New York Times 9/23/1891

 

The esteemed John Thorn, MLB’s official historian for good reason, recently penned (is anything actually penned anymore?) an article titled “The House that McGraw Built” – meaning the Yankee franchise. In contrast though, I see the franchise’s genesis as a product of Ban Johnson and Clark Griffith’s efforts.

John McGraw with all his bluster and vindictiveness was more an impediment to the development of the American League than an impetus. His “contribution” was more the destruction of the Baltimore franchise than the erection of one in New York City. Baltimore’s fair-haired friend in the end helped erase the city from major league maps for over a half a century. Similarly, he would consciously set out to destroy the fledgling club in New York.

The following multi-part article is pulled from my biography of Clark Griffith, examining the formation of the New York Highlander and Griffith’s near solo effort in running the franchise through its first half-decade.

Part 4 of 4

1907-1908

The Highlanders slipped to fifth place in 1907. Griffith, the pitcher, only entered four games all in relief. Before the season even started, it was evident that Clark was getting restless. He entered into a partnership with his old California buddies Joe Cantillon and Norris L. “Tip” O’Neill to buy a sheep ranch in Montana. The plan was to each put up about $7,000 as an initial stake. O’Neill, president of the Western League, would oversee the operation during the summer while the other two attended to their ball clubs. Clark was already successfully raising cattle but saw a bigger windfall in sheep. The idea never left the planning stages. In the fall, Griffith contemplated leaving baseball to breed horses full-time. He already had over a hundred on his ranch, and figured the enterprise would be much more lucrative than baseball. Perhaps the graying manager was looking to settle down at age 37 after twenty years in the game. Clark made even bigger plans in 1908; he wanted a ball club.

            An interesting game took place in Chicago on May 26. Big Ed Walsh had a 4-1 lead in the fifth inning as rain began to fall. Griffith pulled starter Al Orth to delay the game, hoping for a rainout before the contest became official. Inserting himself on the mound, Clark took forever to warm up. It was pouring by then and umpire Jack Sheridan called for a delay. The ploy backfired on the Highlanders, as play resumed after only ten minutes. Griffith did his best to delay further, even allowing a ball to roll through his legs so the last out wouldn’t register. Sheridan threatened to forfeit the game to the White Sox but it actually lasted into the sixth inning. Walsh was immortalized with a rain shortened, five-inning no-hitter.[1]

            Griffith was ejected for excessive arguing by umpire Jack Sheridan on June 4. The Highlanders were crushed on June 12, 16-4, making eleven errors in the process, enough to make any manager irate. Griffith became absolutely livid when his hometown crowd began cheering for the Tigers and booing his men. While he was leaving the field after the game, Griffith encountered a local dry goods merchant, Mr. Frank, who was complementing the Tigers’ budding star Ty Cobb. Griffith clocked the man in the jaw and was chased to the clubhouse by the businessman’s friends. Frank threatened to swear out a warrant. In court Griffith declared self-defense and paid a fine.

            The Highlanders lost 16-5 on June 28 in a game noted for sore-armed catcher Branch Rickey allowing thirteen Washington stolen bases.[2] Washington manager Cantillon was sitting around a New York hotel on June 29 between games with Griffith’s club, when he received a phone call from Cliff Blankenship. Blankenship, the Nats’ backup catcher, was injured so Cantillon sent him on a scouting expedition to Weiser, Idaho. Cantillon learned of his newest acquisition, Walter Johnson, the man who brought Griffith his greatest riches and happiest moments in the game. Blankenship also signed Clyde Milan during the same trip. Griffith remained sore about the acquisition, until he became the Senators manager of course. His pitcher Bill Hogg received a telegram from a friend in Weiser about Johnson three weeks before Blankenship signed the pitcher. Hogg simply tossed it aside without any further thought.

            The story illustrates just how time sensitive spotting budding talent was prior to the institution of the amateur free agent draft. Teams were often overwhelmed with tips on prospects. Senators’ executive Ben Minor received a favorable report on Johnson much earlier. It was just one of hundreds of casual tips he’d received over the years. He discarded the initial one. After several more communiqués on Johnson, he finally mentioned it to Cantillon.[3] If Blankenship hadn’t been injured, there is no telling when the Senators might have gotten around to looking over the young ballplayer. This just goes to show how a little luck, a quick-response and having an experienced scouting staff can change a team’s fortunes. In this instance that club could very well have not been Washington.

Clark started having some personnel trouble in 1907; the men were grumbling, especially Kid Elberfeld. In part, they were disgruntled with the manager’s new policy against smoking cigarettes. Elberfeld was feuding all season with Wid Conroy, Jimmy Williams, Ira Thomas and Hal Chase. In July, Frank Farrell had enough and suspended Elberfeld for “indifferent play in the field and at bat.” The shortstop was pulling the same malaise routine he did with George Stallings in 1903 to force a trade. It didn’t work this time. Finally, Elberfeld apologized to Griffith and the team and was reinstated on August 15. The Highlanders sputtered all season, dropping to the second division with a 70-78 record. Off season rumors suggested that Griff’s days in New York were numbered, potentially being placed by Stallings or George Davis as manager of the franchise by Opening Day. 

In December, Griff traipsed to Grand Island, Nebraska to talk Fred Glade into joining the Highlanders after acquiring the pitcher in a trade. Glade didn’t want to play for an east coast club, having grown up in rural Nebraska. Over the previous four years with the St. Louis Browns, he posted a 52-63 record, which may have been significantly better with a little more run support. Glade loved baseball but wasn’t financially dependent on it; his family owned a decades-old, profitable milling business… 

Griff headed back to New York from his ranch in late January. Along the way he stopped in Chicago to make a trade and see his tailor. During spring workouts in Atlanta, Clark was rocked when he took the mound and never did enter a game during the regular season. On May 5, President Teddy Roosevelt received Griffith and his men at the White House. Roosevelt was never much of a baseball fan but the President talked of his youngest son, Quentin, who loved the game and played on a team with Secretary of War William Howard Taft’s son, Charlie. Clark grandly threw his support behind Roosevelt for a third term. Ten-year-old Quentin pitched a fit when he discovered that he missed meeting some of his baseball idols.

            That same day, Griffith was suspended indefinitely for arguing with umpire Tommy Connolly on the 4th and failing to leave the park as told. Clark simply parked himself in the pavilion behind third base. On June 9, the Highlanders stood in fourth place a mere half game out of first. It fell apart and the team tanked, losing twelve of the next 13 games to end up in sixth place with a 24-32-record. After a 6-6-tie called for darkness on June 24 against the A‘s, Griffith summoned team owner Frank Farrell to the Majestic Hotel in Philadelphia. The manager resigned feeling discouraged over the losses and believing that a replacement might bring better luck to the boys. At least that’s what he told the press. To highlight his frustration, Griffith was ejected from his last game as the Yankees manager by umpire Rip Egan.

            A host of problems were later unearthed between Farrell and Griffith. In truth, it is unclear whether the manager was actually fired or resigned or was forced to resign, possibly after a huge blowup. For one, Clark was unhappy with Farrell’s interference, particularly concerning the owner’s attempt to suspend pitcher Bill Hogg after a poor outing. Griffith was also being told which pitchers to start. Further frustrating the manager, Farrell and Devery were refusing to fund any new acquisitions. On the other hand, Farrell was irate over the recent losing skid and had been complaining about unsuccessful trades that Griffith made sending Jimmy Williams, Joe Yeager, Danny Hoffman and Hobe Ferris to St. Louis for Harry Niles, Fred Glade, Charlie Hemphill and Branch Rickey. Rumors also suggested that Kid Elberfeld was undermining the manager, which is wholly believable considering his disposition.

In reality the losing streak doomed the manager. Farrell and Devery decided that a change needed to be made. The above-mentioned trade also sorely stuck in the craw of the Highlander owners, especially since the Browns were riding atop the league at the time. St. Louis also had former Highlanders Jack Powell and Harry Howell, obtained in trades with Griffith, who were consistently winning for the club. The Highlander executives felt that Browns’ manager Jimmy McAleer was consistently getting the best of Griffith.

The owners wanted Willie Keeler to take over the club, but Keeler got wind of this idea. Not wanting the job and especially with the circumstances of replacing his friend Griffith, Keeler went to Philadelphia to hide out for a couple of days to avoid the situation. Farrell then contacted Ned Hanlon about taking over the club but after being turned down gave the job to Kid Elberfeld. Elberfeld proved a disaster; he didn’t have the temperament to run a club. He later admitted to consulting his wife on his starting rotation throughout the season.[4] The club was demoralized under his leadership. First baseman Hal Chase, upset at not being chosen manager, jumped the club in September and returned home to California. 

Clark made some off-the-cuff remarks about being done with baseball. He was exhausted. The Washington Post claimed that he was “a nervous wreck as a result of the Highlanders poor showing.”[5] The Sporting Life summed up the situation, “Up to the time Clark Griffith became a manager he was a jovial fellow of good health. Today he is a nervous wreck.”[6] He considered a trip out west to a resort in Wisconsin to fish and recuperate. Instead, he stayed close to the game, joining Joe Cantillon in Philadelphia to watch a Nationals-Athletics contest and rest for a few days.[7] He didn’t stand pat for long. Within a week he was negotiating to purchase the Birmingham Barons of the Southern Association for $30,000. That didn’t pan out but Griffith kept looking. August rumors had him managing the St. Louis Cardinals[8] or perhaps the Washington Nationals. He even talked about forming a whole new baseball league, one in his estimation that would rock the baseball world. His plan called for a group of midwestern clubs with the possibility of an eastern presence like Pittsburgh. This didn’t come to fruition either.

