How The River Bandits Built Community Through Philanthropy, Rebrands, And Royals Player Development

I sit down with owner Dave Heller to explore how a minor league team can put community first, build smarter partnerships, and use brand identity to invite more people into the ballpark. Kelly Robinson then drops a rapid tour of Quad Cities sports history from early leagues to Modern Woodmen Park.

• why the team serves the community, not the other way around
• free flu shots, NICU funding, Camp Hope, and Family Connects support
• Bandit Scholars program as the largest scholarship effort in MiLB
• daily fan engagement and greeting every guest at the stairs
• deep partnership with the Kansas City Royals and upgraded facilities
• Copa identities and the success of Mr. Celery and Señor Apio
• rebrand lessons from Modesto: listening sessions and local designers
• the rise of multiple identities to reach new fan segments
• vision to build a ballpark from scratch with new ideas
• rapid-fire favorites: walk-offs, fireworks, and a candy-drop helicopter
• Kelly’s history segment: Tri-Cities teams, NBA and NFL roots, and Babe Ruth at Browning Field

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Transcript

Setting The Stage And Teasers

SPEAKER_00 0:00

We did a uh we did a town hall meeting in a in a in a large bar, a large restaurant in town. And I I said, anybody who comes, I'm gonna pay for your beer. I want to hear what you got to say. And uh and I bought a lot of beers that night, a few hundred, literally a few hundred beers. I've never done that before. Okay, let's go.

SPEAKER_03 0:31

What's up, everybody, and welcome to part two of my conversation with Dave Heller of the Quad City River Bandits. On this episode, we talk about philanthropy work, right? Giving back to the community some of the work that the Quad City uh the bandits are doing in the community. We talk about uh some uh some missteps that happen with designing a certain logo. You guys gotta listen to that. And then we talk Copa Brand. And then finally, my good friend Kelly Robinson, the minor league nerd, he brings us some history of the Quad Cities baseball and then possibly other sports. So you guys gotta listen to it. So without further ado, I'll give you the episode. Let me ask you, and and this is gonna be a little off-tangent, but like what interested you in uh purchasing other teams uh in not only in the quad city, but like you went all the way as far as east and west. Like, I mean, you you have a uh you guys, your ownership has a good number of teams that you guys own right now.

Why Own Teams In Four Time Zones

SPEAKER_00 1:29

Yeah, four teams in four time zones, right? Nobody else has that.

SPEAKER_02 1:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:36

Um we have so much fun here in in the quad cities, and we've done some great things, and I think we've we make a real difference in our community. I I think the river bandits are as much a part of the DNA of the Quad Cities as anything there is, and uh and and so after doing that here, we've started thinking okay, maybe we can do that in some other places and have that same kind of impact. And for me, as a kid who um finished high school in Baltimore, you know, lived in Baltimore and finished high school in Baltimore, to buy the Wilmington Blue Rocks when that came for sale in 2014, uh, which is Wilmington's about an hour, you know, a little over an hour north of Baltimore. Um, that was really exciting. I thought, well, you know, unless you're unless you're gonna own the Orioles, this is probably as close to uh Baltimore as you're gonna get with an affiliated team. Yeah. And uh and so we we bought the Blue Rocks, and that's been a wonderful experience in a in a great community, and I I'm proud of what we've done there as well.

Wilmington Blue Rocks Rebrand And Mr. Celery

SPEAKER_03 2:52

I I um we I we just talked about at the beginning of the this episode of the podcast, is that you just the team just recently released uh a new identities uh well for for this year, right? The new uniforms and and I I gotta say, uh rocks, the blue rocks, the color is beautiful, right? That baby blue with um with the logo on it, the the uh pick on it. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 3:20

Yeah. So what we did, we I told you earlier that we were we in the quad cities are really proud that USA Today named us the best minor league ballpark in America three times in a row now. Oh, yeah. We're in Wilmington. We're we're very proud that uh our mascot, Mr. Celery, yes, was was voted the second best mascot in in America, uh, only behind the triple A club in Albuquerque.

SPEAKER_03 3:53

That's amazing, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:55

And and that's Mr. Celery. And so we've really leaned into Mr. Celery, and you can see there's a lot of green in that new logo. Um we with the uh the blue rocks and the pickaxe.

SPEAKER_03 4:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:14

Um we have uh we have a version of it with the blue rocks and the pickaxe and Mr. Celery actually in the logo. Um and I think that's going to be a big seller as well. We you know, we rolled out um a couple years ago a uh a sort of a preview of it when we introduced our Copa identity as um uh you know the Blue Rocks in Spanish, and we had a character called uh Senor Appio, right? Mr. Celery in Spanish. And uh and Senor Appio's merch sold like crazy. And so we really leaned into that on the uh on the rebrand, and we used a local designer in Wilmington, that's all uh a wonderful guy named Nick Matarisi from the Barn Creative, and uh and and Nick Nick designed uh uh first he designed Mr. Celery, like I told him exactly what I wanted, and he gave it to me, exactly what I wanted, and um and it was fabulous. Like, and we both knew right away we had a home run. Oh, yeah, and uh, and then so it was so successful that we really based an entire rebrand of the team around what we had done with the Copa identity.

SPEAKER_03 5:45

That's amazing, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:46

And I don't know of any other team in baseball that can say that they rebranded their whole team based on their Copa identity.

Copa Identities And Community Reach

SPEAKER_03 5:55

Which hey, listen, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. That's someone who is uh Puerto Rican and who's Hispanic who truly do believe in the Copa um initiative. I I am very, very much in love with when uh teams do get involved with the Copa.

SPEAKER_00 6:11

Um yeah, it's Copa's been a great experience for us, and um, it's it's been a great way to reach out to our customers in uh in both in Quad Cities and in Wilmington. And we are even as a uh as an independent team, as a pioneer league team in Modesto, California, we're having a Copa identity with um the Glow Riders.

SPEAKER_03 6:36

Yep. I saw that.

SPEAKER_00 6:38

Um and I think we'll be the we'll be the only pioneer league team with a Copa identity. And I'm quite comfortable with that too.

SPEAKER_03 6:47

It's okay with being a pioneer in something, right?

Philosophy Of Community-First Ownership

SPEAKER_00 6:49

Yeah, that's exactly right.

