Browning Field
Encyclopedia
Browning Park is a park in Moline, Illinois
, USA that has been the home of high school and professional athletic events since 1910. The land is deeded to the city of Moline for use as a "playground and athletic park". While the sports teams of Moline High School
have been the primary tenants of the field (and the adjoining Wharton Field House
),, the Rock Island Independents
, the only professional American football
team to be charter members of two major leagues, called Browning Park its home in the 1920s, as did the minor league
baseball
Moline Plows. Wharton Field House was the home of the Tri-Cities Blackhawks basketball team (which later moved to Milwaukee and became the Hawks) in the late 1940s and the Quad City Thunder
of the Continental Basketball Association
four decades later.
to his will, stating that his land were to be "held in trust forever by the City of Moline and dedicated to the public as and for a playground and athletic park, which shall be known and designated as the John T. Browning Park, Playground, and Athletic Field".
The next four years saw the creation of an American football
/track and field
stadium and a baseball
field. In the late 1920s, T. F. Wharton, president of the Moline High School boosters' club led the drive toward the sale of bonds, the proceeds of which to pay for the construction of a field house
on adjoining land (this was also deeded to the city of Moline upon the retirement of the bonds). Wharton Field House
was opened to the public in 1928.
Moline, Illinois
Moline is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States, with a population of 45,792 in 2010. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline and Rock Island in Illinois and the cities of Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa. The Quad Cities has a population of...
, USA that has been the home of high school and professional athletic events since 1910. The land is deeded to the city of Moline for use as a "playground and athletic park". While the sports teams of Moline High School
Moline High School
Moline High School, or Moline, is a public four-year high school located in Moline, Illinois, a city in Rock Island County, in the United States...
have been the primary tenants of the field (and the adjoining Wharton Field House
Wharton Field House
Wharton Field House is an arena in Moline, Illinois. It hosted the NBA's Tri-Cities Blackhawks from 1946 until they left for Milwaukee in 1951, and the CBA's Quad City Thunder from 1987 until the team moved its home games to the MARK of the Quad Cities in 1993. The arena holds 6,000 people and...
),, the Rock Island Independents
Rock Island Independents
The Rock Island Independents were a professional American football team based in Rock Island, Illinois. One of the first professional football teams, they were founded in 1907 as an independent club. They later played in what is now the National Football League from 1920 to 1925. They joined the...
, the only professional American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team to be charter members of two major leagues, called Browning Park its home in the 1920s, as did the minor league
Minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities. This term is used in North America with regard to several organizations competing in...
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
Moline Plows. Wharton Field House was the home of the Tri-Cities Blackhawks basketball team (which later moved to Milwaukee and became the Hawks) in the late 1940s and the Quad City Thunder
Quad City Thunder
The Quad City Thunder are a defunct professional basketball team that was based in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. They played in the Continental Basketball Association from the 1987-1988 season until the league folded in 2001. The teams was CBA champions in the 1993-1994 and 1997-1998...
of the Continental Basketball Association
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...
four decades later.
Origin
John T. Browning (1830–1910) was a lawyer who served as the City of Moline's first City Attorney. He was also a two-term State Assemblyman. In his last year of his life, Browning was planning on erecting a memorial to himself on the farmland that he owned when he was convinced by A. M. Beal, President of the Moline Board of Education, to deed the land to the city for use as an athletic park. On July 14, 1910, he added the codicilCodicil (will)
A codicil is a document that amends, rather than replaces, a previously executed will. Amendments made by a codicil may add or revoke small provisions , or may completely change the majority, or all, of the gifts under the will...
to his will, stating that his land were to be "held in trust forever by the City of Moline and dedicated to the public as and for a playground and athletic park, which shall be known and designated as the John T. Browning Park, Playground, and Athletic Field".
The next four years saw the creation of an American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
/track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
stadium and a baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
field. In the late 1920s, T. F. Wharton, president of the Moline High School boosters' club led the drive toward the sale of bonds, the proceeds of which to pay for the construction of a field house
Field House
Field House or Fieldhouse is a common name for indoor sports arenas and stadiums, mostly used for college basketball, volleyball, or ice hockey.-Colorado:*Balch Fieldhouse, University of Colorado...
on adjoining land (this was also deeded to the city of Moline upon the retirement of the bonds). Wharton Field House
Wharton Field House
Wharton Field House is an arena in Moline, Illinois. It hosted the NBA's Tri-Cities Blackhawks from 1946 until they left for Milwaukee in 1951, and the CBA's Quad City Thunder from 1987 until the team moved its home games to the MARK of the Quad Cities in 1993. The arena holds 6,000 people and...
was opened to the public in 1928.