Clark hooked up with Reds’ president Garry Herrmann at the World Series and spent much of October in Cincinnati. Rumors naturally circulated that he would soon take over the team, irking John Ganzel who was recently given the job. The idea of Griffith returning to the National League was a shocker. Seemingly just a few years ago, he was the man leading the charge away from the established league. Griffith initially turned down the Cincinnati job. At the time the minors were in a dispute with the majors and there looked like a possible secession was in the making. He wanted to see how things would play out, possibly easing his way into club ownership, either in the minors or in the show.

            At the end of October, Griff headed to his ranch to prepare some cattle for transport for sale in Chicago. The cattle reached Chicago on November 13. Clark and his brother Earl handled the business transactions over the next week. At the time, Herrmann was relentlessly trying to ink Griff to a deal to manage his club. On November 18, Griffith tersely wired Herrmann from Buffalo that, “You better cut me out as am not ready to talk business.”[9] Clark rethought the wording of the telegram and immediately fired off another stating, “I just wired you that you better cut me out of the Cincinnati proposition. I did not do this because I have signed with anyone else but because I am undecided what to do and I think it is up to me to tell you where I stand.”[10]

Undeterred, Herrmann contacted Ban Johnson and requested that he intercede on his behalf in the negotiations with Griffith. Johnson immediately wired Griffith in Buffalo, advising him to take the Reds’ offer. Johnson claimed that he was mystified why Griffith hadn’t accepted the offer, but expected him to eventually sign.[11] The reason for Clark’s hesitation was soon evident; he was negotiating to take over a minor league franchise.

Clark hooked up with minor league owner George Tebeau and Joseph O’Brien, president of the American Association, in November. Rumors suggested that Tebeau was planning to sell Griffith his Kansas City franchise for $25,000 and perhaps his Louisville one as well for $35,000. Tebeau, in turn, was also looking to purchase the Buffalo franchise in the Eastern League. The fact that O’Brien was in the mix suggested a deeper plan in the works. Baseball men wonder if the trio was perhaps plotting the introduction of a third major league.[12] Clark wanted his own club since the formation of the American League. It wasn’t to be; the National Association settled its dispute on December 10.

After months of haggling, Clark was finally cornered by Cincinnati official Max Fleischman. As a result, he signed with Herrmann on December 11 to manage the Reds. The Old Fox was headed back to the National League. John McGraw and others happily welcomed him back into the league.

---

[1] The Highlanders’ only run occurred in the first inning after Walsh walked Kid Elberfeld and Hal Chase. Two wild pitches later, Elberfeld scored.

[2] After that, Griffith started talking about making an outfielder out of Rickey. Sporting Life, July 27, 1907

[3] Frank H. Young, “The Ivory Hunters of Baseball,” Washington Post, June 2, 1929, p. SM3

[4] Terry Simpkins, “Kid Elberfeld” entry in Deadball Stars of the American League, 2006

[5] “Griffith Resigns Job,” Washington Post, June 25, 1908, p. 8

[6] Sporting Life, July 4, 1908, p. 11

[7] “Team is Home Again,” Washington Post, July 2, 1908, p. 8

[8] “Current Notes picked up from Sporting Arena,” Washington Post, August 23, 1908, p. S3

[9] Western Union telegram dated November 18, 1908 found in Griffith’s Hall of Fame file

[10] Western Union telegram dated November 18, 1908 found in Griffith’s Hall of Fame file

[11] Letter from Ban Johnson to Garry Herrmann dated November 18, 1908 found in Griffith’s Hall of Fame file

[12] “Talk of New League,” Washington Post, November 25, 1908, p. 8

 

The esteemed John Thorn, MLB’s official historian for good reason, recently penned (is anything actually penned anymore?) an article titled “The House that McGraw Built” – meaning the Yankee franchise. In contrast though, I see the franchise’s genesis as a product of Ban Johnson and Clark Griffith’s efforts.

John McGraw with all his bluster and vindictiveness was more an impediment to the development of the American League than an impetus. His “contribution” was more the destruction of the Baltimore franchise than the erection of one in New York City. Baltimore’s fair-haired friend in the end helped erase the city from major league maps for over a half a century. Similarly, he would consciously set out to destroy the fledgling club in New York.

The following multi-part article is pulled from my biography of Clark Griffith, examining the formation of the New York Highlander and Griffith’s near solo effort in running the franchise through its first half-decade.

Part 3 of 4

1905-1906

Griffith made another important acquisition at the end of 1904. On October 4, he drafted pitcher Doc Newton and a seemingly benign first baseman named Hal Chase from Los Angeles of the Pacific Coast League. Newton had just led the league with 39 wins; however, he copped only twenty victories in five seasons with New York. Chase was a find, the first homegrown Yankee superstar. Some still call him the best fielding first sacker of all-time… 

Willie Keeler was the first Highlander to sign for 1905. Out of the blue, he walked into Frank Farrell’s offices in the Fuller Building at 23^rd and Broadway on November 22 and penned his name to a contract. The club didn’t expect any others to sign until Griffith returned from his Montana ranch sometime around Christmas. Walter Clarkson, recently signed out of Harvard University and brother of Hall of Famer John Clarkson, spent November and December at the Griffith ranch hunting and trying to put on weight for the upcoming season.

            Griffith’s time at the Montana ranch wasn’t always a relaxing vacation. There was work to be done and business interests to oversee. More than a few times, he drove cattle and other livestock to the local railroad depot for transport and sale. He accompanied his investment to Chicago or another major city where they were sold. He saw to all the minor details along the way. In essence, the ranch was a business and all that that entails. Like any business, there were market and economic concerns. As he described in a 1907 interview, “I had a long talk with Secretary [William] Loeb when I was in Washington this week. The Standard Oil Company practically owns the State [Montana]. The Beef Trust has all the cattle raisers broke and between the Standard Oil, the Beef Trust and the railroads, the people of that country are simply slaves…I saw the finest kind of cattle starving last winter while waiting for promised cars to take stock to the markets. I made some money, as I was in a position to put in plenty of fodder and hold my stock over. In fact, I fed for other people, but the conditions are something awful for the ranchers in Montana, and it is all due to the trusts.”[1]

A Washington Post article on December 11 examined, “Players who are rich.” After discussing Al Spalding, Al Reach and George Wright who all made a killing in sporting goods, the article declared, “Griffith is a well-to-do ranch owner with Montana land enough, if it was in New York City, to out rich the Astor estate.” Of course this is misleading; there was quite a difference in value between a 5,000-acre spread in Montana and one in New York City.

            Chesbro and Powell combined for 845 innings in 1904. Their arms didn’t rebound so quickly in 1905, especially, with the cold weather encountered in the spring. Orth was also experiencing arm troubles. Griff added Bill Hogg to the roster to pick up some of the slack but it is his own relief pitching and management of his entire pitching staff that year that eventually changed the game. Griffith became one of the game’s first effective relief pitchers in 1905 and ‘06. He started only seven games in 1905 and two the following year; however, Clark led the league both years in games finished seventeen and fifteen, respectively. In 25 games and 102 innings in 1905 Griffith posted a 9-6-record with a 1.68 earned run average. He led the league in relief games, wins and earned run average. In 1906, his last significant year on the mound, he recorded a 3.02 earned run average over sixty innings.

            On the management end, Griffith made far more pitching changes than any other manager in history to date. Historian John Thorn described Griffith as, “the first manager to make full use of his bullpen.”[2] In fact, Griffith contemplated extensive relief pitching as far back as 1902. Before the season commenced he was planning on pulling the plug on White Sox pitcher Ned Garvin, “relieving him the moment that he begins to show his weakness.” Garvin had a poor showing in 1901 with Milwaukee, posting a 7-20 record.[3] The concept of relief pitching, especially on a grand scale, upset baseball purists such as Henry Chadwick, the dean of sportswriters.

The Highlanders tossed only 88 complete games in 1905; no other team had less than 117. There were only 258 games in the American League that were not completed by their starters and New York accounted for 25% of them, 64. Griff seemed to make the right choice when it came to pulling the starter, considering the club still led the league in shutouts. Though it was not a new idea to pull a pitcher for a pinch hitter, Griffith took the practice further than anyone had before. The late inning strategic replacement came from the wily mind of the Old Fox.

            The new methods, as they always do, produced some backlash. Jack Taylor expressed the feeling of some on Griffith’s staff, “As a manager, I think Griffith is prone to expect too much from his pitchers. He forgets that other pitchers hadn’t the head and control he possessed. He knows what he used to do in a pinch, how he liked to have three balls and two strikes on a batter when the game was a tie and a runner at third, and still curve one over when the batter thought sure he would trust to nothing but a straight fastball. Because Griffith could do this kind of thing is what made him a great pitcher, but there are mighty few who can duplicate him. I’ve heard kicks that he yanks a man out too quickly. He expects them to do what he used to do and they can’t do it.”

