Anyone with some knowledge of Baseball from its inception until the Depression is well aware of the profusion of baseball teams throughout the USA during that time.  From the big cities to the small towns baseball was the chief pasttime, and most counties had several amateur and professional baseball teams.  Some of these teams survive today as members of the major leagues, or of regional leagues, such as the Midwest League.  Modern leagues do experience some fluctuation in teams and schedules from year to year, but  in the early years this was a common occurence.  What are today nationally or regionally known teams were, in the early years, one team among others, and would often play teams form the next town or county.  Most counties had at least one or two teams of note. 

 

Athletes who were skilled in baseball would join local teams, or travel from town to town, staging exhibitions and hoping to land a spot on a larger team with more prospects.  Players would play for the glory of meeting a worthy opponent on the field of competition, to show their own prowess, and/or to make a buck.  Many young men had to be satisfied with the glory of the sport, and eked out a living as they could.  The distinction between pro and amateur was blurred during this time. 

 

The Andover Terrible Swedes fit into this context.  They were known as a strong ball club for many decades, and their renown extended beyond Henry County, as they played teams from Galesburg, Moline, Davenport, Chicago, and beyond.  Some of their opponents would certainly be well known today as teams of today's minor leagues.  The Terrible Swedes certainly would have played a minor league team from Kewanee, which existed for a few years around 1910.  Their name would be resurrected in 1930 for the Kewanne High School football team:  The Boilermakers.  As Andover became a launching point of Swedish migration to Kansas and other points west, the name of the Andover Terrible Swedes also spread far and wide.  Eventually, the name Terrible Swedes would be adopted by Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas, which was founded by immigrants who had lived at Andover.  

 

Andover resident Ron Peterson relates:

 

 

Players for the "terrible Swedes" would have been graduates of Andover High School, or boys who had finished eighth grade, immigrants who came to live and work in the town and who had learned the game of Baseball.  The team was supported by civic leaders, as a sign of civic pride, and to bring fame to their hometown.  It is likely that the players were given the freedom by their employers to practice and to play frequently.  It is certain that through the years they racked up many victories. 

 

Those pictured in this 1920 photo all have Swedish last names, they include Top Row, left to right: Francis Anderson,  Franklin Johnson, Bill Johnson,  Nate Hultgren, Dick Peterson, and Ralph Bengston.  In the front row are pictured:  Martin "Loppy" Anderson,  Willis Bengston, Bert Johnson,  Amos Anderson, and Rueben Hultgren.