers
placed between 5th and 7th in each of their 5 years of existence. Reggie
wasn't helping much.
Terri's Merry Fairies (1981) Owner: Terri Appel
An original team on a lark. The only female owner the River City League
has ever had. She knew little about baseball and proved it.
714 All Stars (1981-1987) Owner: Brian Seib
This team competed in the first year but did not attend the auction.
Instead, they purchased players left over from the auction for a flat rate.
This was covered in the rules and still is but it's not a good way to be
competetive. The All Stars finished last that year and didn't fair much
better in the next 6 years. They did manage to get into the money in 1985
with a third place finish, but many bad trades doomed this team many times.
As mentioned above, the '86 version of the 714 All Stars were disbanded
and the rights to the Ravens team were acquired. It wasn't much help as
the '87 team finished 8th. This was the end of the 714 All Stars.
Joe's Bar and Grill (1982) Owner: Charlie Jackson
The rights to Teri's Merry Fairies were sold and the team became Joe's
Bar and Grill. Joe's actually did worse then it's predecessor and finished
8th. Jackson left for Murray St. the next year and therefore could not
improve on the last place finish.
Expos/Cardinals (1982-1983) Owner: Tim Rowan
The Expos purchased the rights to Crowe's Crows to start the '82 season.
They were a strong and energenic organization and did well their first
year placing 3rd but the owner's personality, questionable trade practices
and continuing attempts to find ways around league rules eventually caused
the majority of the league to get tired of his act. After changing the
name of the team to the Cardinals in '83 and finishing 2nd, Rowan was expelled
from the league in the Winter Meeting before the '84 season. His team was
disbanded and he could not sell the rights to it. Rowan brought a lawsuit
against the members of the league including two new members for recovery
of the amount he paid to obtain the franchise. Each member was served,
some of us at work. When it was pointed out, however, that he purchased
the team from someone that was no longer in the league in a private transaction,
Rowan's lawyer convinced him that he probably would not win the case and
it was dropped.
Bombers (1983) Owner: Rob Logan
Purchased from the former Joe's Bar and Grill,
The Bombers continued the downward trend of the franchise. The team finished
9th and was again sold the next year.
Braves (1983-1984) Owner: Brad Conaway
One of the two first expansion teams, the Braves
had 9th and 10th place finishes in '83 and '84. Both were good for last
place. Conaway left the league, however, not because of poor finishes but
because of a distant job opportunity.
Fanatics (1983, 1987-1991) Owner: Gary Alstadt
The Fanatics were the other expansion team in
'83 and finished a fairly strong 6th. They literally disappeared in '84
though. After a three year absence they reappeared in '87 and finished
9th. The next two years they finished in the money at 5th and 6th but after
two more 9th place finishes they disappeared for good.
Bronx Bombers (1984-1993) Owner: Bob Bienhaus
The Bronx Bombers were the 4th version of the
original Merry Fairies, being purchased from the Bombers franchise. The
Bronx Bombers faired much better then all the previous versions, finishing
2nd in '86, 5th in '87 and 4th in '92. They also suffered some miserable
years finishing last four times in their 10 year history. Finally, the
interest just wasn't there anymore and this franchise reached the end after
four owners in 13 years.
Giant-Tigers/Blazers (1984-2009) Owner: Tony Chandler
The only '84 expansion team, the Giant-Tigers
finished 8th in '84. They changed names in '85, becoming the Blazers, which
they remain today. The name change began a rise in the standings. A steady
run of first division finishes began with a 3rd place in '86 followed by
4th, 2nd, 1st in '89 and 1st in '90. Don Mattingly remained a fixture on
these great teams but as Donnie Baseball began to go downhill so did the
Blazers. Two 6ths and two 8ths from '91 to '94 were finally broken by three
more first divison finishes, 2nd in '95 and 5th in '96 and '97. In 1998,
however the Blazers dropped to 10th, 12th in '99 and 10th again in 2000.
They finally got back to the first division in 2001 with a 6th place finish.