            Again, Griffith had fewer complete games than any other manager in 1906. With his strategic shuffling Griff was able to coax a second-place finish out of a club that was fifth in team earned run average. Extensive relief pitching wasn’t the only innovation Clark contributed during his time in New York. On August 2, 1906, he started the eighth inning in relief of Jack Chesbro and switched catcher Red Kleinow with Ira Thomas. Rotating the batting order, Griffith inserted himself in the #8-slot where the catcher was batting and Thomas in the #9-slot where the pitcher was batting. A common ploy now especially in the National League, it is the first-known double-switch in major league history.[4]

Clark also popularized the squeeze play in 1905, making the Highlanders the first club to consistently capitalize on the strategy.[5] Some say he even named it. The Washington Post exclaimed, “Manager Griffith says he has a new one called the ‘squeeze play,’ which is working wonders.”[6] He claimed the idea came to him during a 1904 contest when Jack Chesbro misread a sign. On third base at the time Chesbro thought he saw the steal sign, so he took off for home. Startled to see Chesbro barreling home, batter Willie Keeler virtually threw his bat at the ball, in essence bunting the pitch. Both men landed safely.[7]

 Spring training 1905 started with a squabble. Los Angeles Angels’ owner Jim Morley didn’t want to give up Hal Chase. He claimed Chase was drafted illegally and signed the first baseman to a contract with the Angels for the upcoming season. In the middle of the argument was Los Angeles’ manager Pop Dillon, Griffith’s cousin. After trading barbs in the press Clark sent a representative to California to drag Chase away. The newest Highlander arrived in camp on March 28.

            The club opened with a 4-2 victory by Jack Chesbro on April 14. Griffith started his first game on the 27^th and tossed a four-hit, 1-0 shutout over Philadelphia’s Eddie Plank. Clark’s second start on May 22 was also a shutout over Detroit but he was ejected in the second inning. After warming up, Griffith tossed his first offering of the inning. Umpire Tom Kelly called it a ball and Griffith hit the roof. The pitcher was removed in favor of Hogg who completed the 2-0-contest with eight strikeouts. Clark, still fresh, started the next day, losing 5-4. He didn’t make another start until September.

            With the club in last place on May 31, Farrell and Griffith sat the team down at the hotel and blasted them for sloppy play. John Anderson was shipped to Washington. Griffith vowed to find replacements for any slackers. Patsy Dougherty was suspended for poor performance. When Dougherty retorted that he’d rather retire to his farm, Griffith stood firm, “Well Pat, old boy, retire as soon as you like and it will save me the trouble of releasing you.”[8]

            During an argument in the fifth inning on June 9, Griffith charged to the plate to enter the fray. Cleveland catcher Fritz Buelow threw his glove at the Highlanders’ manager. The benches emptied, requiring police to intercede and escort Griffith, Buelow and Indians pitcher Addie Joss from the park. On Sunday August 6, Clark fell ill of food poisoning after spending the day at Coney Island.[9] Future great Ty Cobb made his major league debut against Chesbro on August 30. Griff tossed his second shutout on September 6, a seven-hitter won with two runs in the ninth. He tossed a 10-1, complete game victory over Detroit on October 3. The Highlanders sank to sixth place in 1905 with a 71-78-record; yet, they drew a strong 310,000 fans.

Clark joined the American League’s rules committee over the winter in January 1906, remaining a member even through his tenure with the National League and for many years to come. He would now be changing the game’s rules from the inside.

 The Highlanders performed well in 1906, finishing second with ninety wins. They also outdrew the Giants for the first time, 435,000 to 403,000. This was made possible by the extension of the subway, which finally reached Hilltop Park by summer. Farrell boasted of a $90,000-profit. Griffith worked his pitching staff much the same way as in 1905 but he only toed the rubber in seventeen games. After this season, Clark’s pitching career was virtually over. Never a big strikeout threat after reaching the majors, he finished among the all-time leaders in fewest whiffs per nine innings, 2.54, behind Eddie Rommel and Ted Lyons.

            A few years later, Griff described why he quit pitching, “Baseball is constantly changing. Why I had almost as much speed when I quit pitching as ever in my career. I had more curves, far better control, and I think more generalship…Take a great pitcher of today, for example. He may have wonderful speed and marvelous curves, but the batters get wise to him after a while. Then his day is over. I remember in my own experience. I always had a jump on the ball, its life, in other words. But finally that left. It happens all the time.”[10]

            On May 4, Griffith and the Highlanders’ bench rode opposing starter Chief Bender particularly hard, calling out ethnic slurs to get the pitcher’s goat. It proved effective as Bender was tossed from the game after slamming his glove to the ground and arguing a play in the fifth inning. It’s worth noting that New York’s starter that day Louis Leroy was a Native American as well. Philadelphia sent an impressive stable to the mound that day, Bender, Rube Waddell and Eddie Plank, in the 6-2 loss. Bender exacted his revenge the following day, pitching a complete game 9-3 victory against the Highlanders and also smacking a three-run home run to the right field wall.

            On May 7, Griffith got into a row with umpire Tim Hurst. Managing on the base paths, Clark tossed his hat in the air in protest to a Hurst call and charged the umpire. During the argument, Griffith accidentally stepped on the umpire’s foot. Hurst reared back but stopped short of punching the manager. He then took Clark by the lapel and arm, ushering him to the dugout. Griffith pulled away but ended up with a fat lip anyway. Washington third baseman Lave Cross interceded, calming Griff and walking him to the bench. It didn’t take long for Clark to find another fault with the umpire and the two were at it again. Police entered the fray and escorted Griffith from the field.[11] Ban Johnson thought about it for a week and finally suspended both men for five days.

            Clark made his first start on May 31, a complete game victory over Philadelphia. In St. Louis in early August Griffith was teaching his men a lesson with a cue stick when they decided to play a trick on him. They conned the manager into a pickup game with an “elderly gentleman.” Griffith sat down while the stranger broke but he never got the table back. Amazed, Clark asked the man his name and he was revealed to be former world billiards champion Alfredo de Oro.

De Oro once come to the rescue of a raw seventeen-year-old ballplayer lost in Cuba. In early 1891, Al Lawson organized a barnstorming tour of the country. John McGraw was a part of the contingent. After one of the games, McGraw became separated from his fellow Americans, ending up lost four miles from his hotel and amid a mob of Cubans whom he couldn’t communicate with. Luckily, he ran into de Oro who hailed the youngster a cab back to the hotel.

At the onset of August Clark saw a specialist in Detroit for a supposed “nervous condition.” A doctor recommended that he quit his job. Obviously, that was out of the question.[12] His recovery was slow, as he felt ill much of the latter part of the season.

            Griffith was suspended indefinitely after being ejected again on August 27. He refused to leave the park, managing from the grandstand. Ban Johnson witnessed the spectacle, banning the manager until September 5. Clark’s boys set a record while he was away, by sweeping five doubleheaders in six days. Griffith started his second and last game on the 20^th. He left after the fourth inning of what ended up being a 2-2-tie caused by a rain washout in the eighth. Griffith caused quite a stir among the newsmen with a claim that Detroit pitcher Bill Armour somehow slipped a rubber ball into the September 24 contest. Umpire Tim Hurst just ignored the manager’s ravings.

            Clark used some old National League delaying tactics on September 27 after the Highlanders tied the score in the fifth inning in the backend of a doubleheader in Cleveland. The game was called for darkness, causing 12,000 patrons to chase the New Yorkers from the field.

Like other winters, Ban Johnson spent a week in November at Griffith’s ranch hunting and amassing new stories for the newspapermen. Also in November, Clark led a hunting party into Canada.

---

[1] Sporting Life, June 15, 1907, p. 9

[2] John Thorn, The Relief Pitcher, 1979

[3] Garvin himself had actually relieved ten times in 1901 to lead the league.

[4] “Detroit easy for New York,” New York Times, August 3, 1906, p. 8

[5] The squeeze play was first utilized on June 16, 1894 in a game between Yale and Princeton. “The Most Perfect Thing in America,” Everybody’s Magazine, 1911, p. 445

[6] “Baseball Notes,” Washington Post, April 9, 1905, p. S1

[7] “How Squeeze Play Began,” Washington Post, January 12, 1908, p. S4

[8] “Pat Dougherty Suspended,” Washington Post, June 1, 1905, p. 8

[9] Sporting Life, August 12, 1905, p. 5

[10] “Sees Game changing,” Washington Post, January 2, 1910, p. S4

[11] “Umpire and Player Clash,” New York Times, May 8, 1906, p. 6

[12] Sporting Life, August 11, 1906, p. 3

 

The esteemed John Thorn, MLB’s official historian for good reason, recently penned (is anything actually penned anymore?) an article titled “The House that McGraw Built” – meaning the Yankee franchise. In contrast though, I see the franchise’s genesis as a product of Ban Johnson and Clark Griffith’s efforts.

John McGraw with all his bluster and vindictiveness was more an impediment to the development of the American League than an impetus. His “contribution” was more the destruction of the Baltimore franchise than the erection of one in New York City. Baltimore’s fair-haired friend in the end helped erase the city from major league maps for over a half a century. Similarly, he would consciously set out to destroy the fledgling club in New York.

