Archive for September, 2011

 

Dick McBride, Fired on the Field Mid-Game

Dick McBride had a great season in 1875; that is until he was fired humiliatingly. He managed a major league club to a 49-17 record, which seems outstanding, and it is. More than that, he was the club’s main pitcher – and in 1875 that meant he pitched nearly every game. His record in league contests was a stellar 44-13, which constituted over 530 innings work. That’s just league contests; the club probably played another 30-40 games that weren’t officially designated. Regardless, one day in October, the team’s directors stepped forward – on the grass nonetheless – and fired him on the spot, and turned the club over to a 23-year-old.

Beginnings

Dick McBride, a Philadelphia native, played cricket and baseball as a youth. His skills were such that he joined the first nine of the Athletics of Philadelphia, soon to be the city’s top club, in June 1861 – the month he turned 14 years old, if you believe the date of birth listed in the online encyclopedias. Initially an outfielder and catcher, he settled into the shortstop position. He remained with the club, even playing with them during a furlough while he briefly served in a Pennsylvania infantry unit during the second half of 1864.

By the middle of the decade, he was the club’s main pitcher. Not coincidentally the club joined the ranks of the top clubs in the country around this time. With it, McBride’s star rose as well. He was the city’s first superstar despite the impressive cast that surrounded him – especially Al Reach.

At the time, the amateur ideals still prevailed in the sport. Soon suspecting eyes were cast upon the Philadelphia boys for accepting cash under-the-table. Harry Wright, for one, declared it outright. As the game inched towards outright professionalism, the Athletics remained competitive, even with the onslaught of the western teams. In 1871, the club joined the new National Association, the sport’s first professional league that limited its membership level to a manageable figure.

The Athletics behind McBride won the NA’s first championship, by 2 games over Boston. Thereafter though, Boston dominated – taking the next four pennants. That’s no poor reflection on McBride. McBride managed the club for their entire run in the National Association, save 8 games. Plus, he continued to work his magic on the mound, posting a 105-56 record through 1874. He also was no slouch with the bat, among the best hitting pitchers in the game, and better than some position players.

1875

Boston won the 1874 pennant by 7.5 games over New York. Philly sat third, 11.5 games behind. The Boston dominance was frustrating for the league. The question every summer seemed to be not who would win the championship but by how many games. Naturally, this hurt at the gate and created more resentments than goodwill. Unbeknown, the National Association held its own seeds of destruction.

The story is well-known. In mid-1875, Chicago president William Hulbert and his new righthand-man Al Spalding (who was actually a pitcher with Boston) coaxed several of the game’s leading players to sign with the White Stockings for the 1876 season. Trouble was, those men belonged to other league clubs, Boston and Philadelphia. Today, this would be viewed as illegal tampering. Back then, the men typically weren’t signed for the following season but contract negotiations weren’t permitted in-season.

In the 1870s, disputes were only heard and ruled upon during off-season meetings by the league directors. To skirt a potential rebuke, Hulbert called his own preemptive meeting and proposed the formation of a new circuit – the National League. The plot worked for several reasons, not the least of which was the dissatisfaction of the also-ran status of the vast majority. The National Association ceased to exist. None of this was certain though during the 1875 season.

What was clear was that Boston continued to dominate. They started the season 26-0. By the start of October, the Red Stockings sat 11.5 games up on their closest competitor. Though the Athletics were in second place – they were a distant second and, perhaps more alarmingly, finances were precarious.

On the 8^th, the Athletics lost 8-1 to Hartford. McBride ceded 14 hits, including 3 singles, a double and three runs in the ninth. Tommy Bond held Philadelphia to a meager three hits.

The Standings:

Boston 63-7-3

Philadelphia 49-17-2, 12 games behind

October 9

On October 9, the Athletics hosted the champion Red Stockings at their main park, the Jefferson Street Grounds at the corner of 25^th and Jefferson Streets. One day after ceding 14 base knocks to Hartford, McBride allowed another 16 “clean hits” – in 5 innings; though, he was only behind one run, 14-13. What happened next seems strange by today’s standards, and perhaps it did then, but little of it was mentioned in print.

The Athletics’ Directors then held a meeting on the field, deposed of McBride from the captaincy and put in Anson

 – Boston Journal

Obviously under a mandate, Anson then removed McBride from the game and installed Ezra Sutton in the box, who did no better. Darkness ended the contest an inning later, Boston victorious 17-13. Most today chalk up the action as a financial decision, saving the star McBride’s salary. But does that hold up?

For one, the season was nearly over. How much could be saved? Second, financial decisions aren’t made on the field. This was clearly a snap decision made in the heat of battle. Surely, the directors were constantly aware of financial considerations but there were surely other issues at play here.

Was it the ineffectiveness of a once great star? – Hardly. Even with the October 9-loss, McBride posted a stellar 44-14 mark in 1875. He had started all but three of the club’s games heading into September, amassing a personal-best 538 innings that year. Only Al Spalding of Boston won more games. McBride was still a star and only perhaps 30 years old.

Was McBride running the team poorly? It doesn’t appear that he was if one deems wins and losses as the criteria. They had a fine record, just not Boston fine. They stood at 49-17-2 in second place. There was no train wreck here. They only had a losing streak of four games once and that was early in the season. They did lose 3 in a row in early July but that hardly seems significant, especially with a 7-game win streak immediately following it plus a 9-game streak soon thereafter.

Philly outscored their opponents nearly 2-1, 638 runs to 323 in 1875. The ridiculously stacked Boston squad, on the other hand, outscored opponents nearly 3-1. How can you compete with that?

Perhaps there were some all-too-common internal gripes in the Philadelphia organization that we know little about.

It’s also a little hard to understand the lack of outcry over his disposal. After all, he was one of the biggest names in Philadelphia baseball. Had the game just not progressed to the point where the stars mattered? Did the sportswriters of the time just tend to give the facts – and nothing but the facts? Had nostalgia as yet failed to creep into the game?

Why Anson? This was his first experience as a manager. Sure he was a tough, smart competitor. But he had already showed his disloyalty to the Athletics. He and Sutton were two of the men – along with a group of Red Stockings – that had secretly signed with Hulbert, a secret which was now in the open. Was it an attempt by Philadelphia to keep their young slugger, luring him with a promotion?

Perhaps it was the presence of a young pitching phenom ready to take the place of an aging veteran. Possible, but it’s still hard to understand the dumping of a highly-effective pitcher.

That phenom was Lon Knight, another Philadelphia boy, who made his major league debut on September 4 at age 22. He impressed.

That day in Philadelphia, Knight and his catcher Bill Coon, both fresh from the amateur Shibe club, worked the game for the Athletics. They led the club to a 6-3 victory over the strong Boston nine, only their seventh loss. Before that point Philly was a mere 1-6-2 against the champions. Knight was an instant hit, especially since his effort came after an embarrassing 16-0 blanking. His work after that though was only so-so, 2 more wins but then 3 losses. Does a team bank on this and dispose of a 44-win pitching star who seems to still be in his prime?

Thereafter

Knight immediately took over the pitching duties. There were only 8 league games left and he started each. The next game, October 11, was a disaster. Boston cleaned his clock. Twenty-five hits and 15 runs sealed a victory by 12. The remaining seven games produced a 4-2-1 record.

Anson took off for Chicago as predicted, though he did beg Hulbert and Spalding to let him stay in Philadelphia. But that wasn’t a baseball thing – he was wooing a young – very, very young – local girl. Ezra Sutton did renege on his promise and stayed in Philly. That didn’t seem to matter much; Spalding and his boys took off for the Windy City.

McBride, a fill-in pitcher, appeared in 4 games for his old cricket foe, Harry Wright, in Boston. The end came quickly for McBride after losing each contest. What led to his fast, almost immediate demise?

Hulbert and Spalding brought their plan to fruition and the National League was formed. Philly tanked that first season, behind Knight and the old Brooklyn star George Zettlein. After finishing 14-45-1 in seventh place they were bounced from the league for failing to complete their schedule.

Chicago with their pilfered talent claimed the top prize in 1876. Hulbert then formally claimed the league presidency, keeping it until his death.

Harry Wright revamped his Boston Red Stockings and took the pennant in 1877 and 1878 in the now New York and Philadelphia-less stunted 6-team league.

SOURCE LIST

• Baseballchronoloy.com
• Boston Globe, 11 October 1875, 12 October 1875
• Boston Journal, 6 September 1875, 11 October 1875
• Chicago Tribune, 10 October 1875
• Fleitz, David L. Cap Anson: The Grand Old Man of Baseball. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2005.
• New York Morning Telegraph, 10 October 1875
• Retrosheet.org
• Shiffert, John. Base Ball in Philadelphia: A History of the Early Game, 1831-1900. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, 2006.