SPEAKER_03 6:51

So I want to get a your your your your take on this because obviously you you are very purposeful about what you do when it comes to the teams, um, but specifically with the Quad City River bandits, right? Who you really are ingrained in that community. Um what is uh community involvement such a why is it such a big part of your um your model ownership model for for owning the team?

SPEAKER_00 7:16

Oh listen, I I I really strongly believe that the the the community does not have a responsibility to support the team, the team has a responsibility to support the community. We had a uh we had a hockey team here in the quad cities, uh a uh I guess a triple A hockey team, an AHL team that was an affiliate of the Calgary Club, and they were called the Calgary Flames. And um they were they left after one year, and the team owner said he was moving the team out of the quad cities. He said, because the community didn't support the team, like it was somehow the people's fault. And I thought that's that's so ridiculous and so insulting and so backwards. The people don't have any responsibility to support a team, it's the team's responsibility to support the community and to earn the business of the people. And and and so we we are very purposeful about engaging in the community. Um, it's a requirement to work with any of my clubs that you uh donate your time to the community. I would love you to donate money as well to charities and and foundations and good causes, but you have to donate your time. We we probably donate somewhere between five and six hundred thousand dollars a year to the community.

SPEAKER_03 8:50

That's amazing, right?

SPEAKER_00 8:52

Uh yeah, a lot. Like uh we pay for free flu shots for every child in the quad cities. Nothing mandatory. If you don't want to get a flu shot, don't get one.

Concrete Philanthropy: Health And Youth Programs

SPEAKER_03 9:04

That's right. But at least you have the opportunity to get one.

SPEAKER_00 9:07

That's right. If you want a flu shot for your child, the river bandits will pay for it. We fund, we're the one of the biggest funders of a wonderful program called Camp Hope, which is a camp for kids who are dealing with cancer in their families, so that they can be with other kids who are going through the same thing and have an empathetic ear to you know to talk to or listen to. Uh, we we are the largest private funder of the neonatal intensive care unit in the quad cities at at uh Mercy One Genesis because both of my boys, I have two sons in high school here in the Quad Cities, and both of my boys were born in the NICU, and we want to make sure my wife and I feel it's important to make sure that every child in the Quad Cities has access to the same kind of quality care that our boys had when they were born.

SPEAKER_03 10:09

I like that.

Scholarships And Local Impact

SPEAKER_00 10:10

Um and we help fund a fantastic program here called Family Connects. That is uh a program that sends a nurse home for a week with every newborn baby to an impoverished mother. And study after study after study, Ed, has shown that that one week of having a nurse there at the very beginning of a child's life can often be the difference between graduation and incarceration in a child's life. And so we want a stronger, healthier, happier community, and we do those things to help get us there. Um, we've also had the largest college scholarship program of any minor league team in the country. Is that the bandit scholars uh yeah, the bandit scholars program? And I mean, think about this. There's there is minor league baseball played in NFL cities like uh Indianapolis and Charlotte and Nashville and Vegas, and uh ours is bigger. And there's and there's uh NBA teams that play in minor league cities like Brooklyn and San Antonio and Indianapolis and Charlotte and Sacramento and Salt Lake City and Oklahoma City, and ours is bigger. And NHL cities like Columbus and uh San Jose and uh Raleigh and ours is bigger. Like I'm really proud of the money that we give away for college scholarships to help uh Quad City students go to Quad City area schools and uh and and learn and become successful and and then make their life in this community.

SPEAKER_03 12:07

No, you're 100% right. Um that that's I truly do believe that in order and this is why this the the Quad City uh River Bandits are so successful, community engagement. Um I think that's uh that's something number should be number one in a lot of the teams, right? Like you said, you are here to serve the community, it's not the other way around, right?

SPEAKER_00 12:31

That's exactly right. And look, that starts. I I'm at the top of the stairs, uh greeting every person when they come in the ballpark for almost every single game all year long. And I love it. They see me, I uh I shake hands, I I slap backs, and um I I I love the people here, I love the people of the quad cities, and I I I feel so fortunate that I get the opportunity to to interact with my friends and neighbors at the ballpark 66 times a year.

Daily Fan Engagement At The Ballpark

SPEAKER_03 13:04

There's nothing absolutely wrong with that, nothing at all. Um talk about the partnership between now, like with you and the Kansas City Royals, um, because obviously the identity has uh altered a little bit and it's very well done, obviously, but like talk about that partnership now.

Partnership With The Kansas City Royals

Building Facilities Beyond MLB Requirements

SPEAKER_00 13:24

So I was asked in 2021 when we our first year with the Royals, I was asked on live television uh what it's like going from the Houston Astros to the Kansas City Royals. And I said, you're dating this really nice girl, and you break up with her, and then you start dating Miss America. And that's how I feel about the Kansas City Royals. Like uh the Astros were great, like, no knock on the Astros. We enjoyed our time with the Astros, they were they were very nice to work with. But the Kansas City Royals are something really special. They are a wonderful and special and really almost magical organization. Um they they make us here in Quad Cities really feel like we are an integral part of their organization, that we are part of something much bigger than ourselves. And uh and they're just the best people. I mean, from in Dayton Moore when he was there, and now JJ Piccolo, who runs the baseball ops, and uh and Brooke Sherman on the business side, and Mitch Meyer, the farm director, uh Nick Leto, you just go on and on and on. Um there are so many wonderful people with the Royals who I consider just super close friends, lifetime friends. And yeah, and man, we are we are all in on the royals. Um and we we just love them. And so uh, like I'll tell you a little story about this. Sure. Um when uh when we had to do the uh improvements to our ballpark to meet the new MLB facility standards, we added um a video classroom for the royals and a nutritionist's office for the royals, and a strength and conditioning office for the royals, and um uh, you know, you're required to have like a 250 square foot storage area by the batting cage. We gave them a bigger one than that, and then we gave them a second storage area that was like, I don't know, it's like 800 square feet, something like that, 850. And uh Freddie Seymour, wonderful guy at MLB, who oversees all of the facility standards and makes sure that you're in compliance. He sees all this on the on the drawings we submitted, and he calls me up and he says, Dave, you know, video classroom, nutritionist's office, strength and conditioning coaches office with a bathroom, the this extra storage room. You don't have to do all these things. MLB doesn't require them. And I said, I understand, I'm aware, but I'm far more interested in what I can do to help the royals than I am, you know, just checking the box on your facility standards. And that's why we did those things because they they help the Royals develop players, and we want to be the best partners that we could possibly be to the best organization in baseball.