The following multi-part article is pulled from my biography of Clark Griffith, examining the formation of the New York Highlander and Griffith’s near solo effort in running the franchise through its first half-decade.

Part 2 of 4

1903 to 1904

The new club, initially called the Americans, departed for spring training in mid-March 1903. Opening Day was set for April 22. They spent most of their time in Atlanta and New Orleans playing the Crackers and Pelicans, respectively, of the Southern Association. The New York newspapers were initially hostile to the new ball club. Freedman still had some connections after all. Griffith hired reporter Jim Bagley to travel with the team and remit stories back to several Gotham dailies. Clark also paid sports editor Jim Price of the New York Press to cover the southern trip. Bagley’s stories proved sufficiently entertaining that the city’s main papers were forced to pick up coverage of the Americans. The American League was now legitimate in New York.

            Meanwhile, Farrell tapped his Tammany connections to have a ballpark built. Demolition and construction cost $200,000 and another $75,000 for the park itself. Blasting didn’t even begin until March 18. It took five hundred men working day and night to complete the job before Opening Day, well nearly complete at least. The grounds were a mess, leveling proved a nightmare. The ballpark sat atop a hill, requiring a lot of dynamite to make headway. Overseeing matters, Griffith amassed a collection of arrowheads and 1776 vintage grapeshot and canisters during the digging. The field became known as Hilltop Park after an initial christening as American League Park. Along the same lines, the team itself eventually adopted the moniker Highlanders.

            The season opened with the construction incomplete. There was no roof and 5,000 folding chairs were needed to make up for an unfinished grandstand and bleachers; but, seating was available for about 16,000. The field was the biggest problem. The infield was nicely rolled but the New York Times described the outfield as, “rough and ragged.” Ropes circled the field marking ground-rule double territory. There would be no triples or homers unless the ball left the entire grounds. Keeler had little room to cover in right since most of it was cordoned off. The ground there proved particularly troublesome to level. It was a sinkhole and never really settled until 1904. Keeler was used to uneven grounds as his groundskeeper in Baltimore deliberately left a hill in right field. Keeler could deftly manage the protrusion but it wreaked havoc with visiting outfielders.[1]

Griffith made his first start on the mound on April 27. However, the day belonged to Connie Mack’s newest find out of Dickinson College via the Carlisle Indian School, Chief Bender. The Chippewa Indian shutout Griffith’s men 6-0 in his first major league start. Opening Day in New York took place on April 30. Ban Johnson tossed the ceremonial first pitch before a crowd of 16,243. Jack Chesbro won the first game at American League Park 6-2.

            The Highlanders became the victims of unmerciful heckling through the first weeks of the season. Griffith suspected that new Giants’ owner John Brush and McGraw were behind the outbursts. Farrell dealt with the problem the way he knew how. He had some Tammany cronies knock the hecklers around a little. They confessed to working for Brush and were permanently chased from the field.[2]

            Griffith defeated the A’s Eddie Plank on May 6, 6-1. After giving up a couple hits in the ninth, he was ejected for kicking and abusive language by umpire Tommy Connolly, his first of the year, after Connolly gave an Athletic a ground rule triple. Once again, Johnson issued warnings to all his managers and players about rowdy behavior. Both Griffith and Boston manager Jimmy Collins were suspended for three days to kick the season off. Keeler oversaw the club in Griff’s absence. The National League also started tightening the belt in relation to excessive behavior. Honus Wagner was suspended for three days for “threatening to strike Umpire [Bug Holliday].”[3]

            On Sunday May 17, the Indians and Highlanders played in Columbus, Ohio to skirt Cleveland blue laws. Addie Joss topped Griffith 9-2. Dave Fultz declined to play on God’s day, as he would his entire career. In St. Louis on the 23^rd, Griffith defeated the Browns 3-1 on two hits. He also placed a double and scored. With the team in seventh place in June, Highlanders’ president Gordon threatened Griffith’s job if he didn’t right the ship. So to add some punch, Griffith first sought a trade for Delahanty from Washington but that was a no go. He then set his sights on 28-year-old shortstop Kid Elberfeld who was unhappy with his employers in Detroit. He first contacted manager Tigers manager Ed Barrow but he was asking too much. Instead, Clark went directly to Tigers’ owner Sam Angus who accepted shortstops Ernie Courtney and Herman Long for Elberfeld who then joined the Highlanders on the 13^th.

            Griffith tossed the first shutout in Yankees’ history on June 16, a 1-0 victory over Comiskey’s boys in front of a hometown crowd of 2,130. Chicago’s Doc White was just as impressive giving up an identical six hits but losing on a sacrifice fly by Jimmy Williams in the fifth inning, which scored the pesky Keeler. The Highlanders were shutout by Joss eight days later. Griffith won 2-1 on a six-hitter in St. Louis on the 30^th. He also placed a couple of singles.

In July, the Giants threatened the peace agreement by contesting the transfer of Elberfeld to their American League rival in New York. Legal injunctions were sought and tensions heightened yet again. The problem lie in the assignment of players after the peace agreement was penned in January. The Giants were miffed at losing out on George Davis, Ed Delahanty, Elberfeld, Dave Fultz and Napoleon Lajoie, all men they believed would be joining the club in 1903. The Giants viewed the Elberfeld trade as a personal affront. They saw it as a direct American League action to siphon fans from the Giants to the cross-town Highlanders. The team’s new owner John Brush approached National League president Harry Pulliam about derailing the peace agreement.

            To appease Brush, Pulliam sent a letter in late June to Ban Johnson charging the American League with violating the “spirit” of the peace agreement. The actual letter of the pact wasn’t violated since Elberfeld was assigned to the Tigers who could dispose of him in any way they pleased. Brush also asked and received permission from Pulliam to field shortstop George Davis, a disgruntled player assigned to the White Sox. Davis, property of an American League club, actually played for the Giants on June 26. National Commission chairman Garry Herrmann, himself a National Leaguer, was livid, writing a letter and publicly questioning Pulliam’s motives and actions in violating the peace agreement. It was surely a lapse of judgment on Pulliam’s part and perhaps an identifying characteristic when it came to dealing with the New York owner.

            Comiskey quickly obtained two injunctions in the Davis case. In all, Davis appeared in only four games for the Giants before sitting out the rest of the season and then joining the White Sox in 1904. Brush kept harping on the losses of Elberfeld, Davis and Delahanty. On July 10, he obtained a temporary injunction preventing Elberfeld from playing with the Highlanders. It was five days before the New York Supreme Court dissolved the baseless injunction, allowing Elberfeld to rejoin his club.

            The vindictive saga of 1903 repeated itself the following season as Brush and McGraw once again stood in defiance of the best interests of Major League Baseball. With the Highlanders driving for the pennant in 1904, they refused to enter into post-season play. Their hatred of the American League far outweighed any sensibilities to the contrary, even a considerable financial windfall.

It obviously took Brush and McGraw longer to accept the peace between the leagues than all others involved. That is clearly evident by their refusal to participate in the 1904 World Series and an intercity series in 1903. Similar contests had already been set, and were profitable, in Chicago, Philadelphia and St. Louis. And, of course, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Americans were destined to make history in October. Sarcastically, Brush declared to the New York Times, “I do not care to recognize the American League in New York. I do not know who these people are.”[4]

On July 20, Griffith topped Joss 7-3 and did the same to Bender eleven days later, 3-1. On August 9, Griff sent a challenge to John McGraw of the Giants to play a postseason seven-game series, but was rebuffed.[5] Sticking to their guns, the Giants didn’t officially recognize the American League. Griffith then shut down St. Louis, 6-1, on August 20 and Chicago, 6-5, three days later. On September 1, he topped Plank again 5-1. On the 9^th, Clark tossed his second and last shutout of the year, a 4-0 gem over Philadelphia and Bender. Griff had been hounding Browns’ manager Jimmy McAleer for muscular outfielder John Anderson since early in the season but was continually denied in trade discussions. That changed when Anderson booted a ball in late September and McAleer finally agreed to the trade.[6] It was consummated at the end of the season on October 6.

            On “Shoot Straw Hats” day, September 1, the club was traveling by ferry to Philadelphia. Griffith and boys ran amuck attacking all the passengers and tossing their hats overboard. The Highlanders never threatened for the league lead the entire season; but, they did come on in the second half to land in fourth place with a 72-62-record. Clark secured his job with Gordon. The club drew 212,000 to Hilltop Park, less than half of the Giants’ 580,000 patrons. On the mound, Griffith won fourteen games and placed on the leader board in his customary control categories of fewest hits per game and WHIP. It was a bit of a struggle on the mound considering that he received about 24% less run support than the average league pitcher. Griff still put in the innings, 213 for the second straight year. The next two seasons, his final major contributions on the mound, he contributed about 100 innings each year.

            Clark umpired the final two games of the season against Detroit, making him the only Hall of Famer to umpire in three different major leagues. In 1891, he worked behind home plate on August 13 in an American Association game between Boston and Cincinnati. He umpired at first on July 27, 1894 in a National League contest pitting Chicago and Cincinnati. He did the same the following year on May 31 with his Colts taking on New York. In the American League on September 28, 1903, Griffith umpired at first but was behind the plate the following day. Obviously, all his work in blue was as a substitute, filling in for absent arbiters.