 

Football

After college, Frank’s obituary in The Sporting News states that he played professional football for the Harrisburg Senators, Atlantic City Collegians and South Philadelphia Professionals. In 1915, he coached and played right halfback for the Harlem YMCA team that was filled with ex-college players.

Basketball

Despite his long career as a baseball player, Forbes is probably more known as a pioneer in professional black basketball and as a founding member of the Commonwealth Big Five and New York Renaissance, the latter a club that was en masse inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Forbes garnered his nickname “Strangler” in basketball. It initiated from an incident where he broke up a fight by grabbing both participants in a headlock. During this era, there were several men who played professionally in black baseball and basketball:

• George Fiall
• Forbes
• Fats Jenkins
• Cum Posey
• Dick Seay

During the 1910s, amateur and semi-pro basketball dominated the sport’s landscape in New York, at least for African-American athletes. Forbes played for the following fives (in all likelihood an incomplete list):

• 1915 Manhattan YMCA (also captain)
• 1915-1917 Incorporators of New York (also captain)
• 1919-1922 Spartan Braves of the Spartan Field Club of New York
• 1921 Mi-Tee Monarch Lodge #45
• 1922-1923 Commonwealth Big Five of Harlem (also captain)
• 1923-1924 Renaissance Big Five of Harlem
• 1925 Grand Central Red Caps
• 1925 Commonwealth Big Five
• 1939 Long Island University Blackbirds (head coach of this pro club made up of recent graduates of the school)

Forbes was mainly a guard, a “big lumbering” one and was known as a “defensive ace.”

The Incorporators were billed as the “Colored World Champions” of 1914, 1915 and 1916. The Spartans were champs of the 1919-1920 season.

The Commonwealth club was created in conjunction with the McMahon brothers. It was named after the Commonwealth Casino in whose ballroom the games were played. The casino was under the purview of the McMahons. The club also included:

• George Fiall
• Creed Hubbard
• Fats Jenkins
• Harold Jenkins
• Hilton Slocum

This was the dawn of professional black basketball in New York. Part of the spark which pushed the game into outright professionalism was complaints against Forbes and others who were professional baseball players and hence a bone of contention to the amateurs.

Commonwealth’s first game took place on November 5, 1922 against the Monarch Five (the first professional game). Forbes was essentially forced to leave the game after nearly creating a riot by punching Cum Posey.

Chicago Defender 10/7/1922

The Rens were formed by former player Bob Douglas, who coached the club through 1949. In essence, they were a continuation of Douglas’ Spartan club. (Douglas ran the Spartan Field Club.) Like the Commonwealth, they were named after the Renaissance Casino. Their first game took place on November 3, 1923. The players that day included:

• Zack Anderson
• Forbes
• Fats Jenkins
• Hy Monte
• Leon Monde

Boxing

Like basketball, Forbes was widely well-known and respected for his contributions – over decades. During the 1930s and ‘40s, Forbes was a licensed timekeeper with the New York Athletic Commission and was a member of the Board or Officials, the first African-American so recognized. He was also the only black official of the Intercollegiate A.A.A.A.

He became a renowned fight judge from 1944-1970, often cited as among the best in the business. He was selected as the first African-American man in that position as well, in December 1943. He oversaw bouts of many of the greats, including many title fights:

• Muhammad Ali
• Emile Griffith
• Joe Louis
• Ezzard Charles
• Jersey Joe Walcott

Forbes’ obituary in The Sporting News stated that he officiated in more than 2000 boxing matches.

Officiating

Outside boxing, Forbes also umpired in baseball and referred basketball contests. He oversaw basketball contests from the mid-1910s into the 1940s. In December 1938, he was named as a ref with the Eastern Intercollegiate Athletic Association, a body which included many white eastern colleges and Ivy League schools. Again, he was the first African-American so designated. Likewise, he was the first black member of the Metropolitan Board of Baseball, Basketball and Football Officials.

Forbes umpired baseball games from the early 1920s into the mid-1940s, including stints in the American Negro League of 1929, Negro National League and East-West League of 1932. He also worked the heralded East-West Game in 1943.

Negro League Management

In January 1935 Alex Pompez’s New York Cubans were accepted into the Negro National League. Pompez immediately hired Forbes as the club’s business manager. The club also moved into the Dyckman Oval and opened new offices at 200 West 135^th Street. He remained with the club through 1936. He and Roy Sparrow oversaw club operations during Pompez’s legal troubles, which for a time forced him to flee to Mexico.

In 1940, Forbes was named secretary of the Negro National League. The following year he handled all the league’s eastern promotions, officially recognized as the Promotional and Publicity Director of the NNL. In truth, he had performed many of these marketing duties for years.

In March 1947, Frank bought out Bill Leuschner’s shares of the New York Black Yankees, a club run by James Semler. However, it was a bad time to do so; attendance dropped precipitously and immediately with Jackie Robinson and other black players’ acceptance into the major leagues. Frank doesn’t appear to have held control for long as Leuschner was soon back wielding influence.

Personal Life

Frank and Whitlock divorced sometime before the 1930 U.S. census. She kept his name and became a long-time, acclaimed teacher at Public School #90 on West 147^th Street. She was also named athletic director of a community center that was erected across the street from her school.

At times, Frank resided at the Harlem YMCA. Throughout the 1930s and ‘40s, he lived at Apartment 3F, 122 West 138^th Street in the Dunbar Apartments. (World War II registration card) For recreation, he was known to take an annual hunting trip. The 1930 Census lists him as an athletic instructor at a school, but doesn’t identify which one. Furthermore, he was listed as the only black member of the Quaker Club of Philadelphia; though, the club’s purpose is unclear, presumably an athletic organization. He also wrote a periodic column on baseball for the Chicago Defender from 1938-1948. From the late 1940s to the mid-1950s, he operated a liquor store in Harlem.

On December 8, 1949 in Jersey City, Forbes married Marguerite Henry, a divorcé from a local physician with two children. The newlyweds broke up four months later.

Frank and Whitlock suffered a major blow during the Christmas holidays in 1938. Their only child, Bobby, was brutally stalked and killed by a local Harlem tough. Bobby, 19, an acclaimed baseball, basketball and football player like his father, was home during the holidays during his freshman year at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.

He ran afoul of a 21-year-old hood named Wally Paige whose brother was already incarcerated for murder. An altercation first occurred at a basketball game at the Harlem YMCA the day after Christmas, involving both their girlfriends. Paige hunted him down three days later, and with the assistance of one or more friends, stabbed Bobby several times in the chest. Bobby’s girlfriend Julia Bennett rushed him to the hospital but it was too late.

Paige was soon arrested but his girlfriend could not be found, said to have sailed to the West Indies to avoid testifying. Julia, the star witness, apparently committed suicide in November 1939 but Paige was still convicted and sentenced to the electric chair. The January 1940 execution was avoided on appeal and, in fact, the conviction was overturned in August. Newspaper accounts of the matter seemingly cease after this.

Major League Baseball

The Giants had a guy named Frank Forbes who served as a kind of guardian and all-around fix-it man for the team’s black players…He seemed to know everybody in New York. Once Frank gave me a decal to put on my 1955 Ford and told me, “As long as you have that, you can park anywhere you want in the city with no problems.” I don’t know what kind of fix Frank had in, but I never got a parking ticket in New York.

Bill White

With the folding of the Cuban Giants after the 1950 season, New York Giants owner Horace Stoneham brought Cuban’s owner Alex Pompez into his organization to scout, primarily black and Latin ballplayers. Stoneham also wanted a go-to man to help aid the transition of black players into the traditionally white major leagues, in particular the rising star Willie Mays. Pompez recommended Forbes and he was hired by July 1951. Forbes is often identified in the press as a scout, but he was actually added to the publicity staff of the club. (He also supervised the Caribbean Winter League from 1951-1958.)

Frank did just that, saw to the needs of the Giants’ new black players. Primarily though, the 60-year-old Forbes was identified as the caretaker of the young Mays, keeping him out of trouble. They were near-constant companions through 1955. Forbes oversaw much of Mays’ personal life:

• Living arrangement
• Dating
• Managing the media and public
• Travel
• Finances
• Numerous other day-to-day affairs

Forbes performed these duties until Mays married in early 1956. In October 1962, the well-connected Forbes was hired as Assistant to the Farm Director for Special Assignments by the expansion Washington Senators.

