Pike's Decision: Cigars or Baseball?

Pike Mullaney was the star pitcher, along with Bob Brush, of the 1897 Moorhead Barmaids club that ran away with the Red River Valley League pennant. Mullaney went on to play a few more years of independent baseball in Superior, Wisconsin. By 1901, however, he had disappeared from the baseball scene. Mullaney found his way into the cigar manufacturing business, and he appeared to be content with his full-time work. That fact didn't stop the Duluth News Tribune from buzzing, when in the spring of 1904, Mullaney moved his operations from Eveleth, MN to Superior. 

The local professional club, the Superior Longshoreman of the Class D Northern League, was set to welcome Mullaney's former teammate in Moorhead, Artie O'Dea, to its team, as well as George Keas, Fargo's captain from 1897. Pike, however, would not join the 1904 edition of the Superior baseball nine. Still, local fans hoped they would at least see the star pitcher in some amateur games that summer.

Duluth News Tribune, May 5, 1904

"Locked Up in a Cage"

In the June 15 contest between Moorhead and W-B, the actions of W-B team official Claude Rittenhouse were extreme enough to cause the Moorhead Independent to argue that he should be “locked up in a cage.” It began when Moorhead pitcher Pike Mullaney went to retrieve a throw in foul territory that had escaped the reach of first baseman Henry Clayton. When Mullaney reached the ball, the Independent claims, Rittenhouse grabbed the Moorhead ace around the neck and tackled him. Hoping his actions would enable the W-B baserunner on third base to score, Rittenhouse also was said to have tried to trip Mullaney. Watching the outlandish scene unfold was Umpire O’Donnell, who ordered the W-B runner to return to third base as a result of the interference. The umpire did not discipline Rittenhouse in any way, however, possibly because of Rittenhouse’s high position or possibly because the event may not have been as extreme as the Moorhead weekly portrayed it. The paper argued that Rittenhouse should have been ejected from the field and escorted away via police escort. (“Notes of the Diamond,” Moorhead Independent, July 23, 1897).

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.

Metaphorically Speaking

The baseball accounts from the dead-ball era were often unusually and excessively descriptive. The writing certainly played an important role regarding perceptions of baseball in an era before radio and television. The newspaper descriptions about the games of the Red River Valley League are a key piece in understanding the flavor of the league. Here are some of the more entertaining gems:

During the summer of 1897, several pitchers who struggled to control their pitches were deemed to be "as wild as a March hare" by the Sunday Argus. Among the out of control rabbits were Wahpeton-Breckenridge's Ollie Berg, Grand Forks pitcher Charlie Hutton, and Fargo's Gus Munch. On a separate occasion, during a particularly poor weather day in which Ollie Berg surrendered 15 runs, the weather was described as "being as wild and wooly as Berg's delivery."*

Solid pitching performances elicited even richer descriptions. Deacon Phillippe was credited for being "as steady as a clock" in a game in late June. Wahpeton-Breckenridge pitcher O'Donnell's alertness in a game in late May caused The Moorhead Independent to credit him for watching base runners "like a hungry hyena".** Moorhead's Pike Mullaney was complimented for a start in which he "shot the ball over the plate with Denzer-like steam," a reference pitcher Roger Denzer, who threw for the St. Paul Saints and Chicago Colts in 1897.*** Moorhead's other ace, Bob Brush, pitched an impressive game allowing hits and runs "as scarce as mosquitoes in January."**** Perhaps the most creative embellishment of a pitcher's dominance came courtesy of the Sunday Argus. The paper remarked that Pike Mullaney's pitching against the Wahpeton-Breckenridge club "had the Methodists feeling around as aimlessly as pedestrians trying to escape the Fargo street sweeper, or huge cats from whose muzzles the whiskers had been cleanly shaven."*****

*The Moorhead Independent June 11, 1897
**Independent May 28, 1897
***Independent June 25, 1897
****Independent June 11, 1897
*****Sunday Argus May 30, 1897

On This Date: Scattered Play Locally

August 13, 1897 - The Moorhead Independent reported in their Sunday weekly that, with the Red River Valley League now disbanded, six Barmaids had gone to play for a team in Perham, MN. Pitcher Bob Brush went to Winona to play for their local team, and several other Moorhead players were reported to have gone home for the summer.

On August 13, Moorhead ace Pike Mullaney pitched for Staples, MN against Wadena, MN, who put Fargo's Oscar Peterson on the mound. Mirroring the RRVL season, Mullaney's team bested Peterson's, as Staples won 4-0. Amateur games featuring town teams would fill the next few weeks in the Red River Valley, so hungry baseball fans weren't completely cut off. Also, a benefit game in appreciation of Fargo's Manager George Challis was scheduled, with local doctors slugging it out against the town's lawyers. But with a sparse schedule filled with exhibition games such as these, there is no doubt local "cranks" still lamented the loss of professional baseball that resulted from the RRVL's demise.

