On This Date: Aces Duel in Fargo

The RRVL game in Fargo on July 14th featured two great pitching performances, as Fargo put Deacon Phillippe on the mound, while Grand Forks countered with Charlie Hutton. Phillippe pitched very well, allowing just ten hits and two runs and going the distance for the Divorcees. But Hutton was better, and Fargo suffered its sixth shutout of the season, despite two hits each from Peaceful Valley Brown and Reilly Green. A run in the first and a run in the eighth were all the Senators needed to take down the rival Divorcees in the opener of a four game series.

Fargo Forum and Daily Republican - July 15, 1897 p.4 "Shut Out Again"

On This Date: Munch Mows Down Moorhead

July 11, 1897 - Gus Munch held the Barmaids to just four hits and Peaceful Valley Brown stole two bases and scored twice as the Divorcees took a 6-1 exhibition win. Moorhead had Charles Lamont on the mound, and he struggled, walking five and uncorking three wild pitches before he was removed in favor of Andy Anderson after just two innings of work. Surprisingly, despite Lamont's wildness, Fargo managed just two runs in the first two innings. The Barmaids, who started former Divorcee Charles Jahnke in center field, were also sloppy in the field. The team had seven defensive miscues, led by Bob Brush's three errors at second base.

Interestingly, Bob Brush would be the only Moorhead player from the 1897 team to ever play in the major leagues. He appeared in two games for the Boston Doves of the National League in 1907, going hit-less in two at bats. The Doves finished 47 games behind the Chicago Cubs, who won 107 games and swept the Detroit Tigers four games to none in the World Series. That same year, thirty-five year old Charles Deacon Phillippe won 14 games for the second place Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League, who finished 17 games behind the Cubs.

Fargo Forum and Daily Republican July 12, 1897 p.4

On This Date: A One-Hop Home Run

In a July 10th game between Fargo and Grand Forks at the Senators' YMCA field, Sid Adams of the home team accomplished an interesting feat. In the first inning, he sent a sky-high drive into right field off of Deacon Phillippe. Fargo's right fielder Green didn't get to it in time, and the ball bounced off the bicycle track inconveniently located within the ball field. The baseball found its way over the right field fence and Adams was awarded a home run! Three runs scored on the unfortunate bounce, and would be the only runs earned off of Phillippe all day. Disappointingly for Fargo, they could not figure out Grand Forks pitcher Charlie Hutton, managing just three hits in nine innings and the Divorcees fell 3-0. In his dominant complete game shutout, Hutton struck out eight and walked none.

"BASE BALL: Fargo and Moorhead Are Both Defeated Yesterday."
Sunday Argus, July 11, 1897, p.8 

On This Date: Sporting News Mention and Fargo's Team Leaders

The Red River Valley League received mention on page six of the Sporting News on July 10th. In a dispatch written by W. Cloutier, likely a Fargoan, the sporting weekly mentioned Fargo's signing of pitchers Deacon Phillippe and Fred Steele, and ripped umpire Tupper's work in a June 26 game between Fargo and Moorhead, saying he had made "...one of the rankest decisions ever seen on the Fargo grounds." ("It Was Larceny"). The biased account also belittled the brash Moorhead catcher Tim Keefe as clearly inferior to Fargo's catcher Hartman (who was hitting .130 at the time).

The Forum on July 10th printed batting and fielding statistics for the Divorcees (through about 23 games):


Batting Average (minimum 30 at-bats):
Zink .322
Peterson .303

Brown .242
Hopkins .224
Jahnke .205
Murphy .200
McDonald .186
Hartman .130


Fielding Average (minimum 30 chances):
Brown .972
Hopkins .929
Hartman .914
Zink .892
McDonald .843
Jahnke .826
Keas .818
Murphy .682 (15 putouts , 15 assists, and 14 errors!)

Fargo Forum and Daily Republican - Saturday Evening
July 10, 1897 Front Page

On This Date: Blowout Win

July 8, 1897 - Fargo continued to crawl up the RRVL standings with a 10-1 win at Grand Forks. Among the stars of the game was the "Norwegian Cyclone" Oscar Peterson, who scattered seven hits over nine innings, surrendering only one run. Shortstop Bill Zink hit a three-run home run, and the normally light-hitting Catcher Hartman went 3-4 with a double, a home run, and three runs scored. Peaceful Valley Brown received credit for impressive fielding at first base despite sloppy ground conditions, and former Fargo player Arthur Lyons, the umpire for the contest, was praised as "...the most satisfactory umpire seen (in Grand Forks) this year."

The game got a late start due to a pre-game downpour - play did not get underway until 6:30 pm. In an era without stadium lights, beginning the game this late meant the possibility of running out of daylight. Despite the 11 runs scored, though, the game still ended at 8:05 pm, well before sunset.

Fargo Forum - July 9, 1897

On This Date: Fargo Celebrates Independence Day with Win Over Moorhead

July 4, 1897 - Fred Steele pitched for the Divorcees, needing only an RBI double by Peaceful Valley Brown for support in Fargo's 1-0 win over Moorhead. Steele hit four batters, walked three more, and the defense behind him committed four errors, but the Barmaids only managed two hits off the 21-year-old twirler. Andy Anderson pitched well for Moorhead, allowing just seven hits, walking none, and hitting none, but failed to get any run support as the Barmaids left 11 men on base. The game was wrapped up in a tidy 82 minutes.

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