Promotions

Over the decades, Forbes promoted hundreds, perhaps thousands, of sporting events of all varieties, much like the McMahons. Many centered in Harlem. For one, he was Director of Basketball for Interstate Sports Affiliates, among other groups. He also oversaw promotions for the Palace in Harlem.

Eventually, Frank formed a formal sports promotion business, listed as such on his World War II registration card; though, it was probably in full swing by the mid-1930s. One of his major contributions centered on the establishment of numerous interracial contests.

As the quote by Bill White above acknowledges, Forbes knew his community. He didn’t merely post billboards or newspaper ads; he walked the streets and visited the shops and churches or wherever the community assembled to spread the word. He knew everyone and everyone knew him. Such a figure operated with numerous connections in the community and amid political and governmental officials and business and religious leaders. This was also the method Alex Pompez employed as the king of numbers in Harlem.

Hall of Fame

Being around both the black leagues and major leagues for so long, Forbes naturally became a go-to man for those interested in the old days and ballplayers of black baseball. His quotes about the game and individuals can be found in numerous references. So naturally when the original Negro League Panel was chosen by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in February 1971, Frank was included. As were:

• Sam Lacy
• Wendall Smith
• Monte Irvin
• Judy Johnson
• Roy Campanella
• July Johnson
• Eddie Gottleib
• Alex Pompez, among others

That first year they elected Satchel Paige. Forbes remained on the committee through 1977.

Frank Lindsey Forbes passed away in a Philadelphia hospital on August 19, 1983 at age 92.

SOURCE LIST

Larry Lester was kind enough to exchange information with me via email concerning Forbes’ 1914 season. It was through him that I learned that Forbes played under the name “Frank Formita.” Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find any references of such.

Appreciation is extended to Mark L. Ford of the Professional Football Researchers Association for helping me understand the status of black players in the All-American rankings during Forbes’ time at Howard University.

• Ancestry.com
• Baltimore Afro-American, 1909-1940
• Baseball Digest, March 1955
• Boxrec.com
• Brooklyn Eagle, 1911-1922
• Burgos Jr., Adrian. Playing America’s Game: Baseball, Latinos, and the Color Line. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 2007.
• Burgos Jr., Adrian. Cuban Star: How One Negro-League Owner Changed the Face of Baseball. New York: Hill and Wang, 2011.
• Chicago Defender, 1915-1940
• Clark, Dick and Larry Lester. The Negro Leagues Book. Cleveland, Ohio: Society for American Baseball Research, 1994.
• Familysearch.com
• Hirsch, James S. Willie Mays: The Life, the Legend. New York: Scribner, 2010.
• Holway, John B. Blackball Stars: Negro League Stars. Westport, CT: Meckler Books, 1988.
• Holway, John. The Complete Book of Baseball’s Negro Leagues: The Other Half of Baseball History. Fern Park, Florida: Hastings House Publishers, 2001.
• Indianapolis Freeman, 1911-1916
• Jersey Journal, Trenton, 26 May 1921
• Jet, 28 April, 1955, 1 November 1962
• Kuska, Bob. Hot Potato: How Washington and New York Gave Birth to Black Basketball and Changed America’s Game Forever. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2004.
• Lanctot, Neil. Negro League Baseball: The Rise and Ruin of a Black Institution. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004.
• Life, 13 September 1954
• Martin, Alfred M. and Alfred T. Martin. The Negro Leagues in New Jersey: A History. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, 2008.
• McCallum, John Dennis and Charles Hugo Pearson. College Football, U.S.A., 1869-1973: Official Book of the National Football Foundation. Hall of Fame Publications, 1973.
• Moors-delaware.com
• New York Age, 1911-1951
• New York Evening Post, 23 March 1939
• New York Sun, 1918
• New York Times, 6 December 1932
• Nieto, Severo and Peter C. Bjarkman. Early U.S. Blackball Teams in Cuba: Box Scores, Rosters and Statistics from the Files of Cuba’s Foremost Baseball Researcher. Jefferson, North Carolina, 2008.
• Philadelphia Inquirer, 1914-1919
• Riley, James A. The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues. New York: Carroll and Graf Publishers, 1994.
• Robertson, Stephen, “Harlem and Baseball in the 1920s,” digitalharlemblog.wordpress.com, 27 July 2011
• Sarasota Journal, New York, 22 August 1958
• Seymour, Harold. Baseball: The People’s Game. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
• Smithsonian, Anacostia Community Museum, “Word, Shout, Song: Lorenzo Dow Turner Connecting Communities Through Language,” 2010
• The Sporting News, 12 October 1983
• Washington Bee, D.C., 30 April 1910
• Watertown Daily Times, New York, 4 September 1928
• White, Bill and Gordon Dillow. Uppity: My Untold Story About the Games People Play. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2011.

• McNeil, William. Black Baseball Out of Season: Pay for Play Outside of the Negro Leagues. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2007.

 

1914

Forbes joined the Lincoln Stars of New York, specifically Harlem, by the beginning of May, settling into the position he would be acclaimed at, shortstop. The Stars, who played at the Lenox Oval, were newly formed by white sports promoters Jess McMahon and his brother Ed. The nine included a few players from the Lincoln Giants, which the McMahons also owned. (Jess is the grandfather of pro wrestling’s WWE owner Vince McMahon.)

The McMahons would divorce themselves from baseball by the end of the decade and concentrate on football and basketball, and in the long term boxing and wrestling. They promoted Jack Dempsey and Abe Attell, of baseball note, among others, and were heavily involved in athletics in Harlem and particularly interracial sporting contests.

The brothers played a reoccurring role in Forbes’ development as an athlete, in both baseball and basketball. Smart and ambitious, Forbes took their example and began promoting his own contests, eventually establishing a wide network of contacts and his own promotional business – one serving the black community by an insider.

The Stars were billed as the colored champions of the United States. In May, from the 20^th to the 22nd, Forbes pitched and played center field for the Harrisburg Giants during a 3-game contest with the Pittsburgh Giants in Harrisburg for the so called “Championship of Eastern United States.” Frank and teammates claimed the bragging rights.

With the Stars on May 31 versus Ironsides in Newark, New Jersey, Forbes went 7 for 7 in a 16-9 victory. The New York Age listed the numbers of the Lincoln Stars in their on October 8-issue:

Early Trip to Cuba by a Black Squad

In October, Forbes headed to Havana, Cuba with teammate John Parks and other black ballplayers, loosely identified as the Lincoln Giants. The first American black team had gone to Cuba in 1903. (African-Americans started joining the Cuban League in 1907.)

 The nine included Dizzy Dizmukes, Spots Pole, Dick Redding, Louis Santop and Pearl Webster, among others. There, they played 14 games with the Almandares and Habana clubs from October 9 to November 1. In 11 games, Forbes placed only 3 singles in 32 at bats, scoring once. The Cubans, led by Dolf Luque and others, dominated, leaving the Americans with a 4-9-1 record.

On November 3, Forbes and five others hopped aboard the USS Monterey headed for New York City. The ship’s manifest is interesting in that four of the 6 men are listed by different names than they were typically identified with in baseball at home, perhaps suggesting a pattern and explaining Frank’s use of “Joe.”

• William Parks, listed as John
• Joe Forbes, listed as Frank
• Frank Harvey, listed as Richard
• Dell Clark, listed as Thomas

Dick Clark and Larry Lester list Forbes as a pitcher with the Lincoln Giants in 1914. This was not confirmed but it does fall in the line with the fact that he joined the Giants in 1915 and considering that the heart of the Cuban trip were Lincoln Giants – Poles, Redding, Santop. However, box scores as late as October 4 show him still with the Stars, at left field that day. This was in all likelihood his final game with the Stars since he had to catch a ship bound for Havana, playing there on the 9^th.

Presumably Clark and Lester’s reference is to American baseball. The Cuban squad was in fact referred to as the Lincoln Giants but they weren’t actually the same nine. Either way, the Cuban trip seems to be the impetus for Forbes hopping to the Giants. Furthermore, it’s possible that Forbes played under the Lincoln Giants heading after returning from Cuba.

1915-1916

Starting at shortstop, Forbes spent the 1915 and 1916 seasons with the New York-based Lincoln Giants. The Giants played at Olympic Field in Harlem, erected in the previous decade for a white team (that included Rube Oldring) by the McMahons. The brothers later formed the Lincoln Giants in 1911.

