The 2012 American Association Almanac wall calendar is being offered again this year,
printed on the same heavy stock as last year’s edition, a feature which really sets it apart from the
flimsy calendars most of use on a daily basis. As in past years, the 2012 version of the calendar
sports another great lineup of photos from each of the league’s eight original teams, along with loads of info.

You’ll find a balanced assortment of players, teams and venues from the old American Association represented.

As in the past, featured photos are accompanied by detailed descriptions sure to spur your curiosity.
Each week is marked by the birthday of a former American Association player;
care was taken during the selection process to make sure that even the most obscure players would appear in this lineup.

Included in this year’s calendar is a full-color view of Milwaukee Athletic Park (later known as Borchert Field).
It is a stunning look at this long-lived American Association ball yard and is truly “suitable for framing.”

The calendar is a versatile tool. It is designed to be hung where it will be viewed with ease.
But it also works well as a desk calendar, with ample room for recording important appointments and other notations.

At $25 (postpaid) this calendar is priced higher than standard offerings, but its value is enhanced by its contents.
And remember, proceeds from the calendar are invested back into the American Association Almanac.
Your contribution helps me meet my increasing production costs.

Makes a great gift for the upcoming holidays!

To order, contact me at pureout@msn.com

To see what how pages of the calendar are designed, go to my website at www.almanacfield.com and click on the tab “2012 Calendar” then scroll down and you will find a link. Not sure why the hyperlink inserter on this blogsite isn’t working, but I’ve tried numerous times to insert a functional link and it just won’t cooperate with me today.

Please contact me with questions or assistance in ordering at pureout@msn.com. Paypal accepted. Happy to answer any questions.

Sitting at 14-14 just a month into the 1915 season, the St. Paul Saints made the jaunt over to Minneapolis for a matinee against the Millers. And it was then that a funny thing happened on the way back to their season resurrection. On Wednesday, May 19, a rangy, just-turned-20-year-old southpaw named Harry Clayton Harper took the hill for the Millers at Nicollet Park and reeled off a no-hitter. The gem would become the only Millers vs. Saints no-hitter ever in the American Association. The final score: 4-0. The eleventh Minneapolis victory of the season next to 14 losses, it was surely a boost to everyone in the city. Despite Harper’s no-hit heroics, the club did not rebound, losing eight of their next ten. It would be several weeks before Harper and his Miller teammates could come through with anything resembling a celebration. Could the sparkling event have been foretold? Perhaps the baseball gods were atoning for an earlier lapse on their part. On May 11, Harper struck out 16 Columbus Senators enroute to an extra-inning loss at home, just a sign of the times for Pongo Joe Cantillon‘s men. At least, in Harper, there was something bright about the season after all, and maybe there was something to look forward to in Mudville.

During a stretch of games between July 1-5 when the Saints and Millers had their second scheduled series of the 1904 season, the two clubs played in four different parks in four days. The series started July 1 at Nicollet Park, moved to Downtown Park July 2, was played at Minneapolis’ Sunday venue, Minnehaha Park (or it’s elongated name, Minnehaha Driving Park) on July 3, and finally back in St. Paul at the Saints’ alternate venue (usually used on Sundays at this time) Lexington Park on July 4. The July 4 game was the first of a twin bill, the second game of which went back to Minneapolis to be played at Nicollet Park. Hence there were actually five games played in five parks, but Nicollet Park being the starting point for the series cannot be considered a “different” park; however, the second game being played at a different place requires that all the gear belonging to the players would still have to be moved, and as a result there were five actual changes in venue during a span of four days for the Millers, and actually seven for the Saints (having played at Downtown Park vs. on June 30, and back at Downtown Park after the series with the Millers). Obviously the proximity of the Millers and Saints, combined with the unusual practice of alternate scheduling, created this unique situation, and was something I had never come across before in my observations of the movement of teams in the American Association.

The largest crowd on hand for one game of the Millers vs. Saints series in 1904 came July 24 during their third series of the season when 7,110 filled Lexington Park. This figure represented the largest single game attendance mark for either venue during the 1904 crosstown series during the 1904 season. The largest crowd either club played before during the 1904 season came at West Washington Street Park in Indianapolis when 12,950 filed in for a Friday matinee between the Millers and the Indians on June 17. In the clash between two second-division teams, the visitors came away the winner by a score of 4-1.

