1936 Olympic Baseball

NOTE: This is a repost from 3/2010

One of the things that keeps me motivated to continue this blog is the fact that the more I look into the history of the game, the more I find out about it. One of the frustrating things about this blog is that I find so many interesting stories that I’m not able to replay the World Series as quickly as I’d like. Hopefully, the things that I find interesting are also things that will make you coming back for more. Like Olympic baseball in 1936.

I had not realized that baseball had been played in the Olympics before 1984, so when I came across this story, I knew I had to blog about it.

Jesse Owens won 4 Gold Medals in 1936

Baseball had been played in 3 previous Olympics before 1936; 1904, 1912, and 1928. These were basically pick-up games played with the track and field athletes, and were just exhibitions to show the game of baseball to the other participating countries. The 1936 Berlin Olympics, the infamous Hitler Olympics, would not only showcase the athletic ability of Jesse Owens and his 4 gold medals, but it would actually have real baseball players, playing in a scheduled game against a Japanese baseball team.

Les Mann played 16 seasons in the Major Leagues compiling a .282 average.

This game was all made possible by former major league player, Les Mann. He had petitioned the Olympic Committee back in 1932 to include baseball, but was denied. He spent the next 4 years trying to make sure he wasn’t denied in 1936. He helped form the USA Baseball Congress, gathered up sponsors, including Louisville Slugger and Wheaties, and was able to get an invitation from the German Olympic Committee to send a team to the Olympics.

In July of 1936 he held a tryout in Baltimore, and with the endorsement of Babe Ruth, was able select a squad from some of the best college ball players in the US. Mann put together a team of 20 players from various colleges that included Stanford, the University of Nebraska, the Western State Teachers College, the University of Texas, Brooklyn College, and USC.

After playing a couple of exhibition games the players, coaches and officials boarded the SS Manhattan, along with the rest of the US Olympic team and sailed to Berlin, via France and Hamburg.

The US baseball team inside the Olympic village

Unfortunately the Japanese baseball team backed out of the scheduled game, and the US had to play an intra squad game. The teams would be called the US Olympics and the World Champions.

The US Olympics:

P-Fred Heringer

2B-Gordon Mallatrat

RF- Dick Hanna

1B-Hubert Shaw

3B-Clarence Keegan

CF-Grover Galvin

LF-Emmett Fore

P-Charlie Simons

SS-Rolf Carlsten

C-Harry Wagnon

World Champions:

P-Bill Sayles

RF-Tom Downey

CF-Ron Hibbard

1B-Paul Amen

LF-Herman Goldberg

SS-Don Wilson

2B-Les McNeece

P-Carson Thompson

3B-Ernest Eddowes

RF-Curt Myers

C-Norman Livermore

The teams were managed by Les Mann and Harry Wolter. The Umpires were George “Tiny” Parker, John Whalen, and Takizo Matsumato, a Japanese official.

Bill Sayles pitched in parts of 2 seasons in the majors, compiling a 1-3 record with a 5.61 ERA. He was the only participant to see major league action.

Herman Goldberg was the only Jewish ball player, and just one of 5 Jewish athletes representing the US. All 5 participated despite the rampant anti-Semitism pervasive in Germany at the time, and a concerted effort to have the US boycott the Olympics. Goldberg said that he saw no incidents of anti-Semitism while in Germany, but his name appeared on the stadium scoreboard as Goldburgh.

Norman Livermore was already in Germany and an acquaintance of Harry Wolter and was asked to join the team.

The athletes were housed in a surprisingly luxuriant Olympic village, containing spacious rooms, and excellent dining accommodations. The village was later used as a military training facility.

   The American ball players received a lot of positive press and their night game played at Reichssport Field was seen by between 90,000- 125,000 spectators. The title of this German newspaper article is Was es Das? It tried to explain the game of baseball to the German people but some of the language did not translate so well. Centerfield was mittelausen, while left field was linkausen, roughly translated as “way out in the left side”. The pitcher was der werfen or “the thrower in”. They were unable to come up with a German word to properly describe shortstop, so it remained simply shortstop. The bases were einmal, sweimal, and dreimal. Or, 1st time, 2nd time, and 3rd time.