The normally weak-hitting Forbes knocked a single, triple and home run in 4 at bats on July 3 versus the Union Course Athletics. A top club, the Giants would play major league clubs in October. In 1915, (Joe Williams was on the mound in each game for Lincoln):

• Victory over the Buffalo Federals
• Victory over a major league squad that included Joe Judge and the newly-married George Chalmers and five of his Philadelphia Phillies’ teammates/wedding attendees at Olympic Field on the 17^th before 9000 spectators, Chalmers took the loss with Forbes scoring the only run of the game after reaching on a base on balls
• Loss to Jeff Tesreau and the New York Giants on the 10^th, 4-2, at Olympic Field
• Loss in a rematch with the Phillies squad a week later on the 24^th, 4-2, Joe Bush was on the mound for the major leaguers this time, striking out 14 (Forbes 3 times)

In 3 games, the latter three, Forbes went 4 for 13. In November, the Giants headed south, to Florida and other areas, to play through the winter. They stayed down south until the spring.

Before the western United States and Latin countries opened regularly for black ballplayers, the men typically headed south during the winter. They often worked at hotels or other travel destinations. From the 1890s and into the 1930s, black ballplayers worked and played for the Breakers and Royal Poinciana Hotels in Palm Beach, Florida. By the turn of the century, Palm Beach was boasting the biggest names in black baseball.

Each establishment fielded a club to entertain their guests, often the main attraction of the season. The games were often the main event of an activity-filled day. Wagering in the stands was more common than not. They only played a couple of times a week. Otherwise, the men worked as waiters, busboys or porters. According to Judy Johnson, “The pay and tips were excellent.”

The two teams played head-to-head for the championship of a so-called league, known by various names such as the Hotel or Coconut League. Cyclone Joe Williams, for one, made the trip year after year.

In January, February and March 1916, Forbes could be found working at the Royal Poinciana Hotel and playing ball for the Poinciana club.

Indianapolis Freeman 2/5/1916

The ballplayers were brought in primarily to entertain the guests; the first game being played on January 26. The Poinciana club was comprised of some top names, many from C.I. Taylor’s Indianapolis ABCs:

• Todd Allen
• Morton Clark
• John Donaldson
• Ashby Dunbar
• Forbes
• James Jefferies
• Dan Kennard
• Jimmie Lyons
• Bill Pierce.
• Russ Powell
• Ben Taylor
• Steel Arm Taylor

They played a similar club from the Hotel Breakers, which fielded:

• Billy Francis
• Leroy Grant
• Blainey Hall
• Bill Handy
• Ad Langford
• Spots Poles
• Jules Thomas
• Lee Wade
• Dick Wallace
• Pearl Webster
• Joe Williams

The two clubs displayed the talents of many of the best men in the game during the time. By spring, the men returned to their northern clubs. With the Giants on August 13, Forbes knocked two home runs in a 7-6 victory over the New York Cubans at Olympic Field.

(Though the Lincoln Giants returned to Palm Beach in 1916 and ‘17, it doesn’t appear that Frank did.)

1917-1918

Forbes returned to the Giants in early 1917, once again at shortstop. By July though, he joined the Pennsylvania Red Caps of New York, playing shortstop, second base and third base through the end of the season. It was an independent, company club representing the Pennsylvania Railroad Station in New York. The Penn Red Caps were in existence from the mid-1910s into the early 1930s; their heyday rests between 1917 and 1919. Grand Central Station had a Red Cap squad as well. Forbes actually worked for the company; his World War I registration card lists his occupation as porter at Penn Station.

He appears with the Lincoln Giants in April 1918 at right field, but returned to shortstop with the Red Caps by May. James A. Riley states that Forbes left the Giants in a salary dispute with the McMahons. He was making $110 per month but was promised another $15 if he pushed his batting average above .300. When he did so, the raise failed to materialize. With that, Forbes supposedly left and headed to Canada. Bill Pierce and Fred Baynard followed Forbes to the Red Caps. Forbes played with the Red Caps at shortstop into August.

On August 25, he appeared in right field for the Brooklyn Royal Giants (perhaps other games as well). In September, he was once again a member of the Lincoln Giants, at shortstop.

Teammates

Forbes was a part of a close-knit fraternity. He played with many of the same men year-in and year-out. Ad Langford was a teammate from Philadelphia, through both the Lincoln Stars and Giants and with the Red Caps. William Parks was with Philly, the Stars and the Red Caps. Bill Pierce and Gunboat Thompson appeared with both Lincoln clubs and the Red Caps with Frank. Mike Brown made the jump from Philly to the Stars with Forbes. Some appeared with both Lincoln squads:

• Langford
• Jap Payne
• Zack Pettus
• Pierce
• Thompson

Those that made the jump from the Lincoln Giants to the Red Caps include:

• Langford
• Pierce
• Thompson

Other teammates of note include:

• Philidelphia Giants: Leroy Grant, Joe Parks, Doc Sykes
• Lincoln Stars: Walter Ball, Joe Hewitt
• Lincoln Giants: Leroy Grant, Frank Earle, Jules Thomas, Dick Redding, Joe Williams, Blainey Hall, Louis Santop, Spots Poles
• Pennsylvania Red Caps: Ashby Dunbar, Joe Parks
• Bacharach Giants: Frank Earle, Dick Redding, John Henry Lloyd

1919-1921

After 1918, Forbes became a part-time player, appearing sporadically with the top clubs. In 1919, he occasionally appeared on the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants’s roster, playing third base and right field into June. The Bacharachs were owned by two Harlem nightclub owners. In June and July he can be found in box scores with the Grand Central Red Caps at shortstop. The team also included George Fiall and Frank Earle.

In September 1920 he was once again with the Bacharachs. On October 3, he played at shortstop for the Pennsylvania Red Caps, a 3-1 loss and no-hitter by Ivanhoe Athletic Club’s pitcher Maloney.

In May 1921, the Jersey Journal lists Forbes as a member of the Lincoln Giants in an upcoming series with the Caven Points, but his actual participation with the club wasn’t confirmed. However, Forbes was playing ball as highlighted by the following reference:

Baltimore Afro-American 4/8/1921

Though only age 30 in 1921, he had been on the field year-round playing baseball, basketball and football. The physical demands were unquestionably daunting. This was also about the time of the dawn of black professional basketball and it seems that he pulled away from the diamond to a great extent. Financially, he was also benefitting from numerous umpiring and refereeing assignments in baseball, basketball and football. Moreover, he was beginning to establish his promotional career and probably worked bowing matches as well.

1922-1938

In July 1922, Forbes played shortstop for the Philadelphia Giants. One reference notes his fine work with the glove.

Frank opened the 1927 season at third base with the Breakers of Palm Beach, returning to the resort town he first worked in 1916. The pitching stars were Joe Williams and Will Jackman. Forbes then played second base for Chappie Johnson’s Stars who performed in Canada that summer, mainly in and around Montreal.

In September 1928, Forbes appeared in left field for Chappie Johnson’s Star, who had returned to New York State.

In late September 1935, he was called upon to manage the New York Cubans, a member of the Negro National League. The team’s field manager Martin Dihigo quit temporarily in a tiff with Cubans’ owner Alex Pompez. Forbes, the club’s business manager, assumed the field duties as well.

On August 21, 1938, Forbes participated in an old-timer’s contest at Randall’s Island, New York, staged prior to a New York Black Yankees-New York Cubans game. The contest, hailed as the Old Time Stars against the Old Time Giants, featured 52-year-old Smoky Joe Williams versus Dick Redding, 48. The Chicago Defender chortled that it was a “listless but flashy game.” The hitting stars were Spots Poles with a homer and Forbes, who at 47 still had speed, collecting a triple. Sol White was also in the field.

 

Frank Lindsey Forbes

AKA: Joe Forbes, Strangler Forbes, Frank Formita

(Not to be confused with the contemporary educator, athlete and coach Dr. Frank Lafayette Forbes of Morehouse University)

Frank Forbes did as much as one man could in sports. He was a three-letter athlete in high school, extending that to college as well. He then played professionally for over 15 years during the early decades of black baseball. He also earned cash in football and basketball, a member of the earliest black pro squads in the latter, one of which was inducted en masse into the Hall of Fame. His teams earned top honors in many campaigns along the way.

He officiated in each of the previously mentioned sports for decades, and built perhaps his most respected career as the first African-American referee, timekeeper and judge in big-time boxing over a 40-year span. Moreover, Forbes was a manager, business manager, owner and promoter in the Negro leagues. After major league integration, he joined the New York Giants as a sort of hand-holder and overseer of the clubs young black talent, particular their prized center fielder Willie Mays. Based in Harlem much of his life, Frank managed a sports marketing and promotion business in New York which prided itself on pushing the community to accept interracial contests.