August 13, 1897 Moorhead Independent "Disbanded" Front page
August 14, 1897 Fargo Forum and Daily Republican p.5

On This Date: Bad Blood Boils Over

Saturday, August 7, 1897 - Tige Lyons apparently was not satisfied with just arguing with Fargo's catcher Ryan at Haas's saloon in downtown Moorhead Friday night. The Red River Valley League umpire and former Fargo player got into a disagreement with Ryan at the bar, and Ryan (or someone with him) knocked Lyons to the floor. The catcher may have hoped he had seen the last of "Tige", and migrated to Murphy's saloon later that night. But Lyons made an unwelcome appearance again, found Ryan, and knocked him out with a "blunt instrument." Interestingly, if it weren't for a followup confrontation Saturday afternoon between the men, the story may never have surfaced.

At about 2:30pm on Saturday, Lyons found Ryan on Broadway in Fargo. On this occasion, he had former Fargo catcher Hartman with him, who was no doubt recruited due to his reckless nature and the fact that Ryan had displaced him as the Fargo backstop. The two men ganged up on Ryan, and Hartman pulled out a razor while Tige cheered him on. As Hartman chased Ryan into Alex Stern's clothing store, Ryan picked up a brick and hurled it at Hartman in self-defense. By this point, officer Bingham of the Fargo police department was on the scene and arrested Hartman. Meanwhile, Lyons took off towards Moorhead in an attempt to escape arrest, but was chased down near the Great Northern bridge and taken in. Later that day, awaiting their appearance before municipal judge Hanson, Hartman made his own escape attempt, but was tracked down by Bingham in a slough on First avenue north.

The two embittered former Fargo players appeared in court before judge Hanson on Monday, but the bizarre chain of events would have a very anti-climactic ending. The cases against both men were dismissed, oddly, because Ryan failed to appear at the hearings. No reason was given for Ryan's absence, and the specific reasons that precipitated the assault were also unclear. The previous week Hartman had been let go in favor of Ryan. After this, Lyons apparently took a barrage of verbal abuse from the new Fargo catcher at the August 2 game between Fargo and Moorhead. What Ryan specifically did or said to Lyons during the game is unclear, but the Moorhead Independent amusingly observed that "the freak catcher yelled and gyrated like an escaped lunatic." The sole reason given in the Forum for the attack was the fact that Ryan had been bad-mouthing Lyons, who apparently was trying to stir up discord among the Fargo players. Ultimately, the resentment among the men, along with a likely liberal flow of alcohol, played a role in spurring the violence.

Lyons and Hartman left the area, and the following June, the men were said to be trying out for a Seattle club. Tige had not made the team, but Hartman was playing "magnificent ball" and had reportedly quit drinking.
 
Also on Saturday, August 7, second baseman Breuer's four errors hurt the Divorcees in a loss to the Barmaids. Breuer deserves some sympathy as he was likely a local man, called on to fill in after the release and blacklisting of Josh Reilly. The Forum also blamed poor umpiring as a contributing factor in the loss, though they shouldn't have expected much. The game was officiated by a Western Union operator who hadn't umpired a game all year in the Red River Valley League. The Moorhead nine scored two runs in the ninth inning to give pitcher Pike Mullaney yet another win, which fit the mold of a season in which the Barmaids dominated while Fargo struggled to find consistency. The loss went to Gus Munch, who surrendered just five hits, struck out six, and gave up no earned runs. 

Fargo Forum and Daily Republican
August 7, 1897 Front page "Baseballists Scrap"
August 9, 1897 p.3 "City Locals"; p.4 "Saturday's Game"
August 10, 1897 p.3 "City Locals"
June 20, 1898 p.4 "Baseball"

Moorhead Independent
August 6, 1897 Front page "A Battle Royal"

Sunday Argus
August 8, 1897 p. 6 "Two Home Runs"

On This Date: Hartman Ejected, O'Donnell Quits

August 1, 1897 - Fargo's 7-4 win over crosstown rival Moorhead was only part of the story on this date. Overshadowing Oscar Peterson's great pitching performance for the Divorcees was some extra-curricular nonsense from the game's catchers. Hartman started at catcher for Fargo, and wasted no time getting into trouble. He began arguing with the umpire, O'Donnell, for an unknown reason, and became so incensed that a policeman was called. The cop escorted Hartman, known to be a fan of hard drink, off the field. Hayes finished the game as the Fargo backstop.