            Detroit Tigers’ owner Sam Angus put the team up for sale at the end of 1903. The story broke on November 8 that Griffith was in Detroit offering the owner $40,000 for the franchise. However, Angus was said to be holding out for $45,000. Ban Johnson confirmed the existence of the offer but he disputed the dollar figures. Clark didn’t have a solid financing plan at the time; he just wanted into the ownership ranks. He was quickly eliminated from the bidding. As Johnson said, “Griffith will have to be with New York next season, and besides that, I understand that the persons he was depending on to help him out with the financial part of the transaction have dropped out.”[7]

Griff’s first taste of ownership actually came in the Eastern League. With Ed Barrow and Frank Farrell, Clark purchased the Montreal franchise on February 27, 1906.[8] He put up $6,000 of the $20,000 purchase price with Farrell as the main stockholder. The men held onto the club through 1907. The club served as an unofficial farm club. Men like Louis Leroy were first stationed there before joining the Highlanders.

Before departing south for spring training in 1904, Griffith made two acquisitions. On February 21, he purchased longtime backstop Deacon McGuire from the Tigers. Of particular note, McGuire began his career sharing the catching duties with Fleet Walker, the first acknowledged African-American player in major league history, in 1884 with the Toledo Blue Stockings of the American Association. Out hitting McGuire by 78 points, Walker’s major league career was over at season’s end while McGuire’s would see another twenty-five springs. To round out his rotation, Griffith acquired fellow Bloomington native Jack Powell from the Browns for Harry Howell.

            Clark arrived in Atlanta on March 9 to kick off the spring. The club also traveled to New Orleans before returning to New York on April 8. One of the hot issues of the spring stemmed from the Giants and Dodgers insistence on opening in New York City on the same date as the Highlanders. Griffith threatened to rewrite his entire schedule to oppose the Giants head-to-head all season if they didn’t reschedule Opening Day at the Polo Grounds. The National League acquiesced, opening in Brooklyn instead.

            The Highlanders opened the season on April 14 with Jack Chesbro out dueling Cy Young of Boston 8-2. The year belonged to Chesbro; he carried the club almost single-handedly all summer. He started 51 games and completed 48 of them, amassing 454 innings and four relief appearances along the way. He posted 41 victories for New York against only 12 losses and notched a 1.82 earned run average. Chesbro’s start, win and complete game totals are all twentieth century highs.

            The key to Chesbro’s 1904 season was his newfound spitball. Chesbro saw Elmer Stricklett use the pitch in a spring training game. Stricklett wouldn’t share his secret but Chesbro began tinkering with it anyway. Problem was, Griffith wouldn’t allow the pitch to be used in a game.[9] However, after Chesbro alternated wins and loss for a slow start and a 4-3 record, the manager cut him loose on May 14. Chesbro won his next fourteen starts.

The newly acquired Powell also added 23 victories for the Highlanders. After watching the pair all summer, Boston Globe reporter Tim Murnane wrote an article declaring that the spitball was revolutionizing the game. The Old Fox helped usher in a new era. Griffith, himself, was backing off the mound at age 34. He only started eleven games in 1904 and five of those were designed to give his staff a breather, being the day after a doubleheader or the second game of one. He only tossed 100 innings in 16 games for a 7-5-record. For his career, Griff was the most active pitcher-manager in baseball history. He toed the rubber in 146 games that he also managed, by far the most. The other top four in order are Monte Ward, 117, Al Spalding, 61, and Kid Nichols, 36.

            On Opening Day in Philadelphia, April 21, Griffith had a run-in with a photographer. The photographer asked if he could get a team photo but a ceremonial parade was about to start. When Griffith refused to line his men up, the man became belligerent, shouting several “offensive epithets” at the manager. Griffith clocked the man, giving him a “badly bruised face.” A warrant was issued for the manager but he settled the matter for $4.50, though the photographer wanted a full $5.

            Despite assurances to the contrary, several Brooklyn Dodgers and Phillies were arrested on April 24 for playing a game on a Sunday in New York City. The 13,000 in attendance paid 25, 50 or 75 cents for a program that supposedly denoted their seating assignments and, thus, was not an admission fee. City officials were not fooled. Blue laws were repealed in New York in 1919.[10]

            Griffith made his first start on May 27 and the rust was evident. He surrendered 13 hits, a wild pitch and hit two batters in a 7-5-loss to the A’s. He straightened himself out on June 12 before a huge Sunday crowd in Chicago; allowing six hits and striking out five, Griffith shutout Comiskey’s men 2-0. He also placed a double and a sacrifice. The New York Times raved, “Griffith used every trick known to the game, never putting the ball across the middle of the plate. He worked every corner and edge with a wonderful control, supplemented with knowledge of every batter’s weakness.”[11]

            On the 17^th, Clark shipped Bob Unglaub to Boston for left fielder Patsy Donovan. On June 22 Griffith defeated Washington 11-6 and again topped Rube Waddell, 5-2, in the second game of a July 4-doubleheader. However, Cleveland crushed Clark 16-3 on the 13^th. He righted himself with a 3-1 three-hit victory over George Mullin and Detroit on Sunday July 17[12] before losing his next two starts. Pitcher Al Orth was acquired from Washington on July 20 and won eleven games for the Highlanders over the second half of the season. By the end of the season, Orth was tossing the spitball as well; he particularly admired its sharp break. He used it extensively in 1905 as well, posting eighteen victories. The following season he won a stunning 27 games.

Griffith frequently battled Farrell throughout his tenure in New York over administrative issues. With the team bouncing between second and third place in late July, Farrell approached Cubs manager Frank Selee, offering him a substantial boost in income to manage the Highlanders. Selee declined, using the offer to coax a raise out of his boss, Chicago president Jim Hart. When the story broke on July 25, Clark said he knew Farrell was in consultation with Selee but was misled to believe that the owner was working as an agent for Ban Johnson trying to lure Selee for another American League club.

            Griffith and the American League were battling a war of words with the Giants. On July 27 John McGraw announced, “The Giants will not play a postseason series with the American League champions. Ban Johnson has not been on the level with me personally, and the American League management has been crooked more than once.”[13] McGraw and Giants’ owner Brush were reigniting their feud with the new league. It was their feud; nearly all other participants came to terms with the new structure of Organized Baseball. Of particular concern to the Giants was that the Highlanders were in the race for the American League flag until the last day of the season. History shows that indeed no World Series was played in 1904 because of the Giants’ animosity. Brush soon became conciliatory after incurring the ire of the entire baseball community for canceling the marquee series. To exact some measure of revenge, Griff sat on Philadelphia’s bench during the opening game of the 1905 World Series.

Griffith was at it again on August 8 in Cleveland. In the fourth inning of a 9-1-loss umpire Silk O’Loughlin called John Ganzel and Dave Fultz out on disputed plays. Clark jumped into the middle of the fray and, with Fultz, was ejected. The pair refused to leave the field. A police officer was summoned to escort the men from the grounds. Ban Johnson once again suspended the manager. Soon after, The Sporting News blasted Griffith for his continued beefs with umpires and his wild statements to the press. “The heaviest handicap of the Highlanders is the senseless kicking that its manager does and encourages his players to engage in…Griffith discusses his ‘complaints’ against the officials of the American League with the newspapers, pronounces the umpire, who has disciplined him incompetent and with amazing effrontery declares that he will never again be permitted to enter ‘my’ park…Griffith’s services to the American League are held in high appreciation, but his conduct on and off the field has given rise to scandals, which has affected its prestige with patrons. It is high time for him to be taught that umpire-baiting is a handicap and not a help to an American League team.” Clearly, Griffith took his time adopting Johnson’s full vision for the American League. Of course, Johnson, an administrator, wasn’t on the field battling for a pennant everyday either.

            Griffith ran into some more trouble with the law on August 13. Jack Powell ran a $46 tab at a Chicago bar but jumped a train to St. Louis before paying the debt. When Griffith refused to accept a garnishment writ, the police threatened to execute a warrant on the Highlanders and the manager himself.

            Griffith pitched a superb game on the backend of a doubleheader on September 6 against Philadelphia. He won 2-1 and surrendered a mere three hits, only one left the infield. Rube Waddell struck out 14 men in the opener that day. Clark lost to Waddell three days later, 5-1.

Nineteen Hundred Four was the first pennant showdown between the Red Sox and Yankees; but, the clubs went by different nicknames at the time.[14] They were within a game of each other through much of September, trading the top spot back and forth. On September 29, the two clubs sat tied atop the leader board. Griffith relieved Orth in the sixth inning in St. Louis on October 3 after the starter suffered arm troubles. The two combined on a four-hit shutout. Clark yielded two of those hits and struck out three batters.