Family

Frank Lindsey Forbes was born on March 30, 1891 in Philadelphia to Julius Forbes and Adena Maria Forbes, nee Lindsey, which is obviously the origin of Frank’s middle name.

Julius Forbes was born in Cuba to Cuban parents. Family lore has it that his surname at birth was actually Leasa. (Moors-delaware.com) He was born in January 1865. His mother, Mary, or more likely Maria, was Caucasian, a product of two parents who were natives of Nassau in the Bahamas. His father was of African descent. Julius and Mary relocated to the United States within a few years after Julius’ birth, settling in Philadelphia by 1880 at the latest. Julius was a carpenter by trade.

1880 U.S. Census, Philadelphia

Adena Lindsey, an African-American Philadelphia native, was born in December 1864. Her father was a carpenter as well and this may account for her initial connection with Julius. Adena and Julius were married on September 28, 1887 in Philly, both at age 22. Adena was employed as a hair dresser. (1890 Philadelphia city directory) The couple had two other children:

• Joseph, born in September 1893
• Lydia Proctor, born in September 1897 and named after Adena’s mother’s first and maiden name Lydia Proctor

For some reason the Forbes children are not listed with their parents in the 1900 U.S. Census (and couldn’t be located) but they are thereafter.

Academics and Athletics

Frank attended Central High School in Philadelphia, one of the old public secondary education schools in the country. (James A. Riley) In high school, Forbes competed in basketball, baseball and football. In the fall of 1909 or early spring of 1910, he entered Howard University, a historically black college in Washington D.C. There is a reference in the Washington Bee in April 1910 citing that due to an ankle injury Forbes was at home in Philadelphia rehabbing it. Presumably, the injury was obtained during baseball practice.

Likewise in college, Forbes played basketball, football and baseball. He played football at least in the years 1911, as a left halfback, and 1912, as a fullback and kicker. Howard was a particularly strong eleven during the era. On November 14, 1912, they were scored upon at home for the first time in six years. Incidentally, Forbes was injured and did not play that day.

On the Howard gridiron, he was known as “Iron Man.” It is often cited that Forbes was an All-American football player at Howard but the ones that bestowed the formal title on American athletes at that time did not follow the black schools and ignored the players altogether. However, the assessments in 1911 and 1912 by sportswriters for the black newspapers invariably noted Forbes’ contributions, thus perhaps recognizing him as a de facto All-American. For example, at the end of the 1911 season, the Indianapolis Freeman writer placed Frank on the first team at halfback:

Indianapolis Freeman 12/23/1911

Forbes, a third baseman, was a member of the Howard nine that was acknowledged as the black baseball champions of 1912 after a successful southern barnstorming tour. It was the school’s first such recognition. Doc Sykes, in center field, was also on the roster. (Sykes also played basketball at Howard.) (Like Forbes, Honey Oliver played basketball, football and baseball at Howard.)

New York Age 5/16/1912

Forbes’ obituary in The Sporting News states that he was at Howard from 1910-1914, obtaining a degree. However, I contacted Howard University Archivist Dr. Clifford Muse who states that the Howard University Directory of Graduates, 1870-1963 does not list Forbes as a graduate. That seems in line with the fact that no evidence was found that he played baseball or football for the school after 1912. (It was further noted in the Chicago Defender on 10 December 1938 that Forbes attended Penn State but no evidence was found to corroborate.)

1912 Howard Baseball Team Picture Page 96 here

The Man

Forbes permanently relocated to New York City after attending college, settling in Harlem for much of the rest of his life. On June 14, 1916, he married Whitlock Poole, born in August 1893, in Atlanta. The newlyweds were both graduates of Howard University and that’s obviously where they met.

They had one child, Robert L., on September 6, 1919. After marrying, the couple moved into a residence on West 141^st Street in New York City. They separated and divorced sometime during the 1920s.

On a personal level, Forbes was intelligent and an eloquent speaker, as noted by more than one reference. Some found his manner of speaking a little much. Life remarked in 1954, with a racial overtone, that “Forbes is a solid, smart citizen with a slight case of polysyllabism.” Ted Yates of the New York Age described him as, “tall, husky and well-mannered … [an] unassuming chap.” Another reference noted his penchant for bow ties.

Baseball Teams

• Unknown date, Commonwealth Giants
• 1910 Howard University (unconfirmed)
• 1911 Howard University, Philadelphia Giants
• 1912 Howard University
• 1913 New York Imperials, Philadelphia Giants
• 1914 Lincoln Stars, Harrisburg Giants, Lincoln Giants (unconfirmed), American team in Cuba
• 1915 Lincoln Giants
• 1916 Poinciana of Palm Beach, Lincoln Giants
• 1917 Lincoln Giants, Pennsylvania Red Caps
• 1918 Lincoln Giants, Penn Red Caps, Brooklyn Royal Giants, Canada (unconfirmed)
• 1919 Bacharach Giants, Grand Central Red Caps
• 1920 Bacharach Giants, Pennsylvania Red Caps
• 1921 Lincoln Giants (unconfirmed)
• 1922 Philadelphia Giants
• 1927 Breakers of Palm Beach, Chappie Johnson’s Stars
• 1928 Chappie Johnson’s Stars
• 1935 New York Cubans (manager)

Early Baseball

Forbes’ first references as a professional ballplayer can be traced at least to age 20 in September 1911, at third base for his hometown Philadelphia Giants.

Brooklyn Eagle 9/18/1911

Notice the pitcher “Dow” who is assuredly Lorenzo Dow Turner (see below).

Playing with the Giants in September 1911 could very well have caused eligibility issues with Howard University if it was known; it soon would for Jim Thorpe. This may account for the fact that Frank was initially known in pro ball as “Joe Forbes,” his brother’s name. Likewise, Forbes also played under the name Frank Formita, according to black baseball historian Larry Lester.

It’s likely that Forbes played with one or several of the many amateur and semi-pro clubs in Philly and/or New York in the summer during his college years.

Harold Seymour in Baseball: The People’s Game lists Forbes as a member of the Commonwealth Giants, a team that developed from the company club of the Fall River Steamboat Line in Massachusetts in the early 1900s. Commonwealth was the name of the largest passenger liner running between Fall River and New York. Lorenzo Dow Turner was a waiter in the dining room of the steamship. He was also a Howard student and lefthanded pitcher for the nine, entering the college around the same time as Forbes. (Turner also attended the preparatory school at Howard.)

Turner and co-workers established baseball games during the summer along the steamboat’s route. Presumably, Turner recruited Forbes. This suggests that Forbes worked for the company, perhaps in the kitchen or dining room as that would be Turner’s area of influence. Turner played ball with Commonwealth from 1912 and earlier and from 1915 to 1917. Forbes would have participated within the 1910-1912 timeframe.

Forbes was pitching and playing the outfield for the New York Imperials in July and August 1913. The club represented the Hotel Imperial located near Pennsylvania Station. Presumably, he worked at the hotel as well. He was also playing again with the Philadelphia Giants by August, still at third base. He remained with the team through the end of the season. James A. Riley describes him as a “light-hitting infielder…He had excellent speed, which was reflected in his number of triples, but he seldom hit a home run.” In truth, few outside Grant Johnson did.

 

The 1871 Rockford Forest Citys, Bullied by the Big Boys 

The Forest City club of Rockford in northern Illinois was amassed in May 1865 during the maturation decade of the sport outside the New York area. (Team formally created on June 7)

Rock River Democrat, Rockford, Illinois 5/31/1865

 

In September the annual country fair was held in Rockford at the fairgrounds administered by the Winnebago County Agricultural Society. The fair’s committee decided it would be opportune to put on an exhibition of the sport that was already being hailed as the national pastime. At a hastily-assembled field a tournament was held to crown a state champion, as well as, another for county bragging rights. 

Rockford Weekly Register-Gazette 8/26/1865

 

Two Rockford clubs vied for the Winnebago championship, the Forest Citys and Sinnissippi. The Forest Citys ran away with the title, 55-17. Historian Peter Morris notes that the 1865 Forest Citys’ roster was composed of men in their 20s and 30s. That changed in 1866 as young talent flooded in. This contest from November 7, 1865 shows the genesis of the youth movement as local enthusiast Hiram Waldo (more on him later) amassed a group of local boys to take on the Forest Citys:

Rockford Weekly Register-Gazette 11/11/1865

Note the pitcher of the Waldo Nine – the very young, 15-year-old, Al Spalding. The shortstop may be Ross Barnes. Here’s an earlier game with Spalding and Barnes playing for the youth team, the Pioneer Club, at the Church Street grounds: (May be the first printed reference to Spalding)

Rockford Weekly Register-Gazette 10/7/1865

Here’s a box score from May 1866 with Spalding now with Forest City. Note Waldo in right field. (Barnes would become the pitcher for the Pioneers when Spalding joined Forest City. Barnes then joined the Forest Citys by September 1866.)