In 2002 they had a second straight sixth place finish and then in 2003,
they really jumped high to a strong 2nd place. In 2004 the Blazers got
back to the top spot, 1st, winning their third title. In 2005, they nose-dived
all the way to last place, (14th). The Blazers climbed back to a solid
5th place finish in 2006 and then barely remained in the money in 2007,
finishing 8th. In 2008, the Blazers regressed to a 13th place finish and
12th place in 2009.
Cows (1985-1986) Owner: Mike Buedel
The Cows were purchased from the owner of the
departing Braves. Buedel was unprepared for the intensity of his initial
auction. He passed out on the floor about halfway through it, at about
the same time he ran out of beer. The Cows finished 9th but improved to
7th the next year. This progress was not enough for Buedel who felt he
was in over his head and sold the team.
Blockheads (1986) Owner: Jim Funkhouser
An expansion team. One year, last place. The
Blockheads were done.
Boneheads (1986-2012) Owner: Rich Vanvlack
In 1986, this expansion team was co-owned by
Vanvlack and Mark Craig. Craig dropped out the next year but the Boneheads
continued an impressive run of first divison finishes. They were in the
money every year with the exception of a 7th in '90 and 10th in '97. Along
the way were 1sts in '92 and '96 and 2nds in '89 and '94, a 3rd in '87,
4ths in '88 and '95 and 5ths in '86, '91 and '93. A big Cub fan, Vanvlack
rarely loads up on Cubs though. In 1998 the Boneheads posted their third
1st place finish. They dropped to 6th in '99 but stormed back for 1st place
finishes in 2000 and 2001. They were tied with the Born Losers/Thunderbirds
and the Clubbers with 5 Championships after a second place finish in 2002,
but jumped back up to 1st in 2003 for their sixth championship. They dropped
out of the money, to 8th place in 2004 but rebounded to 2nd in 2005. They
bounced back down to 10th in 2006 and then back up to 6th in 2007. They
continued their upward trend in 2008 fighting for the top spot up to the
final days finishing 3rd but in 2009 they took a serious plunge to 13th
place. The Boneheads made some little progress in 2010, moving up to 11th
and then made the leap into contention in 2011, finally finishing in 4th.
They struggled in 2012, but managed to finish in the money again at 7th.
Joe Mamas (1986) Owner: Mike Mattingly/Randy Mattingly
After a year of trying to get their brother,
Don Mattingly, on their team by trading with the Blazers, they gave up
and didn't return in '87. They finished 9th in '86 so Donnie probably could
have helped a bit too.
Cubbies (1987) Owner: Mike Craig
The Cubbies were obviously owned by another Cub
fan, the brother of an ex-co-owner. The team was purchased from the original
franchise, the Bangers. They finished a respectable 7th out of 11 but did
not return and the franchise ended, two owners, seven years later.
Miller Lite (1987-1988) Owner: Lanny Jobe
Miller Lite was sprung from the former team,
the Cows. After 10th and 8th place finishes, this franchise ended, six
years, three owners, no money finishes.
Nons (1987-2012) Owner: Dennis Butcher
The first year of this expansion team was rough,
11th place, but the following years found the Nons consistantly at the
top of the standings. After a 7th place finish in '88, they rose to a 5th
in '89, 4th in '90, 2nds in '92, '93 and '96 and 1sts in '91, '94' and
'95. Finally, a little air was let out of the Nons with a 7th place finish
in '97. Greg Maddux and Barry Bonds seemed to be Nons every year. This
would seem to be at least a small reason for the Non's success. In 1998,
Bonds was finally traded. The Nons dropped to their second ever 11th place
finish that year and followed it with another 11th in '99 and a 12th in
2000. They got back in the money in 2001 with a 3rd place finish and again
finished 3rd in 2002. 2003, however, was quite a down year for the Nons.
They dropped all the way down to 11th place. They began a rise in '04 to
9th and then all the way to 1st in '05 for their 4th championship. The
Nons fell all the way down to 13th in 2006 but rebounded again in 2007,
finishing 5th and continued upward progress finishing a strong 2nd in 2008.
In 2009 they had an off year and finished out of the money in 9th place.
The Nons led for a good portion of 2010 but couldn't close out the Clubbers
and finished 2nd. Down years followed in 2011 and 2012 as they finished
8th, barely in the money, and 11th.
