Archive for the ‘early 20th century baseball history’ Category

 

Dummy Rosson 

Lester Grant Rosson was born on June 28, 1877 in Holmansville in Robertson County, Tennessee to Anthony Foster Rosson and the former M. Elizabeth “Lizzie” Grant. He was the fifth of 6 children, 3 girls and 2 boys. The Rossons owned a local farm. 

Lester was deaf and mute since birth, as was at least one of his siblings – Walter Boling Rosson born on July 2, 1876. Both Walter and Lester attended the Tennessee School for the Deaf and then enrolled at Gallaudet College, also known as the Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb, in Washington, D.C. Opening in the late 1850s, Gallaudet was the first school of advanced education for the deaf in the world. 

Like other colleges, Gallaudet fielded sports teams which competed in their area against other squads – amateur, semi-professional and professional. In this manner Gallaudet, the Ohio Institution of the Deaf and Dumb and the New Jersey School for the Deaf trained quite a few ballplayers that eventually made it into the professional ranks, including the majors. For example: 

http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&bid=2867&pid=3867

http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&bid=2871&pid=19681

http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&bid=2868&pid=19680

http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&bid=2886&pid=13607

and many others. 

Walter, 4 years older, naturally entered the college first, around 1893. He became a valued member of both Gallaudet’s baseball and football teams. Lester, a quarterback, pops up with the football squad in 1896 at age 19. 

The Silent Worker, 1/1897

Similarly, Lester, mainly a pitcher and a part-time outfielder, appeared with the school’s baseball nine from 1897 through 1902. As seen above, he was six feet tall, though slim. (He returned to coach the Gallaudet football team in 1903.) The Gallaudet Hall of Fame site says that Rosson did not graduate from the school. He did however play sports there during six different school years.

Professional Baseball 

Still in school and pitching for Gallaudet, Rosson was invited to spring training with Boston of the National League. He was recommended to manager Frank Selee by Lee DeMontreville whose brother Gene played for Boston. The DeMontrevilles grew up in D.C. which is presumably how they knew the Gallaudet pitcher. 

Boston Herald 4/5/1901

Rosson joined the Beaneaters in early April at their spring training site in Norfolk, Virginia. Selee, interested, spoke well of his new recruit but never actually used him in a game, as the contest against Yale was cancelled. Lester was released within a few days. 

Boston Herald 4/8/1901

He returned to Gallaudet for the college baseball season. In mid-May he signed with New London of the Connecticut State League. Shortly thereafter, he was traded to Bridgeport of the same league for Jack Ahaessey. In total, Rosson appeared in 15 games in the league. 

He played in at least one game for Providence of the Eastern League, a 4-1 loss to Hartford on July 29. In August, he joined Albany of the New York State League. 

Auburn Bulletin 8/2/1901

1902 

Rosson played his final baseball season with Gallaudet in 1902. Then in late June he rejoined Albany, appearing in four games. He displayed the wildness which would plaque his professional career, allowing 29 hits, 19 base on balls and striking out 21 batters. His final game with the club occurred on July 14. Four days later, he signed with Ilion of the same league, appearing in several games. 

Syracuse Daily Journal 7/19/1902

In mid-August, Rosson was pitching for Potsdam, a semi-pro club in Vermont. 

1903 

He spent the entire 1903 season with Wheeling of the Class-B Central League, appearing in 49 games. 

1904 

In the spring of 1904, Rosson coached baseball at Galladet. In March, Wheeling sold him to Nashville in the Southern Association. On April 9, he finally showed the Beaneaters what he could do, defeating them 7-4. 

Atlanta Constitution 4/10/1904

Regardless, he was released by Nashville on June 4 and then joined Charleston of the South Atlantic (SALLY) League within a week. He finished the season with the club, posting a 9-4 record in 13 games. 

1905 

Rosson returned to Charleston in April 1905, until being traded on June 6 to Columbia of the same league. 

The State, Columbia, South Carolina 6/7/1905

This appears to be the end of his professional career, as he soon married and started a family. He did however continue to play semi-pro and amateur ball as this team picture of Rocky Ford, a Denver-based nine, from 1907 shows. 

Family 

On October 9, 1906 in Knoxville, Lester married 19-year old Nora O’Neal Turner (born October 12, 1887, died May 27, 1972), a recent high school graduate of the Tennessee School for the Deaf. They had 12 children. 