The principal attraction of the 2010 American Association calendar is the unique set of photos it includes. Each month is highlighted by one historic American Association photograph, which is described in detail. Photos are taken from private collections and are reproduced with permission. Every effort is made to ensure the best possible quality for the reproduction of these valuable and often rare photographs.

Upgrades for this year make this the best calendar offered since 2004, its first year. One color photo is included in this version of the calendar, something new for this year. In addition to the weekly featured player birthday is a monthly player death date in honor of the most influential players in the history of the league.

Each month of the baseball season includes a “fun fact” for key dates in American Association history. You are sure to learn something new and exciting!

This year I have taken it upon myself to design and produce the calendar, a unique challenge in itself. Having full control of this process has made the calendar a more substantial product, one you will be able to use with ease as you mark all 365 days of the upcoming 2010 calendar year. It will also allow me to get the calendar distributed in a more timely manner than in the past.

Remember, your contribution goes to supporting the research endeavors of the American Association Almanac, an important vehicle for vital historical writing dedicated to improving the landscape for students of baseball history.

Please consider ordering a calendar this year, either for your personal use or as a gift, even for your organization’s next raffle. Please contact me at pureout@msn.com if you would like to place an order. Cost is $20.00 plus $2.00 shipping. Free shipping for those interested in a one-year-subscription the American Association Almanac.

Thank you!

Rex Hamann
Editor/Publisher of the American Association Almanac

The issue was originally intended to come out as one, but the length exceeded what I would normally be able to produce, and mailing costs have gone up so much I decided it was most prudent to cut it in half. As it is, the content approaches 25,000 words and includes the early history of the home site of the American Association’s Louisville Colonels. Known also as Eclipse Park III, the facility sat at the corner of 7th and Kentucky Streets, one mile south-southwest of the city’s center. As the story goes, Louisville was not originally slated to become a franchise in the American Association when plans were laid to start the new league in 1901. Instead, Omaha was to be the entrant, but the league owners quickly realized this would make travel expenses unbalanced, making the Omaha choice an unwise one. So George Tebeau was enlisted to go forth into uncharted waters. He had no contacts in Louisville, but he had the will to build a ballpark there and put a team in a city which had been intimately familiar with major league baseball for years, through the 1899 season. Tebeau encountered many difficulties, documented in the text of this issue, and it makes for interesting reading. I’ve examined various sources in an attempt to portray the situation as historically accurate as possible, and I chronicle the construction of the park. Included is a thorough account of the first game played there, as well as a section on the home runs hit at the park from 1902-11. Deadball fans will recognize that this was a period of slower offensive output, but baseball fans generally may be surprised at the number of home runs hit in Louisville during the league’s first decade.

Featured are 15 graphics, including a splendid photograph of the scoreboard at Eclipse Park, used by permission (it cost me thirty-five bucks) from the University of Louisville’s Eckstrom Library, which incidentally, was completely inflexible with me when I tried to work with them to obtain permission to obtain the use of additional photos at a discount, but they chose to stand in the way of public scholarship. Regardless of the obstacles, there is a host of other graphics included in this issue which help add to the overall story of Eclipse Park.

The issue sells for $8.00 + postage. If you wish to subscribe you will receive a 10% discount if you mention this blog. Subscription rates for one year: $21.00. For two years, $36.00.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions you might have: pureout@msn.com

Also, please see my blogspot blog at www.almanacpark.blogspot.com

The 1902 Louisville Colonels

Several months ago the American Association Almanac realized that a substantial problem with respect to the early history of the American Association was the lack of information on players from the Louisville Colonels team. So the Almanac set about to remedy this by undertaking an overhaul of the roster listings already published in various sources. The primary aim was to determine accurate first names and to separate the Louisville record from the combined record for those players who spent their season with another team aside from Louisville. Among the more interesting highlights contained in this issue of the Almanac are:

1. The identification process for the Colonel player named Jimmy Hart as James Jeremiah Hart.

2. The effects of Louisville’s 1905 Trolley Car Crash in Kansas City

Below are excerpts from the latest issue of the American Association Almanac in which these, and a host of other topics, are discussed in this substantial and comprehensive look at the early history of this historic baseball club.