Rockford Weekly Register-Gazette 5/26/1866

Spalding also continued to pitch for his high school, West Rockford:

Rockford Weekly Register-Gazette 10/27/1866

Fair Grounds Park

The positioning of the ball field within the massive fairgrounds complex is not readily known. The complex itself was a short walk from the town’s main business district. The Agricultural Grounds was large enough to house the ball field, a racetrack, dance hall, music pavilion, equestrian ring and other facilities. 

The fairground’s location became the area’s main baseball facility, though there soon would be others. According to researcher Jim Nitz, it was “more convenient than the previous ballpark on the old drill grounds at the north end of Church Street.” Much that is known about the specifics of the ball field came from a former resident named John Clifford who recounted the layout in a letter to the editor many years later, in 1939. 

Rockford Register-Republic 8/16/1939

1869 Rockford Forest Citys

Tom Foley, Barnes, Al Barker, Denton Sawyer, Cone, Addy, Spalding, George King, Hastings

Rockford arrived on the baseball map in 1867. By this time however, the team may have developed from an amateur club to one that compensated its players in some form. Open financial compensation of ballplayers was still a couple of years in the future. On July 25 of that year, they stunned the Nationals of Washington D.C. who were in Illinois as part of baseball’s first western tour. On the mound for Rockford was the up-and-coming Spalding who was about to break on the national scene and eventually become one of the most significant figures in 19^th century sports.

1870 

Spalding was still with the club in 1870 as it grew into a professional nine. That coveted triumph over the Nationals of D.C. was eclipsed on July 11, 1870 when Rockford faced the esteemed Red Stockings of Cincinnati. Not only were the Reds the sport’s first openly-professional nine but they propelled baseball to a national craze with their undefeated streak which until June 14 in Brooklyn had stretched all the way back to 1868. 

Rockford headed to the Union Grounds in Cincinnati in early July and took on the Reds twice, losing by a slim margin 14-13 on the 2^nd but being handily defeated on the 4^th, 24-7. In turn, Rockford played host on the 11^th. In anticipation of the upcoming match the park was revamped: 

Rockford Weekly Register-Gazette 7/9/1870

A large crowd was expected. Despite the fact that Rockford’s population was listed at just at 11,049 in 1870, the club drew an impressive crowd on holidays and big contests, between 2000 and 5000 according to Jim Nitz. 

The fans weren’t happy about the Red Stockings’ demands though. Because of their unique status during the era, Cincinnati set their own price; they forced Rockford to charge a 50-cent admission, rather than the normal quarter. Tickets were sold in advance at local book stores and hotels. Those wishing to mitigate the extra expense of the Reds’ contest were urged to purchase a season’s pass for $3. (The books stores mentioned were owned by local baseball enthusiast Hiram Waldo whom Peter Morris brings to light at the SABR Biography Project.)

The contest proved an exciting one as Rockford tied it up in the ninth, 16-16, with one out and the bases loaded. However, Fred Cone was thrown out trying to score and then Ross Barnes flied out to third. Red Stockings captain Harry Wright, citing darkness, refused to play a tenth inning, as custom dictated that both captains had to agree to extra innings. (Cone was originally a member of the Unions of Rockford.)

The National Association 

Despite its meager population, in 1871 Rockford landed a slot in the new National Association, the first major league of the professional era. The league boasted four comparably major cities from the east coast and two from the acknowledged west: 

• Boston
• Chicago
• Cleveland
• New York
• Philadelphia
• Washington, D.C.

…And three with weaker fan bases: 

• Fort Wayne, Indiana
• Rockford
• Troy, New York

There were no set schedules but National Association clubs were expected to face the others five times each, for a total of 40 games. Of the small-town clubs, Troy was at a distinct advantage. Being located in the east, they could easily arrange a set of games with the big eastern clubs. Just this seemingly simple task – formulating a schedule and sticking to it – proved insurmountable for the fortunes of the other two – Fort Wayne and Rockford. 

The issue ran both ways: 

• Could Rockford afford to make the trips east?
• Could the eastern clubs afford to make the trip to Rockford?

The issues seem fundamental but they had to be figured out through trial and error. Not only was baseball in its infancy but there were no role models to emulate. This was the birth of professional team sports in America. No one had a crystal ball or an owner’s manual. 

Concerning the above-listed issues, the hammer was wielded by the top eastern clubs. They had the clout to do as they pleased. The smaller clubs were left to fend for themselves. Troy fared well but Fort Wayne only made one trip east and remained close to home, essentially withdrawing from the league at the end of August. Rockford, on the other hand, weathered the storm until the end. 

1871 Rockford Forest Citys 

The year opened without a clear idea of the 1871 Forest City club or, in fact, if there would even be a club. It wasn’t a clear-cut answer. Eighteen Seventy was expensive; the men had traveled an estimated 7731 miles. Moreover, the crux of the team – Al Spalding, Ross Barnes and Fred Cone – had already departed. They joined Harry Wright who was now in Boston. 

Rockford still had longtime favorite Bob Addy, a transplanted Canadian who married a local girl and ran a tin shop in town during the off season. Addy joined the club in August 1866 from the Clippers of Rochelle. Catcher and captain Scott Hastings (a local Rockford hotel clerk) was also returning, as was young outfielder Gat Stires (formerly with the Unions of Rockford). (Peter Morris claims that Addy, moreso than Hastings, acted as team captain.)

A large delegation turned out on January 11 and determined that the club “had done much [in the past] to spread the fame of Rockford far and wide, and that it would be to our pecuniary advantage to put our hands deep down in our pockets, if necessary, to maintain a first-class club.” The directors then set about to sell subscriptions throughout the community to help finance the club. 

This was essential. Today, we think of large corporations administering ball teams and managing expenses and receipts. For a club like Rockford, community support wasn’t a luxury; it was a necessity. Baseball nines, which were actually the visible extensions of a larger social club, during the amateur era bled cash. They were supported by the club members themselves and by community benefactors. As ballparks were enclosed, allowing for the collection of gate receipts, the financial burden was perhaps lessened to an extent or perhaps not. For sure, the onus was shifted as professionalism crept in. With the diminishing of the amateur ideal, the social clubs eventually died out. And with them went the income from dues and other financial support. 

Players no longer funded their own travel expenses. On the contrary, they expected to be paid for their services every month. These new entities needed additional revenue sources. Gate receipts helped but they may not cover the extensive travel expenses, not to mention payroll, especially for the smaller clubs. Community benefactors, usually richer residents, businessmen or companies, often filled a support role here. In fact, this is the basis of the semi-pro concept which was prevalent well into the 20^th century in black and white baseball. 

The Rockford officials on January 11 were bolstered by the belief that star pitcher George Zettlein from the famed Brooklyn Atlantics would be pitching for them in 1871. However, Zettlein was quickly wooed away by Chicago. Instead, Rockford landed a 26-year-old hard thrower from Philadelphia named Cherokee Fisher. Hyperbole being what it is, the Rockford Register hailed him as “without a doubt the swiftest pitcher in this country…The only trouble with Fisher,” they claimed, “is that but a few men have been found who could fill the bill as catcher for him, when he puts on full speed.” 

To fill that role, Rockford signed a soon-to-be 19-year-old from their old foe in Marshalltown, Iowa – Adrian Anson. The big redhead outweighed most of his teammates by 30+ pounds and at 6’ tall stood several inches above the norm. In Anson’s opinion, Fisher was indeed fastest hurler he’d seen yet and he didn’t relish catching his deliveries and the impending abuse his body would suffer. Fortunately, it was soon determined that Scott Hastings would be returning to handle the majority of the catching duties. 

Of course, Anson went on to have a long and exulted career, probably the finest of the 19^th century. Along with King Kelly and John L. Sullivan, Anson was the biggest name in the fray in American sports prior to 1900. Unfortunately for Rockford, they boasted few others with distinguished careers. In fact, the rest of the squad combined appeared in far fewer than Anson’s total of major league games, 2524 to 1860. Moreover: 

• Three regulars never saw major league action after 1871
• Only two topped 300 games in the majors – Chick Fulmer and Denny Mack
• Addy, Fisher and Hastings were in the 200s

The 1871 Season 

The Forest Citys began practicing in March. They shared the Fair Grounds with the local Alert club and opened the season against them on Saturday, April 15 in the first of a series of practice matches, two a week on Tuesdays and Fridays. Anson was behind the plate. Hastings hadn’t joined the club yet; he was in fine form though – been playing with the New Orleans Lone Stars all winter and spring. 

