KFGO Radio Interview

Follow the link below to listen to my interview on KFGO with Bob Harris! Hear about the 1897 Red River Valley League:

http://kfgo.com/podcasts/nighttime-live-with-bob-harris/941/divorcees-barmaids-and-cranks-1897-red-river-valley-league-baseball/

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.

Crookston Hoped for League Membership

The city of Crookston, MN was excited about its prospects to field a team in the Red River Valley League. Coming off a successful summer of 1896 playing various local teams, the Crookston community treasured the possibility of membership in an organized league for the 1897 season. There were promising signs that this dream would be fulfilled. The community had pledged sufficient financial support, and the city’s cranks were working on a new ball park for the team.

 

As late as May 19, Crookston looked like a lock to become part of the league. They had posted the $250 in forfeit money necessary to gain admittance, money that would be returned to the team as long as they stayed together and completed their entire schedule. Unfortunately, the news brought to fans the next day by the Crookston Daily Times explained with disappointment that the team would not be a Red River Valley League member after all. Unable to secure a sixth club for the league, officials meeting in Fargo decided it would not be feasible to attempt to form a schedule for five teams. Such a schedule would leave one team idle at all times. With a thin margin for error regarding finances, the clubs could not afford extra days without gate receipts coming in. As a result, Crookston was the odd man out, and the league would proceed with just four teams.

 

On This Date: Excerpts from Moorhead's Opening Day

Excerpts from my writing on Moorhead's opening day:

May 26, 1897 -

Moorhead hosted Wahpeton-Breckenridge in the season opener for each team... Before the game, the Moorhead cranks held an afternoon parade, held in part to encourage residents of both Fargo and Moorhead to come out and “root” for the Barmaids... An impressive crowd of 600 to 700 congregated at the Moorhead ballpark for a 3:30 matchup with Wahpeton-Breckenridge and saw Moorhead Mayor Lewis throw out the ceremonial first pitch to start the on-field festivities. After this, Lewis spoke briefly to the crowd and bestowed upon the Moorhead club a horseshoe for good luck... Superstitious fans were satisfied with the gesture, as Moorhead prevailed 16-7 in this season opening game.

Random Fact of the Day (3) - Post #100!

The Red River Valley League's 1897 season was scheduled to end September 4. By the end of the first week of August, however, the league had folded. 

THIS IS POST #100! (Some of better quality than others!)

The Problem of Salaries

In major league baseball today, fans of small-market teams worry about the ever growing disparity in the payroll of their team versus the big-market big spenders. While the New Yorks and Bostons of the world address their weaknesses with high priced free agents, the San Diegos and Oaklands must squeeze every penny in their efforts to keep their teams competitive. Though not always the case, big spending means more wins. Interestingly, the Red River Valley League of 1897 faced a similar concern that contributed to its failed season.

The problem of salaries was not lost on the league's organizers. In fact, the league rules specified a $40 per player per month salary limit. Only the captain of each team could earn more. Additionally, the league established a $400 monthly limit on a team's total salaries. The Forum remarked that these measures were necessary to avoid "the experience of the old '87 league." The paper also chastised unnamed teams who had already violated the new salary limits, predicting that if the practice continued, it would "cause the downfall of the league."

Indeed, the salary issue ended up being one of the nails in the coffin of the 1897 league. The Moorhead club, particularly, shares a good deal of blame for overpaying players. Decades later, when W. P. Davies of Grand Forks reflected on the old RRVL, he placed the blame on the Moorhead saloon-keepers who excitedly pumped money into their hometown team. In calling the bar owners the "worst offenders" though, Davies implied that there were other teams breaching the salary limit. Davies explained in one of his later columns that the excitement of having a pennant winner caused enthusiastic local businessmen to pony up extra money "for the honor of the town."  As a result of the free spending, the Moorhead club took an early commanding lead in the standings, which may have caused fans to lose interest in the league. The resulting lack of gate receipts as the summer of 1897 went on impacted other teams' financial stability, particularly the Wahpeton-Breckenridge club. When the W-B club couldn't come up with a solution to its money woes, the team was forced to fold, and the league collapsed with them.

