Moorhead's Chances for 1897: A Team Preview

The Moorhead Barmaids would be a formidable group led by shortstop and Captain Jack Page. The Moorhead Daily News regarded Page as “one of the best infielders in the northwest.” Joining Page was a tough and talented catcher Tim Keefe, who would quickly make his presence known both with his play and with his mouth. Moorhead was led by its two pitching aces, Lawrence “Pike” Mullaney and Bob Brush, who would get plentiful support from a cast of solid, well-established players. The Daily News predicted Mullaney would perform well enough to be “the star pitcher of the league.” Compliments were showered upon all of manager William J. Bodkin’s squad. Local papers commonly exaggerated and overhyped their town’s teams during this era, even if a club had little chance of contending for a pennant. Unfortunately for the rest of the Red River Valley League¸ the comments from the Daily News were not simply another display of biased, blind hope. Moorhead’s chances were truly the brightest among the teams of the 1897 league.