Peruse the game logs at Retrosheet.org and you won’t find much rhyme nor reason to the scheduling for the 1871 season. League contests were made up on the fly, some here and some there. Sometimes there was seemingly a week or two between games. That doesn’t mean the teams were idle. Games were booked all summer long outside the league’s purview wherever gate receipts were attractive. The eastern clubs – like relatively-nearby Philadelphia, New York, Boston – may have faced each other numerous times but only counted a select predetermined few as league contests. In the west Chicago was the focal point. This luxury in the east wasn’t always possible when traveling extensively. It was a major ordeal to travel between the east and west, expensive and time consuming. 

League-wise the Forest Citys opened at home on May 6 against Cleveland. Then, Washington made a western swing, hitting Rockford on May 17. That was it, the big eastern nines, other than Washington, weren’t as yet prepared to head west. Boston wouldn’t do so until early July, Philadelphia in the middle of the month and New York at the end. Moreover, they didn’t  relish going back a second time. Boston hit the big cities – Cleveland and Chicago – in late September, Philadelphia made two hops to Chicago but New York never returned. The implication was clear – bring your team to the east coast. Rockford had few options in this regard. Head east or withdraw. Fort Wayne chose the latter, playing exclusively in the west by mid-July. 

In total, Rockford had only 7 home games and one of them was pushed to Lake Front Park in Chicago. They hosted each team once in Rockford except for Troy and Chicago, who despite its proximity didn’t make the trip. Troy made only one trip west, in late August, but Rockford was in the east at the time. 

That left 18 away games of which Rockford only officially won one. Compounding the issue, Rockford was forced to forfeit four games they had already won because of a rule declaring Hastings ineligible because he had played for another team within the last three months. 

A comparison: 

• Troy: 17 home games, 12 away
• Fort Wayne: 9 home, 10 away (left league at the end of August)
• Rockford: 7 home, 18 away

It could be surmised that Rockford may have actually benefited financially by playing before the larger eastern crowds. But, herein lays the rub. They were pulled east but that didn’t mean that the big clubs were going to offer them an equal share of the gate. On the contrary, some demanded the lion’s share – particularly the New York Mutuals and Brooklyn Eckfords. Rockford cancelled matches against these two in May, refusing to be bullied. 

Rockford’s travels: 

• Games at home into mid-May
• Then onto the road for a month and a half, into July
• Back home for a month
• Back on the road in mid-August until mid-September

Travel expenses were daunting. Benefactors at home became disenchanted and the team in its present form ceased to exist when the season ended. Rockford’s jewel, Cap Anson, headed to Philadelphia for a 300% raise. Though Anson and Spalding never played together in Rockford, they would soon join up in Chicago for a long and profitable association.

FOR THOSE INTERESTED, THERE IS A 55-PART SERIES ON EARLY ROCKFORD BASEBALL HISTORY BY HORACE E. BUKER IN THE ROCKFORD REPUBLIC IN 1922 RUNNING FROM MARCH 15 TO SEPTEMBER 20 (WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS)

SOURCE LIST 

• Fleitz, David L. Cap Anson: The Grand Old Man of Baseball. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2005.
• Morris, Peter, “Hiram Waldo,” SABR Biography Project
• Nitz, Jim, “Fair Grounds (Rockford, IL),” SABR Biography Project
• Retrosheet.org
• Rockford Register, Illinois, 8 April 1871, 23 April 1871
• Rockford Register-Republic, 16 August 1939
• Rockford Republic, 1922
• Rockford Weekly Gazette, 1871
• Rockford Weekly Register-Gazette, 1865-1871
• Rock River Democrat, Rockford, Illinois, 31 May 1865

 

William Stryker Gummere

What kind of a damned fool trick is that?

Legend holds it that in the spring of 1870 Bill Gummere, an outfielder with the Princeton nine known as the Nassau Club, was the first man to slide or hook-slide – into second base avoiding the tag of the great Al Reach after a high throw. The above quote was supposedly the second baseman’s response to the bold and surprising athletic act.

William Stryker Gummere was born on June 24 or 25, 1850 in Trenton, New Jersey, the third of eight children. His father, Barker Gummere, was from “prominent Quaker family of Burlington County.” (Keasbey) He was a local lawyer and Clerk of Chancery Court for a time and a leading member of the state bar. His father, also named Barker, served in the Revolutionary War in a New Jersey regiment. William’s mother was Elizabeth Chambers Stryker.

William was schooled at the Trenton Academy and then the prestigious Lawrenceville Academy, one of the oldest prep schools in the United States. From there, Gummere attended Princeton, graduating just before his twentieth birthday in 1870.

Career and Family

After Princeton, he studied at his father’s law office and joined the bar in 1873. His law career was fast-tracked from the start. He first practiced in Trenton in the office of G.D.W. Vroom, a well-connected and prestigious local lawyer. He also sat on the board of several businesses. In 1875, Gummere relocated to Newark to form a partnership with his uncle and former Governor of New Jersey, Joel Parker.

In November 1876, Gummere married Frances Beasley, the daughter of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, Mercer Beasley (who was originally appointed by Parker). They had four children.

A Republican in a Democrat-dominated state, Gummere never ran for political office though he desired it. In the late 1880s, he returned to Trenton to oversee the legal affairs of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. He subsequently became a Circuit judge.

In February 1895, Gummere was appointed to the New Jersey Supreme Court, serving under his Chief Justice father-in-law. In 1901, Gummere was himself appointed Chief Justice, remaining in office until his death. In the position he was held in high regard: (quote by Keasbey)

A man of unblemished record, his intellectual equipment has in an eminent degree those characteristics of balance, logicality and breadth of grasp that form the essentials of the judicial mind.

Football

In 1868 and ’69, Gummere served as captain and bulldog/forward of the Princeton football team. He was an All-American in the latter year. The 1868 team only played intra-squad games. The following year, they played Rutgers twice in November (a loss and a win, respectively), after being challenged by his opposing captain. The contests are often seen as the first intercollegiate games in football history, though the rules and action was more a combination of soccer and rugby than modern football. He is also identified as the first captain in Princeton history, who in turn claimed the first intercollegiate win for the college.

Golf

Gummere competed in numerous senior golf tournaments, competing ably, scoring well, copping accolades and titles and attaining a degree of national attention in various publications. Most of the recognition came after his 60^th birthday.

Gummere on left on golf course, circa 1914

Cricket

Gummere played competitive cricket as a member of the Trenton Club around the time he attended Princeton. (New York Times, 11 October 1870)

Baseball

PICTURE OF A YOUNG GUMMERE DURING PRINCETON DAYS

Gummere joined a strong the Princeton nine, known as the Nassau Club, in 1869. He played in the outfield, predominantly in center. The club had finished 1868 with a flourish, defeating the national champion Athletics of Philadelphia on October 31, 25-17. He played with Nassau throughout 1869 and in the spring and summer of 1870. (Princeton baseball at the time also played in the fall.)

The club played area college squads and was a member of the National Association of Base Ball Players. Intent on avenging the previous season’s loss, the Athletics opened 1869 against Princeton, on April 24. It proved to be a nail-biter, but Nassau ultimately fell 28-27.

On May 14, Princeton soundly lost to the Atlantics of Brooklyn, 24-3. Highlights of the contest include Brooklyn catcher Dickey Pearce picking-off two runners at first base. Gummere was the first victim.

In 1870, Princeton and Gummere played the Athletics twice, losing on both occasions, June 18 and June 28.

In the fall of 1870, specifically in September, Gummere was named second baseman and captain of the amateur Trenton Base Ball Club. He played with the club through 1872, after which he left baseball to presumably to focus on his legal career. In the latter season, he played right field. (In 1873 Gummere’s father Barker is listed as vice president of the club)

Trenton State Gazette 9/9/1870

On June 30, 1871, Gummere was brought in by the Philadelphia Olympics to play the strong Fort Wayne Kekiongas of the major National Association. In a tough match, Fort Wayne emerged victorious by two runs, 16-14. The Olympics used Gummere again on August 14.

Jersey Journal 8/21/1871

Gummere served as an umpire in Jersey City on June 17, 1905, a game in the Class-A Eastern League.