In the fifth inning, Moorhead catcher Tim Keefe similarly lost his composure. According to the Forum, Keefe's conduct was even worse than Hartman's (however, bias from the home team's newspaper in its account is a distinct possibility). Again, the precipitating factor for Moorhead catcher's behavior is unknown. The Fargo paper criticized O'Donnell for not ejecting Keefe from the game, as he had with Hartman. At this point, the embattled umpire was fed up enough to quit the game. The well-respected George Challis assumed the umpiring duties for the remainder of the game, despite the fact that he was also Fargo's manager.

Meanwhile, a game was played, and Fargo hit Pike Mullaney hard, tallying 13 hits and five earned runs off the Moorhead ace. The Divorcees were led by center fielder L. D. Hopkins, who went three for four with two doubles and three runs scored. Fargo's starter Oscar "Pete" Peterson surrendered just eight hits and two earned runs to the Barmaids. The rivarly would continue for the next three days, as Fargo and Moorhead were scheduled for three games in Fargo, followed by three games in Moorhead. The Grand Forks-Crookston series of six games was also scheduled to get underway. Only one of these series would be played...

Fargo Forum and Daily Republican August 2, 1897 p. 4 "Easy for Fargo"

On This Date: "Where Were We At?"

July 26, 1897 - Player/manager Ed Corbett returned from league talks in Crookston to tally two hits batting cleanup for the Methodists, who won the series finale against Fargo 6-1.  Oliver Berg pitched a great game, going nine innings and allowing just one run on four hits. Berg's fielders backed up his stellar performance with their own solid effort, not committing a single error just a day after bungling 12 chances.

In Grand Forks, the Senators dropped a doubleheader to Moorhead, as the Barmaids put aces Bob Brush and Pike Mullaney on the mound. With the two losses, Grand Forks fell further behind the first-place Moorhead club, and now only led W-B by a half game in the standings. Fargo was still in the league's cellar, despite playing better in recent weeks.

"Where Were We At?" and "Moorhead Wins Two" Fargo Forum and Daily Republican July 27, 1897 p.4

On This Date: Second Triple Play in Three Days

Errors hurt both Fargo and Moorhead in a 5-3 Barmaids win on July 1, which dropped Fargo to a league worst record of 7-15. Peterson was on the hill for the Divorcees, while the Barmaids featured twirler Bob Brush. The fatal blow for Fargo was a four-run fifth inning by Moorhead, fueled by a costly error by second baseman Josh Reilly on a play that would have retired the side.

In the sloppy contest, Fargo's shining moment surprisingly occurred on defense in the form of a 2-3-4 triple play, the second in three days for the Fargo nine. With the bases loaded, Fargo's catcher Hartman fielded Frank O'Reagan's weak hit that stuck in the mud just in front of home plate. Hartman quickly touched home, then threw to "Peaceful Valley" Brown at first to retire O'Reagan. Brown then relayed a throw to Josh Reilly at second base, who tagged Pike Mullaney to complete the trifecta.

Despite a combined 19 hits for the two teams, and atrocious fielding to the tune of nine errors (six by Moorhead), the game was over in one hour, thirty-six minutes, a figure unheard of in professional baseball today.

Other news from July 1st-
- Outfielder Charles Jahnke asked for his release from Fargo and it was granted. Jahnke would play for Moorhead later in the season. The Forum lamented the loss of the "gentlemanly" Jahnke, praising his great fielding prowess.
- Lee Roberts pitched the Mandan, ND team to a 5-4 victory over a team from Fort Yates, ND.
- Outfielder Bergstrom arrived in Fargo to make his debut for the Divorcees.

July 1, 1897 and July 2, 1897 Fargo Forum p.4

On This Date: Forum Responds to Criticism, Herald Worries

Apparently, the Moorhead News accused the other newspapers in the region of not being fair to Barmaids pitcher Pike Mullaney. The Forum shot back, saying the News was off base, and that its sportswriter had to have been "eating green apples and...suffered the attendant consequences."  The Forum contended that the local papers had always been complimentary of the "plucky little pitcher." They had no reason not to be charitable towards Mullaney, who finished with a record of 14-3 for the season.

Also on this date, the Grand Forks Herald worried about the other Red River Valley League teams bolstering their rosters. The paper explained that the fans would be happy if the Senators could come away with a split in their coming series with Moorhead. Fargo, for its part, had released Reddy Hill, as well as Hornsby and Frank Schumansky, as they attempted to move up in the standings after a slow start. The Divorcees were excited about adding outfielder Hopkins, shortstop John Murphy, and a talented young second baseman from Iowa, Bill Zink. Pitcher Fred Steele would make his way to Fargo from Nebraska within the week.