SPEAKER_03 17:01

That's that's amazing. I love the classroom environment, you know, right? Obviously, because these are young kids that are coming in uh into your your facility, right? They're they're young, they're so young that you know, these ball players that they need an area for them to really embrace it and and learn, right? I mean, they're they're learning.

Player Pathways From Quad Cities To KC

SPEAKER_00 17:23

And uh, and we want to give them we want to give them every environment where they can every opportunity with the right environment for them to succeed and go on to bigger and better things. Like, look, I love the fact the Royals draft Jack Caglione out of Florida and they start his career right here in Quad Cities, and he's here in September, and uh by June of the following year, he's hitting home runs in Kansas City. That's amazing, right? Yeah. I you know that's a great story. It is a great story. And uh Noah Cameron is pitching for us one year, and within a year or so, he's you know, he's throwing shutout after shutout for the Kansas City Royals and pushing them toward the playoffs. And uh you look at Michael Garcia, who just signed a long-term deal with the Royals, their all-star third baseman. He played here for a year. And uh Vinny Pasquantino, Michael Garcia, Michael Massey, like that's three-quarters of their infield. And they all came through Quad Cities. And uh and I I I love that. I'm so proud of what these young men have done here in Quad Cities and then gone on to Northwest Arkansas and Omaha and up ultimately to sprint to uh Kansas City to uh to succeed, to start and to star for the Royals. I'm telling you, Ed, I I just I can't say enough good things about the Kansas City Royals. They are just such a a fabulous, fabulous organization to work with. And and and I have over the course of my career owned six different minor league teams, and we've had um 10 different affiliates. So I you know there's some there's some real grounds for comparison, and and and the royals are just special. They're they're just special.

SPEAKER_03 21:21

I got a couple more questions for you. I want to uh I want to piggyback on on the community involvement and and all of this. And um, you have already a a brand identity in Copa with the Quad City River Bandits. Uh, are you looking to you know uh expand more on that into the coming years with the with the team?

SPEAKER_00 21:41

We have a wonderful brand identity with uh with the river bandits, the the banditos del Rio. And uh and that's been a big seller for us, and I do expect that we're going to expand and do more of that sort of thing.

SPEAKER_03 21:56

That's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 21:57

Yeah.

Rebrand Lessons: Modesto’s Glow Riders To Roadsters

SPEAKER_03 21:58

I like that. All right, so I got a question for you here. Uh, and these are pretty much you know, uh some of the lessons that you've learned along the way, but what lessons can other minor league teams learn from the river branded as when as far as like the rebrand? Like, I mean, there there have to be some lessons learned here.

SPEAKER_00 22:16

The uh the lesson I would I would tell people um in terms of rebranding is more what I learned in Modesto than than what I learned in Quad Cities. Quad cities, we were really quite lucky, okay. We had this great name, the River Bandits. The the previous owner got away from it, right? He just he he he hired Brandi Oz and they said, let's go with swing of the quad cities, and they they went in that direction, and that was I thought pretty dopey. And so, you know, we we brought it back to to River Bandits, and that was easy, and like I said, you had sure you know, 82% vote in a six-way race, right? You know, uh Putin doesn't get 82% of the vote in a six-way race, right? And he and he fixes the elections, right?

SPEAKER_03 23:09

Right.

Listening Tours And Local Designers

The Future: Multiple Identities And Inclusion

SPEAKER_00 23:10

So that that was really pretty easy. In Modesto, we had a similar thing, and uh, you know, and and we gave people a bunch of choices, and and no name got more than uh 22, 23 percent of the vote. And so then it becomes really a challenge because you you don't want it to be like politics where you have this, you know, six, seven-way primary, and and and somebody wins with uh 24% plurality, right? No, you're right, you're right. That's not what you're looking for in a in a rebrand. It's it's good to have community involvement, it's good to get community feedback, but you also don't want to be So closely tied to the outcome of that vote that your hands are tied. And so in uh in Modesto, we put these names out for a vote, and it there was nothing, there was nothing that was really clearly decisive. No, in fact, the top two vote getters tied, literally tied. We sat down, we picked a name, the Glow Riders, and the community was like, that's not what we want. And there was a you know a big segment of the community that was happy with it, but there was another big segment of the community that that wasn't. We did a uh we did a town hall meeting in in a in a large bar, a large restaurant in town. And I I said, anybody who comes, I'm gonna pay for your beer. I want to hear what you got to say. And uh and I bought a lot of beers that night, a few hundred, literally a few hundred beers. I've never done that before. And uh and we we had a great dialogue, you know, with with people there, and that's how we ended up with the roadster's name. And again, just like in Wilmington, uh, we had a local designer there, Andy and Greg Gallup from uh Studio Obsessed, from Slightly Obsessed Studios. And they they really because they live in Modesto that they really understood what we were looking for and how to reflect the community, and they came up with a fantastic logo uh for the Modesto Roadsters, and they were collaborative and they were fun to work with, and they've become really good friends.

Dreams Of Designing A Ballpark From Scratch

SPEAKER_03 25:55

That's amazing. And I think this ties in because I was literally the the question that I was gonna ask you is you know, is there anything that you would have done differently with the rebrand? I don't think you would because you went back and you said, All right, listen, obviously it didn't work, so you were aware enough to say, all right, let's let's go back to the drawing table, let's really speak to the community, which you you know, you brought them to the bar and you hung out and you bought beers and you listen. And I think that's such a key point right there that a lot of other teams, not just minor league baseball, but like NFL, NBA, like they need to start listening to the fans more often.

SPEAKER_00 26:34

Well I think you're always in a good position when you listen to your fans and you you engage with your fans and you talk with your fans. Like you know, I I told you before, I I stand at the top of the steps in Quad Cities and I greet everybody when they come in and say goodnight to them when they leave. And I don't know, I I don't know of any other minor league owner that that stands there and does that, that that greets everybody every game. Um, but I do, and I and I love it. And uh I think to have that kind of direct fan engagement is really is is important, is it it's invaluable.

SPEAKER_03 27:12

Um, how do you see minor league uh branding and fan engagements evolving within the next 10 years? I'm giving you that that that crystal ball. In your opinion, how do you see that involvement, that uh that engagement and in the evolution of that?