The Silent Worker, 11/1906

The Rossons moved around a bit: 

• 1907, living in Denver, Colorado
• 1910, living in Arlington, Colorado
• 1917, living in Colorado Springs
• 1920, living in Lusk, Wyoming
• 1930, living in Denver (working as a shoe repairer)

In late 1930, the family finally settled in Oakland, California. 

Rosson’s son Lester was a gang member and heavy into narcotics. He was known as “Mr. Big” by narcotic agents in the San Francisco area and spent years in San Quentin Prison, beginning in 1940 for narcotics distribution. In June 1946, Rosson’s daughter Luanna was shot (in an apparent love’s spat) through her kitchen window while she was dining with her father, sister and friends.

An apparent gang and drug related murder investigation in 1957 landed Lester in jail again for possession of narcotics and drug paraphernalia. Another of Rosson’s sons, Henry, was also jailed for a parole violation. 

Lester Grant Rosson passed away on May 18, 1955 in Oakland at age 77. He was interred at Mountain View Cemetery. 

SOURCE LIST 

• Albany Evening Journal, 1901-1902
• Amsterdam Daily Democrat and Recorder, New York, 24 July 1902
• Amsterdam Evening Recorder, New York, 14 June 1904
• Ancestry.com
• Atlanta Constitution, 1904
• Auburn Bulletin, New York, 1 August 1901, 2 August 1901
• Baseball-reference.com
• Boston Globe, 4 May 1905
• Boston Herald, 1901
• Brooklyn Eagle, 7 April 1905
• Cleveland Plain Dealer, 1903
• Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph, 10 January 1917
• Decatur Daily Review, Illinois, 17 March 1904
• Familysearch.com
• Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, 1903
• Galveston Daily News, 28 May 1904
• Mansfield News, Ohio, 17 February 1904, 2 June 1904
• New Orleans Times-Picayune, 6 June 1904
• Oakland Tribune, 11 June 1946, 20 May 1955, 18 May 1956, 1957, 28 May 1972
• Pawtucket Times, 30 July 1901
• Rochester Democrat Chronicle, 26 June 1902
• San Mateo Times, California, 29 August 1957
• The Silent Worker
• Sporting Life, 9 August 1902, 1904
• St. Albans Daily Messenger, Vermont, 18 August 1902
• The State, Columbia, South Carolina, 7 June 1905
• Syracuse Daily Journal, 19 July 1902
• Syracuse Post-Standard, 15 July 1902
• Utica Herald-Dispatch, New York, 17 July 1902
• Washington Post, 17 March 1907, 29 February 1904, 16 September 1906
• Worcester Spy, Massachusetts, 24 August 1901

 

Exchanged several emails with a lady named Brenda whose grandmother worked at Bethlehem Steel in Lebanon, Pennsylvania in 1918. She worked in an office where the 23-year-old Babe Ruth also put in an appearance. Though, “she didn’t think much of him as an office worker…He did very little office work and came and went as he pleased.”

Ruth was there during the work or fight order during World War I, but the war at the time was winding down. Football and baseball players played for industrial companies throughout the nation on weekends and holidays. They were supposed to work at the plants as well but that happened more or less, depending on the case.

The office building still stands – at Front and Cumberland Streets.

Here are other posts on the subject:

Babe Ruth in the Bethlehem Steel League

Babe Ruth in Lebanon, Part 2

Ruth’s employment card (Thanks to SHOELESSJOE3 at Baseball-fever.com for the lead)

 

Kid Johnson Ventures out of California

The Young Walter Johnson

Walter Johnson, who needs no introduction to baseball history fans, was born on the family farm in Allen County, Kansas in November 1887. The family moved to Southern California, settling in Brea in Orange County, in April 1902 when Walter was 14 years old. More accurately, they lived in Olinda, a village or neighborhood in Brea situated roughly in between Los Angeles and Anaheim. The area was popular for its petroleum excavation, the Olinda-Brea oil fields.

1900 US Census

On July 24, 1904, the 16-year-old was plucked off a juvenile sandlot team and pitched his first game for the Olinda Oil Wells, the local adult semi-pro club. Johnson manned the mound for three innings during a 21-6 romp over Eureka, fanning two men per inning. It wasn’t until the following year however that he landed a spot with the club. That year he appeared on the mound (as best as yet determined):

• Olinda, 15 games pitched
• Fullerton Union High School, 3 games
• Rivera, 4 games

(Johnson and several Olinda members joined Rivera after a financial dispute split the club – and then rejoined Olinda.)

