Things to come...

I thought I would take today's post to give you an idea of some ongoing research that will eventually appear in later posts:

1) I hope to get a glimpse of the rules of baseball in 1897 - Once I get my hands on a copy of the 1898 Spalding Guide to Baseball, this will go forward very quickly.
2) You will find out about an assault case involving two Fargo players against one of their teammates.
3) Fines and ejections in 1897 RRVL games 
4) Access to more pictures and links - I currently have individual pictures of five of the Fargo players. My dream is to find the gem of my research - a team picture of the 1897 Fargo team (if one exists at all).
5) I will put together a comprehensive list of other teams that the Fargo players played for in 1897. Several traveled to nearby small towns on off days. Others played in the Western League during the course of the summer.
6) I will examine a questionable member of the Fargo team who, based on his erratic play, may have been involved with gambling on games.
7) More terminology from the era

1897 Statistics - Fargo Divorcees

The Forum published the following statistics for the Fargo team after the end of the 1897 season. Statistics were published for players who spent the most time with the team. Obviously, there isn't quite the detail of today's sabermetrics, but it's nice to have what was recorded. 

BATTING

Player	At Bats	Hits	AVG
Oscar Peterson	64	20	0.313
J. Hopkins	127	40	0.315
Josh Reilly	78	24	0.308
Ryan	39	12	0.308
Bill Zink	147	44	0.299
Hayes	60	17	0.283
George Keas	120	33	0.275
Green	44	12	0.273
Charles Brown	169	43	0.254
Breuer	28	5	0.179
Hartman	172	30	0.174
Fred Steele	35	5	0.143
Gus Muenche	50	2	0.040
FIELDING
PLAYER	Put Outs	Assists	Errors	PCT
Charles Brown	447	12	9	0.981
Hayes	49	5	3	0.947
J. Hopkins	94	9	7	0.936
Ryan	57	15	4	0.947
Hartman	168	63	19	0.924
Josh Reilly	61	41	14	0.879
George Keas	33	93	17	0.881
Breuer	14	15	5	0.853
Bill Zink	83	105	35	0.843
Oscar Peterson	8	36	8	0.846
Gus Munch	7	20	5	0.844
Fred Steele	3	13	4	0.800
Green	9	0	3	0.750

Level of Play

It's hard to definitively describe the level of play in the Red River Valley League in 1897, but an educated guess can be made. A few facts to make up our formula:

First, consider that Fargo's team had two former major league players (Jimmy Banning and Josh Reilly) and one future major league player (Deacon Phillippe). Grand Forks and Moorhead each had one future major league player on its 1897 team. Wahpeton-Breckenridge featured no past or future major league players. There were a few stars on each team that also enjoyed long minor league careers, often with higher-level leagues.

With the promising young stars and baseball veterans, however, were a mixture of local players whose baseball resumes were not impressive.

Also consider that the Red River Valley League was considered an informal "farm" league of the 1897 Western League. The Minneapolis Millers, St. Paul Saints, and other Western League teams sent players to the RRVL for parts of the 1897 season. The Western League could fairly be called what we would consider a AAA level league today.


With these facts taken into consideration, it would probably be fair to describe the 1897 RRVL as a A or AA level league - probably something in between these two modern designations. In fact, most of Fargo's minor league teams over the last 125 years would be described similarly in terms of level of play.

Rivalries and Trash Talking

Arguments and insults between fans of rival teams are normally confined to blogs, online forums, and talk radio. This was not the case in 1897. Newspapers carried the load of hyping (or criticizing) the home team and tearing down the opponents. In particular, Fargo's Sunday Argus took special liberty to publish antagonistic jabs at opposing cities and their teams - both openly and with subtlety.


A sampling of some interesting criticisms:
May 30th - The Argus says the Wahpeton-Breckenridge team, in losing to Moorhead, was "feeling around as aimlessly as pedestrians trying to escape the Fargo street sweeper..." The same article refers to the Moorhead team as the "Barmaids", a moniker that in no way could be considered complimentary. Fargo was an dry city, so Moorhead was the place to drink in 1897. And, apparently, referring to the other team as a bunch of girls is not a new phenomenon in competitive sports - today, though, it is typically reserved as the insult of elementary-aged children.

June 6th - After a win for Fargo against Grand Forks, the Argus simultaneously insulted both the home team for their slow start, and jabbed at the visitors, proclaiming: "Strange! Fargo has won a game! And it was easy at that!"

June 13th - Umpires rarely escaped the wrath of the papers. The Argus claimed in a game between Grand Forks and Moorhead, that "Umpire O'Donnnel's (sic) work was rank, and he received a great deal of roast from the crowd."

July 11th - Speaking of Moorhead's Frank Kulp: "When Kulp can't hit the ball he blames the umpire... Anyhow, it's a case of Kulp-able carelessness."

Player Profile: Lee "Reddy" Roberts

Fargo's 1897 team began the season with Lee "Reddy" Roberts as manager. Roberts was very involved in Fargo baseball in the 1890s, but in 1897, he left the Fargo team in early June after being dismissed as manager of the team. The Forum blamed the end of his managerial duties on the team's slow start. Roberts agreed to pitch a game for Fargo after his release as manager, but left the team about a week later. He signed on with the Sheldon, ND team, and also appeared with the Mandan, ND club at the end of June, according to a report in the Bismarck Tribune (Jun. 28, 1897 edition).

Lee Roberts was truly a native son of Fargo. Born Sept. 2, 1871, Roberts was the first child born in the city of Fargo, known as Centralia at the time of his birth. Roberts grew up in Fargo, and as a child enjoyed reading and playing baseball. Married in 1894, he made his home in Fargo, working as a building contractor and fathering two sons, Dana and Vernon. (*Information from WPA conducted interviews 1936-1940.)

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

The League Collapses

As I alluded to in earlier posts, the Red River Valley League folded before it completed the 1897 season. When the season began, Crookston and Detroit Lakes were interested in entering the league, which would have made six teams in all. Both cities failed to get organized in time and pay the "guarantee" or "forfeit" money to the league. The forfeit money was a deposit that would be kept by the league if the team folded before it finished the season.

So, with Crookston and Detroit Lakes out of the picture, the league went on with four teams: Fargo, Moorhead, Grand Forks, and Wahpeton-Breckenridge. Fargo, Moorhead, and Grand Forks drew fairly well in terms of attendance throughout the season. It appears, however, that late in July, Wahpeton-Breckenridge was having difficulty staying financially solvent. When it looked like W-B was ready to fold, two different plans were proposed. The first would have allowed W-B to use their forfeit money deposit to help them complete the season. The second idea was to have the W-B players transfer to Crookston and be sponsored by that city, as Crookston was still enthusiastic about the possibility of having a team for the remainder of 1897.

In the end, the Crookston contingent of financial backers proved too slow in accepting the plan to adopt the W-B players and form a team. The league was anxious to continue playing and organize a revamped schedule. In addition, some of the W-B players were becoming restless. The uncertainty of the situation put their short term pay in jeopardy, and they began to look for other opportunities. By the time Crookston finally got their act together, the Wahpeton-Breckenridge team had disbanded, and the now three team league was forced to fold.