Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League (1958-1961)
Midwest League (1962)
Tombstone
Born: Re-Branded from Cedar Rapids Raiders
Re-Branded: 1963 (Cedar Rapids Red Raiders)
First Game: April 27, 1958 (W 13-1 vs. Rochester A’s)
Last Game: September 7, 1962 (L 7-6 @ Waterloo Hawks)
Three-I League Championships: 1958
Midwest League Championships: None
Stadium
Ownership & Affiliation
Owners:
Major League Affiliation: Milwaukee Braves
Attendance
Background
The Cedar Rapids Braves were a farm club of the National League’s Milwaukee Braves from 1958 to 1962. The Braves played in the Class A Three-I League from 1958 until that league closed down after the 1961 season. Cedar Rapids then shifted to the Class D Midwest League in 1962 for the city’s final summer as a Braves affiliate.
Cedar Rapids won the Three-I League championship in 1958, posting the league’s best record (77-53) before defeating the Davenport DavSox in the league championship series.
Future Major League stars that played in Cedar Rapids during the Braves years included:
- Second Baseman Bobby Knoop (Cedar Rapids ’58)
- Shortstop Denis Menke (Cedar Rapids ’58-’59)
- Pitcher Tony Cloninger (Cedar Rapids ’59)
- First baseman Tommie Aaron, brother of home run champ Hank Aaron (Cedar Rapids ’60)
In 1963 the Cincinnati Reds replaced the Milwaukee Braves as Cedar Rapids’ parent club. The team changed its name to the Cedar Rapids Red Raiders prior to the 1963 season.
Links
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3 Responses
I saw the final game of the 1958 champioship when I believe Johnny Stratton hit a home run in the botom of the ninth to win it all. I saw 16 home games that year and still remember the excitment and yelling from the celebration. I was only 14 but oh what memories. Many good times at Memorial baseball complex. Every kid should get to experience those moments.
Cedar Rapids Indians 1951 — Third baseman was Rex Carrow. In 1946, Rex Carrow was body guard for the infamous
Herman Goering, who was Hitler’s number one assistant and was the author of the “Final Solution” by which the Jews
in Germany were murdered. Goering as sentenced to death by hanging but committed suicide by swallowing a cyanide
pill.
I saw Rex Carrow play third base for Cedar Rapids in 1951. He was a very good third baseman. He later became
a Professor in the Michigan State University Medical School. You can go to Google and type in Rex Carrow and almost
everything about him will come up
That makes it sound like he WORKED for Goering, Tom 😀 For context: According to the Grand Ledge High School Hall of Fame, Carrow “served in the U.S. Army during WWII in the 1st Infantry Division (Big Red One) and as an MP, personally guarded infamous Nazi war criminals, Hermann Goering (Commander of the German Air Force) and Ernst Kaltenbruner (Commander of the German Gestapo) during the historic Nuremburg Trials in 1945-46.” But you’re right, very interesting back story!