In total, he posted a 12-9-1 record in 22 games undoubtedly striking out over 200. On April 15 in a high school contest versus Santa Ana, Johnson struck out 27 batters over fifteen innings, against only 3 walks. Neither team scored, resulting in a tie. With Olinda on November 12 versus Tufts-Lyon, he won his first of many 1-0 games; it was also his first one-hitter. He posted two more shutouts before the end of the year.

In 1906, Johnson pitched seven games for Olinda through April 8, notching a 5-2 record. Over the winter at age 18, he briefly attended Orange County Business College. In mid-April, Johnson received a telegram from former Olinda teammate Jack Barnett,  a Ventura native. Barnett had recently joined Tacoma in the Northwestern League at shortstop and his new club was willing to give the hard-throwing teenager a try.

Johnson arrived a few days before the season opened on April 28. He got his chance to pitch on an off day, Monday, April 30, during a hastily-scheduled exhibition game versus Grays Harbor. The contest proceeds were earmarked for the American Red Cross which was helping in the aftermath of the massive earthquake that hit San Francisco on the 18th.

Johnson lost 4-3 ceding ten hits. At the time a hiccup in the Pacific Coast League suggested to Tacoma and other western cities that a massive amount of established talent would soon be available. Considering this, Tacoma passed on the young Johnson and he was released, given $40, a week’s pay.

Johnson, alone and away from home for the first time, waited in Tacoma hoping the club would change its mind. The breakup of the PCL never did come about, leaving Tacoma in need of a pitcher. Considering that Johnson was young, far from home and personally inexperienced, he wouldn’t have stayed in Tacoma unless expecting or perhaps wishing for another baseball opportunity. Moreover, he was reluctant to leave California in the first place and otherwise probably would have headed back to his family.

Weiser

The call didn’t come from Tacoma but from another former Olinda teammate Claire Head, a California native and middle infielder who had appeared in one game for the Los Angeles Angels during the initial campaign of the PCL in 1903. Head had just landed a spot with a semi-pro club in a small town in southwestern Idaho near the Oregon border called Weiser.

Weiser, population around 3000, was a farming and mining community tucked in the Rocky Mountains. The busy work week relegated entertainments such as baseball to Sundays and the odd holiday. Vices though were plenty, presumably for the evening crowd. Saloons were plenty, as were opium dens. Presumably, gambling and prostitution also prospered.

was linked by railroad to five other southern Idaho towns that naturally decided to create a league, the Southern Idaho League:

• Boise
• Caldwell
• Emmett
• Nampa
• Payette
• Weiser

Admission was 25 cents and the season opened on April 28.

Johnson arrived in Weiser on May 18 and was on the mound two days later. He struck out seven and won 17-1, allowing only four hits. Weiser’s manager James B. Coakley had seen enough, Johnson was handed the mound duties, replacing captain A. Van Harton, and given a job during the rest of the week at the local office of the Bell Telephone Company at $90/month.

Note from the box score that Johnson is referred to as “H. Smith.” Head, the shortstop, was known as Roy Patterson. The reason for the deception is unclear.

Despite Johnson’s masterful game on the mound, Weiser’s new catcher “Foxy Grandpa” Miller received the accolades.

Idaho Statesman 5/21/1906

Foxy Grandpa

Miller’s unusual nickname stems from a popular cartoon of the era. His real name was Cornelius Uhl, at times referred to as Con or Neil. He weighed close to 250 pounds and was thought to be 53 years old.

Uhl, the son of a timber merchant, was actually born in August 1867 in Galion, Ohio, making him nearly 39 years old when he caught Johnson in 1906. Galion was a railroad town with two large depots and, naturally, Uhl took up the trade and worked as a brakeman and switchman through much of his life, moving from town to town, state to state.

His baseball career probably began in the late 1880s. In 1892, he caught Pink Hawley with Fort Smith, Arkansas and later boasted of catching quite a few of the top pitchers of the era:

Baseball Magazine 2/1916

With Weiser in 1906, Uhl “won a popular young telephone operator,” Pearl Elliott, about 20 years his junior, and married her. She was perhaps a co-worker of Johnson’s at the phone company. In June, Uhl secured a job with the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company and soon relocated to Le Grande, Oregon. The couple had a child, Cornelius, the following year. (Idaho Statesman 3 May 1907)

He did however rejoin the Idaho league in 1907 with Huntington, after losing about 50 pounds. As the Baseball Magazine article claims, he played through age 45 when his weight and advancing years became too much to manage.