Sluggers (1988-2012) Owner: Joe Hudgions
The only expansion team in 1988, the Sluggers
started with a 9th place debut. They took until 1993 to get in the first
division. After finishes of 8th, 6th, 8th and 6th, they placed third that
year. They followed that with finishes of 6th, 7th and 4th in '96. The
Sluggers finished 9th in '97. In 1998 the Sluggers led the league for most
of the year but had a total collapse in September to finish 7th. They got
into the money in '99 with a 5th place finish but were knocked back down
in 2000, 2001 and 2002, finishing 9th,13th and 10th. The Sluggers had another
collapse in 2003, being in first place as late as June but finally dropping
all the way down to 12th. 2004 was by far the Sluggers' best year. They
led the league for several stretches of the year but on the last day fell
short by 3 points to finish 2nd. 2005 brought another fall, as they dropped
to 10th. A 15th place finish in 2006 was the Sluggers' worst ever. They
slightly improved to 11th in 2007. In 2008, the Sluggers dropped down again,
to 14th place. 2009 was a rebound of sorts for the Sluggers as they moved
up to 6th place. A rough three year stretch followed that finish. They
fell all the way to 16th in 2010, 12th in 2011 and 14th in 2012.
Bashers (1989) Owner: Tom Peach
The Bashers debuted in '89 and finished in 12th
place, which was last. They did not return the next year but left to form
another league.
Mega Powers/Halos (1989-2012) Owner: Chris Chandler
The Mega Powers are owned by the son of the Blazers'
owner. They finished 9th in their first year and moved up to 5th in their
second. The Mega Powers may be the kings of trade. Every year they seem
to be involved in many blockbusters and little remains of their original
auction team at the end of the year. The results so far have not been too
good as they have finished as high as 5th only one other time, in 1992.
They were 7th in '91, '93 and '94. 9th in '95, 12th in '96 and 8th in '97.
they made trades that they hoped would help them in '98 but the big players,
Lofton, Sosa, did not help a poor pitching staff however and they finished
14th. A name change to the Halos in '99 didn't help that year. They remained
in 14th. The new Millinium, however, started off with three first division
finishes, 6th in '00, 5th in '01 and 5th again in 2002. They couldn't hang
with the pack in 2003, however. They dropped to 9th. 2004 saw the best
finish yet for the Halos. They finished 4th that year. they held onto a
first division finish, (7th), in '05. In 2006, the Halos broke through
with an exciting last day surge for their first championship, a half-point
victory over the Clubbers. They fell in 2007 to 13th, unable to continue
their momentum but rebounded a lot in 2008, back into the money at 5th.
The Halos again fell into the money in 2009 finishing 7th, but fell out
the next year to 12th. In 2011 they were back up to 7th and contended for
a good portion of the year in 2012, finishing 5th.
Mustangs (1989-1993, 1996-2012) Owner: Mike Antey
After a tough 11th place debut, the Mustangs
stormed back with a 2nd place finish in 1990 and back to back 3rds in '91
and '92. In 1993 the Mustangs finished 8th though and due to some league
fee disagreements did not return in '94. The disagreements were resolved
and the Mustangs returned in '96 only to place 13th. In a repeat of their
first two years though, the Mustangs again rebounded to 2nd place in '97,
a twelve place turnaround. In 1998, the Mustangs stayed strong with a 3rd
place finish and remained in the money the next three years, finishing
7th in '99, 2nd in '00 and 4th in '01. In 2002, the Mustangs started strong
but faded to an out of the money finish of 8th. They were back in the cash
spots in 2003. They tied for fourth place. They continued strong finishes
in 2004 and 2005, placing 3rd and 6th but first place continues to elude
them. The Mustangs remained strong contenders in 2006, (4th), and 2007,
(3rd). In 2008 they stayed in the money, barely, at 8th but were a serious
contender in 2009, finishing 2nd. They were 6th in 2010, 12th in 2011 and
back up to 2nd again in 2012. At this point, the Mustangs have finished
2nd five times and 3rd five times but have yet to bring home a championship.
