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darkcloud4579 · 08-12-2007, 03:03 PM

KEOKUK COMETS
So, you're the type looking for the Green Bay Packers of Baseball, eh?
Look no further than the Keokuk (IA) Comets.

The team spent from 1901-1913 in Kansas City. But in 1914, Bud K.P. Moore, purchased the team and decided to move it to his hometown of Keokuk, Iowa. The hamlet of less than 20,000 people on the Mississippi River was an unlike place for a major league baseball team, except maybe for the fact that it converges along the lines of the borders of Illinois and Missouri, too.

The team never won a pennant from the time it moved to Keokuk, its four previous World Series titles all came in Kansas City between 1904 and 1911.

Anyway, the team managed to survive well into the 1960s, but barely. Moore refused to sell and refused to move the team. But, when Moore was basically into his 100s and on the brink of death, many possible owners were salivating at the opportunity to buy the team and conversely, there were some MLB owners who felt the "small-town experiment" had come to to a close in the burgeoning era of big-business baseball to come.

But, a group of local investors spanning well into rural Illinois and Missouri -- all who have adopted the team as their own -- as well as the Iowa faithful from throughout the state, created the Keokuk Community Professional Baseball Club, Inc., and acquired the franchise in 1962, ensuring that the club will never be moved out of Keokuk, due to the community trust setup of the ownership structure.

The community luck must've worked. The team won its first World Series in 1963. Repeated in 1964 and won three straight from 1966-68. They went from the doormats of MLB to one of the recent standard-bearing franchises. But unlike a big city club, they're hard to hate and have a fan base that spans the nation and the globe.

WORLD SERIES TITLES: 9
1904, 1906, 1907, 1911, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1968

NATIONAL LEAGUE PENNANTS: 14
1965, 1977, 1979, 1984, 1985

NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST DIVISION TITLES: 14
1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1984, 1985, 1989, 1996

08-12-2007, 03:03 PM	#13
darkcloud4579 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 8,714	KEOKUK COMETS So, you're the type looking for the Green Bay Packers of Baseball, eh? Look no further than the Keokuk (IA) Comets. The team spent from 1901-1913 in Kansas City. But in 1914, Bud K.P. Moore, purchased the team and decided to move it to his hometown of Keokuk, Iowa. The hamlet of less than 20,000 people on the Mississippi River was an unlike place for a major league baseball team, except maybe for the fact that it converges along the lines of the borders of Illinois and Missouri, too. The team never won a pennant from the time it moved to Keokuk, its four previous World Series titles all came in Kansas City between 1904 and 1911. Anyway, the team managed to survive well into the 1960s, but barely. Moore refused to sell and refused to move the team. But, when Moore was basically into his 100s and on the brink of death, many possible owners were salivating at the opportunity to buy the team and conversely, there were some MLB owners who felt the "small-town experiment" had come to to a close in the burgeoning era of big-business baseball to come. But, a group of local investors spanning well into rural Illinois and Missouri -- all who have adopted the team as their own -- as well as the Iowa faithful from throughout the state, created the Keokuk Community Professional Baseball Club, Inc., and acquired the franchise in 1962, ensuring that the club will never be moved out of Keokuk, due to the community trust setup of the ownership structure. The community luck must've worked. The team won its first World Series in 1963. Repeated in 1964 and won three straight from 1966-68. They went from the doormats of MLB to one of the recent standard-bearing franchises. But unlike a big city club, they're hard to hate and have a fan base that spans the nation and the globe. WORLD SERIES TITLES: 9 1904, 1906, 1907, 1911, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1968 NATIONAL LEAGUE PENNANTS: 14 1965, 1977, 1979, 1984, 1985 NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST DIVISION TITLES: 14 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1984, 1985, 1989, 1996