Rest of 1906

On May 27, 1906, his second game with Weiser, Johnson tossed a 1-hitter, shutting out Payette 12-0. Henry Thomas, Johnson’s grandson, in his thoroughly-researched biography of the pitcher notes that Johnson was once again upstaged by Foxy Grandpa in the press.

In his next start on June 3, Johnson lost 2-0 despite striking out 12. Caldwell came into the June 10 game with a perfect record 6-0. Johnson held them to one run on 12 strikeouts, winning 8-1, amid a melee instigated by gamblers.

Idaho Statesman 6/11/1906

Weiser’s season ended in early July and Johnson returned home. His final record with the club stood at 7-1, averaging over 10 strikeouts per game.

In many of his games with Olinda, Johnson’s battery mate was Guy Meats, a farmer and California native three years older than Walter. After the Weiser season ended in 1906, Johnson returned home and joined the club from Olive, Meats’ hometown. Johnson would bring Meats with him to Weiser in 1907. (Meats would continue to catch Johnson’s postseason games in Olinda for a number of years after the pitcher joined the majors.)

1907

Johnson returned to Weiser for the 1907 season at $150 a month, pitching for the club by mid-April. The club was particularly raw; no member was older than 25, prompting the team nickname Kids. Johnson first had to contend with Tacoma who now realized their mistake wanted him back. Shunned once, he wasn’t interested.

The league changed its name to the Idaho State League and added to teams: Mountain Home and Huntington (Oregon). Huntington was neicknamed the Railroaders and included as their backstop the fan favorite Foxy Grandpa. Weiser refurbished and enlarged its ballpark.

Johnson’s record stood at 3-1, with a shutout through May 5. With his next string of starts in rural Idaho, Johnson became a national figure and was quickly signed to a major league contract.

Johnson was an impressive physical specimen, standing 6’1” tall and nearing 200 pounds; however, it was another feature which turned heads – his wingspan. “The lad is only nineteen years old, and is as strong as an ox. He is noted for the spread of his arms, which they say would make even Bob Fitzsimmons blush.” (Oakland Tribune 12 June 1907)

Back in 1890, the man whose name Johnson’s would forever be linked with as top two winning in major league history – Cy Young – gained an immediate call-up to the majors after pitching a no-hitter for Canton. As impressive as that was, Johnson would top it many times over, though albeit perhaps against lesser competition.

For the rest of his time in Weiser, twelve starts from May 19 to July 15, Johnson dominated, ceding few hits and even fewer earned runs – 4 if you can believe that. There was one 1-hitter, 3 two-hitters and yes 2 no-hitters. Only once did he strike out less than 10 batters, once as many as 19, another time 18 and averaging 13 (156 in total).

The no-hitters came in consecutive starts, on June 3 and 9. In the first one Johnson took the mound as a hired gun for Nampa, against Mountain Home. He allowed but a mere base on balls. It was a wild scene in which Nampa backers pocketed close to $5000 in wagers, and partied well into the night. In the second contest, versus Emmett, he didn’t even allow a walk, thus notching a perfect game. The catch phrase of the newspapermen at the time was that his opponents fell because of “Too Much Johnson,” the title of a popular stage production that Orson Welles later made into a film.

In one contest (the 19-K game), he fanned 8 of the first nine men who took the box (pitching against Spec Harkness). Perhaps putting aside the myth that Johnson was strictly a fastball pitcher in his youth, the Idaho Statesman noted that he sent the 19 packing “by his deceptive curves.” (Idaho Statesman 20 May 1907)

Idaho Statesman 5/20/1907

On June 30 versus Caldwell, Walter struck out an impressive 15 batters but was eclipsed by the opposing pitcher Irv Higginbotham, brought in from Aberdeen of the Northwestern League as a ringer, who nailed 17. The atmosphere was another wild one that almost seemed typical in the west. Caldwell brought in three other ringers at catcher, left field and second base. (One scored the game’s only run.) The fans were in a frenzy as wagering perhaps topped five figures.

Idaho Statesman 7/1/1907

Shutouts, well that brought the astonishment. Of those 12 games, the first 7 were shutouts, as were the last 2. In between, he allowed 5 runs, only 4 earned in three games. Unfortunately, Johnson lost two of them, 1-0 and 3-2. How many consecutive scoreless innings? 77 – that’s about eight and a half full games.

The national headlines began after the fifth shutout, first towards his home on the west coast and then in the east. Joe Cantillon, manager of the Washington Senators, dispatched someone to take a look at the Weiser Wonder, dubbed The Kid in the west.