The ball players took to the field with great fanfare and were greeted on the field by numerous German dignitaries, including Herman Goring. I’m not sure if Hitler was in attendance. The game was played on a make shift diamond located inside the running track. The foul line was made of white tape, there was a rigged backstop, an all grass infield and no pitcher’s mound.

Because of the poor lighting the pitchers had to throw at a reduced speed so that the batter could pick up the ball.

Hubert Shaw hit an inside the park home run to give the Olympics an early 2-0 lead in the 1st. The World Champions battled back to score 3 runs in the 6th to take a 5-4 lead. After some initial excitement from the German crowd, the players and coaches noticed that a lot of people were leaving, so they decided to play just 7 innings. The Olympics tied the score at 5 in the top of the 7th, but Les McNeese hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 7th to win it for the World Champions 6-5.

This is the only known photo of the actual game.

Despite the German crowd cheering while none was deserved, such as during an infield pop up, and remaining quiet while actual runs were being scored they seemed to enjoy themselves. They were especially taken by the animated strike calls and hand gestures from home plate umpire Tiny Parker.  After the game Dr. Carl Diem, the person in charge all the preparations for the 1936 Olympics, congratulated the players on a fine exhibition. “ I have come officially to advise you that this has been the finest demonstration of any sport that any nation has ever put on at any Olympic games. We congratulate you and, speaking for my people, you have made over 100,000 friends here tonight, and as they go home, America’s baseball players’ praises will be sung by all.”

The game proved such a success that the International Olympic Committee approved baseball for the 1940 Olympics in Japan. Unfortunately WW II wiped out those Olympics, and baseball would not be a part of another Olympics until 1984.

A large part of the research for this post came from an article written by M.E. Travaglini, Was es Das?  published in The National Pastime(1985)

More 1911 Philadelphia A’s Goodness

 

The Forgotten Champions

I just came across this blog dedicated to the 1911 Philadelphia A’s.

From the website:

2011 marks the 100-year anniversary of the Philadelphia Athletics’ championship 1911 season.  This site will chart the course of the season as it unfolds through October in real time (well, real time plus 100 years).
When the Athletics decamped to Kansas City and later to Oakland, they left behind a proud legacy in their former home – nine pennants, five world series titles (more championships than any other Philadelphia sports team), five 100-win seasons, rosters full of baseball legends, and the unmatched record of 50-year manager Connie Mack.
The local fans came to fully embrace the Phillies, and current A’s fans naturally look on their own hometown championships more fondly, leaving a fading legacy of greatness for the original Athletics.  When a team moves to a new city and leaves their fan base behind, their history tends to get orphaned in the process.
This site will give lovers of baseball in Philadelphia and everywhere else a chance to look back and live vicariously through those 1911 fans as they watch their hometown A’s climb to the top of baseball’s heap.
We’ll look at the games the team played and the players who took the field that season.   The outcome is already in the record books, but let’s enjoy the ride together throughout the summer.

It’s a well put together site(I’m jealous) with box scores, updated standings, game accounts, photos, and a ton of interesting baseball information. Tim Ifill’s writing style(I’m jealous) makes this a very enjoyable read. He’s already up to May 20th, so I suggest you head on over and do some catching up.

Baseball’s Sad Lexicon

Joe Tinker         Johnny Evers       Frank Chance

Written by Franklin P. Adams in 1910 it 1st appeared in print as “That Double Play Again” on July 12, 1910 in the New York Evening Mail. It appeared in the Chicago Daily Tribune on July 15th as “Gotham’s Woe”, and then was reprinted in the Evening Mail as “Baseball’s Sad Lexicon” on July 18th.

Adams supposedly wrote this little ditty while travelling to a Cubs-Giants game at the Polo Grounds. Adams was miffed at the Cubs double play trio for always seeming to snuff the rallies of his beloved Giants by turning a clutch double play.  The election of all 3 players to the Hall of Fame is sometimes attributed to this 8 line poem. Bill James makes the case that as individuals they were decent players, but as teammates they won a lot of games, and isn’t that the reason the game is played? They won 986 games over a 10 year period(1904-1913), a record that has never been approached. Hall of Fame players?…maybe. Hall of Fame teammates?……definitely.