Taxi Squad (1989) Owner: Farrell Ward
The Taxi Squad finished 10th in their only year
in the River City League. They left the following year to join with the
Bashers' owner to form their own league.
Cards (1990) Owner: Drew Rupprecht/Mike Woods
The Cards purchased their franchise from the
departing Bashers owner. They improved the franchise's standing, but not
much. 10th place. They sold the franchise the following year.
Doddgers (1991-1992) Owner: Chris Dodd
The Doddgers purchased the team from the departing
owners of the Cards. They finished 10th in '91 and improved to 7th in '92.
They did not return in '93 and the franchise was finished.
Hornets (1993-2001) Owner: Rob Jones
The Hornets exploded into the River City League,
winning 1st place in their first year. They have not yet duplicated that
feat, but have remained close to the top with finishes of 5th in '94, 3rd
in '95 and '96 and 6th in '97. They have had a lock on top players like
Frank Thomas, Albert Belle and Randy Johnson for some time which, no doubt,
contributed to their success. In 1998, Belle was gone but the Hornets still
finished in the money in 6th place. They finished a strong 2nd in '99,
despite a Hornet tradition of seldom making moves during the season. They
basically relied on strong auctions to keep them competative. That didn't
quite work in 2000 and 2001, as they finished out of the money in 11th
and 10th places. They failed to come to the 2002 auction, thus ending the
franchise.
Dawgs (1994-2012) Owner: Danny Embry
The Dawgs debuted with a 10th place finish in
'94 and improved to 5th the next year. 1997 was their best year yet as
they finished 4th. They were 5th in '98. They have rivaled the Halos in
trading frenzy in their years in the league and many superstars have passed
through this team, ARod, Griffey, Sosa, Helton, Clemens and more. In '99
they dropped to a league low of 16th place but rebounded to 4th in '00.
In 2001, it was back down again, to 9th and in 2002, they fell to 13th
place and stayed down, 10th, in 2003, 11th in '04 and 13th in '05. In 2006
they were in a great 3-way race for the top but faded in the last week
for a 3rd place finish. Still it was their most successful year yet. In
2007, they dropped back down to 12th. In 2009 the Dawgs finished 10th but
at least they set a new record. (Most money spent). In 2010 the Dawgs stayed
miserable again in 10th place but shocked the RCL with their first championship
in 2011, winning with a magnificant pitching staff. Typically, they fell
hard in 2012, all the way to the bottom, 16th place.
Greyhounds (1994-1996) Owner: Colin Anderson
The Greyhounds had a good start and finished
their first year in 4th place. They dropped some in '95 to 8th. In 1996,
Anderson disappeared before the All Star break and has not been heard from
since. The Greyhounds still managed to finish 7th, even with an absent
owner. In the Winter Meeting before the '97 season, the Greyhounds were
voted out of the league due to their unpaid league fees.
Skells/Lakeside/Cannons (1994-1996 1998-2012) Owners:
Jim Scheller/Steve Hawkins
The Skells were a jointly owned team in 1994
and finished 9th. The following year, Hawkins moved away and Sheller retained
control of the team. The team's name was changed to Lakside and the team
finished in last place. In 1996, Lakeside again finished 10th, but this
time in a 13 team league. Lakeside did not return for the '97 season but
were back in 1998 when Hawkins returned as part owner. They again finished
last, in 15th place. They inched up to 13th in '99 but again dropped to
last, (16th), in '00 and then finished 11th in 2001 and 2002. Finally,
in 2003, the Cannons produced a fine year. They finished 3rd, their first
time ever in the money. They didn't follow up very well, however, and finished
last, (15th), in '04 and 12th in '05. The next two years found the Cannons
in the lower rungs of the money places, finishing at 6th, (2006) and 7th,
(2007). They were back in the lower division in 2008, at 10th. Sheller
dropped out of the ownership in 2009 but the Cannons continued to unexcell
and finished 15th. They finished 13th in 2010 and 11th in 2011 but managed
a minor rebound into the money and 8th place in 2012.