Idenifying “Jimmy Hart”

Hart’s case presents an interesting example of how a player’s records can be attributed to the wrong team, and it is often difficult to prove. Minor Leagues Database, lists Louisville’s Hart as “Hub Hart.” Initially his entry on the 1903 roster was taken at face value, but doubt crept in as additional information came to light. The June 6 Sporting Life contained the following phrase which conflicted with MiLD (Minor Leagues Database): “There is also a contention about Hart, late of Columbus…,” but it wasn’t immediately clear which Hart played with Columbus. This clue led to the temporary identification of this player as James Burton Hart based on information in MiLD. It was later shown that MiLD’s database had it wrong in this case as well.
The player in question is actually James Jeremiah Hart, born at St. Paul, Minnesota. For this player MiLD shows no record, but a listing in a 1904 Louisville Evening Post provided his middle name, which led to a search on ancestry.com verifying his occupation as a professional ballplayer. Additional information found in the Louisville Courier-Journal corroborated the information found in the Post; the latter also indicated his first professional team was Tacoma, possibly of the Pacific Northwest League in 1898, however, this could not be substantiated.
The confusion arose from the fact there are four entries for players by the name of “James Hart” listed in MiLD who could have been on the Louisville squad during this time period. The entry for James Burton “Burt” Hart was a possible match given his birthplace, listed as Lone Tree City, Minnesota (Brown County), a possible connection with his reported winter residence of Eau Claire, Wisconsin (given their geographic similarity). However, Burt Hart’s profile data didn’t match up with the information from either local newspaper.
One entry in MiLD, listed simply as “James Hart” (assigned the code “hart–001jam”). This entry contained no profile information, critical for comparative purposes, other than his name and the nine teams he played with from 1901-1911; hence, this entry was a sort of “wild card” as it was/is possible he was the player in question, based on his American Association ties via his reported affiliation with Columbus in 1902-03 and Minneapolis in 1903.
A “process of elimination” evolved as all available resources were considered. A look through the Almanac’s 1902 Columbus notes helped shed some light. A roster listing for the Columbus Senators published in the April 23, 1902 edition of the Columbus Citizen showed a “Jim Hart” at a height of 5’9.5” and a weight of 178; these figures corresponded with those in the Louisville Courier-Journal, thus connecting the Columbus Hart with the Louisville Hart.
The Almanac was then able to compare a clear facial photo from the March 30, 1902 Columbus Dispatch with a perfect studio image of the Louisville team players (without their caps on, greatly enabling the process of using a photo to ID players) from 1903. This process verified this was the same player, James Jeremiah Hart, as corroborated by a witness.

