Photographs courtesy of the G.E. Archives - Schenectady Science Center & Planetarium
The reigning champs took the field in 1922 and dropped like a rock to last place. It wasn't due to a lack of power as Frank McCue became the 2nd person in a row to lead the league in HR... taking over the power totals at Browning Field with this ballpark's first ever 20 HR performance (21 2B, 13 3B, 20 HR, .285). It was instead, high ERA's which led to Moline's quick downfall.  After another miserable season of 91 losses against just 45 wins, the Plowboys were dropped from the league. They quickly found a home however, in the Class D Mississippi Valley League where fellow Quad City franchise Rock Island had been playing at nearby Douglas Park. Moline took a bit of time getting used to the new league going 59-65 for 5th place while Rock Island finished at 64-57 in 3rd. By 1925 however, Moline had overtaken Rock Island going 73-52... just 1 game out of 1st place while the Islanders remained in 3rd. Rock Island however beat Moline in attendance with 43,000 through the game compared to 39k at Browning Field. The jump to 2nd (and nearly first) could be attributed to Chester Guppy who's 35 2B, 10 3B and 17 HR led the league in power, while his .328 batting average wasn't too shabby either. Lee Barlett's 16-6 and Joe Wilkus' 15-8 provided the 1-2 punch on the mound. The Plowboys continued to impress, finishing again in 2nd place in 1926 with a 71-50 record while Rock Island dropped to 5th place. After an off year in 1927 (where they still managed to finish 8 games over .500) the Plowboys returned in 1928 with perhaps the best player that would ever bat for Plow Boys (statistically that is...).