Rapid Fire: Ballpark Fun And Promos

SPEAKER_00 27:26

Um I said I think that the trend is going to expand where teams have multiple identities, where it's not just, hey, it used to be this is our team and we're the river bandits, and that's that. And now we're the river bandits and we're we have a Copa identity, the Banditos del Rio, and uh and so and like I think we're going to end up with multiple identities down the road. I like that. Um, yeah, just in Modesto, we are both the Modesto Roadsters and we're the glow riders. And I I wouldn't be surprised if we ended up with a third identity, you know, at some point in the future.

SPEAKER_03 28:04

Okay, and there's nothing wrong with that. Uh and as someone who is a collector of of hats, I like that a lot because having multiple um identities does lend you to expand your your merchandise.

SPEAKER_00 28:19

It it it does, but it's it's more than that, Ed, right? It's an opportunity, it's it's an opportunity really to reach out to different segments of the community and make them feel valued and welcome in your ballpark.

SPEAKER_03 28:31

That's amazing. You're right, 100% right about that. So, tying to the community, then uh my last serious question here. Um, what excites you the most about the future of Main Street uh baseball, river bandits, you know, going into the future?

SPEAKER_00 28:47

I I really love the opportunity to um build, I'd love the opportunity to build a ballpark from scratch somewhere. That's that's the one thing I've never done. Every team that I've bought, we've we've inherited a ballpark. And uh and the one thing I look forward to in the future is one day having the the opportunity to design a ballpark from scratch because there are things that I want to do, many things that I want to do in that ballpark that have never been done before in minor league baseball. And I'm hoping somewhere I'll have the opportunity to do that.

SPEAKER_03 29:27

That would be awesome.

SPEAKER_00 29:31

You think it would be awesome? I promise you, your seven-year-old thinks you will think it will be awesome.

SPEAKER_03 29:36

I 100% agree. Like it's I am such a fan of like seeing it from starting from scratch, right? From the from an idea to to paper to you know putting it out on a on a ballpark. Oh my god, that those are the kind of things that excite me, to be honest with you.

SPEAKER_00 29:52

Yeah, me too. So that's what that's you talking about the future, that's what I look forward to.

Ownership, Fans, And Pricing Philosophy

SPEAKER_03 29:57

I love that. Love that a lot. Uh, all right. Are you are you ready for these rapid questions, my friend? Fire away. All right. So here's some these are 10, you know, very extremely hard questions. This is the hardest part of the whole show. All right, all right, hot dogs or brat.

SPEAKER_00 30:11

Hot dogs. All right, but they gotta be they gotta be they gotta be foot long and they gotta be like I love a good bandit dog. You know, it's it's it's wrapped in uh it's wrapped in bacon, it's surrounded by cheese, and then it's slathered with chili.

SPEAKER_03 30:27

I'm hungry. That's what I'm gonna say. Uh okay, number two, day game or night game?

SPEAKER_00 30:34

Night game. More people, more people get to come.

SPEAKER_03 30:37

That's true. Best ballpark sound uh the crack of the bat or the crowd roar.

SPEAKER_00 30:43

The joy of the laughter of kids who get off of one of our amusement rides, who who ride a Ferris wheel or ride a spinning kid's coaster or uh ride our uh double play or our windup, and they're giggling and they're laughing, and they're and and they're just having a great time. That's the best sound in the ballpark to me.

Handing Off To Kelly Robinson’s History Segment

SPEAKER_03 31:05

I like that a lot. All right. Favorite minor league promo, fireworks or bobbleheads?

Franchise Timeline Since 1960

SPEAKER_00 31:11

My favorite minor league promo is one that I started, uh, which we call the mega candy drop, where we take a helicopter, we fill it with a thousand pounds of candy, and after the game is over, we drop the candy all over the outfield, and the kids run out and pick up as much candy as they can. And as the kids are picking up the candy, the helicopter comes back, reloads, fills with a thousand pounds of marshmallows, giant marshmallows, and drops the marshmallows all over the children. And the kids look up and go, Oh my god, it's raining marshmallows.

SPEAKER_03 31:49

That's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 31:52

That's my favorite promo.

SPEAKER_03 31:54

That's crazy. Um, all right.

SPEAKER_00 31:58

That's that said, I will tell you, we have one hell of a fireworks show in both Wilmington and uh Quad Cities. We we don't we don't skip on the fireworks, man.

SPEAKER_03 32:08

I do not doubt that at all, my friend. Um, mascot or bat dog?

SPEAKER_00 32:13

Oh, mascot every day of the week.

SPEAKER_03 32:16

I like that. Worse weather to host a game. Rain or extreme heat?

SPEAKER_00 32:20

Right? Mascots get to interact with kids. Bat dogs just go to the plate. Like they don't talk to Yeah, they don't they don't interact with the kids. I I'm all about fan interaction. Mascot every day.

SPEAKER_03 32:31

It is very clear, my friend. Absolutely. All right, what's the next one? Worse weather to host a game, rain or extreme heat?

SPEAKER_00 32:43

Boy, they're they're both they're both awful. Yeah, I I mean I I I I would say rain is worse because at some point you know you can't you can't play in rain.

SPEAKER_03 32:55

That's true. Um, okay. Walk-off win or no hitter.

SPEAKER_00 33:03

Oh, walk-off. Uh nothing fires up a crowd like a good walk-off. For sure. A walk off.

SPEAKER_03 33:09

It gets me so excited when I see that. It's it's awesome. Just just, oh Lord, that's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 33:15

And it's also to understand the question fairly, a no-hitter could be against you as well as for you. A walk-off win, which is what you asked, is by definition, it's on your side.

SPEAKER_03 33:29

That is 100.

SPEAKER_00 33:31

Right? So I'll take the walk-off of the W every time.

SPEAKER_03 33:35

100%. Uh, okay. Best seat in the park.

Quad Cities Name And NBA Roots

SPEAKER_00 33:41

Boy, I I I in in uh in Quad Cities, I would tell you it's uh it's right behind the home dugout because you're staring right out at the Mississippi River and you are uh seeing the Centennial Bridge lit up at night like a Christmas tree, and you get to watch the fireworks explode right over the Mississippi River. And uh Norman Rockwell couldn't paint you a picture that's as pretty as that.

SPEAKER_03 34:07

I don't disagree with that, my friend. I like that a lot. Um, all right. So there I'm gonna give you two options on this baseball movie here, okay? And you gotta pick one Bull Durham or Field of Dreams.

