Wednesday, July 18, 2012

On This Date: Western League Notes (Post #50!)

Thank you all for reading! This is post #50!

July 18, 1897 - Though the Fargo team began a stretch of three scheduled days off, there was still baseball news of interest to the local fans. The Forum reported on Deacon Phillippe's first start on his return to Minneapolis, giving his Red River Valley fans a glimpse of his work in the Western League. The paper's account said Phillippe pitched well, giving up only eight hits, and went on to blame Minneapolis second baseman Fred Roat's two errors for the loss. Not entirely surprisingly, the Forum account was a bit biased, omitting the fact that Phillippe gave up five runs. However, according to the game box score, none of the runs allowed were earned. The Miller fans were likely pleased with the Deacon's performance.

On the same day, player/manager Connie Mack's Milwaukee Brewers, also of the Western League, won a 15 inning marathon against the Indianapolis Indians by a score of 4-3. Born Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy, Mack is best known for his incredible longevity as a major league manager. He went on to win 3728 games in the major leagues, managing the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901-1950. The "Tall Tactician" was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937, while still a manager, and would not retire from his post with the A's until age 87. Remarkably, Mack began his playing career during Chester A. Arthur's presidency and retired during Harry S. Truman's presidency. Truman was born in 1884, the year Mack began his professional baseball career as a player.

Fargo Forum and Daily Republican July 20, 1897 p.4 "Doing Good Work"
Box score information from The Sporting Life July 24, 1897 p.15
Connie Mack's statistics found at http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=mack--001con

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