The 1905 Trolley Car Wreck in Kansas City, Missouri

As if the team hadn’t been through enough adversity, including what was described as a “narrow escape” from a railroad accident in June, a tragic event unfolded on the streets of Kansas City. On August 31 an accident with potentially fatal consequences took place involving several key players who had boarded a streetcar after the final game, an 8-2 win, of their final series against the Blues.
Eight of Louisville’s best had boarded the ill-fated trolley, bound for their hotel where they would prepare for a trip to Toledo. As the electric vehicle rode the rails toward Kansas City’s downtown it began to gather speed to an extent which alarmed the suddenly wide-eyed passengers. The trolley had no brakes! A terrific collision ensued which resulted in injuries to the eight Colonels. Those most seriously hurt were Ed Kenna (“the Pitching Poet”) and Bill “Hen” Clay, while Charlie Stecher, Roy Brashear, Larry Quinlan, Orville Woodruff (who had battled malaria), and manager Suter Sullivan were “badly bruised.” The men were taken shortly thereafter by ambulance to a hospital.
Within a few days it was reported that Brashear and Clay were mobile
only with the use of a cane, but that Stecher thought he’d be able to take his next turn on the hill. Quinlan expected to be back in action upon the club’s return to Louisville September 7.
Several days later Kenna was still recovering back in Kansas City. His
injuries consisted of two broken ribs, a wrenched left arm, and a “badly lacerated” face. The critical fear was that he could lose his left eye. The Louisville Times wrote, “All the players feel confident that Kenna will recover from his injuries and be able to play ball again next season, but state that he was badly injured in the wreck.” Edward Benninghaus Kenna was the son of Democratic U.S. Congressional Representative and Senator from West Virginia John Edward Kenna (by his second wife, Anna Benninghaus) who served in the U.S. Congress from 1883-93. The “poet pitcher” died of died of heart failure on March 22, 1912 at the age of 34; he was an editor of the Charleston (WV) Gazette.
The Times described the events as seen through the players’ perspective: “All the players place the blame for the accident on the motorman…They claim that the car was coming down grade at an excessive rate of speed and that the motorman did not ring the bell to give warning of the approach,” when it collided with another vehicle.
Stecher did not immediately recognize the extent of his injuries. According
to the Times, “Stecher stated that he did not know that he was injured until after he had reached the hotel, when he found that he could not walk.”
Clay may have escaped death. Hitting .378 and leading the league at the time of the accident, he sustained a “severely wrenched back,” and both his arms were in bad shape. He recalled being under the fender of the careening car, stating with some alacrity,

“It was then that I grabbed hold of the fender to protect my life. I certainly had an experience that I hope I will never again be so unfortunate as to have. I was dragged over fifty feet, and I was so rapidly losing my strength that if the car had not been brought to a standstill when it was I am certain that I would have been killed.
(Louisville Times, Sept. 4, 1905)

As Clay continued his wry retelling, he seemed almost lighthearted in delivering this articulate, yet sardonic, account:

“Say, but that certainly was a bad accident. It looked to me as though that motorman did not only want the right of the tracks, but also desired to take up the street. As soon as I struck the ground I saw the fender and ducked more adroitly than if Rube Waddell was sending one of his swift ones over the pan. It missed my head by the fraction of an inch and then I managed to get hold of the fender. Every step seemed hours and the torture was something terrific. I never thought that I would escape. When the car was brought to a standstill I managed to get out, and walked over to a fence and sat down on the grass.
I was bleeding from head to foot, and did not think that I would live more than a minute. Finally the motorman walked over to where I was sitting and, placing his hand on my shoulder, asked, ‘Are you hurt?’ Say, what do you think of that for nerve? It took me about five minutes to recover from that speech, and when I did, I said, ‘No, I don’t look like it, do I?’
I then asked the motorman why he didn’t ring the bell, and don’t you know that he has not answered me yet. Then I got up, staggered over the street curbing. The sound of the ambulance bell was like music. (Louisville Times, Sept. 4, 1905)

The Times detailed Clay’s status:

Clay is suffering from injuries all over his body. His hands are tied up, and it is all that he can do to walk around with the aid of a cane. Enough skin was torn off his hands, legs and face, in his long-distance slide, to cover every ball used in the American Association, according to his assertion. In Toledo he underwent an X-ray examination, and it showed he was badly injured, especially his hands.

Other players, and editors, looked back at the event with levity. As reported in the Times,

“Brashear says that he will never again take such chances as he did in that ride. ‘The next time I find a wagonette going fast where any car lines are near you will find me doing the duck act. Right out of the rear end for me.’”

If you’d care to learn more about how you can subscribe to the American Association Almanac, please contact me at pureout@msn.com or visit my website at www.americanassociationalmanac.com

July 16, 1913, Milwaukee, Wis.: In the longest single-game performances by a pitcher ever in the American Association, Jack Ferry of the third-place Columbus Senators takes the extended contest into the 19th inning but finally succumbs to the league-leading Milwaukee Brewers at Milwaukee’s Athletic Park. According to the report in Sporting Life magazine dated July 26, 1913:

The longest game staged thus far this season in the larger base ball leagues was played by Milwaukee and Columbus, who struggled 19 innings. Milwaukee won. It was the longest game ever played in the American Association and was full of thrills through the three hours and 45 minutes it lasted. Jack Ferry pitched the whole game for Columbus and although Milwaukee made 18 hits off him, he passed only three men and struck out only two batters. Milwaukee made five of its runs in the first nine innings, after tying the score with two gone in the ninth. Then another complete set of nine innings was played without a run, Milwaukee winning in the last half of the nineteenth with three singles in a row.