(Photo: to left, Johnson in the dark blue Weiser uniform)

Washington Bound

The timing of Johnson’s streak couldn’t have been any better as far as the Washington Senators were concerned. One of Cantillon’s catchers, 27-year-old Cliff Blankenship, had injured his throwing hand on a foul tip in the seventh game of the season on April 20 in Philadelphia. He tried to play through it but was still lame in mid June.

Cantillon had just taken over the club and was in desperate need of quality ballplayers; the Senators were the running joke of the American League, having finished last in half of the league’s first six seasons as a major.

Blankenship was born in Georgia but played the last three seasons on Seattle in the Pacific Coast League. He was more than familiar with the western baseball territory and, more important, knew the ballplayers. In fact, outside three brief stints in the majors, he essentially relocated to the west coast in 1904 – and died in Oakland in 1956.

On June 17, 1907, Blankenship departed D.C., heading west in search of baseball talent for the woeful Senators. Johnson’s streak was still alive and, in fact, he had just notched the two consecutive no-hitters.

Cantillon’s first offer to Johnson arrived the same day Blankenship took off:

Idaho Statesman 6/18/1907

Blankenship emerged a week later in Wichita, Kansas. Cantillon wanted the club’s speedy center fielder Clyde Milan – who “attracted considerable attention this spring and no less than six major league clubs were after him. Cantillon saw him play against the Nationals [the Senators formal club nickname] in an exhibition game this spring, and was so much impressed with his work that he has been watching him ever since.” (Washington Post, 25 June 1907)

The 20-year-old Milan would anchor Washington’s outfield into the early 1920s. After securing the main focus of his trip, anyone else would be icing for Blankenship. That cake was served on June 30 as the Washington Post headlined “Secures a Phenom.” Biding his time at the team hotel on the 29^th amid a rainstorm, Cantillon received word that Blankenship had signed Walter Johnson, the Weiser fireballer (for $450 a month).

Blankenship had arrived in Weiser on the 28th and made an offer. Johnson initially rebuffed the scout but then decided to get some advice. He was tentative, unsure at age 19 if he was yet major league caliber. Sure he was dominating in Weiser but the Idaho backwoods was far from big eastern baseball in more than one aspect. (Many western ballplayers were hesitant to relocate to the large eastern cities where the lifestyle was well out of their comfort zone.)

Moreover, the locals naturally wanted the pitcher to hang around and lead the club; they were even offering to root him in the community with a business opportunity or two. He had to confer with others and do some soul searching. Johnson discussed the matter with his catcher Guy Meats, a hometown buddy, and surely others on the club, and also wanted input from back home. After a day, and a coaxing telegram from home, he made a handshake deal with Blankenship. However, the pitcher insisted on getting return fare to Olinda as insurance just in case he didn’t pan out. Plus, Johnson insisted on staying in Weiser until their season ended.

(Blankenship also signed third baseman Bill Shipke from Des Moines on his trip.)

The Senators expected Johnson to meet the club in Detroit on July 15 to kick off his major league career. Instead, he headlined a series against Mountain Home. Weiser won the first game, 6-1, with Johnson at first base. He pitched in Boise on the 14^th, winning 1-0 and securing $2500 in wagers for the Weiser fans. He defeated Mountain Home again the next day, 4-0.

On the 23^rd, the Washington Post wondered “What has become of Walter Johnson…?” No one had heard from the young pitching phenom. Unbeknown, he was on his way. He had left Weiser on the 22^nd, a tearful goodbye at the railway depot. He arrived in D.C. on the 26^th and would make his major league debut against Detroit on August 2.

SOURCE LIST

• Ancestry.com
• Baseball-reference.com
• Carey, Charles, “Walter Johnson,” SABR Biography Project
• Galveston Daily News, 30 June 1907
• Heritagequest.com
• Idaho Statesman, Boise, 1906-1907
• Logansport Pharos, Indiana, 26 July 1907
• Mapquest.com
• Oakland Tribune, 12 June 1907
• Retrosheet.org
• Salt Lake Tribune, 15 July 1907
• Thomas, Henry W. Walter Johnson: Baseball’s Big Train. Washington D.C.: Phenom Press, 1995.
• Thomas, Henry W. “The Weiser Wonder: Walter Johnson in Idaho,” Grandstand Baseball Annual, 1995, Joseph M. Wayman publisher, 1995
• Thomas, Henry W. and Charles W. Carey, “The California Comet: Walter Johnson in the Golden State,” Grandstand Baseball Annual, Joseph M. Wayman publisher, 1995
• Titusville Herald, Pennsylvania, 16 July 1907
• Washington Post, 23 April 1907, 18 June 1907, 9 July 1907
• Wikipedia.org

 

In May 1941, the United States issued commercial television licenses for the first time. They took effect in July 1. At 2:39 pm on that date the first legal television commercial aired over the New York station WNBT (now WNBC), an ad for Bulova watches. The cost for Buluva was $4 for the 10-second ad.

