Players who once worn a Cedar Rapids Uniformby Derek McDonough - 16 cards (Last updated on May 13, 2023) |
Cedar Rapids has had a long rich baseball history dating back to 1890. A few have gone on to the Hall of Fame and many All-Stars have played ball in the city of 5 Season. Cedar Rapids is a Single-A level club and currently a member of the Mid-West League
Nicknames
1890-1891 Canaries
1896-1903 Rabbits
1904-1932 Bunnies
1934-1942 Raiders
1949 Rockets
1950-1952 Indians
1953-1957 Raiders
1958-1962 Braves
1963-1964 Red Raiders
1965-1972 Cardinals
1973-1974 Astros
1975-1979 Giants
1980-1992 Reds
1993-present Kernels
Affiliations
1932 Cincinnati Reds
1936-1938 St.Louis Cardinals
1939-1942 Cleveland Indians
1950-1952 Cleveland Indians
1953-1954 Chicago Cubs
1955-1957 Brooklyn Dodgers
1958-1962 Milwaukee Braves
1963-1964 Cincinnati Reds
1965-1972 St.Louis Cardinals
1973-1974 Houston Astros
1975-1979 San Francisco Giants
1980-1992 Cincinnati Reds
1993-1996 California Angels
1997-2004 Anaheim Angels
2005-2012 Los Angeles Angels
2013-present Minnesota Twins
Leagues
1890-1891 Illinois-Iowa League
1895 Eastern Iowa League
1896-1899 Western Association
1901-1909 Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League
1913-1917 Central Association
1920-1921 Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League
1922-1932 Mississippi Valley League
1934-1937 Western League
1938-1942 Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League
1949 Central Association
1950-1961 Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League
1962-2020 MidWest League
2021 High-A Central
2022-pres Midwest League
1. 1903-04 Breisch-Williams (E107) #NNO John McGraw
In 1891 at the age of 18 the manager of the Cedar Rapids Canaries took a chance on the young shortstop. He made a big impression when the Chicago White Stockings came to town for an exhibition game. During the game, on a field covered in mud, McGraw made a dazzling play at shortstop, leaping high to steal a hit from Cap Anson.
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2. 1939-46 Exhibits Salutation (W462) #NNO Lou Boudreau
The Indians assigned Boudreau in 1938 to a Class C club in the Western Association: he sat on the bench for a week and then was shipped to Cedar Rapids Raiders in the Class B Three-I League. After hitting .290 in 60 games, the third baseman was called up to the Indians.
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3. 1947-66 Exhibits (W461) #NNO Rocky Colavito
Rocky played a short stint in Cedar Rapids in 1952 and is best known playing for the Cleveland Indians in right field. In 1959, he hit four consecutive home runs in one game. In 1965, he became the first American League (AL) outfielder to play a complete season with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.
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4. 1948 Bowman #14 Allie Reynolds
In 1940, he pitched for the Cedar Rapids Raiders of the Class-B Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League. Reynolds played right field for the Raiders when he wasn't pitching, as roster sizes were reduced to 17 as a result of the Great Depression. The Indians wanted to convert Reynolds to catcher due to his athleticism, but Reynolds refused to change positions.
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5. 1958 Topps #42 John Roseboro
John Roseboro spent part of the 1955 season with the Cedar Rapids Raiders of the three-I League, Brooklyn Dodgers. John was the only player for the Raiders to become a MLB player. Roseboro was a four-time All-Star player and won two Gold Glove Awards for his defensive skills. He was the Dodgers' starting catcher in four World Series with the Dodgers winning three of those. He is considered one of the best defensive catchers of the 1960s. Roseboro was known for his role in one of the most violent incidents in baseball history when Juan Marichal struck him in the head with a bat during a game in 1965.
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6. 1964 Topps #235 Ron Hunt
Ron Hunt played for the Cedar Rapids Braves 1960-61. He played 12 seasons in the MLB. Ron makes this list for and interesting record he held. In 1971 Ron was hit by pitch 50 times, which was more than any other player since 1900. The previous record was 31 HBP. Upon his retirement, his 243 HBPs were a post-dead-ball era career record. Hughie Jennings holds the all-time record with 287. Don Baylor would break the live-ball record in 1987 and retire with 267 HBPs. Craig Biggio would break Baylor’s record in 2005 and retire at the end of the 2007 season with 285 HBPs.
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7. 1971 Topps #158 Jerry Reuss
1967 Cedar Rapids Cardinals.
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8. 1971 O-Pee-Chee #117 Ted Simmons
In 1968 he made his professional debut in the Gulf Coast League, where he batted 7-for-20 (.350), before the Cardinals promoted him to the Cedar Rapids Cardinals of the Class A Midwest League.
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9. 1978 TCMA Cedar Rapids Giants #7 Chili Davis
Charles Davis debut in professional baseball in 1978 with the Cedar Rapids Giants. Chili started out as a Catcher but became a well developed Outfielder in the Giants Minor League system. Had a 19 year Major League career as a player (1981-1999) and a now coaches 2012-present currently with the NY Mets.
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10. 1982 TCMA Cedar Rapids Reds #20 Eric Davis
Eric spent some time with the Cedar Rapids Reds in 1982. He became one of baseball's most exciting players during his peak, achieving a number of rare feats. In 1987, he became the first player in major league history to hit three grand slams in one month and the first to achieve at least 30 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season.
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Comments
Love lists like this. My cousin came up through the Reds organization, playing in Cedar Rapids in 1984 and 1985 with the likes of Kurt Stillwell and Rob Dibble. | ||
Thank you, this is a work in progress. I will be adding more players and making adjustments to the Bio's for consistency. I went to games my whole life. I was 8 or 9 years old in 84-95, that's about when I began paying attention to who the players were.
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I've never known... why is it the City of Five Seasons? I know they have an arena with Five Seasons in the name. Never knew why. | ||
It's a darn shame that the photographer decided not to wait until Eric Davis opened his eyes to take the photo! This is a good idea for a list and may do one for my favorite minor league teams | ||
If you ask a local who's lived in Cedar Rapids along time, they most likely will give you an answer that explains a fifth season. Some will talk about how we sometimes get some cool rainy fall like weather in early September, then a week or two of warmer hot weather like a second Summer. Others may try to explain how we often have warmer spring like weather at the end of February and then one last snow storm in March. Some will joke that its really the city of five smells. Each of our factories produce a distinct smell, Quaker Oats, General Mills, Cargil, ADM (corn sweetner), and the fifth smell comming from the meat packing plant on inceneration day in the 60-80's or in the 90's the city land fill. The truth is that in the late 1960's local advertising agencies were giving an intiative to create a marketing plan to promote the city. One advertising agency felt the city should captalize on the fact that the layout of the city and its major highways allowed for quicker commute times than that of other large cities around the county, thereby providing time for more enjoyable lifestyle. The City oF Five Seasons was based on a Bible verse from Ecclesiastes 3:1 - "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." The new logo and branding line were accompanied by this explination. Life is the sum of all seasons with witch it is filled, And if we have time to enjoy the things most important to us, life is rich indeed. In Cedar Rapids there is time enough... time to enjoy the seasons as they pass. Extra time. Precious time. A fifth season. | ||
These guys were all chillin' in Cedar Rapids for a bit.
Sorry, I'll see myself out. |
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This list was created by site member Derek McDonough. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Trading Card Database.