5 Things You Didn’t Know About: Byron, Illinois

A pitcher and manager in the early days of professional baseball (1871-1878). He started a trend when he began wearing a baseball glove. This led to him opening a sporting goods store and eventually co-founding the A.G. Spaulding Sporting Goods Company. He's also credited with writing the first set of official baseball rules

Byron is home to one of the last nuclear power plants commissioned in the U.S.. The plant generates enough electricity to power over 2 million homes. The cooling towers are 475 feet tall and can be seen from many miles away.

Byron High School graduate Sean Considine was a safety for the 2013 Super Bowl winning Baltimore Ravens.

Francis K. Newcomer, born in 1889, was a highly decorated officer in the United States Army, serving in both World Wars. His father was also a Brigadier General. Francis graduated from Westpoint in 1913. From 1948-1952 he was the Governor of the Panama Canal Zone.

While there are many animal testicle festivals in the United States, the Turkey Testicle Festival in Byron is the longest running. Byron's first festival was in 1979.