It took place during a contest between the Philadelphia Phillies and Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field.

 

June 27, 1911 – Heads-up Home Run

To speed up games, Ban Johnson ruled that to start a new half-inning pitchers would not be allowed to throw warm-up pitches.

On June 27, 1911 at the Hunington Avenue Grounds in Boston the sides changed in the middle of the eighth inning. Red Sox pitcher Ed Karger took the mound and began tossing warm-up pitches to catcher Les Nunamaker as personnel were changing sides.

Two Philadelphia players (Boston manager Patsy Donovan claimed) hadn’t left the field yet and center fielder Tris Speaker was casually talking to A’s second baseman Eddie Collins.

A’s first baseman Stuffy Mcinnis took note and quickly jumped in the batter’s box and smacked one of Karger’s tosses into an unmanned center field. Speaker and the Red Sox were taken unawares. The ball rolled to the wall as McInnis circled the bases.

Patsy Donovan and his men pitched a fit, but umpires Egan and Sheridan ruled it a home run. It was the final run in an A’s 7-3 victory. The Red Sox protested to Ban Johnson to no avail.

Baltimore Sun 6/28/1911

 

Bethlehem Steel League (SABR Biography Project)

Organized Baseball faced challenges on several fronts during World War I. Naturally, the able-bodied men employed in baseball were also wanted and even expected to perform in the service, like other men throughout the country. While it is true that many ballplayers performed in battle and other essential tasks, some were placed with their athletic skills in mind and used mainly to play ball and entertain the troops. Thus, Uncle Sam in essence became a competitor for top baseball talent.

Another, more controversial, competitor for baseball talent was the Bethlehem Steel League. Given the choice to ‘work or fight’ by the Secretary of War, some ballplayers chose to work in a war-related industry. Thus, the circumstances were set for the next big threat to Organized Baseball, the industrial leagues of the World War I era. The game’s executives were still reeling from the recent Federal League threat and a consequently strong players union. Of all the industrial leagues nationwide, the Bethlehem Steel League posed perhaps the biggest threat. It attracted dozens of past, current and future major leaguers plus a strong contingent of men with minor league experience.

Bethlehem Steel, an industrial giant, established an internal baseball league among six of its east coast plants in 1917 to entertain its growing workforce during World War I. The rosters were initially filled out by local workers but a few old-time pros and failed minor leaguers were mixed in. The 1917 season opened on May 11 and continued for twenty weeks through Labor Day, September 2, only playing on Saturdays and holidays. The otherwise unskilled ballplayers worked in the plant during the week tightening screws or performing other tasks.

By the following year, local plant executives started bringing in ringers to stock their club’s against league rivals. They hired professional scouts and managers to recruit the finest talent available. About the same time, major and minor league players were receiving draft notices to join the war effort. Ballplayers had to either enlist or find employment in a war-related industry.

READ MORE

AND MORE

AND SOME MORE

 

A short-lived club which sent more than its share to the majors

(So titled because the club represented several New Jersey and New York cities at varying times –most popularly known as the Long Branch Cubans)

The Henriquez family, natives of Columbia, arrived in New York on June 14, 1886. They quickly settled in Manhattan and would stay there. The party included Louis Napoleon Henriquez, wife Maria, three daughters and three sons. The boys:

• George, born March 1876
• Carlos Louis (later referred to as Carlos, Carl or Charles, born 5 December 1878
• Ricardo Antonio (later referred to as Richard or Dick), born November 6, 1879

At familysearch.com, the brothers list their mother as Carolina Morales. There are indications – such as the 1900 U.S. Census – that Carolina was from Cuba and perhaps Maria was as well. This may suggest that the family lived in Cuba at some point, which is further strengthened by the sons’:

• Affinity for the island in baseball associations
• Life-long identification as hailing from the country
• Even, in Carlos’s son’s sporting promotions there

From the gap in the children’s ages, Carolina must have died within a few years after Richard’s birth and Louis then remarried to Maria. The new couple later had another son, Louis, as well as a daughter in 1884.