The winning pitcher for the Brewers was Iowa native Cy Slapnicka who was the fourth Milwaukee slab artist to take the hill en route to the Sudsmen’s 57th victory of the season against 36 losses. Starter Joe Hovlik, a native of Czechoslovakia, lasted only two rounds while giving up five hits. He was relieved by little Ralph Cutting, a New Hampshire dairy farmer. Alfred Braun relieved Cutting after a four-inning outing, then lasted the longest of any Brewer pitcher that day seven frames under his belt.

Slapnicka would lead the league with 25 wins by season’s end to lead the league, finishing up with a record of 25-14 in an astounding 321 innings of work.

Ferry, a 26-year-old Massachusetts native who attended Seton Hall University, was surely spent after this debacle. He went on to win 14 games against 12 losses for the Senators in 1913.

=====================

September 17, 1913, Minneapolis, Minn.: Minneapolis Miller righty Joe Lake, a 32-year-old native of Brooklyn, New York, took the hill today for the second place Millers and occupied the slab for 18 entire innings against the Columbus Senators before the game was called a draw, 1-1. Despite the tie, Minneapolis moved into the American Association lead as Milwaukee dropped a double billing to Indianapolis. Ironically, Columbus was involved in an earlier marathon in Milwaukee with Jack Ferry going the extra mile. Ferry was again involved, again doing double duty. In this drawn out affair, Ferry relieved Columbus starter Fred Cook, the elder statesman of the staff at 31, after four innings.

Columbus started out the scoring with a run in the first inning. The Millers then posted a lone tally in the sixth. All told the locals out-hit the visiting Senators 14-10.

Lake was a recent acquisition from Detroit where he posted a record of 8-7 before coming on board with Pongo Joe Cantillon‘s crew to help them in the pennant chase.

The game lasted two hours, 50 minutes.

The header on page 10 of the Louisville Times for Monday, Sept. 4, 1905 read:

WILL SUE FOR HEAVY DAMAGES…Louisville Players Blame Kansas City Street-Car Company for Accident

On Thursday, August 31, 1905, the Louisville Colonels were in Kansas City to play the Blues in another exciting American Association contest. There wasn’t much at stake; Art Irwin‘s Blues were mired in the cellar of the American Association with a record of 45-101 at the time, while the Louisville squad, under their second manager Suter Sullivan, was in fourth-place in the eight team league, with a record of 75-72.

A group of Colonel players boarded a street car that evening, perhaps headed back to their hotel after arresting the Blues, 6-2, at Kansas City’s Association Park earlier that Thursday. As the trolley car was descending a steep hill, the “motorman” lost control as it continued to gather speed. A wreck was the result, after what was described as a collision. There were no fatalities but eight Louisvilleans sustained injuries. Pitcher Ed Kenna was hospitalized for an extended period.

Among the first to report on their condition upon their arrival in Louisville were shortstop Larry Quinlan (who went 3/4 that day against Kansas City’s Walter Justus), outfielder Fred “Hen” Clay (who lost enough skin in the accident to “cover many baseballs” having been dragged 50 feet), second-baseman Roy Brashear and pitcher Charlie Stecher (who was having a fine season with a 14-8 record on the year). A total of eight players were involved in the debacle.

The scheduled game for the following day at Toledo was not played.

However, on Sept. 2, the Mud Hens hosted the depleted Colonels at Armory Park, as Louisville was able to rely upon local amateurs out of Toledo to fill in for the injured players.

An impending law suit against the street car company and the motorman was to be brought, based on the testimony of the players. It was their belief that the operator (or motorman) was not in control of the rail car, and in addition that he’d failed to ring the warning bell which might have prevented the resulting collision.

From the Times report:

“Brashear and Clay, who are only able to walk about with the aid of canes, and who are suffering no little from their injuries, will not be able to play again this season. Stecher thinks that he will be able to take his turn on the slab the latter part of next week, and Quinlan says that he will be able to get back in the game as soon as the team returns to this city [from its trip to Toledo]. All the players feel confident that Kenna will recover from his injuries and be able to play ball again next season but state that he was badly injured in the wreck.