 

These are the saddest of possible words:

"Tinker to Evers to Chance."

Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,

Tinker and Evers and Chance.

Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,

Making a Giant hit into a double –

Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:

"Tinker to Evers to Chance.

The 3rd baseman for this famed Cubs’ team is Harry Steinfeldt. He was not included in the poem and he is not in the Hall of Fame. All because of the inability to rhyme Steinfeldt!!! Also, a gonfalon is a flag or a pennant, so Adams is bemoaning the lack of National League pennants for his Giants, because of this trio of bear cubs.  The poem states that you can prick a  gonfalon, but can you gonfalon a prick?………….Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.

Home Run Derby

I’m sure we’ve all seen bits and pieces of the classic  “Home Run Derby” TV show that aired in 1960 and was featured on ESPN Classic around 2003. I watched it when it was on ESPN and was really surprised at how young the players looked. I didn’t become aware of baseball until 1967 and by then all of these players were aged veterans, but on “Home Run Derby” they were all in the prime of their youth and it was great to see Mantle, Mays, Aaron, Banks and others looking so youthful. Ernie Banks looked like a teenager.

Was I Lyin?

The biggest problem with the show was that because they only used 3 cameras, there was no sense of distance for the home runs. Many of the home runs were described as long shots but because just 1 camera from behind home plate was used to follow the flight of the ball, they all looked the same to me.

The show was the brain child of sportscaster Mark Scott, who was also the host of the show. It was filmed right after the conclusion of the 1959 season in Los Angeles, in Wrigley Field, the former home of the Pacific Coast League Angels. It had not been used since 1957, but it would become the home of the expansion Los Angeles Angels in their inaugural 1961 season. Wrigley Field was ideal not only because it was not being used, but also because of the climate and the home run friendly park dimensions. Just 340 down the line with a 15 foot ivy covered wall, and power alleys of just 345 feet.

Wow, he does look like a killer.

Participants:

Hank Aaron(Braves)

Eddie Mathews(Braves)

Willie Mays(Giants)

Mickey Mantle(Yankees)

Jackie Jensen(Red Sox)

Dick Stuart(Pirates)

Gus Triandos(Orioles)

Duke Snider(Dodgers)

Ernie Banks(Cubs)

Al Kaline(Tigers)

Harmon Killebrew(Senators)

Bob Allison(Senators)

Jim Lemon(Senators)

Frank Robinson(Reds)

Rocky Colavito(Indians)

Ken Boyer(Cardinals)

Bob Cerv(A’s)

Wally Post(Phillies)

Gil Hodges(Dodgers)

That’s 9 Hall of Famers by my count.

Mark Scott and a very young Hank Aaron

Every team was represented by at least 1 player except the Chicago White Sox. Despite being the American League Champions in 1959, they only hit 97 home runs as a team, with the forgettable Shem Lollar leading the team with just 22 home runs.

The incentive for the players was of coarse money. The winner would get $2,000 and the loser would get $1,000. There would also be bonus money if a player hit 3 or more home runs in a row.

It would be a 9 inning contest with an out being recorded on any ball that was not a home run or a called strike by major league umpire Art Passarella.

The 1st matchup was between Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays. Mays hit the 1st pitch for a home run and eventually hit 4 for the inning. Mays really swung from his heals. Mantle fought back from an 8-2 deficit after 5 innings. He tied it 8-8 in the 8th and won it in the bottom of the 9th with a home run on the 1st pitch of the inning. An exciting start for the “Home Run Derby”.

There would be 25 more matchups pitting each weeks winner against another opponent. Some players that lost would come back in later shows.

Of the 25 games 12 would be decided by 1 home run. No player got shut out, although Al Kaline, Duke Snider, and Gus Triandos would hit just 1 home run. 4 times the winner hit just 3 home runs. Dick Stuart(11), Willie Mays(11), Ernie Banks(11) Mickey Mantle(13), and Jackie Jensen(14) would reach double digits in victory, while Ernie Banks(11) and Jackie Jensen(10) would reach double digits while losing. Jackie Jensen beat Ernie Banks 14-11 in the highest scoring game.