Fargo Forum and Daily Republican May 20, 1897, "Baseball"
"That Reminds Me: Today and Yesterday" by W. P. Davies, April 1932 and May 10, 1939.

Coming Attractions

After some brainstorming, I have some ideas for upcoming posts that I thought I would share. In no particular order:

- The top 5 "Good Guys" of the 1897 Red River Valley League
- The top 5 jerks of the 1897 Red River Valley League
- A collection of all reported attendance numbers from the season's games
- A comprehensive list of the ejections and fines for bad behavior
- An 1897 RRVL political cartoon and illustrations from the Grand Forks Herald of games from the 1896 season

Feel free to comment with any suggestions. Thanks!

The Color Barrier in the Red River Valley League

From 1890 to 1946, the exclusion of black players from major league baseball was an unwritten rule. This stark reality, however, didn't prevent blacks from competing on town teams, and from eventually forming their own leagues. In the Red River Valley, a black man named "Bish" Dorsey played prominently throughout the late 1890s with Grand Forks teams. But the versatile Dorsey was conspicuously absent from the Red River Valley League of 1897. He appeared in some exhibition games that summer with amateur local teams, but did not appear for the Grand Forks Senators. Since the Red River Valley League of 1897 was officially sanctioned by the National League, it is likely that influence from league officials kept Dorsey out of uniform.

While prejudice in baseball was widespread, the role of Adrian "Cap" Anson in the segregation of baseball was in no way minor. One of baseball's brightest stars in the late 1800s, Anson was in his 27th season as a player in 1897, also serving as manager of the Chicago Colts of the National League. The man sometimes called "Pop" was highly regarded as one of the game's wise and influential veterans. During Anson's prime years in baseball, he refused to play against Moses Fleetwood Walker, a black minor leaguer, on at least two separate occasions. Cap was unsuccessful in preventing Walker's inclusion in an 1883 exhibition game, but succeeded in keeping Walker out of an 1888 contest. Not long after the second incident, the unofficial color line was drawn by the National League and American Association, preventing future participation of blacks at baseball's highest level for over a half century. The color barrier would significantly limit opportunities for blacks in the minor leagues, as well, as it undoubtedly did with Bishop Dorsey in the summer of 1897.

Great Team Names from 1897

Though the team nicknames of the 1897 Red River Valley League probably did not appear on any uniforms, they were unique nonetheless. The local newspapers in the valley get some credit in helping form the nicknames.
 "Divorcees" was used for Fargo, its origin being in the city's permissive divorce laws. The team's gray uniforms led to the occasional use of the term "greybacks" to describe the Fargo players. The ND Globe, Wahpeton's weekly, liked to diminish the Fargo team by calling them the "Bobolinks". A bobolink is a migratory songbird, so if anyone knows why this is an insult, please let me know!
"Barmaids" was one of the nicknames given to Moorhead, for the prevalence of alcohol in the city as compared to its dry neighbor across the river. Another name used to refer to Moorhead's team was the "Sheriffs", a reference to Manager W. J. Bodkin, who was a local sheriff. The players were sometimes called the "deputies". Occasionally, the Moorhead club was deemed the "Maroons", owing to the color of their uniforms.  
"Senators" was the moniker for Grand Forks, for their manager and North Dakota state Senator W. A. Gordon. The Grand Forks Plaindealer proposed calling the club the "undertakers", which was used occasionally but not as often as Senators.
Finally "Methodists" was used a few times for Wahpeton-Breckenridge, likely owing to the strong Protestant presence among the Red River Valley's largely Scandinavian and German population. The Moorhead Independent preferred to refer to the W-B squad as the "kickers", for the frequency with which their manager argued with league umpires.
The creative and sometimes insulting nicknames even drew attention from the weekly paper in Fergus Falls. The city, home to a prominent insane asylum, commented that it was probably better that they didn't field a team in the Red River Valley League, because if they had, the "wild-eyed diamond reporters" might have deemed them the "Lunatics." 