“All the players place the blame for the accident on the motorman, and suits against the street car company will be instituted shortly. They claim that the car was coming down grade at an excessive rate of speed and that the motorman did not ring the bell to give warning of the approach.

“Brashear says that he will never again take such chances as he did in that ride. ‘The next time I find a wagonette going fast where any car lines are near you will find me doing the duck act. Right out of the rear end for me,’ he said.

“Stecher said that he did not know that he was injured until after he had reached the hotel, when he found that he could not walk.”

“Clay says that the first thing he knew was when he was under the fender of of the car. ‘It was then that I grabbed hold of the fender to protect my life. I certainly had an experience that I hope I will never again be so unfortunate as to have. I was dragged over fifty feet, and I was so rapidly losing my strength that if the car had not been brought to a standstill when it was I am certain wthat I would have been killed.’”

The Colonels’ ball club was supplanted by Toledo amateur players Tommy Lovett who covered the short field, Al Daly who played first-base and Joe Smith who took over duties at second-base. In addition, Miller (first name unknown) played in right field during both games of the Sunday doubleheader to close out the series with Toledo. Louisville tried to arrange to have these players travel with the team to Indianapolis, but were not successful.

The first game held after the accident took place Saturday, September 3. According to the Louisville Courier-Journal,

“…with the exception of Daly, they played nice ball. Daly had some stage fright, but Lovett covered short and Smith second in big league style. Lovett drove the ball deep into the field three times, and in the last inning got a hit.

“Kerwin [Dan] captained the team and had his batting eye open, securing a double and a single. Hallman [Bill] and Stoner [Herb], Dunkle [Ed, "Cannon Ball"] and Scott [George] each hit, but the safe drives were all scattered. Dunkle pitched a good game, allowing but five hits. He had the worst of several decisions and was cautioned by Umpire [Brick] Owens not to take advantage of the crippled condition and make any remarks.”

Despite out-hitting the Hens 8-5, the battle-weary Colonels were held scoreless by Toledo pitcher Wylie Piatt who equalled the season’s strikeout record by whiffing 11 would-be hitters. The Friday final: 3-0, Hens.

Ed Grillo‘s Toledoans swept the weekend series. No doubt the Colonels were just happy to have it behind them.

Two such graves are noteworthy, for they lie within the same cemetery, Mount Olivet in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. And each plot is located within a few hundred feet of one another — in a line! These are the graves of Dan “Bud” Lally, an accomplished outfielder and Donald “Dan” Marion, a pitcher, both deadball era players, Lally having started his career in 1887 in New England while Marion’s heyday was from 1910-1915. Both were American Association players at one time; Lally hit .400 for the 1895 Western League Minneapolis Millers, quite an extraordinary accomplishment!

This past September while in Milwaukee I made it a point to determine the exact location of each of these graves, taking twine and wooden pegs for roping off the plot site with the aid of one of the office managers at Mount Olivet named Matt. It was an unusually warm day for the third week of September, as the temperature climbed past the 90˚ mark with a blustery wind. But we accomplished our goal and I took multiple photos of each site (now if I could only get WordPress to publish my photos!).

I resolved to have grave markers installed at the sites of these two graves. As a member of SABR’s Ken Keltner Chapter in Milwaukee I emailed each member of the Keltner group asking only who might be interested in having more information about the project. One person replied. I was dejected.

My next plan was to submit a letter to my Almanac subscribers with the Fall issue which went out about 10 days ago. The results have been impressive. One subscriber immediately came forward and promised to donate the money for the entirety of Lally’s grave. As the result of a second substantial donation, I am 80% of the way toward funding a marker for Marion.

It gives me a great deal of satisfaction knowing that these two graves will soon have markers so these old-time ballplayers will never be forgotten. I do wish there was a philanthropic society dedicated to such things. If anyone knows of an organization which might be willing to work with me, I know of other graves which could use a headstone.

And please feel free to leave a comment, question or suggestion!