Two weekends ago, I went to an exhibit at the Early American Museum at Mahomet, IL entitled “A Whole ‘Nother Ballgame”. The speaker (whose name escapes right now) spoke about the Three-I League which existed 1901-1961. Apparently, it was the precursor of the current day Midwest League.
Ehm Franzen
Sitting behind me was an old man. During the Q&A he raised his hand and said he was a pitcher in the Eastern Illinois League and he faced Satchel Paige twice and defeated him both times. His name was Ehm Franzen and apparently he was quite a hurler in his day. I got a chance to listen to him after the talk. He says he struck Paige out to end one of the games.
Here is a good link to find out more information. My father-in-law played for Iowa (Lee county) Keokuk Kernels. I have a baseball from the Three I League that he was given with the president of the league Hal Trotten name stamped on it. My father-in-law claimed he played with Roger Maris.
my father, perry stewart, played in the three eye league. i am not exactly sure which years he played. i am trying to find some information about his baseball days, stats. etc. Can anyone give me any suggestions about web sites or other reference sources where i could try to find some additional info?