The Ottumwa Packers were a minor league baseball team that played on-and-off from 1907 to 1928. They were based in Ottumwa, Iowa and played in the Iowa State League (1907), Central Association (1908–1910, 1913–1914, 1916) and Mississippi Valley League (1926–1928).
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History of the nickname
Ottumwa was host to multiple minor league teams using a few different names, with the first known squad appearing in 1890 and the last playing in 1928. The Packers nickname, which first appeared in 1907, was the most commonly used.
It was initially used through the 1910 season, when the team changed its name to the Speedboys for 1911 and 1912. It resumed use of the Packers nickname in 1913, using it until the team moved to Rock Island, Illinois to become the Rock Island Islanders partway through the 1914 season.
1915 was the first season since 1900 that Ottumwa did not field a professional team and the first since 1912 that a team called the Packers did not play. However, in the middle of the 1916 season, the Burlington Pathfinders moved to Ottumwa, and the Packers name was once again put into use. The team did not last long, folding following the season.
Minor league baseball returned to Ottumwa in 1922, with the Packers nickname returning in 1926. It was used through 1928, when the last professional team to date was fielded in the city.
League championships
They won two de facto league championships in their history, the first in 1913 under manager Ned Egan and the second in 1926 under manager Pat Harkins. In neither year was a league championship series played, however the Packers finished in first both seasons, making them champions.
Notable players
Multiple players with major league experience played for the team, including future Hall of Famer Burleigh Grimes and veterans George Burns, Jimmy Johnston and Hank Severeid.