To the dismay of Cleveland Indian fans, Rocky Colavito would lose in both of his appearances while wearing an Indians jersey. He was traded to the Tigers shortly after the taping of those shows.

Mickey Mantle won the 1st 3 contests and Hank Aaron won 6 in a row. His 6 wins were the most by any player as was the $13,500 that he won. Mickey Mantle hit 44 home runs in his 5 appearances, the most of any player.

Mantle beat Jackie Jensen 13-10 in the last show of the series. Jensen did however hit 5 home runs in a row in the 4th inning picking up a cool $2,000 bonus.

“Home Run Derby” was extremely popular when it aired in 1960. Baseball fans got a close up look at their favorite players, something that was not generally available back then, and most of the games were really close contests. Mark Scott was very good with the players, and his enthusiasm came across as very genuine. So why did it air for just one season?

Six months after filming ended Mark Scott suffered a fatal attack. The last several episodes actually aired after his death. The network decided not to renew the show without him. Too bad. It would have been nice to see a couple of more seasons with more cameras, better technology, and maybe even color.

The Good Old Days

On May 20, 1875 the Hartford Courant posted the following ad:

TWO HUNDRED AND FIVE DOLLARS REWARD

At the great base ball match on Tuesday, while I was engaged in hurrahing, a small boy walked off with an English-made brown silk UMBRELLA belonging to me and forgot to bring it back. I will pay $5 for the return of that umbrella in good condition to my house on Farmington avenue. I do not want the boy(in active state) but will pay two hundred dollars for his remains.

                                                                                -SAMUEL L. CLEMENS

This is why Mark Twain is considered one of America’s greatest humorists. I wonder if today’s newspapers would have posted this ad?

Twain would have been just 39 years old when he attended this game, and had yet to publish The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

 

The game that Twain attended was a matchup between the hometown 12-0 Hartford Dark Blues and the 16-0 Boston Red Stockings. The game was attended by over 9,000 spectators, a huge number for 1875, and was won by the Red Stockings 10-5.

The Red Stockings were managed by Harry Wright and featured his brother George Wright, as well as Andy Leonard, Ross Barnes, Cal McVey, Deacon White, Jim O’Rourke and Al Spalding. The Dark Blues were well represented by Tom York, Bob”Death to Flying Things” Ferguson, Tommy Bond and Candy Cummings.

I’m still patiently waiting for that time machine, and this game would be on my wish list. Attending a baseball game with Mark Twain……priceless. Also, as far as I know, neither the umbrella or the remains of the small boy were ever returned to Twain.

“Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today.”- Mark Twain

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

 

 

The story goes that in 1908 vaudeville entertainer Jack Norworth was riding the subway in Manhattan when he saw a sign announcing, “Baseball Today-Polo Grounds”. Having never been to the Polo Grounds or actually seen a professional baseball game, Noworth put pen to paper and wrote the lyrics to his oft sung ballad before reaching his stop. His friend Albert Von Tilzer would later supply the melody, and the 3rd most sung song in the world was born. (Who Let The Dogs Out, and Can’t Touch This, are 1st and 2nd on the list.)………wait……..those are the top 2 songs sung in my shower…..sorry. Obviously, Happy Birthday and The Star Spangled Banner are 1 & 2 on the list.

When Norworth later sang his song in his act it was met with cold indifference. (Not unlike my rendition of Who Let The Dogs Out) It would eventually catch on when a version was made for the nickelodeon. Millions of copies of the sheet music would be sold, initially entitled “The Sensational Baseball Song”

Neither Norworth or Von Tilzer would actually attend a baseball game until many years later. The 1st time it was sung at a professional game might not have happened until the World Series of 1934. Pepper Martin and the Gashouse Gang performed it before the start of game 4 in the series.

Harry Caray started to sing it during the 7th inning stretch in 1971 because, in his words, “…it was the only song I knew the words to.” Since then it has been sung by very few during the 7th inning stretch at Wrigley Field. It’s been massacred by many, but sung by very few. Mike Ditka and Ozzy Osborne come to mind. In Ken Burns’ magnificent 1994 documentary, Carly Simon provided her vocal skills to the song.

