Dubuque Packers
The Dubuque Packers, based in Dubuque, Iowa, played in the Mississippi-Ohio Valley League from 1954 to 1955 and then in the Midwest League from 1956 through 1967, winning league championships in both 1955 and 1962. They were a Chicago White Sox affiliate for their first five seasons, then affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1959-60) and Cleveland Indians (1961-66). Dubuque had earlier baseball history in the Three-I League under the Shamrocks (1903-05), Dubs (1906-15), and Hustlers (1911) nicknames, but the Packers were a distinct later franchise built around a different era of Midwest baseball.
The most remarkable single season in Packers history came in 1956, when Grover "Deacon" Jones hit .409 over 100 games, a Midwest League record that still stands. Jones had injured his shoulder during White Sox spring training and was sent to Dubuque to keep playing through the pain. His average never fell below .400 after the team's 16th game. Pitcher Gary Peters came through Dubuque in 1957 before winning the American League Rookie of the Year award with the White Sox in 1963. Tommy John started his professional career in Dubuque in 1961, long before the elbow surgery in 1974 that made his name synonymous with ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction. Outfielder Tommie Agee also played in Dubuque in 1961 before winning the AL Rookie of the Year in 1966 and making one of the most celebrated catches in World Series history with the 1969 Mets.
The franchise played at John Petrakis Field on Fourth Street near the Mississippi River, named for the team's longtime president and GM. The Sporting News named Petrakis its top minor league executive in 1956, the same year Jones was tearing up the league. The Packers were later the subject of a 2013 documentary, "A Pitch in Time: The Story of the Dubuque Packers."
