In 1908, Madigan Hall had agreed to end its conservatorship of the Whales and grant control of the franchise to a local businessman named George Bromwich. Bromwich, as much a dreamer as an empire builder, saw an opportunity with the Whales. A firm believer in never paying full price, he saw an opportunity to buy…
May 1, 1911 – by Ronald Schmidt Philadelphia is worried. Things are not going according to plan. The self-declared goal at the beginning of the season was to rebuild and strengthen efforts to lower the average age of the organization. The Philadelphia Brewers are now fighting for a qualifying spot in the postseason. Just before…
“We may have been meager for my first year as team Manager, but just you wait until the next, we’re gonna surprise everybody” was what New General Manager Tyler Saylor of the Pittsburgh Oilers said after the end of his first season after the Pittsburgh Oilers finished with a respectable 66-54 record last year in…
TO: Dr. Robert J. Matthews (Robert.j.Matthews@ABS.gov) FROM: Anthony R. Perry (Perry.a@UVA.com) Bob, Thank you for the expedient reply. Nothing quite compares to sharing memories of baseball with an old friend. Researching that 1910 Legacy Cup, I can’t help but feel that those must have been some of the very best days for a Richmond Rifles…
A STUDY IN SCARLET: THE 1910 LEGACY CUP PART II TO: Anthony R. Perry (Perry.A@UVA.com)FROM: Dr. Robert J. Matthews (Robert.j.Matthews@ABS.gov) Tony, What a joy to hear from an old cobble-stumbler from UVA. Annie sends her best, of course, and is particularly curious about what the illustrious old professor has been up to at our beloved…
A STUDY IN SCARLET: THE 1910 LEGACY CUP PROLOGUE TO: Dr. Robert J. Matthews (Robert.j.Matthews@ABS.gov)FROM: Anthony R. Perry (Perry.a@UVA.com) My dear friend Robert, I hope Manhattan in the fall is keeping you well—downtown Richmond is nearly unrecognizable from our college days. I’ve thought often of the Poe Museum and our exploits in Carytown. What a…
The sea was calm for once. The Atlantic Ocean was rough, the waves shaking the cruiser around like a child trying to get sounds from a rattle in the past days. But today, the sails moved gently with the wind. Passengers walked on the deck, chatted, or just enjoyed the view and fresh air. Who…
The Red Rebels of Richmond dealt a fatal blow to their oldest cross-division rival, the Brooklyn Whales, in an exciting five-game series that concluded in late-inning heroics by a relatively unknown pinch hitter. When Rifles pinch hitter Okey Sibthorp approached the plate in the top of the ninth inning on August 31st, his name was…
It was a quiet afternoon in the office of the new General Manager of the Pittsburgh Oilers, inside the office was the desk where the General Manager, Mr. Saylor sat. To the left of him was some shelf of what looked to be old memorabilia some items of note on that shelf were a white…
Sometimes, you have to take the long way to get back home. Two local boys who won a high school state championship in the shadow of the Field of the Whales will get the opportunity to live out their dream and play for the local pro club. The first is a clairvoyant wizard with the…