The 1st version had Katie Casey imploring her male companion to take her to the ballgame. In a later 1927 version Norworth renamed the leading lady Nelly Kelly. What follows is the initial version of the song:

Here we have the prim and proper Miss Katie Casey checking out today’s game.

Katie Casey was base ball mad.
Had the fever and had it bad;
Just to root for the home town crew,
                                                                 Ev’ry sou Katie blew. (Note: sou was slang for coin money)
On a Saturday, her young beau
Called to see if she’d like to go,
To see a show but Miss Kate said,
"No, I’ll tell you what you can do."

Here is the prim and proper Katie Casey grabbing all the crackerjack.

"Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd.
Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack,
I don’t care if I never get back,
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don’t win it’s a shame.
For it’s one, two, three strikes, you’re out,
At the old ball game."

Here we have the prim and proper Katie Casey hogging down on a…..???….I’m going to guess a pancreas.

Katie Casey saw all the games,
Knew the players by their first names;
Told the umpire he was wrong,
All along good and strong.
When the score was just two to two,
Katie Casey knew what to do,
Just to cheer up the boys she knew,
She made the gang sing this song:

Here we have the prim and……Ohh…who are we kidding, what’s wrong with this woman?

"Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd.
Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack,
I don’t care if I never get back,
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don’t win it’s a shame.
For it’s one, two, three strikes, you’re out,
At the old ball game."

Here we have the completely pickled Katie Casey singing, “Who Let The Dogs Out.”

June 14, 1870-A Day That Will Live In Infamy?

Most baseball fans are familiar with the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings, the 1st openly professional baseball team, and their undefeated season in which they went an astounding 57-0. But do you know the story of how this team finally lost a game?

First, a little background before we get to June 14, 1870.  Harry Wright recruited the best players in the game to play for the Red Stockings, starting with arguably the best player in the country, his brother George Wright. Harry managed and played outfield, and George played shortstop. The rest of the team included pitcher Asa Brainard, outfielders Cal McVey and Andy Leonard,1st baseman Charlie Gould, 2nd baseman Charlie Sweasy, 3rd baseman Fred Waterman, and catcher Doug Allison.  Dick Hurley was the lone substitute. All this for a team salary of $9300.

After their 57-0 season wowed the country, all the players returned for the 1870 season. Sporting a perfect 24-0 record the Red Stockings arrived at the Capitoline Grounds in Brooklyn to face the Atlantics on a hot early summer day. The Capitoline Grounds were the 1st fully enclosed baseball grounds and was used as a skating rink during the winter. It was also used to host the Barnum Circus each spring. (The pre-Bailey circus)

Fans needed to take the ferry from Manhattan to cross the East River into Brooklyn to attend the game. The Brooklyn Bridge was currently under construction and wouldn’t be finished for another 13 years.

An estimated crowd of between 12,000-15,000 jam packed a ball park that would normally hold 5,000, all paying 50 cents, most anticipating a Brooklyn Atlantic upset. Wishful thinking; the last time these 2 teams met the Red Stockings had edged the Atlantics 32-10, and the Atlantics had already lost 3 games this season.

The Atlantics would be represented by Dickey Pearce-ss, Charles Smith-3b, Joe Start-1b, John Chapman-lf, Bob Ferguson-c, George Zettlein-p, George Hall-cf, Lipman Pike-2b, and Dan McDonald-rf.

George Wright lead off the game with a single to left, and 2 outs later scored on singles from Doug Allison, and his brother Harry. Allison scored on Harry’s single when rightfielder Dan McDonald misplayed the ball for an error, giving the Reds an early 2-0 lead.

The Reds increased their lead to 3-0 in the 3rd inning on hits from Fred Waterman and George Wright.

The Atlantics broke through in the 4th on singles off the bats of Dickey Pearce, Joe Start, and Bob Ferguson. A throwing error by Fred Waterman aided in the scoring. After 4 innings the Reds lead 3-2.

In the 6th the Atlantics took a surprising 4-3 lead, but in the Reds 7th they plated 2 runs on a  smash off the bat of George Wright giving the Reds a 5-4 lead.

In the Atlantics’ 8th Charles Smith tripled with 1 out in the inning. Joe Start hit a drive down the right field line that was caught on a brilliant play by Cal McVey. Smith tagged and headed home, but a great throw from McVey beat him to the plate, unfortunately, for the Reds,  Doug Allison dropped the ball allowing Smith to score the tying run.

