Ollie Berg Accomplishes Incredibly Rare Feat

Wahpeton-Breckenridge pitcher Ollie (or "Allie") Berg received mention in the September 16, 1902 edition of The Minneapolis Journal for an incredibly rare feat: an unassisted triple play. The unassisted triple play occurs when a fielder is responsible for recording three outs on one batted ball, without any assistance from the other fielders. The play is so incredibly rare that it has happened only 15 times in the history of Major League Baseball. Berg turned his triple play in 1901 when he was pitching for a Langdon, North Dakota town team against a town team from Cavalier, North Dakota. 

Unassisted triple plays in Major League Baseball: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/history/rare_feats/?feature=unassisted_triple_plays

Moorhead's Frank Kulp Dies in Oregon

One unique aspect of the 1897 Red River Valley League was the fact that players came from far and wide to play baseball on the northern plains. Frank Kulp was originally from Le Sueur, Minnesota, coming up from southern Minnesota to play for the Moorhead Barmaids in 1897. Kulp's baseball career was relatively brief and likely began in 1896, when he served as captain of the Winona, MN club. After the 1897 season in Moorhead, Kulp played a few more years of amateur ball before making his way to the West Coast. He became a police officer in Bend, Oregon, and eventually served a brief stint as their Chief of Police before his death in 1923.

The Bend Bulletin, January 11, 1923. 

Perham Team Had Ties to 1897 Fargo Divorcees

The 1901 Perham baseball team had two players who likely had ties to the Red River Valley League of 1897. The catcher on the team is listed as H. Howe, and I believe this is Henry "Harry" Howe, who played for the Fargo Divorcees after several years playing for other Midwest clubs in both the Western League and Western Association. The pitcher on the Perham club is listed as C. T. Roberts, and I believe this is Charles "Tad" Roberts, brother of Lee Roberts, the player and manager on the Fargo club of 1897. Lee and Tad often played together on Fargo nines during the other summers of the 1890s. The picture explains that all of the Perham players were local men, except for the battery (the pitcher and the catcher). Tad Roberts hailed from Fargo and Harry Howe was likely from the Twin Cities, so that piece of the puzzle seems to fit.

The Minneapolis Journal, August 26, 1901

The Perham club of 1901 participated in a loose organization of clubs, a common occurrence among town teams of the era. Unlike the Red River Valley League of 1897, Perham's league was not officially recognized by the National or American Leagues. Nevertheless, the club certainly reveled in its success.

Bill Zink Honored 40 Years After RRVL, 30 Years After Historic Game

The May 27, 1937 Hutchinson News reported that its beloved ballplayer, Bill Zink, would be honored at a ceremony before the May 29 game between the Hutchinson Larks and Joplin (MO) Miners. The Larks were a Class C farm team of the Pittsburgh Pirates at the time, while the Miners were affiliated with the New York Yankees. Bill Zink played in Kansas from 1906-1910, in 1906 as a member of the Leavenworth Old Soldiers, and 1907-1910 as a member of the Hutchinson Salt Packers. On May 29, 1907, Zink took part in a 23 inning contest between Hutchinson and Oklahoma City. After his playing career, Zink settled down with his family in Hutchinson, so he was invited back to Carey Municipal Park in Hutchinson exactly 30 years later to be honored for his part in the memorable game (box score is below). The game was seven innings longer than the longest game of the 1897 season, when Zink was a member of the Fargo Divorcees. On August 2, 1897 Zink played shortstop for the Fargo club in a 16 inning loss to Moorhead. In the 4 to 2 loss, Zink had two hits in six at-bats with a run scored.

 

"Special Events With Baseball," The Hutchinson News, May 27, 1937, p. 2.

Box score: "A Remarkable Baseball Game," The Leavenworth Post, May 30, 1907, p. 4.

Baseball in the Snow?

What better way to ring in the new year than with a good 'ol game of baseball? Well, typically the weather conditions prevent such a celebration, but in 1899, the folks of Wahpeton decided to give it a try. It must have been a mild day, and a small amount of snow on the ground did not seem to bother the men who came to Wahpeton's Island Park to participate in the "national game." They even attracted a small crowd to witness the novel event.

Another Fargo Major Leaguer? - Some Detective Work

Though not directly relevant to the 1897 Red River Valley League season, the July 14^th Forum gave readers an update on a player named Sexton, who had played in Fargo as Wilson the summer before. Sexton was now playing left field for the New Bedford, Massachusetts team of the New England League and was reported to be “batting like a fiend.” After a short trip over to the indispensable www.baseball-reference.com, I discovered that the 1897 New Bedford, MA team did feature a player named Frank Sexton, who had played in 1895 in the National League for the Boston Beaneaters. To confirm that Sexton and Wilson were indeed the same person, I had to determine when and where Sexton played during the summer of 1896. Sporting News articles show Sexton playing in late June 1896 for a team in Springfield, Massachusetts. Sexton disappears from the Springfield box scores after that, which corresponds to the appearance of a Wilson playing for Fargo, who first appeared in late July 1896. The story seems to check out that another major leaguer likely played in Fargo in 1896. 

- “Baseball,” Fargo Forum and Daily Republican, July 14, 1897.

- http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi?id=089fa5df

- http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi?id=093512be

- The Sporting News, June 27, 1896.

Steele and Zink Reunite

Teammates on the 1897 Fargo Divorcee baseball team, Fred "Jack" Steele and Bill Zink would cross paths again just three years later. Not only did the two men play on the same team, the 1900 Terre Haute Hottentots, they also lived at the same address. It was not uncommon at the time for players to board together in the same residence. The transient nature of minor league baseball players at the time meant such an arrangement make sense. The 1900 Federal Census lists Steele and Zink as being "roomers" at the residence of Albert Kohler in Bloomington, Illinois. Nine ballplayers are listed under the same Bloomington residence. Three of the men are designated as "boarders" and six as "roomers." The term boarder seems to suggest a more permanent status of residency, though at least one of the boarders played with Steele and Zink on the 1900 Hottentots. With the distance between Bloomington and Terre Haute being 140 miles, it is highly doubtful the men stayed at the Kohler residence during the summer baseball season of 1900.

See larger image here: http://historicbaseballfargo.blogspot.com/p/steele-and-zink-1900-federal-census.html