There is a disparity concerning the actual date pro baseball actually arrived in the metro area in publications. Richard Panek, in his work entitled Waterloo Diamonds, contends that the Lulus were born in 1904, but Maravitz offers that the date was August 11, 1903.  On this day, the Cedar Rapids Rabbits arrived in town to battle the Lulus. Up to the challenge, Waterloo's squad inspired the home crowd of more than two thousand and edged the Rabbits 6-5.  With the first taste of success, Waterlooans developed an undying affection with baseball.  The suffering that was endured in the late nineteenth century was replaced by hope by a winning club of professionals in the city.

    The Lulus were the first real minor league baseball team in the city and the residents of the town were undoubtedly thankful.  The inception of the club in 1903 offered the community a release from the day-to-day grind.  The period suffered from social ills, ranging from political reform to the poverty that struck the predominantly agrarian economy of the era.  If not for the agricultural base, most of the industrial jobs of the city would have been moot.