Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Perham Team Had Ties to 1897 Fargo Divorcees

The 1901 Perham baseball team had two players who likely had ties to the Red River Valley League of 1897. The catcher on the team is listed as H. Howe, and I believe this is Henry "Harry" Howe, who played for the Fargo Divorcees after several years playing for other Midwest clubs in both the Western League and Western Association. The pitcher on the Perham club is listed as C. T. Roberts, and I believe this is Charles "Tad" Roberts, brother of Lee Roberts, the player and manager on the Fargo club of 1897. Lee and Tad often played together on Fargo nines during the other summers of the 1890s. The picture explains that all of the Perham players were local men, except for the battery (the pitcher and the catcher). Tad Roberts hailed from Fargo and Harry Howe was likely from the Twin Cities, so that piece of the puzzle seems to fit.

The Minneapolis Journal, August 26, 1901

The Perham club of 1901 participated in a loose organization of clubs, a common occurrence among town teams of the era. Unlike the Red River Valley League of 1897, Perham's league was not officially recognized by the National or American Leagues. Nevertheless, the club certainly reveled in its success.

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