But there were other gems among the minor league teams of 1897. Some of my favorites:

Grand Rapids (MI) Bob-o-links (Western League)
Paterson (NJ) Silk Weavers (Atlantic League)
Des Moines Prohibitionists (Western Association) - I really wish they had played against Moorhead!
Cairo (IL) Egyptians (Central League)
Palmyra (NY) Mormons (NY State League) - Palmyra was the sight of Joseph Smith's first vision of the angel Moroni.
Williamsport (PA) Demorest Bicycle Boys (Central Pennsylvania League) - Williamsport is now the site of the Little League World Series
London (Ontario, Canada) Cockneys (Canadian League) - a reference to the British Londoners
Junction City (KS) Parrots (Kansas State League)
Columbus (GA) Babies (Southeastern League)
Asheville (NC) Moonshiners (Southeastern League)

Best Major League team name:
Brooklyn (NY) Bridegrooms (National League) - several players married around the same time in 1888, the year of this nickname's origin

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/league.cgi?year=1897

Updated 9-15-12

On This Date: League's Last Ditch Efforts

August 3, 1897 - Tuesday, August 3 was the beginning of the end for the Red River Valley League. Wahpeton-Breckenridge was scheduled to play its first game representing Crookston at YMCA park in Grand Forks against the Senators. It never happened. Manager Ed Corbett brought his team to Morris, MN instead, apparently to complete the season playing independent ball. In response, on August 4 an unnamed official was sent by Moorhead's manager Bodkin to Morris in an effort to try to convince the W-B team to come to Crookston (without Corbett, who stubbornly refused to compromise). The hope was to enlist Moorhead pitcher Ed Jess to manage the players in Crookston. However, Corbett's actions, coupled with the inaction of the Crookston magnates, equaled the death knell for the newly-formed league. On August 6, the Forum finally conceded the fact that the league was dead. Fargo and Moorhead would play out their scheduled six-game set, and thereafter, organized baseball in the Valley would be done for 1897.

The recent developments were especially disappointing for Red River Valley fans in light of the competitive and balanced play in recent weeks. On Tuesday afternoon, amidst the chaos concerning the future of W-B, Fargo again played Moorhead tough in a game on the Fargo grounds. With the score 6-4, Fargo scored two runs in the ninth to force extra innings, but Moorhead struck back with the winning run in the tenth.

Fargo Forum and Daily Republican
August 3, 1897 p. 4 "Stuff Is Off"
August 4, 1897 p. 4 "Patching It Up"
August 5, 1897 p. 4 "Chaotic"
August 6, 1897 p. 4 "The Wind-Up"

On This Date: Munch Battles Jess for 16 Innings

Monday, August 2, 1897 - Despite Josh Reilly's erratic play, which ultimately meant the end of his career in Fargo, the Divorcees played well against the recent league champions from Moorhead. After three innings, the two teams were tied 2-2, but it would require thirteen additional innings to break the deadlock. For Fargo, Gus Munch started and pitched the entire sixteen innings, scattering nine hits and allowing four runs, just one of which was earned. Ed Jess was the marathon twirler for Moorhead, also going the distance, allowing eight hits and two runs, with neither run earned. Former Fargo outfielder Charles Jahnke helped break the tie in the sixteenth, doubling off Munch, moving to third on a sacrifice, and scoring on a Jack Page triple. Page later scored on an error by Fargo shortstop Bill Zink, one of four the husky Iowan made on the day. The contest was an exciting opener for the new version of the Red River Valley League.
 
Also on August 2, the Grand Forks Senators expected to host the Wahpeton-Breckenridge team, now set to be sponsored by the city of Crookston, MN. Manager Ed Corbett telegraphed the Senators in the morning, indicating he would not be able to have his team in Grand Forks to play the opening game until Tuesday afternoon. Though the series was scheduled to begin Monday, the W-B team's transfer apparently was not yet completed. To make up for lost time, the two teams would play a doubleheader Wednesday.

In other news, Lee Roberts was scheduled to return to pitch for the Fargo team August 4 or 5.