            After the October 5 contests, Boston was up a half game heading into a four-game series against the Highlanders to end the season and determine the championship. New York took the first contest on October 7 at home to reverse the standings. In one of the biggest blunders by team executives in history, Highlander owners Farrell and Devery scheduled a football game between Columbia University and Williams College on the 8^th at Hilltop Park. Consequently, the baseball clubs hopped a train and head to Boston. The relocation to Boston allowed the insertion of another game into the schedule, a makeup for a previous rainout between the clubs. Contemporary rules only permitted rainouts to be made-up in the city they occurred; hence, October 8 was rescheduled as a doubleheader. Now, four games remained that would determine the pennant, a doubleheader in Boston on the 8^th and another in New York on the 10^th.

With the home field advantage Boston swept on the 8^th to go up by 1.5 games with only two to play. Both towns were in frenzy. New York Governor Benjamin Odell and his staff trekked to Boston to see the contests. On the way home Griffith chartered another train to avoid Odell’s planned celebration. The governor still sent his best wishes for the upcoming contests but slipped in a few zingers for Clark’s avoidance. With their backs up against the wall the Highlanders needed to take both games on the 10^th. Over 28,500 ravenous New Yorkers showed up to root the boys on. Unfortunately, they lost 3-2 on a wild pitch by Chesbro in the ninth inning of the first game. Boston won their second consecutive American League pennant.

            The Highlanders finished with a 92-59 record. Clark took the club to within a game of winning his second American League flag in four seasons. His men drew 439,000 fans to what was really an inferior ballpark. The Giants attracted 610,000 followers. Ban Johnson’s vision proved a success. With over a 100% increase in patronage, the Highlanders still only ranked fourth in the league in the category. The American League seemingly conquered the world in four short seasons. They became the first baseball league to draw over three million paid admissions.

---

[1] Level Playing Fields, Peter Morris, 2007

[2] Shirley Povich, 33-part series on Griffith, “Clark Griffith; 50 Years in Baseball” for the Washington Post in January and February 1938

[3] “Pittsburg, 9; Cincinnati, 4,” New York Times, May 9, 1903, p. 7

[4] “Sends Challenge to Brush,” Chicago Tribune, September 5, 1903, p. 6

[5] “McGraw Challenged by Griffith,” Washington Post, August 10, 1903, p. 8

[6] Shirley Povich, 33-part series on Griffith, “Clark Griffith; 50 Years in Baseball” for the Washington Post in January and February 1938

[7] “Detroit Baseball Team for Sale,” New York Times, November 10, 1903, p. 10

[8] Sporting Life, March 3, 1906, p. 4, Farrell was the majority owner

[9] At the time Griffith believed the pitch was inherently dangerous to his catchers. It’s unpredictably would surely lead to hand injuries for his backstops.

[10] Chicago, Cincinnati and St. Louis permitted Sunday baseball as far back as the 1880s. The others:

                Boston                                   1929                       Brooklyn                               1919

                Cleveland                              1911                       Detroit                                    1910

                New York                              1919                       Philadelphia                          1934

                Pittsburgh                              1934                       Washington                          1918

[11] “American League; New Yorks shut Chicago team out without a Run,” New York Times, June 13, 1904, p. 8

[12] The game was played at Wiedenmayer’s Park in Newark, New Jersey with 6,700 in attendance.

[13] “John McGraw Chronology,” July 27, 1904, baseballlibrary.com

[14] Actually, the origin of the Yankees name can be traced at least to 1904; however, it was just an informal nickname at that time used by a few sportswriters and fans.

 

The esteemed John Thorn, MLB’s official historian for good reason, recently penned (is anything actually penned anymore?) an article titled “The House that McGraw Built” – meaning the Yankee franchise. In contrast though, I see the franchise’s genesis as a product of Ban Johnson and Clark Griffith’s efforts.

John McGraw with all his bluster and vindictiveness was more an impediment to the development of the American League than an impetus. His “contribution” was more the destruction of the Baltimore franchise than the erection of one in New York City. Baltimore’s fair-haired friend in the end helped erase the city from major league maps for over a half a century. Similarly, he would consciously set out to destroy the fledgling club in New York.

The following multi-part article is pulled from my biography of Clark Griffith, examining the formation of the New York Highlanders and Griffith’s near solo effort in running the franchise through its first half-decade.

Part 1 of 4

Ban Johnson knew from the beginning that he had to get into the New York market to secure his league’s survival. The American League was successfully challenging the established league at the gate and on the field. Johnson and company lured significant talent from the National League to the point that many historians consider it a stronger league during its first few seasons. All that was needed was a little structural tweaking. The transfer of the Milwaukee franchise to St. Louis was a plus but Manhattan Island had 2.2 million residents. That was the place to be.

            Two major impediments stood in Johnson’s way. First, the notoriously corrupt nature of New York politics was a jolt to the executive’s senses. He hadn’t come across such problems in his other ventures. Tammany Hall cronies had their fingers in all aspects of city life, especially real estate and construction. There were palms to grease, egos to stroke and channels to weed through. It seemed everyone wanted a cut of the business. At first, Johnson was befuddled, then angered. Indignant, he wasn’t going to pay their price and he wasn’t about to bring such men into his league. More than anything Johnson needed a site to put a ballpark but how was he going to circumvent these men? The second problem was the vindictive Giants’ owner Andrew Freedman who would not stand for the American League invading his territory.

Tammany influence in New York baseball dates back to a least the era of Boss Tweed who held power within the Mutuals baseball club during the amateur National Association of Base Ball Players from 1860 until his incarceration in 1871. Though they were not the first or only ones for that matter, Tweed’s administration highlights a classic example of how men were compensated to play the game during the supposed amateur era. Many of his players were listed on the payrolls of city administrations, such as, the coroner’s office or the street cleaning department, though they never actually showed up to perform their duties.

            History books show that William Marcy Tweed sat at the helm of New York’s Tammany Hall, a Democratic Party organization known for its strong influence over New York politics and ceaseless corruption. Tweed’s looters are thought to have absconded with between $100 and $200 million of taxpayers’ money. Many future generations of New York baseball owners owed allegiance at one time or another to Tammany Hall. The relationship continued well into the 20th century.

            Andrew Freedman was one of these men. He purchased control of the debt-ridden New York Giants in 1895 for $50,000 and accrued a long list of offenses against the game before finally being ousted in 1903. For example, if a sportswriter offended him, Freedman barred him from the grounds even if he presented a ticket. He went as far as to punch a young New York Times reporter. Freedman attorneys could often be found filing lawsuits against journalists and others or answering any numbers of claims against the club owner himself. Like a New York magnate a century later, Freedman employed a ridiculous twelve managers in eight years. The Sporting News exclaimed, “He had an arbitrary disposition, a violent temper, and an ungovernable tongue in anger which was easily provoked and he disposed to be arbitrary to the point of tyranny with subordinates.” Freedman often did as he pleased as weak-kneed National League president Nick Young and other league owners stayed out of his way. Freedman was vindictive if nothing else as highlighted by his strong-handed approach with players, such as, Amos Rusie.

Politically, Freedman was connected. He joined Tammany Hall right out of college and was a longtime friend of the current Tammany boss Richard Crocker. Just as important, Freedman gained his wealth through real estate and construction and, as such, was among the city’s leaders in each. He sat on Tammany’s policy board and on their finance committee, directly involved in all decision making. He was also on the board of directors of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, the firm constructing the city’s subway system for $35 million. There seemed to be no way to circumvent Freedman’s influence to erect a ballpark for a potential American League franchise.

            Johnson was determined. Near the end of 1901, rumors suggested that the Baltimore franchise was destined for New York. John McGraw, as manager of the Orioles, appeared to be the man to lead the American League into New York. But, it was Griffith who had Johnson’s ear, confidence and loyalty. A New York Times reporter caught Clark at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York City soon after the season ended on October 10. The Chicago manager had just clipped the New York Giants of their manager George Davis and was courting Tito Daly from Brooklyn. From there, Griffith was headed to Boston and Philadelphia, pursuing other National League players. Clark admitted to the reporter that he and McGraw were sent to New York to line up some Wall Street men for financial backing and to scout potential sites for a ballpark. Johnson wasn’t pleased that Griffith’s boasts landed in the newspapers, so much for a clandestine operation. Moreover, Orioles’ president Sidney Frank was downright irate about the relocation talk, perhaps he was unaware of Johnson’s intent. Griffith and McGraw made several of these secretive trips over the winter; however, the American League president would be making all the press announcements in the future.

            Rumors placed the Orioles in New York by Opening Day 1902. Symbolically, Johnson temporarily moved his American League office from Chicago to the Big Apple before the season started. Freedman wasn’t going to let the American League in. He either purchased outright or gained options on all parcels of land appropriate for Johnson’s needs or had friends do likewise. He also threatened, through his political influence, to route all subway or streetcar line construction away from any proposed ballpark. Beaten, the American League didn’t make it into New York in 1902.

            On June 29, McGraw was placed on indefinite suspension by the American League president. It was clear to McGraw that he no longer fit into Johnson’s New York plans. McGraw fled to Freedman’s office of all places and concocted a hostile takeover of the Orioles with a shift of the manager and his key men to the Giants. The American League’s biggest foe now controlled of an American League franchise. The insurrection took place during a series with St. Louis, resulting in the forfeiture of the July 17 game. McGraw and his men joined the Giants, in the process relieving second baseman Heinie Smith of his managerial responsibilities.