June 16, 1897 Fargo Forum and Daily Republican p. 4

June 16, 1897 Grand Forks Herald Front page

Moorhead's Aces

The Moorhead team finished the 1897 RRVL season with a record of 32-12, including a 6-2 record after the official season ended prematurely. Behind their star pitchers, the Moorhead club left no doubt regarding who was the superior team in the league. Pitcher "Pike" Mullaney went 14-3 for the club, including a 2-hit shutout against Fargo on June 24th and a 4-hit shutout against Fargo on July 3rd. Bob Brush was also impressive for the Barmaids with a record of 11-4 on the season..

"It Was Larceny"

The game between Fargo and Moorhead on the afternoon of June 26, 1897 featured a great pitching match up and promised to be a compelling game. Indeed, the game was compelling, but for unusual reasons.

Deacon Phillippe (spelled Phillippi by the papers) and Pike Mullaney squared off in a contest between first place Moorhead and last place Fargo. In the first inning, Phillippe gave up four runs, but settled down and shut out the "Barmaids" for the remainder of the game. The first inning featured a controversial call by the umpire Tupper. The Forum said Page from Moorhead was out by at least five feet on a play at home, but was called safe. Fargo's Sunday Argus claimed the runner was ten feet short of home when tagged out. Whether Tupper just had a bad view of the play or was grossly incompetent or unethical is unclear. He may have been obscured, but even though he was the only umpire for the game (as was customary at the time), he should have been near home plate. The Forum claimed that Tupper made several other bad calls throughout the game, "two against Fargo, and two against Moorhead", but these missteps paled in comparison to the events of the ninth inning.

For Moorhead, Mullaney was solid as usual, but got into some trouble in the ninth inning with the game 4-2 in favor of Moorhead. Mullaney walked the first two batters, Phillippe and Hopkins. One of Fargo's fan favorites, the utility man Hartman, followed with a fly ball out to right field. Phillippe tagged up on the play and advanced to third. Moorhead appealed the play, however, and Phillippe was called out by Tupper for leaving second too early. The Fargo team and their fans were incensed by this call. Tupper had his back turned to second - he never saw the play. Fargo failed to score in the ninth, and lost 4-2. The Moorhead team, along with Fargo's manager, local travel agent George Challis, ushered Tupper to safety after the game, protecting him from the rage of some of the Fargo fans. Fargo launched a formal protest of the contest. The story of the awful umpiring in the Red River Valley League even made the pages of the Sporting News on July 10th. The Sunday Argus proclaimed, "It Was Larceny."

The protest was eventually addressed by National League President Nick Young. The National League was the only "major league" at the time, and wielded much power over the baseball establishment. In the meantime, Tupper had admitted that he did not see the Phillippe leave second base in the decisive ninth inning blown call. Young ruled that the game should be replayed. However, the Red River Valley League folded for 1897 in early August, so Moorhead declined to replay the game. (More on the league's collapse later.)

Opening Day - 1897

Opening Day, May 26, 1897

Grand Forks 6, Fargo 2
WP: Hutton
LP: Roberts

Moorhead 16, Wahpeton-Breckenridge 7
WP: Mullaney
LP: Berg

From the Sporting News:
June 5, 1897 p.4

"RED RIVER VALLEY LEAGUE.
Personnel of the Teams and the Umpire Corps.
Fargo, North Dakota. May 26. Editor "Sporting Life:" The River Valley League has at last started. The League is made up as follows: Fargo, Moorhead, Grand Forks and Breckenridge and Wahpeton, Breckenridge and Wahpeton being represented by one team. The various teams will line up as follows: Signed with Fargo are Jack Banning, Arthur Hill, Chas. Janke, Jack McDonald, Chas. Brown, Ed, Martin, Arthur, better known as Tiger, Lyons; Gus Munch, Tad Roberts, Hartman, Oscar Peterson and Lee Roberts, as manager.

Moorhead lines up with Jack Page, captain; Pike Mullaney, Anderson, O'Reagan. Flannery,
Harry Howe, Burke, Keefe, Dea, Clayton and Murphy.

Grand Forks will consist of Sid Adams, Chas. Hutton, Riddell, McNeal, Rudge, Hanrahan,
Jack Turner, Walker, Boblitz and Marshall.

Breckenridge and Wahpeton will be represented by the following players: Ted Corbett. manager
and captain; Swartz, Berg, L. Conrad, A. Conrad, Jim Hart, Fitch, Wm. Ploof, Red O'Donnell,
Pete Quinn and Jack O'Donnell.

The League umpires will be George Challis and Robert Irons, the first-named, a well-known
man; but the latter, being a new man. he is still an unknown quantity. The championship
season opens to-day and closes September 4."