In 1913, young men in Naperville formed a baseball team called the Exiles. They are seen here in this 1915 photo from the Naperville Heritage Society collection.
The team name was the same as the basketball team formed by the high school students at Ellsworth School (now an elementary school but then a school for all grades), who wanted to play against other high schools before there was an established league.
In the years prior to World War I, the Exiles baseball team played against teams from Chicago, Aurora, Wheaton and Plano. A particularly large game against Plano reportedly netted $2,200 for team players and Naperville residents who bet on the outcome, historic records show.
The team disbanded when players started being called for military service. Upon their return, several participated in the Kroehler Manufacturing Co. baseball team. (Naper Settlement)