No runs scored in either half of the 9th leaving the game locked at 5.

The rules of the day allowed for tie ballgames, and the Atlantics were perfectly satisfied with a tie against the invincible Red Stockings. Harry Wright and club President Aaron Champion were not satisfied with a tie and insisted the game continue. With the crowd storming the field happy with the tie as well, Henry Chadwick, who was in attendance, was asked what the official ruling should be. Because both captains of the teams had to agree to letting the game end in a tie, and Harry and the Red Stockings would not agree to this, Chadwick declared that the game must resume.

After clearing the field the game continued. The Reds did not score in the 10th, and the Atlantics mounted a rally in the last of the 10th. With Dan McDonald and Dickey Pearce on 1st and 2nd with 1 out, Charles Smith hit a pop fly on the infield. George Wright camped under the ball, and then let it drop, thus turning an easy inning ending double play. With no infield fly rule the play was perfectly within the rules.

In the 11th the Red Stockings seemingly put the game away, scoring 2 runs to take a 7-5 lead. Asa Brainard doubled, Charlie Sweasey lifted an easy flyball that fell when the Atlantic outfielders collided. A Cal McVey flyball scored Brainard, and George Wright came through again with an rbi single to score Sweasy.

Following the rules of the day, Charles Smith lead off the 11th for the Atlantics. Despite being the batter that hit into the inning ending double play in the 10th, Smith was not the last player put out in the inning, and was allowed to lead off the 11th. Smith promptly singled and went to 3rd on a wild pitch from Brainard. Joe Start hit one deep to right field that landed near the overflow crowd. When McVey grabbed the ball a spectator leaped on his back allowing Start to reach 3rd. Years later McVey would deny that any spectator leaped on his back, but regardless, Start was the tying run at 3rd with no outs.  An infield groundout failed to score Start, and the normally right handed hitting Bob Ferguson came to the plate batting left handed. He wanted to make sure he pulled the ball away from the sure-handed George Wright at short. Ferguson proceeded to smash a ball past Sweasy at 2nd to tie the score. George Zettlein smacked a groundball to 1st baseman Charley Gould. He made a dangerous throw to 2nd to try to force Ferguson, but his throw bounced in to the outfield allowing Ferguson to score all the way from 2nd. The Atlantics had ended the Red Stocking’s winning streak at 81 games, by a score of 8-7.

The Red Stockings had proved mortal, the crowds stopped coming out to see them play, and they actually lost 5 more games in the season. With the advent of the National Association in 1871 the team  broke up, with George and Harry Wright, Charley Gould and Cal McVey playing for the National Association Red Stockings

The Cincinnati Red Stockings had captured the nation with a glorious winning streak, but a loss on a hot Brooklyn summer day may have turned the game of baseball into America’s game.

Who’s In The Hall of Fame-Alexander Joy Cartwright

 

Thanks to a recent birthday present Cooperstown: Hall of Fame Players  I’m going to use this book for a number of brief posts about each player in the book. I’ve done previous posts using the artwork of Dick Perez, and I’ll continue to do so with these posts.

Alexander Cartwright was featured in a previous post, but since he’s the 1st featured Hall of Famer in the book, we’ll start with him.

Cartwright was involved in the formation of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club in 1845 and has been given most of the credit for establishing a lot of the early rules of the game. A biography by Monica Nucciarone on the SABR Biography Project sheds a different light on the overall role that Cartwright played.

Doc Adams, another member of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club may have had a more pivotal role in the establishment of baseball in the early 19th Century, and should definitely be honored with his own plaque in the Hall of Fame.

Regardless of his true importance to the game of baseball, Cartwright does bring a couple of cool things to the game. His middle name of Joy is both unique and evokes a feeling of festive gaiety, something we all need more of in our lives.

He also gives us this photo.

Have you ever wondered about the story behind this wonderful photo?