SPEAKER_00 34:20

No, I'm in Iowa. I've got to go with Field of Dreams.

SPEAKER_03 34:23

I gave you an easy one here.

SPEAKER_00 34:25

Right? We we uh we planted um we planted field corn in our ballpark in down the left field line, and uh and later in the season, when the corn is grown tall enough, we have the players actually come out of the the cornfield and we put the clip on the video board. Is this heaven? No, this is Iowa. The crowd goes nuts. So as an Iowa, I'll take field of dreams every time.

SPEAKER_03 34:50

All day, every day. All right, last one here, my friend. One word to describe minor league baseball.

SPEAKER_00 34:58

One word. It's family-friendly fun. One word. You know, we're gonna put it all together, and then we're just gonna call it one word. I like that. Fun is great.

unknown 35:09

I like that.

SPEAKER_00 35:10

All right, right? That's what that's what we sell. We sell, we sell fun. I tell I tell our staff all the time we are not in the baseball business, we are not in the entertainment business, we are in the memory making business. And if we can create a memory for a for a young kid, we've really done something great with our day.

SPEAKER_03 35:30

You I don't disagree with you, my friend. Uh Dave, thank you so much for doing this. I have had an absolute wonderful time. You know, you you truly do embrace and embody what it's like to be involved with the community, with fans. And I think that's something that a lot of other teams really should take a closer look at that. Because if we don't, if it's not for the fans, there's no baseball, right?

SPEAKER_00 35:57

That's exactly right. And that's look, that starts honestly, that starts with ownership. Like, you know, the people who come in and they say, Oh, we're gonna do dynamic pricing so we can squeeze more money out of the community. Like, no, stop that.

SPEAKER_03 36:12

Yeah, right?

SPEAKER_00 36:13

That's that's the downside of of private equity coming in and buying up 48 teams. Like, that's not that's not what's in the best interest of of either baseball or the community.

SPEAKER_03 36:26

Uh you're not gonna get me to disagree with you there.

Davenport’s Early Clubs And Three-I League

SPEAKER_00 36:29

So yeah. So no, uh, we we I I'm so I feel so privileged to live in the quad cities and to to be able to interact with the best people in the country right here and and and to share my love of baseball with them. It's it's just fantastic.

unknown 36:48

You could see it.

SPEAKER_03 36:52

All right. Well, welcome everybody to again history here with uh my good friend, Mr. Kelly Robinson of the minor league baseball nerd. Make sure you guys are following him on all of the socials and make sure you follow him and get his podcast because it's really good. And he's also on YouTube. Make sure you do that, okay? All right, so we're gonna start today uh with the quad cities uh history. Um and we and me, we talked, and then you said, Well, we got some stuff to discuss because there's some it's there's definitely some interesting things about the history in the quad city. So, my friend, first of all, how are you doing today? I am doing great. Thanks for having me on.

SPEAKER_01 37:29

I definitely uh enjoy it.

SPEAKER_03 37:31

Yeah, I mean too. I'm enjoying this this these segments that I we just got started here in 2026.

SPEAKER_01 37:36

It was kind of hard for me to narrow down which of the 11 uh River Bandits hats to wear. So I went with this because I know how much you like it, and it it kind of sort of matches my.

SPEAKER_03 37:46

I so love that. See, I don't have a hat with that logo, with a baseball hat, the bandana, and the hat. I wish I had a hat with that.

SPEAKER_01 37:54

I think I got this one last year, so hopefully they'll bring it back. I mean, their wall of caps is just I cannot wait. I cannot wait to see that.

SPEAKER_03 38:05

Um, and so I I'm so excited to see that. I I don't I can't tell you how much how excited I am. So, but anyways, we digress here. Let's go ahead and get started, my friend. What is it about the quad cities that makes this such a unique uh place for in the history of uh baseball and perhaps sports?

SPEAKER_01 38:22

Okay, well, I'm I'm gonna start with the current franchise. Let's do that. So the the quad cities uh quad cities river bandits uh their history actually starts in 1960.

SPEAKER_03 38:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 38:34

So they can they can you can track tra uh trace them all the way back to 1960 beginning in the Midwest League. Interesting. Uh they started in in 1960 um as uh uh and then they they they played they started as the Quad City Braves. Okay and then they became the Quad Cities Angels from 1962 to 1960, sorry sorry, to 1978, and then they were the Quad Cities Cubs from 79 to 84, and then the Angels name came back from 85 to 91.

Moline And Rock Island Club Histories

SPEAKER_03 39:11

Paul will be so happy with this, our friend Paul from Baseball by Design.

SPEAKER_01 39:14

Yeah, nothing, nothing but the major league affiliates from their begin or major league name from the beginning to 1991. But 1992 they became the Quad City uh River Bandits.

SPEAKER_03 39:27

And this is a controversy, this is where controversy started.

SPEAKER_01 39:30

Yes. Well, then with the current ownership, the controversy really comes in in 2004 when the team became the swing of the class. This was the cap I got when we saw game in 2007. Okay. And then this one, the uh the the copper one, the burnt orange one, uh Chris Storm actually picked up for me at the new Aerospace a couple years ago.

SPEAKER_03 39:57

Shout out to Chris.

SPEAKER_01 39:58

Yes, yes. He he was in in Buffalo and he's like, Do you want anything? I'm like, Yes.

SPEAKER_03 40:02

As a matter of fact, I do.

SPEAKER_01 40:04

Yes. Uh but then as has already been discussed, when uh Dave Heller purchased the team, he hated the name. I no. Yeah, I mean I don't know if hate is a big enough word for it.

SPEAKER_03 40:15

I no, it's not a big word.

SPEAKER_01 40:18

But um I I didn't I didn't mind it.

SPEAKER_03 40:21

I mean River Band, it's is a better name, but uh even the even the the the logo itself, it's a much better you know logo, in my opinion. In my opinion, again everybody likes it. Um Mike uh Sellers of you know his own podcast as well.

SPEAKER_01 40:35

He's he's he that he says that he prefers the the the the swing of the quad city, but yeah, he was he was really jealous because I had the the baby blue cap because he didn't have one. And then I showed him the ice cream helmet and that like set up off he he's now got both. He's got a helmet and and a cap, so he's he's good, he's set.

SPEAKER_03 40:56

But but uh the the way that it the the collars were chosen is such a weird way.

