25 Inning Game Ends in Scoreless Tie

July 18, 1891 - Six years prior to the Red River Valley League, rivals Fargo and Grand Forks squared off in a contest at Devils Lake. After four hours and ten minutes, the teams called it a day and took their trains home. The contest ended without a single run scored, and it would be cited for years afterward as the longest baseball game ever played. RRVL fans would recognize the name of Jimmy Banning as a participant in the game who also played in the 1897 league. (McDonald, erroneously listed in the boxscore as Fargo's right fielder, played third base in this game, and may also be the same McDonald who played for the 1897 Fargo Divorcees.)

"A Record Breaker," The Sporting Life, August 8, 1891, p.8

On This Date: Fargo Players Appear; Millers' Home Finale

Sept. 19, 1897 - Trying to squeeze in just a little more summer, the workers of the Northern Pacific and Great Northern Railroads scheduled a game in St. Paul. Slated to appear for the Northern Pacific team were three players who appeared for Fargo earlier in the season. The most notable of these was Jimmy Banning, the only man to appear on both the 1887 and 1897 Fargo league teams. Banning made a few playing and umpiring appearances in Fargo earlier in the summer of 1897. Also appearing for the NP were Frank Schumansky, who was slated as the starting pitcher, and the unfortunate Hornsby, whose brief appearance for Fargo had been an embarrassment.

An awful weather day greeted the railroad men on the afternoon of Sunday, September 19. The cold conditions made controlling the ball a difficult task for Schumansky, who walked ten Great Northern batters. But he may have survived his wildness if not for the eighth inning. In the eighth frame, Schumansky allowed five consecutive singles as the Great Northern club extended their lead from two runs to six. The Northern Pacific men couldn't make up any of the deficit, and fell 12-6.

Meanwhile, the woeful Minneapolis Millers scored two ninth inning runs to defeat the equally woeful Kansas City Blues in the Millers' home finale. The teams finished sixth and seventh respectively in the standings of the eight team Western League. Minneapolis would lose its season finale 20-3 to Connie Mack's Milwaukee Brewers on Sept. 21, the season's final day. Deacon Phillippe pitched poorly for the Millers, though only seven of the runs he surrendered were earned. The St. Paul Saints held onto third place in the standings, just a half game ahead of the Brewers.

The final Western League standings
1) Indianapolis 98-37
2) Columbus 89-47
3) St. Paul 86-51
4) Milwaukee 85-51
5) Detroit 70-66
6) Minneapolis 43-95
7) Kansas City 40-99
8) Grand Rapids 35-100.

St. Paul Globe Sept. 19, 1897 p.8 "Fun for Railway Fans"
St. Paul Globe Sept. 20, 1897 p.5 "Safe on Third" and "Great Northern Won"
St. Paul Globe Sept. 22, 1897 p.5 "It Was Sufficiently Easy"

Banning Ripped by Forum

Sometimes it takes a second look at the research to find a gem. This is one I overlooked when making my first pass through the pages of the Forum from June 1897. I picked up the story while scouring the Grand Forks Herald today, which noted some harsh criticism that the Fargo Forum had directed toward RRVL umpire Jimmy Banning.

Banning began the year playing for the Fargo team, but switched to the role of umpire just a few weeks into the season. He had played on Fargo's minor league team in 1887, which the June 19th Forum mentioned in its front page rant. My favorite part of the not so veiled criticism was this line, in which the writer may have wanted to show impartiality, but just couldn't hold back: "...Personally Jimmie is a nice fellow, and he has hosts of friends here from his good work behind the bat in the old Red River league. But with all due respect to the memory of his rapidly fading glory - as umpire - he's the rottenest specimen that ever came over the pike..." Wow.

Interestingly, it wasn't unfair treatment of the Fargo team that spurred the sportswriter's diatribe. Instead, it was Banning's work in a game between Grand Forks and Moorhead that prompted the criticism. It makes you wonder if there was some bad blood between the writer and the former Fargo shortstop. Especially when you consider he described Banning's worst call as the "...crown piece of idiocy...".

Where Did Everyone Go?

Minor league baseball players in the late 19th Century often led a nomadic life. Minor leagues and teams were independent, not having the direct support of a Major League club as they do today. A league or a team that failed to draw enough fans and remain financially solvent couldn't hang on for very long without folding. As a result of this constant state of flux, players could not always count on staying in the same city throughout the summer. Even if their team and league were stable, it was still common for players to play a few games with other local teams when their league team was idle. For the Fargo Divorcees in 1897, these factors, along with a late start to the season (late May), the July 31st folding of the Red River Valley League, and the craving of baseball fans in the valley produced a perfect storm in which Fargo's players appeared in many different uniforms throughout the summer.