Cartwright left the Knickerbockers in 1849 and headed west to California with Gold Rush fever, but upon reaching California the deplorable conditions didn’t suit Cartwright and his family and he immediately continued west to Honolulu. There he became the 1st Chief Engineer of the Fire Department of the City of Honolulu in 1851, fighting fires alongside King Kamehameha III.  In this photo we see a proud and distinguished fireman, regaled in his best suit, a fire helmet, his badge prominently worn on his lapel, while leaning on his fireman’s horn. With a little imagination you could easily replace them with a baseball cap and a Louisville Slugger.

Alexander Joy Cartwright was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1938.

Ty Cobb’s Shotgun

If you’ve read Cobb by Al Stump or seen the movie of the same name featuring Tommie Lee Jones as the Georgia Peach, you know the story of how Ty’s mother “accidentally” shot and killed her husband with a shotgun when she mistook him for an intruder. She may or may not have been having an affair which may have prompted Professor W. H. Cobb, Ty’s father, to sneak into his own house to try to catch his wife in flagrante delicto.

  This shotgun was part of the famous Halper Collection some of which was put up for Auction by Sothebys back in 1995. The shotgun was removed before the auction took place because the provenance of the shotgun was not strong enough. Barry Halper supposedly got the shotgun from Cobb’s biographer Al Stump who claimed he was told by Cobb that it was the actual shotgun that his Mother used to kill his Father. Turns out that Cobb’s Mother probably used a pistol to kill her husband. So how did this shotgun almost get auctioned off as the weapon that killed Ty Cobb’s Father?

An article on the Halls Of Shame Blog details the story and includes a link to The Georgia Peach:Stumped By The Storyteller…by William H. Cobb.  It’s a fascinating read that contains a review of all the biographical literature on Ty Cobb and the workings of the world of baseball memorabilia. It’s a long article, but it’s well worth the time to read it.

Make sure you check out the rest this wonderful site, it’s a real eye-opener to the dark side of the baseball memorabilia business.

Albert Spalding’s World Tour 1888/1889

It was initially billed as Spalding’s Australian Baseball Tour, but Spalding had more nefarious plans. He put together an All Star team named the All Americas, that was to play his Chicago White Stockings in a series of exhibition games, starting in Chicago, moving west across the United States, and then sailing to Australia via Hawaii for another batch of exhibition games.

Half way to Hawaii with a captive audience on the cruise liner Alameda, Spalding pitched his idea to expand the tour to Europe, Egypt, and Great Britain.  Surprisingly all the players and their entourage didn’t throw him overboard and head back home. They agreed to turn their Australian adventure into a world tour.

Spalding’s goal for this tour was to spread the great “American” made game of baseball to the 4 corners of the world and use this opportunity to expand his sporting goods empire by marketing his bats, balls, gloves, and uniforms.

Chicago White Stockings:

Jimmy Ryan, Bob Pettit, Marty Sullivan, Cap Anson, Fred Pfeffer, Ned Williamson, Tom Burns, Tom Daly, Mark Baldwin, and John Tener. Spalding himself would oil up his right arm and do a little pitching.

All Americas:

Ned Hanlon, George Wood, John Ward, Fred Carrol, James Fogarty, James Manning, Tom Brown, Billy Earle, Ed Crane, John Healy, and Manager George Wright.

Players that only played in the American leg of the tour were: Ed Hengle, Silver Flint, Hermann Long and George Van Haltren.

Accompanying the players would be several journalists, servants, wives, a comedian by the name of Frank Lincoln, world famous aerialist Professor C. Bartholomew, and mascot Clarence Duvall.

Top Row: Tom Burns, Tom Daly, Robert Pettit, Marty Sullivan, Mark Baldwin, John Tener, John Healy,

Fred Carroll, George Wood, Tom Brown, Jim Manning. Middle Row: Ned Williamson, Fred Pfeffer, Cap Anson,

Albert Spalding, John Ward, Jim Fogarty, Harry Simpson. Front Row: Clarence Duvall(Mascot), George Wright,

Ned Hanlon, Billy Earle

As usual, mustaches rule, and where the heck is Tom Burns looking?