Fargo Forum and Daily Republican August 2, 1897 p.4 "Notes"; August 3, 1897 p.4 "Stuff Is Off" and "Sixteen Innings - 4 to 2"

On This Date: Moorhead Awarded Pennant, New Schedule

July 31, 1897 - Officials from each team met at the Columbia hotel in Moorhead to nail down details concerning the future of the Red River Valley League. A newly constructed league would play through September 11, with the existing Wahpeton-Breckenridge franchise being transferred to Crookston. The four teams re-committed to finishing the season by putting up $50 in forfeit money, helping ensure all the franchises would finish the season. The schedule would kick off August 2, with Fargo playing Moorhead in a six game series (three games in each city), and Grand Forks battling Crookston in the same six game format. As for the previously constructed league, Moorhead was awarded the pennant after building a large lead in the standings.

Meanwhile, in their final game in Wahpeton-Breckenridge, the Methodists hosted Fargo for an afternoon contest. The Divorcees put twelve hits on the board, while W-B drew six walks off Fargo pitcher Fred Steele. Third baseman George Keas went 4 for 4 (all singles) with a sacrifice fly for the visiting team. The game was tied 5-5 in the eighth inning when play was suspended to allow Fargo to catch the train back home. It was an inauspicious ending to a very eventful week for the league. The coming days would hold more surprises for the troubled RRVL.

Sunday Argus August 1, 1897 p.8 "All Fixed Up"

On This Date: League Instability Widespread

July 30, 1897 - The Forum, in their Friday evening edition, published an interesting piece of news from the paper across the river, the Moorhead News. The article highlighted just how unstable the league situation had become by the end of July. Wahpeton-Breckenridge was not the only team in trouble. In recent meetings, re-organization of the league was a topic on the table, but not solely because the W-B franchise was struggling. The News revealed rumors that both Fargo and Grand Forks had withdrawn their forfeit money from the league's coffers. Though this fact was rebuffed by the Moorhead daily, other problems remained for the league. The transfer of the W-B franchise to Crookston was still in question, but a change needed to be made. The current arrangement for the team in the southern Valley was no longer sustainable. W-B had withdrawn their forfeit deposit in order to keep their gates open, but this act of desperation couldn't change the fact that the franchise was failing.

Further trouble was brewing with the Moorhead franchise. The Barmaids were 25-10 and in first-place in the RRVL - in fact, they were the only team even above .500. Despite the franchise's clear superiority, attendance was lagging. In a late-July home contest for Moorhead, those identified as fans of the home team accounted for less than one-fourth of the total gate receipts. The attendance total of Moorhead supporters was regularly matched or outnumbered by the visiting team's fans. Struggling to break even, folding the franchise was not outside the realm of possibilities. Moorhead's Manager Bodkin and other league officials held out hope that a new schedule and a franchise in Crookston would keep them playing in 1897.

Fargo Forum and Daily Republican July 30, 1897 p.4 "Moorhead's Tale of Woe" (citing the Moorhead News)

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: Sunday Exhibition Slaughter

July 25, 1897 - Unfortunately for Fargo, their Sunday afternoon slaughter of Wahpeton-Breckenridge didn't count in the standings. Still, the Divorcees 22-5 exhibition win over the Methodists must have been satisfying. Fargo continued to languish in last place in the RRVL, despite playing better baseball in recent weeks. Sunday's game was a wild, error-filled contest, with the teams combining for a shockingly awful 21 errors. It is hard to fathom how so many fielding miscues could occur in a minor league game. Charles C. Alexander's biography on Ty Cobb provides some insight. He highlights several aspects of baseball at the turn of the century that were unique to that era. Though much of baseball has remained unchanged in the 115 years since the Red River Valley League of 1897, one key item of contrast is found in the equipment. The fielders worked with gloves that Alexander describes as "flimsy little devices", grossly ineffective when compared with today's options. Alexander also notes that scorekeepers of games didn't give the players any breaks despite the primitive equipment. Furthermore, the lack of regularly replaced baseballs made fielders throw with less accuracy, and the pitchers didn't help with their notorious doctoring of the ball. The playing fields didn't aid fielders either, and were not tended to by full-time grounds crews. Uneven ground was more the rule than the exception. Perhaps for the RRVL, the best example of a less than ideal playing field would be the home park of the Grand Forks club. On this field, the Senators and their opponents had to contend with a cement bicycle track that was part of the baseball diamond.