A working list of teams that featured Fargo players sometime during the summer of 1897:

Jimmy Banning - Umpired in the RRVL
Bergstrom - Minnehahas (MN)
Flannery - Perham, MN
Jimmie French - Hope, ND (2 games)
Reilly Green - Kenyon, MN
Haverty - Detroit Lakes, MN
Hayes - Omaha, NE (Western Association)
A. J. Hessler - Foster County, ND
C. R. Hickey - Wadena, MN (1 game)
Henry "Harry" Howe - Moorhead Barmaids and Denison-Sherman/Waco, TX (Texas League)
Charles Jahnke - Moorhead Barmaids
George Keas - a team in Southern Minnesota (after the league folded)
Arthur "Tige" Lyons - Sheldon, ND, Perham, MN, and served as umpire for RRVL games
Gus Munch - St. Paul Saints (Western League), Staples, MN (1 game)
Oscar Peterson - Minneapolis Millers (Western League), Wadena, MN (1 game), Wheatland, ND (1 game)
Charles "Deacon" Phillippe - Minneapolis Millers (Western League)
Josh Reilly - Kansas City Blues, Indianapolis Indians (both Western League), Springfield, IL Governors (Interstate League), Kenyon, MN
Lee Roberts - Mandan, ND (several games), Sheldon, ND, Detroit Lakes, MN
Fred Steele - Milnor, ND (1 game), a team in Western Iowa possibly
Bill Zink - a team in Western Iowa possibly

5 umpires, 3 managers, and 2 captains - Fargo's Volatility in 1897

There was plenty of change for the Fargo team throughout the summer of 1897. I have commented earlier on the fact that the team had at least 33 different men play for them during the season ("Nomads and Vagabonds"). Recall, also, that the season was only about ten weeks long. Some other changes in this short time span:

In the Fargo area, George Challis began the season as the main umpire. When Challis became Fargo's manager (see below), Jimmy Banning became the lead umpire. Not everyone was impressed with Banning's umpiring - in fact, his performance in one game was deemed "awful" by the Forum. After a time, Umpire O'Donnell was featured in many Fargo games. An umpire named Tupper was tried as well, but he was essentially run out of town after an outrageously bad call in June ("It Was Larceny"). Arthur "Tige" Lyons officiated some of Fargo's games later in the season. This is interesting considering his unpleasant departure from the team as a player earlier in the summer ("Fined and Released"). A final umpire Emlay was present at a game in early August. His performance was considered "horrible". Really the only umpire who escaped sharp criticism at any point in the season was Challis. He even took over as umpire in the middle of a Fargo game while he was Fargo's manager! He was universally well-respected.

A note on umpires: they were not rotated between cities and games in the same way they are today. One umpire was at each game, and it was generally preferred to keep the same man umpiring in the same area. 
The managerial post was similarly in flux for Fargo during the summer of 1897. When the team got off to a slow start, Lee Roberts stepped down as Fargo's manager and opted not to stay with the team as a position player. Adam Leech took over for Roberts on an interim basis, and later, George Challis finished the remainder of the season as manager.

Finally, it is notable that Charles "Peaceful Valley" Brown began the season as the team's captain. He also stepped down in favor of fellow Iowan George Keas in the middle of the season.

It is no wonder that Fargo spent most of the year in last place!

Player Profile: Jimmy Banning's Journeys through Fargo

James M. "Jimmy" Banning stood 5'6" and weighed 150 pounds, batting left-handed and throwing right-handed in a major league career that spanned three games. Yes, three - one game in 1888 and two in 1889 as a catcher for the Washington Nationals of the National League. He had five chances in the field with no errors, and just one at-bat and no hits.

The year before his major league debut, Banning played for the Fargo club in the 1887 Red River Valley League that also featured teams from Fergus Falls, Wahpeton, and Grand Forks.

Fast forward to July 18, 1891, after his major league "cup of coffee" and time spent with Detroit and Hamilton, Ontario of the International League. Banning appeared in a contest between Fargo and Grand Forks that was played at Devils Lake, ND. The game was notable for lasting a remarkable 25 innings. Even more noteworthy is the fact that after 25 innings, the score was Fargo 0, Grand Forks 0. The game was called so that the teams could catch the trains home. Darkness, too, may have been a factor in a time before stadium lights. Banning had 0 hits in 11 at bats in that game. (Obviously, none of the hitters had very much success, though.) Another unique note is the fact that three baseballs were used in the game. Normally, one baseball sufficed for an entire game! (Impressive considering that at the major league level today, any ball that hits the dirt when pitched is immediately exchanged for a fresh one.)

In 1897, Banning again appeared for Fargo in the new Red River Valley League. Although only 31-years-old at the time, the Forum reported that Banning wasn't as swift as he was in the past. Banning appeared in just a few games as a player for the Fargo team in 1897, and spent part of the season umpiring other league games.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=bannin001jim