SPEAKER_01 41:03

I did not know that until the first episode. I was just telling Christina about that, and we both thought the burnt orange was to look like uh a uh a wind instrument, a saxophone or some sort of instrument, not that it was oh it's University of Texas.

SPEAKER_03 41:18

No, it was University of Texas, which was like okay, so University of Texas, uh University of North Carolina, and Michigan Wolverines.

SPEAKER_01 41:27

That was I could remember the dark blue, it's Michigan.

SPEAKER_03 41:29

Michigan, the Michigan Wolverines of the Big Ten. So there's that.

SPEAKER_01 41:33

Really ridiculous, but yeah, let's get back onto it. Uh so so he held a team um or uh like a renamed the team contest and actually kept the swing on there.

SPEAKER_03 41:44

Uh I gotta hand it to him. That was very ballsy of him to say we're gonna keep it.

SPEAKER_01 41:50

Yeah, if if the fans want it, okay. And the fans clearly did not want it because what do you say was 84% said River Bandits.

SPEAKER_03 41:58

River Bandits.

Modern Woodmen Park And The Wheel

SPEAKER_01 41:59

I think the only other name I can remember, I think one option was the Channel Cats, but I'm not I'm not entirely sure. Because I remember, I remember when they held the name the team contest, and I at that time was like, no, you gotta keep the swing. And I kept voting, I try to get other people to vote to keep the swing name. And then the river bandits came back and I saw the logo and everything. I'm like, okay, yeah, it's a good idea, it's a it's good.

SPEAKER_03 42:24

See, that's it, and and that's a good get off the track here, but that's interesting because when when uh people when when teams released a name, you're like, Man, I hate that name. But then they released a logo and you're like, a second thought.

SPEAKER_01 42:38

You're right. There have been so many names in the last 10 years that I'm like, that's terrible. Like El Paso Chihuahuas, I hated that name.

SPEAKER_03 42:46

Oh my god, it's one of my favorite logos of all time.

SPEAKER_01 42:48

And I yeah, then the logos came out like, all right, you got me.

SPEAKER_03 42:51

Yeah, all right. Here's my here's my credit card.

SPEAKER_01 42:53

Yeah, trash pandas, same thing. I'm like, oh my god, this is fantastic.

SPEAKER_03 42:58

I agree. Oh no, the Huntsville Stars. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 43:04

Yeah, I I've got a couple of those. So but um, so you're asking about the name Quad Cities. So the Quad Cities, uh it's it's uh Davenport, Bettendorf in Iowa, and Rock Island and Moline in Illinois. They're they're they border each other. The Illinois and in in Iowa are separated by the Mississippi River right there. Interesting. But the area first became known as the Tri-Cities around 1919. And then uh when Bettendorf started to grow in the late 50s into the 60s. Okay, okay, and then they're like, you know, we we need to update the name. Uh and uh one of the original names they were gonna do was was the qu uh was the quint cities.

SPEAKER_03 43:51

Quint cities.

SPEAKER_01 43:52

Quint cities. But quad cities ended up is the one that ended up sticking.

SPEAKER_03 43:57

Okay.

Historic Fields: Douglas Park And Browning Field

SPEAKER_01 43:58

Um so yeah, so then in in in the early 60s is when the name the area started to be called being referred to as the Quad Cities. Uh so one of the interesting things, and I don't know how many people know this, uh I'm not a big basketball guy, but I've actually known this forever. Uh the the area used to actually have an NBA team. Really? They they were actually a founding member of the National Basketball Association when the front door. They played in the the so the the team started as the Buffalo Bisons, because you know, Buffalo, every team's gotta be named the Bisons. So they started as the Buffalo Bisons in 1946. During the season they weren't drawing, so they moved to Moline, Illinois, where they became the Tri-Cities Blackhawks.

SPEAKER_03 44:45

I don't like the name.

SPEAKER_01 44:47

Yeah, the the Blackhawks is because that's where Chief Blackhawk is from that area. So that's where they kind of come from. And actually that's where the Chicago Blackhawks name is derived from, from Chief Blackhawk, but it was actually the founder of the Blackhawks. Um I'm forgetting his first name, McLaughlin. That was the name of his military unit in World War I. He was the Blackhawk. So that's that's what he's so they they both names derive from the same place.

SPEAKER_03 45:12

Okay, okay. All right, all right.

SPEAKER_01 45:15

The Tri-Cities Blackhawks played in the National Basketball League and in 1949, the National Basketball League and the Basketball Association of America merged to form the National Basketball Association. So they were a founding member of uh the National Basketball Association, but they didn't last long, they only stayed in the city for two years before moving to Milwaukee, where they became the Milwaukee Hawks. And I'm sure you can figure out where they are now. They're the Atlanta Hawks.

SPEAKER_03 45:46

Oh, the Atlanta Hawks, yeah. That was just gonna say the Hawks.

SPEAKER_01 45:48

Yeah, so that the Atlanta Hawks trace all the way back to 1946 and to a different league.

SPEAKER_03 45:53

Interesting. I never knew that.