            Johnson hurried to Baltimore and called Griffith and other advisors to the city for consultation. It was too late; the men were gone. Johnson invoked the American League’s right to acquire 51% of the franchise and regained control of the club. Nonetheless, the damage was done. The baseball community was stunned with many predicting doom for the upstart league. Johnson wouldn’t be caught unawares again. Instead, he was determined more than ever to bring the National League to its knees.

            Though nothing was announced, it became clear to many that Griffith was slated to be the New York manager; indeed, he was the league’s point man. It was an obvious choice and he was an ideal candidate to oppose McGraw in New York. Comiskey was not pleased to lose his manager but he realized that it was best for the league. On the offensive, Johnson and Griffith eyed the best team in the game, the Pirates. By mid-August, they made substantial offers to many Pittsburgh regulars despite Pirates’ manager Fred Clarke’s complaints. On August 26, Griffith announced that the Orioles were relocating to New York for 1903; to instill confidence in the Baltimore players, he signed several of them to 1903 contracts.

            Questions arose about why Griffith was acting on behalf of the American League and signing players for the upcoming year. Apparently, Johnson hadn’t consulted the other American League owners. Consequently, Clark was called to Philadelphia to meet with Johnson, A’s owner Ben Shibe and Connie Mack. There, Johnson laid his plans before all, informing the press on the 28^th. It was now official; the existing Baltimore stockholders would be bought out by the league and the club transferred to New York. Griffith was named that club’s manager and, in fact, had long ago been slotted as such.

            Johnson was jumping the gun. He still didn’t have a site to play ball on. Circumstances were working in his favor. A reform movement in New York City ousted Crocker from his Tammany office and ushered in progressive mayor Seth Low in 1902. Low’s term is noted for its rarity: honesty and competency. Freedman’s power was waning as Tammany Hall fractionalized. Griffith told New York reporters on October 7, “There are no ifs and ands about it. We are coming in here without doubt, and with a strong team. We have the grounds and everything is all ready.”[1] It was merely a boast; they actually had neither and Johnson was later forced to back away from the statement.

            On October 25, Johnson officially dropped his bomb. The American League had supposedly signed nineteen National Leaguers. The Pittsburgh franchise was particularly assaulted. After the details were ironed out, Griffith secured pitchers Jack Chesbro and Jesse Tannehill, catcher Jack O’Connor, third baseman Wid Conroy and outfielder Lefty Davis from the Pirates. It was a huge coup. Chesbro was 28 years old and coming off two excellent seasons. Tannehill, also 28, was a four-time 20-game winner.

            Griffith also took a go at Christy Mathewson and Tommy Leach and, in fact, they were both listed as jumpers to the American League. In the end Mathewson and Leach stayed in the National League. Clark was also pursuing Brooklyn captain Willie Keeler since at least the fall of 1901. Near the end of 1902, Clark enlisted Boston manager Jimmy Collins in the effort. After several discussions, Griffith was pessimistic that Keeler could be signed. Collins believed Keeler would come around and bet Griffith and Johnson $100 that he would. Finally, while Keeler was headed west after the season he stopped in Chicago to meet with Clark. Griffith took him directly to Johnson’s office where Keeler signed for $10,000 with a $2,000 bonus. As Johnson was mailing Collin’s money, he joked with Griffith, “If we lose a few more bets like that, there won’t be any National League.”

            Griffith landed longtime Boston Braves captain Herman Long to play shortstop. Long had been playing since 1889, amassing over 1,000 runs batted in. Many consider him one the finest shortstops of all-time. He then purchased first baseman John Ganzel from Louisville of the independent American Association where he led the league with a .366 batting average and 194 hits. Griff also secured Dave Fultz who McGraw was also eying. In all, Griffith’s recruiting drive during the winter of 1902-1903 was just as impressive as the previous year’s, perhaps more so.

            From Baltimore Griffith kept second baseman Jimmy Williams, outfielder Herm McFarland and righthanded pitcher Harry Howell as regulars in 1903. On paper Griffith had a stellar cast.

Griffith spent a good portion of the winter on the road, mostly in New York, ironing out details for his new club; however, Clark did find time to go bowling with Johnson, Comiskey and Nationals manager Tom Loftus before leaving Chicago.

            He also needed to find a new apartment in New York. Addie Griffith lived in Chicago since emigrating from Scotland in the early 1890s. She was living with her mother, brother and sister when she married in December 1900[2]. The Griffiths took Addie’s mother, Jane, with them to New York. She resided with Clark and Addie for the rest of her life. Throughout their tenure in New York, the Griffiths resided at a hotel on the southeast corner of West 155^th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.

“ALL DISPUTES AT END,” read the headline on January 11, 1903. The two leagues came to an agreement the night before. The baseball war was over. Each league now respected the other’s player contracts, adopted the reserve clause, played under uniform rules and signed the National Agreement. Naturally, the sticking point was the assigning of disputed player rights. McGraw was incensed when Ed Delahanty was sent to the Washington Nationals and not his club.

            Another consequence of the armistice was the eventual slashing of salaries and a reneging of promises made to the players union in early 1901 by both the American and National Leagues. Griffith adopted management’s stance on this account and took a lot of heat for doing so. He was the most visible rebel and pusher for reform. But, he was now heavily involved in league management and was expected to help ease the transition. In this effort, Griffith held numerous one-on-one conferences trying to rationalize his new stance to his colleagues and quell their concerns. Yes, he revised his outlook but it was inevitable; he was now a part of management and was eventually looking to join the ranks of the club owners. Peace between leagues had and would always work in management’s favor. The players would have another chance during the rise of the Federal League.

            As part of the agreement, Johnson was given the okay to move into New York. As a bargaining chip, he threatened to set a franchise in Pittsburgh. It was only a threat but it provided leverage when dealing with the National League. The American League was heading into New York anyway so the compromise was set. Johnson still needed to secure a site to play ball. He hated to do so but a deal with Tammany Hall had to be made.

            A faction opposed to Freedman offered a track of land in Washington Heights at 168^th and Broadway, beautifully overlooking the Hudson River and New Jersey Palisades. It was owned by the New York Institute for the Blind and was once a Revolutionary War battleground that George Washington supposedly crossed. It’s the current site of New York-Presbyterian Hospital. One catch, the Orioles were sold to a group headed by coal magnate Joseph Gordon for the ridiculously meager sum of $18,000 on March 11. It quickly came to light that Gordon was fronting for two notorious Tammany figures Frank Farrell and Bill Devery. Farrell was among a contingent that operated hundreds of gambling outlets of all varieties throughout the city. Devery was a former New York City police chief who amassed a fortune soliciting cash from any and all in the vice industry. Not the type of individuals Johnson particularly wanted in the game but all in all just two in a long list of questionable characters in the game prior to the hiring of a commissioner.

            Griffith now had greater responsibilities in New York with the team being sold to non-baseball men. In Chicago Comiskey and Clark bounced ideas around, two experienced baseball men. In the days before a general manager many chores fell on the manager. In New York, Clark had but himself to run day-to-day operations. Even during the off-season, he tended to club business from his ranch. He’d typically take off for Montana by late October after the World Series. There, he’d relax and tend to his business interests, both in Montana and New York, until close to or shortly after Christmas or the turn of the year. Occasionally, he’d hop a train to sign a player or attend a league meeting. Returning to New York, Griffith set out to sign his players for the upcoming season, usually mailing out contracts in early January.

            There wasn’t a great deal of rush to dole out contacts since all men were bound by the reserve clause and couldn’t offer their services elsewhere without Clark’s approval. Griffith almost exclusively handled all player transactions throughout his tenure in New York and many of the other administrative duties. For the most part during their early relationship, Farrell just rubberstamped his manager’s decisions. To illustrate, Clark later revealed the he never actually signed a written contract while with the Highlanders throughout his tenure. Why would the boss, the man running the company, need to sign himself? Griff’s initial compensation with the club was $6,000 a year.

Clark and Frank Farrell, the active partner, actually became quite tight. Farrell also ran a stable of horses. Griffith, an experienced frontiersman and a member of the Dillon horse-breeding family, housed some of the magnate’s horses on his ranch and bred them. By 1905, he had about fifty horses in all on his ranch. Farrell kindly sent some of his stallions and high-class mares to Montana to help improve Griff’s breed of horses. Farrell named one of his prized Kinley Mack racing colts “Clark Griffith.” Amusingly, the name just seemed natural after the two-year-old horse kicked a stable hand, nearly tearing his arm off. In Farrell’s mind, Clark, the baseball kicker, and the kicking horse were a match.[3] Clark Griffith, the horse, proved quite successful, winning purse after purse from 1905-1906. It wasn’t until later when Farrell became more active in on-the-field matters that problems developed between the two. Devery was actually the controlling owner, but was a silent partner. Griff didn’t even know that fact until his fourth year with the club.

---

[1] “New Baseball Players for New York,” New York Times, October 7, 1902, p. 6

[2] Living arrangements as listed in the 1900 U.S. Census

[3] “Baseball Notes,” Washington Post, April 27, 1905, p. 8

 

Bud Galvin

Harry Galvin

Henry Francis Galvin

This biography was pieced together after I was contacted by Nora Galvin, the subject’s daughter. She provided a great deal of Galvin family information and proved essential as we exchanged numerous emails. She also provided the picture of Bud Galvin with Glendale Police Team, circa the late 1940s and contributed greatly to the piece on Hooks Galvin, her grandfather.