Fargo and Wahpeton-Breckenridge were slated to play the final game of their series Monday afternoon. Oscar Peterson was the starting pitcher for the Divorcees, and the Methodists countered with Oliver Berg. Unfortunately for Ed Corbett and his team, the end of the series would not mark the end of trouble for the W-B franchise. Corbett spent the day in Crookston discussing the possible transfer of his team. According to the Forum, there was considerable excitement about a new rivalry between Crookston and Grand Forks. The team's transfer from W-B to Crookston was scheduled for August 2.

Fargo Forum and Daily Republican July 26, 1897 p. 4 "An Awful Score"
Charles C. Alexander Ty Cobb Oxford University Press, 1984, p. 29-30.

On This Date: Corbett Boils Over Under the Pressure

July 23, 1897 - It certainly wasn't a good week for Ed Corbett. With rumors of his Wahpeton-Breckenridge team's impending collapse becoming stark reality, Corbett was not ready for another loss. But in the late afternoon on Friday the 23rd, his team trailed Fargo 4-2 in the eighth inning. A third-strike called on W-B second baseman Extrom sent Corbett over the edge. The Methodist's manager charged onto the field, and with some choice words, angrily berated the game's umpire O'Donnell for the call. The ump ejected Corbett, who was so frustrated by this point that he took his team with him and forfeited the game.

Interestingly, on this same date, Fargo outfielder Jack Murphy was released and elected to sign with the turbulent W-B franchise. The prevailing belief was that the transfer of the team to Crookston would succeed within the week, and that the club would finish the year playing in northern Minnesota. After all, Crookston had expressed strong interest in fielding a team to begin the 1897 RRVL season, but the league couldn't find a sixth team to join. Officials wanted to keep the league's membership at an even number in order to ensure a balanced schedule. With potentially thin profit margins for the teams of the RRVL, avoiding scheduled days off was a priority. As a result, Crookston was left on the outside looking in.

On This Date: Steele Loses, Wahpeton Saga Continues, Wilmot Fired

July 22, 1897 - Fred Steele fared better in his second start for the Divorcees, but still ended up on the losing end of a 8-3 game against Wahpeton-Breckenridge. Steele, the 21-year-old pitcher from Neola, IA, had a terrible debut for Fargo against Moorhead on June 12th, giving up six runs and lasting just two innings. On this day, Steele was a bit erratic, throwing a wild pitch, walking six, and hitting a batter, but he and the Fargo club entered the ninth inning tied 3-3. The final inning was disastrous,though,  as Steele gave up four hits and the team committed four errors.

Though Wahpeton-Breckenridge certainly enjoyed their come from behind win on the Fargo grounds, it still appeared that all was not well for the Methodist franchise. The uncertainty surrounding the future of the W-B team was addressed publicly by Manager Ed Corbett. In the Forum, (July 23) Corbett denied rumors that the Methodists were to be transferred to Crookston to finish out the season, and reasserted clearly that his team was perfectly stable. The coming days would prove otherwise.

Also on this date, Walter Wilmot, player/manager of the Minneapolis Millers of the Western League, was relieved of his duties. The Forum cited the Minneapolis Journal, who accused Wilmot of "poor fielding, poor batting, and worse management in releasing good players." A rumored theory was that Wilmot was trying to devalue the franchise to allow his old friend and Chicago Colt manager Cap Anson to take ownership of the team at a discount rate. Throughout 1897, Anson had worked with Wilmot in the development of a quasi-farm system between Chicago of the National League, Minneapolis of the Western League, and the teams of Red River Valley League. This working relationship is what led Deacon Phillippe and other Western League players to the valley in 1897. With Minneapolis struggling in the standings after some questionable personnel decisions, Wilmot quickly fell out of favor with the Miller magnates. Though Wilmot would return to the Minneapolis franchise the following season, Anson moved on to manage the National League's New York Giants, ruining any future hope of a farm system involving teams in the Red River Valley.* Without big-league backing, the RRVL never got off the ground for the summer of 1898.

*Wilmot, who played six years for Anson in Chicago, spent 35 games as a player for Cap's Giants team in 1898.

Fargo Forum and Daily Republican July 23, 1897 p.4
"Lost in the Ninth" and "After Wilmot"