Seven years of research has culminated in author Steve Dunn’s latest book on the history of professional baseball in Des Moines.

‘Pug’ ‘Fireball’ and Company: 116 Years of Professional Baseball in Des Moines, Iowa covers the franchise that brought enjoyment to millions of fans since 1887.  Over the years, the ballclub has had several names, including the Boosters, Champs, Hawkeyes, Midgets, Prohibitionists, Undertakers, Underwriters, Demons, Bruins, Oaks, and Iowa Cubs.

Hall of Famers Harold Baines, Ernie Banks, Willard Brown, Rod Carew, Orlando Cepeda, Oscar Charleston, Red Faber, Bob Feller, Goose Gossage, Rogers Hornsby, Buck O’Neil, Tony LaRussa, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Willie McCovey, Greg Maddux, Willie Mays, Minnie Minoso, Satchel Paige, Ryne Sandberg and Willie Wells have played and/or managed in Des Moines at one time or another.
From pennant-winning teams to exhibitions featuring Ruth, Gehrig, Feller and Paige to Negro Leagues contests that counted in the standings to a regularly-scheduled game that drew no fans – it’s all covered in the former Principal Park usher’s account.
The franchise’s nine playing sites are described in detail, and millions of dollars of improvements to the ballparks over the years are included.

The book also includes notable games such as the first 1930 contest played under permanent lights, the Iowa Cubs’ extra-inning victory in the American Association championship game in 1993, the triple-A all-star game in 1997 and no-hitters starting in
1949.

About the Author
Steve Dunn had four decades of newspaper experience before he retired in early 2014 and moved to Des Moines. He worked as a reporter, sportswriter, and managing editor for daily and weekly newspapers in three states, including the last 15 ½ years as managing editor of the Daily Gate City in Keokuk.  He has written 11 bios for the Society for American Baseball Research.
All the subjects either played with or worked in the front office of the Chicago Cubs. They include three with Des Moines ties: John Holland and Salty Saltwell who worked in the front office of the Bruins in the 1950s and Randy Hundley who managed the Iowa Cubs in 1981. The lifelong Cub fan has also written 11 game stories for SABR. Last year, he self-published a book about the history of professional baseball at the confluence of the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers in Des Moines, Principal Park: A Diamond in the Rough.

He and former state Sen. Pat Deluhery have published a book about the latter’s political career, including working for U.S. Sen. Harold Hughes of Iowa from 1969 to 1975 and briefly for U.S. John Culver of Iowa in Washington, D.C. Deluhery also served in the Iowa Senate from 1979 to 2002. The political memoir is called Engaged: Pat Deluhery and the Golden Age of Democratic Party Activism.

Dunn was an usher for the Iowa Cubs, the triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, from 2015 to 2019 and in 2022. He and his wife, Cindy, have two daughters, two sons-in-law, and four grandchildren. His hobbies include bike riding, playing pickleball, volunteering at Capitol View Elementary School in Des Moines, playing his clarinet in the Greater Des Moines Community Band and hanging out with his grandkids.