NFL Firsts, Babe Ruth Visit, And Legacy

Closing Thanks And Subscriber Reminder

SPEAKER_01 45:57

Yeah, I I I I when I was younger like in the early 80s early mid eighties i was more into basketball and i kind of as i got older i fell out of it sure that was something i just always thought was kind of cool but i mean that was back you know back in the start that's when nba teams were all in small cities i mean correct hey cleveland yeah at that point was this was a small city yeah detroit the the other before they the before the pistons were there they played in Fort Wayne there was a team in Sheboygan Wisconsin small little midwestern cities but they loved basketball yeah I mean there's nothing to do during the winter you know if you didn't have football you know you have what basketball exactly interesting okay all right see I'm learning something here and and we're gonna bring up another sport in a bit oh there's gonna be another professional sport that's I love the tease um so yeah so they so they were the three different cities they were the tri-cities and they didn't be like I said they didn't become one city under a name of a team until 1960 so Davenport Moline and Rock Island Illinois all actually at one point and several years at the same time had their own teams huh so Davenport's first pro team was the Davenport Brown stockings of the Northwestern league in 1879. Brown stockings okay and then they had a team called you're gonna love this name the Onion Weeders oh my god they played in the Western Association in 1888 onion weeders huh and then a team called the Pilgrims played in the Illinois Iowa league in 1891 what and then they didn't get pro baseball again until 1901 when the Davenport River rats joined the Illinois Indiana Iowa or as it's commonly known as the three I League the three I League three eyes and it's some you'll sometimes see it just three the number three or the word three with the little letter I sometimes it'll actually spell out EYE huh so you have some fun with it I liked it I yeah no I I like that a lot uh but so this team played through 1916 but they use different names so they start as the river rats they were also known as the river sides what river sides you know locked on the side of the river no no no yep I'm with it the Knickerbockers I don't know where that name came from yeah it's a basketball one uh you know that's the New York Knicks yeah yeah the uh the prodigals wow and then the one most people know the Blue Sox because that's who Quad Cities played as during the uh the Field of Dream minor league field of dreams game correct during the first year uh and then they they lost a team in 19 after 1916 they didn't get another one back until 1929 when the Blue Sox name was resurrected playing in the Mississippi Valley League uh through 1933 and then they joined the Western league in 1934 and then folded in 1937 or after the 1937 season and they didn't actually get baseball back until 1946 when the Davenport Cubs joined the 3I League and this is awesome. In the 3I League they played as the Cubs the Pirates the Quads the the Davenport Quads yep and uh the Davenport Tigers and then they folded after the 52 season and then they had one more team in the 3I league on before joining the uh the uh Midwest league uh the get ready for this one the Davenport Dab Socks oh my god this is very original yes they played in the three eye league in 1957 and 1958 oh okay and then we crossed the river over to Moline Illinois so Moline had teams uh their first team was the Moline the Rock Island Moline twins who played in the two eye league the Illinois Iowa league oh my god that was at in 1892 so we started with two eyes and then we ended up with three then three okay all right I'm following now and then the islanders played in the Western Association in 1894 okay and then comes the most popular the most well known name the Molene Plowboys oh my god there's a lot of farming in the area uh so the plowboys played in the three eye league uh they they three different times they they they came and went uh 1914 to 1917 uh the 1917 season like pretty much every league ended early because of world war one yeah of course uh the three eye league didn't play in 1918 also because of world war one of course uh so they came the league and the team came back in 1919 playing through 1923 and then they went away and then they came back again in from 1937 to 1941 oh wow that's that's um yeah but what so when they when they that was that was a good stretch in between there uh they actually left the three eye league for a while in 19 they played so they played through the three eye league and through 1923 in 1924 they joined the Mississippi Valley League which Davenport also had a team in for a while they played there from 24 to 32 nice long stretch that's yeah that's that that's pretty good and then after the Plowboys left in 19 after 41 season then there was the Moline A's who they were affiliated with yeah I wonder who they're affiliated with uh of the they played in the Central Association just for two years 1947 and 1948 crazy to think so up to this point right how many leagues popped up during this time oh yeah yeah right it's I mean it's in it's insane I mean at one point I think the the biggest year was 1949 when I forget the exact number but it was like 50 to 60 some odd leagues everybody thought they could do it better all all part of the national association which is minor league baseball yeah so it was yeah so many leagues so many names and so many like most of these leagues were were either class B or lower sure yeah so basically the equivalent of like single A down to short season uh but then then we move on to Rock Island Illinois uh where their first team was the Wapellos in 188 in 1866 come again the what the Wapellos all right or if if it's Spanish the Wapayos the Wapayos okay okay okay okay I don't think it was the Wapayos something tells me 1866 there wasn't a lot of Spanish spoken in the Rock Island area no uh I I tried looking I don't know exactly where the name derived from perhaps someone who's from the area might know I I couldn't really find anything find anything yeah I didn't I didn't dig too deep though no no no no I get that yeah absolutely you're right I got you uh but then the Rock Island Tri-Cities played in the eastern Iowa league in 1895 okay and then came about the name that Rock Island is most known for when it comes to baseball the Rock Island Islanders okay I like that I can dig that yeah there there's there's an island uh in in the Mississippi River that's where the name comes from there there used to be an arsenal on there so it's the Rock Island Arsenal uh it's not there anymore you can go we've actually gone onto the island you can like walk about and and you know how is it is the island big enough that eventually you can one day put a baseball team I don't know if they ever that the I don't think so I mean yeah yeah I mean it would be a small field yeah my small like you know single A team or something like that there there wouldn't be much in the way of amenities wouldn't be that big of a ballpark so like that you know you could probably put stands up but but uh they they never actually played on the island okay but they were known as the Islanders they were known as the islanders okay okay as the islanders they played in the Western Association in 1899 and then like the other teams in the area they played in the three I league uh three different three different times uh 1901 to 1911 1916 to 1917 and then 1920 to 1921 and then they moved over to the Mississippi Valley League where they had a really good long stretch 1922 to 1933 okay so about 11 years yeah and then they left the Mississippi Valley League which didn't actually last too long uh and then they went over to the Western League uh from 34 to 35 they were the Islanders 1936 they were the Rock Island Rocks big original and then went back to the Islanders in 1937 good and then they uh they they only lasted I think just that one season so yeah so there there was actually for a good stretch of time three teams in the tri-cities that's uh see that's the thing though for an area that I I wouldn't say that big but like you know like you know small enough that like to support three different teams that's a little tough yeah yeah yeah and it's amazing that it lasted as long I mean they you know they probably didn't draw much i mean you know they probably only averaged a couple hundred a game yeah I mean obviously three teams and I actually meant to look and I didn't get a chance to but um I don't know if they all three ever played in the same league at the same time that I know there was a point where Rock Island and Moline were in one league and Davenport was in another one. Huh okay uh uh but then so what's what was mentioned on the episodes and is true because I've been there many times uh modern Woodman Park really is one of the best ballparks in all of modern league baseball people keep telling me that yeah and it's it's you go you have to go out of a night game of course because it doesn't always happen but when the sky is like lit perfectly around while going down it's an incredible view. You've got the centennial bridge going right over from Iowa to Illinois which if you're along third base line when it lights up is beautiful. Huh uh and then if you're on first base side who would have fucked you've got the wheel in which people yeah the the wheel is something that a lot of people like they really tell me that is like super super popular or in that area which I should have brought had ready to go but oh but look at that you do have a oh it actually is a working you know it actually bobblehead wheel yeah yeah the bobble wheel interesting look at that is the great wheel the uh we we tend to go to Davenport one to one to two times a season we usually go when there's a giveaway when there's a bobblehead giveaway because they do of course I mean I'm not gonna show you them all but they do a lot of great bobbleheads interest I like that have you been on the wheel yes yeah we we've been on the wheel both before after and during a game okay so they're they like sometimes later in the season they'll like usually the last weekend which we've done the last few years they'll it's open uh it's free you can ride it for free interesting they had so there's everyone knows the wheel but then next to the wheel there's other there's like a little roller coaster i mean it's a really small uh roller coaster there's a merry-go-round and and a few other things as well he did make it make it look like a little uh you know like a full full entertainment for the kids yeah no it's definitely very kid friendly i like that okay all right uh but yeah so modern woodman park opened in 1931 mm hmm uh so it's been home of any team that play in Davenport since then uh it was originally named um municipal stadium sure but it was renamed to john o'donnell stadium can we give john old old uh john gotcha okay he was the longtime sports editor of the Davenport Times Democrat newspaper that's a name when he when he passed away in 1971 they renamed the stadium in to honor him uh but then the corporate sponsor name came in uh 2008 so but in the ballpark the press box is still known as the John O'Donnell press box so at least they kept that yeah so on uh on the front of the stadium says modern woodman park but you go inside underneath the press box it says john o'donald press box okay i like that okay uh so i figure we'd uh you know mention the other ballpark so rock island played at what was known as the 12th street grounds 12th street ground why just just because just because because it was on 12th street so you know original names very uh yeah yeah very original they played there through 1904 uh it's actually it some seems like they kind of flipped back and forth between 12th street grounds and a place called Douglas Park okay uh so Douglas Park actually still exists um so bringing up the other sport uh Douglas Park was home of the Rock Island Independence which was a football team that played from 1920 or sorry from 1905 to 1926 uh they played at at the Douglas Park through 1925 season uh so the National Football League under the current name was formed on September 17th 1920 nine days later the Rock Island Independents played the first game by an NFL team against a non-NFL team they played against a team called the St. Paul Ideals look at that that's well I'm looking at it right now some some of those images holy moly yeah dude do you see the uh the field house with the mural on it I'm trying to look for it here yeah right behind home plate there's like it's the press box the uh concession stand in the bathroom on on one side there's a mural covering the history of because I mean it's all of Rock Island's teams played there uh the Bears played there that the so it's green it's a green shirt with green and white stripes on the sleeves. Yeah interesting look at that yeah so that the so so it it kind of lays claim to being the the the home of the first NFL game but it wasn't an NFL team against an NFL team so you can't really say it was a first NFL game because i the it's on the mural but there's no plaque or anything gotcha but Rock Island won the game 48 to nothing so that also tells you what kind of team the ideals were yeah uh but yeah so that that's that's where basically uh from pretty much most of their teams play the the the independence when they they left the NFL sure and went to another league and then they end up actually moving to uh the ball the the stadium in uh Moline in 1926 where they played their last season look at that and then in Moline uh originally the park was called Athletic Field or three eye park they're we're going with the three eye again yeah yeah yeah I mean there it's actually it's funny there are lots of old ballparks that like named after the league or something called League Park especially in like the lower leagues. Yeah uh but that's where Moline's teams played um that I don't think exists anymore but then uh they starting in 1920 they moved to Browning Field uh which still exists though it's basically it's used by uh Moline High School and has been since it opened uh but it's really now it's just a football field and a track field. We were there last year. Yeah when we we went to uh uh River Bandits game last year we went to both Douglas Park and Browningfield and they're seriously they're like 15 minutes away from each other um Douglas Park like I said has a nice mural on the side of the field house Browningfield doesn't have any mention of anything about history that happened there maybe there they do have a big gymnasium maybe there's stuff in there I don't know we didn't we didn't get to go into there uh but another big thing happened there uh at Browningfield on June 26 1940 babe Ruth appeared there what he played in an exhibition game against the or with the uh Moline Plowboys and before the game put on a batting practice exhibition of course he was just hitting dingers all over the place yeah yeah but yeah there there's nothing from the original structure left it's all new but it's the field where all of this took place huh okay so that's uh that's pretty much the history of I was very rough shortened version of history of baseball sports in the Quad Cities area you it's interesting just because I'm always fascinated you know this is obviously how we got to know each other like you know through the history of sports and everything but like that there's so much history that not a lot of people know right yeah hell and then know you know the independence right and that's something that's super cool to know that like you know they had a professional MBA team a professional NFL team yeah you know in the quad cities yeah yeah I mean yeah yeah it's it and I mean Red Grange Hall of Famer Red Grange actually played in the quad cities during a a game against I think he was on the team the New York Yankees football team playing against Rock Island. Golly look at that so it's it's it is kind of I mean it's cool Douglas Park has um a mural up covering the history because like I said the Bears played there against Rock Island. Sure sure but it's kind of it was kind of upsetting or disappointing that there's nothing at Browningfield mentioning like I said it could have been inside the gymnasium which was a huge building but we weren't able to get access to that so I'm hoping there's something in there but there's no acts nothing nothing on the field. I mean you figure you know so many places want to mention that babe Ruth played here you think they would want to do that but that's something that I would like to know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:01