Louis Sr. is listed as retired from the real estate field in the 1900 Census. (He would die later that year.) It is not clear if that is how he made his money initially in Latin America, or just in Manhattan. Whichever is the case, Louis had a good deal of money before emigrating. By the end of 1886, he had purchased two properties in Manhattan for a total of $30,000.

The sons (did not track the youngest Louis) each attended Seton Hall College in East Orange, New Jersey. They then attended medical school at the Ivy League Columbia University in Manhattan: George, Columbia Class of 1901; Carlos, 1900; Richard 1903. George and Carlos practiced medicine but it doesn’t appear that Richard did. He is listed in the real estate business. The brothers each played sports in college and were competitive whist, a card game, players:

• George, ran track
• Carlos, light-heavyweight wrestling champion at Columbia
• Richard, baseball and football at Columbia

New York Times 6/22/1902

(Carlos’ son, by the same name, also went to Columbia and starred in wrestling. He became a renowned professional wrestler in the late 1920s, through the mid 1930s. Later, he served as a wrestling and tennis coach at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and New York University. He was also a sports promoter, working in the U.S., Cuba and Spain.)

Baseball

Carlos and Richard both married in 1906 to young women that were cousins, Janet Long and Gretchen Whitney, respectively. Richard was the best athlete of the bunch and, without a medical practice to hold him back, played ball well into his 30s. He caught and played third base for Columbia in 1901 and 1902 (and probably did so for the Seton Hall Alerts). Soon thereafter, he settled at first base. In 1903, he played for the Madison Athletic Association. He continued to play ball, perhaps as an amateur or semi-pro. In 1907, he played at least one game (on August 10) for Newark in the Eastern League.

Sporting Life 8/17/1907

New York Times 8/11/1907

Long Branch Baseball, 1911-1912

In 1911 and 1912, Richard played for the Long Branch, New Jersey team. Long Branch, like other resort towns, fielded clubs during the summer, often from June to September, for the entertainment of vacationers and, of course, year-round residents. Many Brooklynites and Manhattanites made the short trip to Long Branch each summer for fun, rest and recreation.

Brooklyn Eagle, 1911

As noted in the Brooklyn Eagle article, Richard managed the club. The one 1911 roster (New York Evening Telegram 6 August 1911) found shows all American-style surnames except of course Richard’s. That game, Long Branch played an all-star squad headed by Ty Cobb.

A change was made in 1912. Latin names begin to appear, specifically Cuban ballplayers, creating the genesis of a very strong club:

• Tomas Romanach
• Menditta
• Ramos
• Mike Gonzalez, future major leaguer
• Dolf Luque, future major leaguer

New York Times 6/17/1912

The team was already known as the Cubans. The financing or connections that brought the Cuban ballplayers to Long Branch is not readily known. Carlos Henriquez was intimately involved with the club after 1912. He may have also been a part of the club in 1912, at least financially.

Over the next few years, the Cubans would play a great deal of games versus major league clubs. Considering the Blue Laws in New York City, Brooklyn and New York clubs could conveniently hop to Long Branch for Sunday contests, as would other major league clubs stranded in the area over a weekend. The Henriquezes quickly developed a relationship with the Boston Braves. In fact, Gonzalez made his major league debut on September 28 with the Braves. Luque would do likewise in 1914.

From the fact that Henriquez’s players traveled in and out of Organized Baseball, as did the team in the future, it’s clear that they were lighter-skinned inhabitants of the island nation.

Tomas Romanach

Romanach was initially the shortstop of the Almendares club of Havana. In February 1913, Garry Herrmann of the Cincinnati Reds had his outfielder Armando Marsans, also a Cuban, ink Romanach to a contract. The deal fell through, as did subsequent attempts to sign Romanach over the next couple years. He was hesitant to go without the potential club signing other Cuban players.

For example, Brooklyn business manager, of the Federal league, Dick Carroll tried to sign Romanach in July 1915 – calling him the best shortstop outside the big leagues – but the player wouldn’t go without another Cuban player.

Another matter had to be cleared up by the National Commission:

Sporting Life 2/17/1917

Long Branch Cubans, 1913-1914

In 1913, the Long Branch Cubans joined the new six-team, Class-D New York-New Jersey League. Carlos formally took over the presidency, thus administration, of the club. Richard continued to be field manager and play first base. The Cubans joined the league in March, completing the circuit. Carlos was named league vice president.

On May 11, Luis Padron defeated the New York Giants.

