The Des Moines Bruins was the longest-used name of a minor league baseball team based in Des Moines, Iowa. The team played in the Western League from 1947 to 1958 and in the Three-I League from 1959–1961, where they were known as the Des Moines Demons. Their home ballpark was Pioneer Memorial Stadium, and they were affiliated with the Chicago Cubs (1947–1957), Los Angeles Dodgers (1958), and Philadelphia Phillies (1959–1961).
History
The Rebirth of the Demons
In 1959, the Demons name was revived after 21 years of non-usage. The new Des Moines Demons were a Philadelphia Phillies farm club in the Three-I League. Managed by Chuck Kress, they finished second in the first half (38–26) then won the second-half pennant (40–29) before falling to the first-half champion Green Bay Bluejays in the championship three games to one. Cal Emery hit .323 and led the league with 281 total bases, 27 homers and 129 RBI.
In 1960, Andy Seminick took over as manager and the Demons went 64–74, tied for last in the Three-I. Jerry Reimer hit .331 with 18 home runs and led the league with 179 hits and 294 total bases. Ray Culp went 6–7 and had a 6.59 ERA, not indicative of his future big-league performance.
The final year was a poor one. Kress was managing again and Des Moines finished last – by a wide margin, with a pitiful 37–93 record. They were so bad every other team in the Three-I League's final season of existence finished .500 or better. Five pitchers lost in double digits while no one won more than six contests. Dick Haines led the league with a .355 average while future big-leaguer Pat Corrales batted .309. The Demons name has not been used since that time by the Des Moines teams – when organized baseball returned to the city in 1969 the club was called the Iowa Oaks. Year-by-year record Year Record Finish Manager Playoffs 1947 75–52 2nd Jim Keesey Lost in 1st round 1948 76–64 1st Stan Hack Lost in 1st round 1949 70–70 4th Stan Hack Lost League Finals 1950 84–70 3rd Charlie Root Lost in 1st round 1951 73–78 5th Al Todd 1952 57–97 8th Harry Strohm 1953 77–78 4th Kemp Wicker / Bruce Edwards Champions 1954 88–66 2nd Les Peden Champions 1955 77–74 4th Les Peden (37–45) / Pepper Martin (40–29) Lost League Finals 1956 72–67 3rd Lou Klein 1957 60–92 8th Lou Stringer / Hersh Martin none 1958 61–83 8th Roy Hartsfield none
References