The Slide

The story of Gummere as the inventor of the slide or perhaps the hook-slide has some color to it. The story is first highlighted

 in print in his obituary in The Sporting News on February 22, 1933 and repeated 20 years later in Lee Allen’s anecdotal work The Hot Stove League from 1955. It even comes with a little bantering between the Princeton boy and one of the early greats of the game who was among the first professionals, second baseman Al Reach.

The Sporting News 2/22/1933

In response to Reach’s inquiry at the top of the page about the trickiness of the evasive maneuver, Gummere supposedly retorted, “That is a device to evade being put out when running bases.” Before the situation itself is analyzed, it must first be noted that like much anecdotal evidence this is first found decades after the fact, over 60 years later. It also has the smooth ring of a story told over and over again by the interested party, the judge. The kind of remembrance an honored member of the society class might offer to colleagues, friends and acquaintances – party fodder so to speak.

The circumstances have been told several ways in various sources, but all really stem from this obit. It should be noted that the writer of the obit probably had access to Gummere and heard him tell the story at some point.

First that it took place in the spring of 1870. Since Reach was the famed second baseman of the Athletics of Philadelphia, the date can specially be narrowed to the aforementioned games:

• April 24, 1869
• June 18, 1870
• June 25, 1870

The contests all took place at Princeton.

Second, Gummere either hit a single and tried to stretch it into a double or he was merely trying to steal second base. The latter seems more likely since the stories are consistent that the throw came from the catcher. The TSN obit claims, “After reaching first [on a single], Gummere made a dash for second, but the Athletics’ catcher was prepared to pick off the college boy.” If the action occurred simultaneously, it seems unlikely, but possible, the catcher would have the ball. There must have been some pause, perhaps a pitch or two, and then a steal attempt.

Third, accounts vary as to the throw. It was high; it was perfect. Either version pertaining to the steal attempt and the catcher’s throw seem to be massaged by the ultimate author to fit a legitimate game situation, not necessarily what happened that day at the onset of the professional era. Obviously, the details were long since forgotten by the time they were written down. A recreation was needed for clarification purposes. And there’s nothing wrong with that per say. We need to be drawn into the situation.

Fourth, the issue of the slide arises. If the ball was thrown high, a mere slide was probably all that was needed. Gummere couldn’t have been the first man to slide. Paul Dickson in his comprehensive dictionary notes that the term ’slide’ was first used in 1866 but that’s just the term; the act was performed prior to that. Sliding on the base paths was being done back in the 1850s as clearly demonstrated by Peter Morris in A Game of Inches.

Now a perfect throw, or at least a low one, is naturally a ripe situation for a hook-slide, as is a situation with Reach waiting for the runner or when he is out of position due to first fielding the ball. Again the color arises in the story. The obit declares, “Instead of running into Reach or stopping dead when he saw he could not make the bag, Gummere threw himself feet first at the bag – the original [sic] of the hook slide Ty Cobb was to use later – and buried his face in his right arm for protection.” This seems liked a forced description of events, portrayed by the author of the obit and the situation doesn’t really scream hook slide, only a feet-first leap, the kind that had been taking place since at least the 1850s.

The inputting of the great Ty Cobb into the story adds a colorful visual to the story. By Gummere’s death, Cobb’s exploits had been daily fodder for over 25 years. But somehow it is remembered that Gummere “buried his face in his right arm?” Who exactly remembered that nuance from sixty years ago? It’s not essential to the story but perhaps it was inputted later to add some credibility. Would it have made it into print as such before the Cobb legend?

Anecdotal stories/evidence that are brought up years and even decades after the fact are in and of themselves suspect – especially if they are self-serving and self-aggrandized and, more so, considering that Reach himself was around the game for decades but did not lend a corroborating word. That however does not mean that there is no truth to it. It was further alleged in the obit that the Athletics adopted the style for themselves. The implication being that Gummere’s quick thinking altered the baseball’s community’s approach to sliding. This is the crux of the story, for a boast to be good, the bigger the better. Peter Morris in A Game of Inches states, “For one thing, the description does not sound like a hook slide. More important, there is no evidence that the Athletics adopted any kind of slide…” As this points out, all is said about the slide is that it was feet first and that Gummere protected his face, a defensive maneuver learned in the school of hard knocks.

But there is one aspect of the story that could be overlooked – Reach’s surprise. What does this indicate - a self-serving oomph to the story or a legitimate response to some sort of manuever or contortion the runner pulled on him that day?

Another interesting aspect to this is Reach’s positioning. It’s somewhat essential to the story, but made more so because he was lefthanded and because he was playing barehanded. The question begs, when would a hook-slide be needed against a lefthanded second baseman who is presumably straddling the bag, at least at the onset of the action? It’s doubtful that the throw was perfect, at least in trajectory; that would seem to preclude any viable escape from the waiting baseman. In short, the throw and/or the timing had to be off to warrant the maneuver; the situation wasn’t ideal for either party.

This is typical of bang-bang plays in baseball. This is as much acknowledged by the description that Reach “turned to put the ball on Gummere.” If there was any measurable turn, the throw wasn’t perfect. The obituary author probably wrote the description of the play unaware that Reach was lefthanded, and it may not have clicked that he was barehanded. If there was a noticeable turning on Reach’s part, the ball was probably delivered behind him or for some reason he took the throw in from of the bag – which again is a good time for a hook-slide. In truth the situation could of happened in any number of ways. The point is the author of the obit didn’t really know, only surmised and tweaked to preset ideas. It couldn’t be any other way considering this was all relayed 60+ years later.

(On a side note, it’s interesting to imagine how would Reach being lefthanded change things. Not so sure but doubt much really. Being barehanded, protocol would seem to dictate a two-handed catch. Perhaps the barehandedness actually lent Reach some flexibility in the play that’s not available today. He certainly was one of the top players of his time which would suggest as a middle infielder he was proficient at catching with either hand if needed to do so in a bang-bang play.)

The point of the story seems to indicate that Gummere was smart in trying to hook the part of the bag furthest from the baseman. Good baseball so to speak. And Gummere was certainly smart of mind and a top athlete in multiple sports – seems logical. But there were a lot of smart ballplayers and had been for some time before Gummere took to the diamond for Princeton. Certainly many, if not all, ballplayers knew to head for the spot on the base that was most likely to yield success. We can even see that today on the playground with small children. Even classically untrained in kickball or a base game, they will evade and shoot for the neglected spot of the base with their foot. It’s a natural response.

In essence, a slide is a slide. The purpose of such is to avoid a tag and to make it into the base safely. Sure, feet first the runner aims for a different spot of the bag each time according to the circumstances. Head-first the options multiply as we’re much more adept with our arms and hands.

Did Gummere hook-slide that day, was there anything special about the maneuver? Perhaps by the response Reach supposedly gave during the incident. Did Gummere do so on purpose? Probably. Did he introduce something new to the game as claimed? Maybe. Did he change the evolution of base running? It seems unlikely given the fact that of all the research and reading of contemporary materials that went into Morris’ A Game of Inches, the section on the hook-slide centers on a period a decade and a half after the Athletics-Princeton game; that is, outside the singular claim by the TSN obituary and repeated as an established fact by Lee Allen in 1955 that Gummere’s action was the first of its kind. 

SOURCE LIST

• Ancestry.com
• Dickson, Paul. The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, Third Edition. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2009.
• Familysearch.com
• Golf Illustrated and Outdoor America, October 1914
• Jersey Journal, 21 August 1871
• Keasbey, Edward Quinton. The Courts and Lawyers of New Jersey 1661-1912, Volume 3. New Jersey: Lewis Historical Publications Company, 1912.
• Leitch, Alexander, “William Stryker Gummere,” A Princeton Companion, located via etcweb.princeton.edu, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1978.
• Morris, Peter. A Game of Inches: The Story Behind the Innovations That Shaped Baseball, One-Volume Edition. Chicago, Ivan R. Dee, 2010.
• New York Daily Tribune, 27 April 1869
• New York Herald Tribune, 24 June 1868, 15 May 1869, 4 July 1870
• New York Times, 15 May 1869, 11 October 1870
• Philadelphia Inquirer, 26 April 1869, 20 June 1870, 19 February 1895, 20 February 1897
• Princeton University. Twenty Years After, Class of ’70, Princeton College: Record of the Members. New Jersey: Sherman and Company, 1891.
• Sporting Life, June 1905
• The Sporting News, 2 February 1933
• Trenton Evening Times, 16 July 1932, 24 January 1933
• Trenton State Gazette, 29 June 1870, 9 September 1870, 3 July 1872
• Webcache.googleusercontent.com
• Wikipedia.org
• Wright, Marshall D. The National Association of Base Ball Players, 1857-1870. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2000.