Henry Francis Galvin was born on August 26, 1914 in Boston. His parents wanted to officially name him Harry but were refused by the registrar because it was supposedly only a nickname, not a proper name. From his youth, he was known as Buddy or Bud, a moniker bestowed on him by his sister.

His parents were Harry Galvin and the former Mary Catherine Trueman. Harry, a former ballplayer, is chronicled here.

Bud attended Dorchester High School. Besides playing baseball, he also boxed.

Teams

• 1934 Lowell (MA), Northeastern League
• 1935 Elmira (NY), New York-Pennsylvania League; Charleston (WV), Middle Atlantic League
• 1936 Charleston; Alexandria (LA), Evangeline League
• 1937 Alexandria; Henderson (TX), East Texas League
• 1938 Portsmouth (VA), Piedmont League
• 1939 Portsmouth; Spartanburg (SC), South Atlantic League

Baseball

Bud Galvin was tall, 6’2” or 6’3”, and weighed 175 to 180 pounds. He threw righthanded and batted left. He joined his first professional club, Lowell, at age 19 in 1934. He played in the outfield with the club but also pitched extensively throughout his minor league career.

Baseball-reference.com statistics:

• Batting: 355 games, .262 average
• Pitching: 78 games, 32-27 win-loss record

He played the entire 1934 with Lowell, May to September, and was admired for his batting as well as his fine outfield play.

Lowell Sun 5/22/1934

Lowell Sun 5/29/1934

He began 1935 with Elmira but landed in Charleston, West Virginia by mid-June. The new recruit was considered “the best outfielder on the home club.” (Charleston Gazette, 21 August 1935)

Charleston Daily Mail 5/6/1936

However, he was released by Charleston in mid-June 1936 as the parent club, the Detroit Tigers, shuffled players within its farm system. He soon joined Alexandria and finished the year there and returned for spring training in 1937. He was then released in mid-June and made his debut with Henderson on the 24^th, a four-hit, 11-0 victory over Texarkana.

Galvin joined Portsmouth in April 1938 for a season-plus before being traded on August 5, 1939 with cash to Spartanburg for Buck Rogers who had a cup of coffee with the Washington Senators in 1935.

He contracted malaria while playing with the southern clubs and this may in part have curtailed his baseball career.

In a personal autobiography, Galvin wrote that he also played for (at some point):

• Fore River, MA (perhaps a Bethlehem Steel company team)
• Thorpe Motors (South Shore League)
• Jackson, MS (Cotton States League)

The Jackson reference had to be in 1936 if it occurred.

Personal

Galvin grew up in Dorchester, Massachusetts. As a teenager, he helped his father erect a gas station near their home. He worked there doing various jobs, such a delivery driving – doing so in the winters during his early pro baseball career.

He later secured employment as a laborer and loftsman at the Bethlehem Steel shipyard in nearby Quincy.

On September 7, 1940, Bud married a local girl, Margery Ward. They had six children.

He enlisted in the Marines, serving from June 29, 1944 until being discharged on December 11, 1945. He was a PFC in Company A, 6^th Tank Battalion, 6^th Marine Division. With them, he traveled the Pacific, seeing action in Okinawa.

To ease his malarial symptoms, Galvin moved his family to California after the war. There he worked as a policeman in Glendale in the late 1940s – note the accompanying picture of him with the company team.

The family eventually settled in Canoga Park, Los Angeles – today known as West Hills. There, he became an aerospace design engineer for various local firms and worked on the Apollo projects.

Bud Galvin passed away on March 24, 2003 in Santa Maria, California.

SOURCE LIST

• Ancestry.com
• Augusta Chronicle, Georgia, 1939
• Baseball-reference.com
• Baton Rouge Advocate, Louisiana, 1936-1937
• Burlington Daily Times-News, North Carolina, 27 April 1939
• Charleston Daily Mail, West Virginia, 6 May 1936, 28 May 1936
• Charleston Gazette, West Virginia, 1935-1936
• Chicago Tribune, 11 April 1938
• Cleveland Plain Dealer, 3 August 1935
• Dallas Morning News, 1 April 1937
• Danville Bee, Virginia, 23 June 1938
• Familysearch.com
• Lowell Sun, Massachusetts, 1934, 13 May 1935
• New Orleans Times-Picayune, 3 September 1936
• San Antonio La Prensa, 12 April 1938
• Spartanburg Herald-Journal, South Carolina, 6 August 1939
• Springfield Republican, Massachusetts, 1934

 

Hooks Galvin

Harry Galvin

Henry Thomas Galvin

This biography was pieced together after I was contacted by Nora Galvin, the subject’s granddaughter. She provided a great deal of Galvin family information and proved essential as we exchanged numerous emails. She also contributed a great deal to the piece on Bud Galvin, her father.

Henry Thomas Galvin was born in Boston on December 11, 1883. He was called Harry his entire life, actually unaware that his given name was Henry until adulthood when he requested a copy of his birth certificate.

He was the oldest son of Francis Galvin and Ann C. Galvin, nee Quinn. Francis, a teamster, was born in Massachusetts to Ireland natives. Ann was born in New Castle, England. The couple had nine children, one dying young.

Harry dropped out of high school to help support his large, struggling family after his father broke a leg and never finished his education. He had big hands and prominent bow legs which held his height to around 5’8”, weighing around 147 pounds during his professional days.

Winston-Salem Journal 3/30/1911

Teams

• 1905 Concord (NH), New England League
• 1906 Lowell, New England League
• 1907 New Bedford (MA), New England League; Burlington (VT), New Hampshire League; Brockton (MA), New England League; Haverhill (MA), New England League
• 1908 Fore River (MA), New England League
• 1909 Norfolk (VA), Virginia League; Fayetteville (NC), Eastern Carolina League
• 1910 Fayetteville
• 1911 Winston-Salem (NC), Carolina Association
• 1912 Winston-Salem; Asheville (NC), Appalachian League
• 1913 Lawrence (MA), New England League
• 1915-1922 St. Ambrose (Dorchester, MA)
• 1925 Dorchester

Baseball

Galvin was primarily a catcher but he did take the mound on occasion. Like many catchers, he had a weak bat, listed with a .193 career batting average in 288 professional games at Baseball-reference.com.

Harry signed with his first professional club in January 1905, Concord of the New England League, at age 21. He played in the league with various clubs through 1908. In 1909, he left the New England area for the first time and joined Norfolk in the Virginia League. It’s unclear what specifically drew him out of his home area.

He played with Norfolk through at least mid-May and then joined the Fayetteville, North Carolina club. With Fayetteville in 1910, he worked the battery with Jim Thorpe. The two kept in touch over the years. The Galvin family treasures a postcard dated 1943 from Thorpe. It’s addressed to “Hooks” which is the only found reference to the nickname. It’s unclear why a catcher was called Hooks.

Richmond Times Dispatch 8/25/1910

Galvin’s manager with Fayetteville was Charles Clancy. In 1911, Clancy took over the Winston-Salem club and took Galvin with him, and several others. Harry was named team captain. On May 18, the catcher was struck on the collar bone in a game, causing it to break. He missed the rest of the season.

Winston-Salem Journal 6/20/1911

He returned with Winston-Salem in 1912, but was released on May 21 and soon joined Asheville. Galvin played with North Carolina clubs until 1913 when he returned home to the New England League. He caught and pitched for Lawrence but missed a good bit of time to injury.

He was reserved by Lawrence for the 1914 season and expected to man the catchers spot, at least part-time, but it seems he never joined the nine.

From 1915 to 1922, Galvin managed and caught for a Dorchester (MA) club, St. Ambrose, representing a local Catholic church. He also caught for Dorchester in 1925, a team managed by Jeff Pfeffer whose 13-year major league career had recently ended.

Personal

Galvin married Mary Catherine Trueman after the 1909 season and settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts. They had three children, two surviving childhood. Their son Henry “Harry” “Bud” Francis Galvin also played pro ball. He is the subject of a forthcoming bio.

Harry Garvin worked as a printer and labored for the Bethlehem Steel shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts (at least from 1918-1920). By 1930, he owned a gas station in Dorchester.

Shipyards like Bethlehem Steel fielded highly-competitive ball clubs during the World War I era. It appears however that Garvin remained loyal to the St. Ambrose club.

Shortly after World War II, the Galvins moved to California. On June 14, 1960, Harry Galvin passed away in Pasadena.

SOURCE LIST

• Ancestry.com
• Baltimore Sun, 5 May 1909
• Baseball-reference.com
• Boston Evening Globe, 1915-1921, 9 May 1922
• Familysearch.com
• Fitchburg Sentinel, Massachusetts, 13 June 1925
• Lewiston Daily Sun, Massachusetts, 1 January 1914
• Lowell Sun, Massachusetts, 1913
• Richmond Times Dispatch, Virginia, 1909
• Sporting Life, 1905-1911, 18 October 1913
• Washington Post, 12 May 1909
• Winston-Salem Journal, North Carolina, 1911-1912