Jersey Journal, 5/12/1913

The Cubans ran away with the pennant, posting a 65-29 record. Luque went 22-15 and Angel Villazon 20-8. The team also included future major leaguers Angel Aragon, Jack Calvo and Mike Gonzalez. Luque’s 22 wins led the league, as did Juan Viola’s 131 hits.

New York Age 7/17/1913

A controversy arose in August. On the 6^th, the Boston Braves purchased Luque, Aragon, Padron and Villazon, a tremendous crew, from the Henriquezes. Frank Farrell of the New York Yankees immediately protested, claiming he had a verbal agreement for $1000 each for Luque, Aragon and Padron. Boston ended up winning the argument but only Luque ever appeared on its roster.

Trenton Evening Times 1/8/1914

In 1914, the Cubans performed in the Class-D Atlantic League (one of several unrelated leagues by that name). They entered the league as representatives of Newark, amassing a 26-11 record as such. They moved back to Long Beach on June 29. Newark already had the Indians of the International League and, with two clubs in the city, the Cubans weren’t drawing well. They finished with a 59-32 record, good enough for second place. The nine included future major leaguers Jose Acosta, Aragon and Ricardo Torres. Some of the aforementioned Cubans were among the list of men that played in both black baseball and the majors. Aragon led the league with a .443 batting average.

Jose Acosta’s No-Hit or Perfect Game vs STL Browns, or perhaps not

Jose Acosta was the brother of Melito Acosta who made his major league debut with Clark Griffith’s Washington Senators in June 1913. Jose would do the same seven years later.

On July 19, 1914, Jose Acosta tossed a no-hitter, or perhaps perfect game, or perhaps neither, versus the St. Louis Browns of the American League. The Browns played the Yankees on the 18th and 20th in New York. The 19^th was a Sunday; in order to skirt blue laws, the Browns hopped to Long Branch, New Jersey for the exhibition contest.

New York Times 7/20/1914

Sporting Life 7/25/1914

Washington Post 8/9/1914

Oakland Tribune 7/20/1914

I exchanged emails with Larry Lester of SABR’s Negro League Committee in 2007. He was kind enough to provide me with another box score that was found:

(reference details lost)

Regardless of the specifics of the contest, Acosta had a great season if he defeated the Browns twice and the Giants once. Here are a couple of other close games:

New York Times 6/22/1914

New York Times 8/9/1914

The Cubans played major league clubs quite often. Under the Long Beach moniker, they played major league clubs an estimated 34 times, claiming 10 victories. (Reference Gary Ashwill and David Skinner)

Long Branch Cubans 1915

The Atlantic League folded after the 1914 season. Carlos Henriquez led the drive to revamp the circuit; it would play on the weekends as an independent league. Carlos served as league president. The Cubans withdrew from the league in mid May. Some familiar names were on the club:

New York Times 3/27/1915

A few other competitive contests:

New York Times 6/7/1915

New York Times 6/28/1915

New York Times 7/5/1915

New York Times 7/26/1915

A subsequent article in the Schenectady Gazette (22 July 1916) claimed that the Cubans defeated major leaguers seven times (out of 14) in 1915 including wins over the Giants, Dodgers and Phillies. Also, “the Cubans lost but 23 out of 186 games played…”

Poughkeepsie Cubans 1916

Henriquez reinserted his Cubans into the independent Atlantic League in 1916; this time representing Poughkeepsie, New York. He was once again named president of the league. In July, he tried to purchase Troy of the New York State League, but that fell through (and Troy moved to Harrisburg).

The Cubans, whether representing Poughkeepsie or not, were usually referred to as the Long Branch Cubans. They played any and all comers – professional, amateur, semi-pro, black clubs, industry or university nines.

New York Sun 7/31/1916

Middletown Cubans 1922-1923

Carlos Henriquez sponsored the Middletown (NY) Cubans during the 1922 and ’23 seasons.

SOURCE LIST

• Ancestry.com
• Baseball-reference.com
• Brooklyn Eagle, 1911
• Familysearch.com
• Gary Ashwill’s Agate Type website  
• Jersey Journal, Jersey City, New Jersey, 12 May 1913
• Johnson, Lloyd and Miles Wolff. Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, Third Edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007.
• New York Age, 17 July 1913
• New York Daily Tribune, 7 June 1901
• New York Evening Telegram, 6 August 1911
• New York Sun, 9 August 1913, 31 July 1916
• New York Times, 1886, 1900-1907, 1913-1917, 1980
• Schenectady Gazette, New York, 22 July 1916
• Sporting Life, 1907, 1911-1917