The Alton River Dragons are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Alton, Illinois . They were founded in 2020 and began play in 2021 as members of the Prospect League .
13-570: The River Dragons play in the Prospect League's Western Conference – South Division along with the Cape Catfish , Jackson Rockabillys , O'Fallon Hoots , and Thrillville Thrillbillies . On January 29, 2020, the Prospect League of collegiate summer baseball announced that Alton, Illinois had been granted a franchise for the upcoming season. Alton previously hosted a minor league team when
26-519: A baseball team in Missouri is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . List of U.S. state birds Below is a list of U.S. state birds as designated by each state 's, district's or territory's government. The selection of state birds began with Kentucky adopting the northern cardinal in 1926. It continued when the legislatures for Alabama , Florida , Maine , Missouri , Oregon , Texas and Wyoming selected their state birds after
39-569: A campaign was started by the General Federation of Women's Clubs to name official state birds in the 1920s. The last state to choose its bird was Arizona in 1973. Pennsylvania never chose an official state bird, but did choose the ruffed grouse as the state game bird. Alaska , California , and South Dakota permit hunting of their state birds. Alabama , Georgia , Massachusetts , Missouri , Oklahoma , South Carolina , and Tennessee have designated an additional "state game bird" for
52-520: A franchise of the Prospect League that plays in Cape Girardeau, Missouri . The Catfish play in the Prospect League's Western Conference – South Division along with the Alton River Dragons , Jackson Rockabillys , O'Fallon Hoots , and Thrillville Thrillbillies . The team is owned by a partnership group that includes Anand "Andy" Patel, Mark Hogan, Kishan Patel and James Limbaugh. Hogan,
65-575: A retired former baseball coach at Southeast Missouri State University , will also serve as the team's General manager . The Catfish name, a reference to the state fish of Missouri , was chosen by potential fans of the new team from a list of names that also included the Cape Bluebirds, in reference to the Eastern bluebird , which is the state bird of Missouri , and the Cape Steamboats, in honor of
78-459: The Mississippi River city's history as a port on the river. "Catfish" received about 37% of the vote fan vote, beating out "Bluebirds" and "Steamboats", which received 32% and 31% of the vote, respectively. The Catfish play in 2,000 seat Capaha Field . The stadium, also home to Southeast Missouri State University 's baseball team, received significant renovations prior to the beginning of
91-584: The 1917 Alton Blues played as members of the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League . The franchise owner was announced as Steve Marso, who had owned previous franchises in summer collegiate baseball. Dallas Martz was hired as the Alton General Manager. The "River Dragons" moniker was announced for the Alton franchise on August 14, 2020. The name was chosen after a public vote. On November 12, 2020,
104-582: The Alton River Dragons announced the hiring of Darrell Handelsman to manage the 2021 Alton team. The Alton franchise had previously hired Brock Moss to manage the first team, but Moss had since accepted a position at Texas A&M International University , making him unavailable to coach Alton in the summer. During the River Dragons second season in 2022, the team set a Prospect League record with 210 stolen bases. The River Dragon's Eddie King Jr. from
117-603: The River Dragons announced the hiring of Richard "Scotty" Scott as the team's next Head Coach. After going 15-29 Head Coach Scotty Scott was replaced by River Dragons General Manager Dallas Martz to finish out the 2023 season. Under Martz's watch the River Dragons finished the season 5–7. Steve Maddock of Frisco, TX was named the River Dragons 2024 Head Coach. However on December 13, 2023, Maddock stepped down as Head Coach. The Alton River Dragons play at Lloyd Hopkins Field in Gordon Moore Park. Renovations were discussed for
130-593: The University of Louisville was named the Mike Schmidt Prospect League Player of the Year. King Jr. led the league with 15 home runs and stole 31 bases in 2022. Blake Burris set a new Prospect League record with 47 stolen bases and was the league batting champion, batting .361 for the season. On September 21, 2022, it was announced that Darrell Handelsman was stepping down as Head Coach. On October 5, 2022,
143-641: The ballpark in anticipation of the 2021 season. The ballpark had previously hosted the Bluff City Bombers of the Central Illinois Collegiate League . The ballpark is located at 98 Arnold Palmer Road, Cottage Hills, Illinois , 62018. Pitchers Catchers Infielders Outfielders Manager Coaches [REDACTED] Disabled list ‡ Inactive list § Suspended list updated March 15, 2024 Cape Catfish The Cape Catfish are
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#1732859117189156-475: The purpose of hunting. The northern cardinal is the state bird of seven states, followed by the western meadowlark as the state bird of six states. The District of Columbia designated a district bird in 1938. Of the five inhabited territories of the United States , American Samoa and Puerto Rico are the only ones without territorial birds. In addition to having a state bird, some states have chosen
169-570: The team's first season. On October 16, 2018, the team announced that former Texas Rangers and Cincinnati Reds farmhand Steve Larkin will serve as the manager for the 2019 season. The team clinched the league's West Division championship on August 1, tying the league record for wins in a season in the process. Pitchers Catchers Infielders Outfielders Manager Coaches [REDACTED] Disabled list ‡ Inactive list § Suspended list updated March 15, 2024 This article about
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