Tumbleweeds (1996-2003) Owner: Chuck Hollingsworth
The Tumbleweeds started slowly with an 11th place
finish in '96. They made a huge leap to 3rd in their second year, but dropped
to 13th in 1998. Another see-saw move brought them to 4th in '99 and then
two 8th place finishes followed in '00, (in the money), and '01, (out of
the money). In 2002, it was back up again with a 4th place finish. Of course,
in the odd year of 2003 the Tumbleweeds took another tumble to 13th place.
Last in fact. They did not return for the 2004 season.
Yanks (1996-2001) Owner: Todd Best/Ryan Cox
The Yanks had a pretty good debut in '96, finishing
8th in the 13 team field but in '97, they had bad luck from the beginning
when Best missed the auction. They dropped to last. They made a great comeback
in '98 however, finishing 4th, their first finish in the money. They were
beat out of a money spot in '99 by 1/2 point, finishing 9th, got in at
7th in '00 and dropped back down to 12th in '01. They did not return to
the aution in 2002.
Dinosaurs (1998-2002) Owners: Chris Fenwick/Danny
Best
The Dinosaurs' first year was hugely successful
as they used a strong auction to finish 2nd. In '99 they rode a dominating
offense to a 3rd place finish. They had their first bad year in '00 and
finished 13th but came back somewhat in '01 with a 7th place finish. Carl
Fenwick had been a partner for the first four years of the Dinosaurs but
then departed the team. In 2002, the Dinosaurs again had a 7th place finish,
in the money. They did not attend the 2003 auction and thus ended the franchise.
Holy Cows (1998) Owners: Matt Antey/Jason Varsand
The Holy Cows finished 9th in their first year
despite an overabundance of Cubs on their roster. Diminishing interest
during the year from the owners ruined a surprisingly fast start. Did not
return in 1999.
Reds (1998-2012) Owner: Mike Schwartzentruber
They were competative throughout most of their
first year but began to fall behind in the last two months. They finished
12th. They must have learned a few lessons because in '99 they exploded
up to 1st place. In 2000, it wasn't so easy though. They dropped to 14th.
Another huge rebound in '01 brought them back up to 2nd. This appears to
be another seesaw team like the Tumbleweeds. They dropped to 14th in 2002
and bounced back in the money in 2003, to 6th place. They were back down
again in '04 to 12th place and back up again in '05 to 3rd. Of course,
in 2006, it was another down year for the Reds at 12th and in 2007, another
up year, at 4th. In 2008, the Reds, unwilling to break a trend finished
last of 16. In 2009, true to form, the Reds were on the upswing again.
This time they swung all the way up to their 2nd Championship, worst to1st.
In 2010, the Reds broke their pattern. They stayed in the race and finished
3rd for their second up year in a row. Down to 14th in 2011 and up to 6th
in 2012 starts a new trend.
Indians (1999-2012) Owner: Greg Werner
The
Indians debuted in '99 in 10th place. They made the first division in '00
with a 5th place finish, then dropped all the way to last in '01, (15th)
They did improve a bit in 2002,
finishing 9th and inched up some more in 2003, to 8th. They went down to
13th in 2004 and came back up to 8th in '05 but that was still a second
division finish that year. The Indians stayed on the
fringe of the first division again in 2006 with an 8th place and then dropped
down to 14th in 2007. They moved up to 9th place in 2008 but back down
to 11th in 2009. They made it back in the money in 2010 at fifth and then
in 2011 had their best finish yet at 3rd. They couldn't stay up there in
2012
however
and finished 10th.
Wildcats (1999-2000) Owner: Bob Davis
The
Wildcats debuted in 15th place in '00 and finished their RCL history in
15th in '01.
Blue Jays (2002-2012) Owner: Shane Butcher
The Blue Jays finished 12th in their debut year of 2002. They climbed to
7th in 2003, barely out of the money. Their 7th place finish in '04 was
in the money and they followed that
up with another money finish in '05, in 5th place. They dropped out of
the money in 2006, 2007 and 2008 with 11th place, 9th place and 12th place
finishes. They had their worst ever year
in 2009, scoring only 25 points in a 16-team league, which is hard to do.
They finished last in 16th place. They stayed below the money spots in
2010 (9th), 2011 (9th) and 2012 (13th).