Hey by the way this guy played here yep so actually we actually have we'll have an episode in our next season uh talking about a team and a ballpark where babe Ruth hit his first home run during the regular season her first his first home run regular season home run yes yeah because he hit another he hit a home run earlier but it was an exhibition game played somewhere else sure so but it's just like you know you got two different places claiming here first home run here and it's like you'd think batting practice you'd think you'd want to play that up but you would think so you know again listen I back then it was totally different than it is now right exactly um so uh I'm not too surprised to be honest with you uh and so I like that so I appreciate you giving us a little history lesson here on the quad cities history of sports on this time around there is uh uh one uh I want to make sure that you guys go ahead and and like I said hit the follow for uh for Kelly and and the minor league baseball nerd he does a really good job in uh in youtube especially you know when he's putting together all of the the the videos the the the the pictures all of the stats and things like that make sure you guys are following him on all those socials as well mr uh mr robinson thank you so much appreciate that my friend thanks for having me on i definitely appreciate it and that wraps up today's episode of the Dead High Chronicles guys huge thanks to Dave for taking the time to join me to talk about the team to share some stories um if you are loving the show guys make sure that you hit the subscribe button leave us a quick review and follow along for more behind the scenes Facebook content and then for the Dead High Chronicles uh I'm Ed and we'll see you guys in the next one