The 1st game was played on 10/20/1888 in Chicago, and headed west via the Burlington Route Railroad with their new Cosmopolitan dining cars. They played games in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Des Moines, Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, San Francisco and Los Angeles among others. Along the way ballplayers on a train would do what ballplayers do; raise hell, play practical jokes and in general do everything in their power to annoy their fellow passengers. The main culprit was James Fogarty. He spread the “joy” to fellow players, management, and passengers alike. Inspired by some wolves that he saw while en route, he formed the “Order of the Howling Wolves” Whose sole purpose was to howl and wail at every opportunity. They even had their own little song:

“We are the Howling Wolves,

And this is our night to howl,

And we howl thus: Wooo!!!”

It’s no Macarena, but it’s probably just as annoying.

They set sail for Hawaii on 11/16/1888 aboard the aforementioned Alameda. The practical jokes may have subsided a little during the voyage, do to rough seas, and the accompanying sea sickness. But do to a longer than anticipated voyage the tour arrived late to Hawaii. Their scheduled games could not be played, because their time of departure could not be postponed, and do to the no Sunday games rule they were not allowed to play, despite special pleading from Spalding. The players were still treated to a lavish luau with King Kalakaua. It was a testament to Spalding’s ambassadorial skills that the natives didn’t include the players on the menu.

Safely aboard the Alameda, the tour headed to Australia. With a quick stop in New Zealand, the tour arrived in Australia on 12/14/88. They played 11 games down under, with stops in Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide,  playing games on Xmas Eve, as well as New Years day.

While in Adelaide the dashing, and daring Professor C. Bartholomew got a chance to perform his aerial act. Dangling from a hot air balloon from a height of approx. 2,000 feet, the one-eyed dare-devil performed on a trapeze that was dangling beneath the balloon. He then leaped from the balloon strapped to a parachute. Unfortunately for the Professor his parachute failed to deploy properly and he slammed into the chimney of a nearby hotel. He unbelievably suffered only minor injuries, but was reluctant to perform for the remainder of the tour.

The Dashing Prof. Bartholomew

I have that same outfit.

Continuing the tour they set sail once again, heading northwest. They played in Cairo with the great pyramids of Ghizeh in the background, and the Sphinx looking quietly, yet stoically on. The players had a contest to see if anyone could throw a ball over the Cheops pyramid, but at 450 feet high it proved impossible. They also climbed all over the Sphinx for a photo op and threw baseballs at it’s right eye. Practices that would be considered felonious today.

Baseball and the Great Cheops Pyramid of Ghizeh-This is extremely cool.

After his White Stockings played a particularly bad game against the All Americas, Cap Anson apologized to the Sphinx for their poor play. It is not known what the Sphinx said in reply.

Stops in Naples, Rome, Paris, London, Glasgow, Belfast, and Dublin among others, would follow. Spalding tried desperately to get a game played in the Roman Coliseum, but was denied. Tours of the cities and their landmarks, as well as lavish banquets were held at every opportunity. Debauchery and mayhem was also on the menu.

A toast card from the Surrey County Cricket Club.

The bird had no comment.

The tour returned to the states on April 7th 1889 to a heroes welcome. Games were played in New York  Baltimore, Boston, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland before heading home to Chicago. All tolled they travelled over 30,000 miles and played  56 games, in 13 different countries,  with the All Americas winning 29, the White Stockings 23, with 3 ties. While in England Spalding refused the offer to have his players play in a cricket match, for fear of embarrassing themselves. But they did play a game against a Rounders Association team and beat them handily 18-0, a game that was mercifully called after 1 inning.

The reviews from the different countries ran the gamut from boredom to confusion, from complimentary to unflattering. England was especially critical with comments of “Appears childish”, “A silly game” , “It is rot”, and “….don’t understand the game…..I don’t want to…”

Australia seemed to enjoy the game more than any other country. With a typical headline reading, BASEBALL TAKES HOLD; NOW FIRMLY ROOTED IN AUSTRALIA.

All in all the around the world tour, despite losing money should be considered a success. The players had an experience of a life time, and Spalding was able to bring the game he loved to the four corners of the world.

To learn more about this tour I recommend -Spalding’s World Tour by Mark Lamster. A detailed account of the tour, the players, and the games played.

This is one of the reasons I wanted to do this blog. This World Tour has been all but forgotten by today’s fan. It’s stuff like this that sets baseball apart from any other sport. Its history is really a part of American and World history.