Evansville Braves (2004-2012) Owners: Keith Barnett
/ Ron Barnett
The Evansville Braves started their RCL career with a great 5th place finish.
They dropped to 9th place in 2005 though. In 2006, they stayed in 9th place
but in 2007 they made a huge last month
surge to win a share of 1st place with the Clubbers, their first RCL Championship.
They kept stong in 2008, even spending a small time in first, late in the
year but faded in the stretch to 4th in a close
race. They had a last month surge in 2009 to finish 5th. They had a very
bad year in 2010 and finished 14th but rebounded in 2011 to 6th. In 2012,
the Evansville Braves had an amazing year being the only team to not spend
all their transaction money and making very little lineup changes during
the year,
they
won the league going away.
Young Gunz/Jeters Never Prosper (2004-2005, 2009-2012)
Owners: Wade Conway / Adam Briles / Lee Chandler
The
Young Gunz were started by Conway and Briles in '04. They finished 10th
that year. Briles dropped out and was replaced by Chandler in '05. Both
owners are sons of owners. They Young
Gunz
dropped to 11th place and dropped out of the league. Conway came back in
2009 as the sole owner with a new team name and finished in the money at
8th place. It was much harder in 2010 and 2011 as his team finished 15th
in both those years. In 2012, however, the Jeters figured something out
and they led the league
for a time finally finishing in 2nd place.
Showstoppers (2006-2012) Owners Ryan Egierski
/ Matt Antey
The
Showstoppers began in 2006 with a 14th place finish and improved a bit
in 2007 when they finished 10th. Another improvement in 2008 brought them
into the money at 7th. Antey dropped
out for the 2009 season and the Showstoppers dropped down to 14th place.
In 2010, the Showstoppers edged into the money in 8th place but 13th place
and 9th place finishes followed in 2011 and 2012.
Triplets (2006) Owner Sean Powers
The
Triplets never got the hang of the RCL. They finished last, (16th), in
their only year in the league.
Brown Goats (2006-2007) Owners (Joe Carney)
The Brown Goats had a respectable 7th place finish in 2006. Carney
couldn't keep up the momentum in 2007 though and the Brown Goats finished
16th. At that point they dropped out of the league.
Busch Birds (2008-2012) Owner: (Jason White)
In their debut year, the Busch Birds finished 11th. A major improvement
came in 2009 when the Busch Birds finished in 3rd. Another strong finish
came in 2010 when they came in 4th but the bottom fell out when they came
in 16th in 2011 and 15th in 2012.
.
All-time River City League record
holders
Batting Average
.29845 Nons (1996)
At Bats
7,729 Evansville Braves (2007)
Hits
2,213 Evansville Braves (2007)
Walks (offensive)
1,014 Nons (1996)
Hits + Walks
3,139 Boneheads (2000)
Doubles
483 Reds (1999)
Triples
74 Ravens (1984)
Home Runs
366 Boneheads (2000)
Stolen Bases
317 Ravens (1986)
Runs Scored
1,297 Boneheads (2000)
Runs Batted In
1,303 Boneheads (2000)
On Base Pct.
.3894 Nons (1996)
On Base Average + Slugging Pct.
.8427 Halos (2006)
Offensive Points
96.75 Boneheads (2000)
Wins
140 Thunderbirds (1983)
Win/Loss Pct.
.66985 Thunderbirds (1983)
Innings Pitched
1,978.67 Dinosaurs (2000)
Earned Runs
1,078 Dinosaurs (2000)
Earned Run Average
2.6938 Clubbers (1990)
Hits Allowed
2,171 Dinosaurs (2000)
Hits + Walks Pct.
1.1194 Clubbers (1988)
Complete Games
72 Clubbers (1982)
Saves
137 Sluggers (1993)
Strikeouts
1,594 Boneheads (2006)
Walks Allowed
800 Dinosaurs (1998)
Losses
119 Dinosaurs (2000)
Defensive Points
91 Mustangs (2009)
Total Points
185 Boneheads (2000)
Category Firsts
10 Thunderbirds (1984 & 1985)
Return
to River City League