June 30, 1901 Field of the Whales Brooklyn, New York 6:00 PM Blanketed by rage and whiskey on a chilly summer evening, Marques Williams, the manager of the Brooklyn Whales, tolerated his unwanted visitor with all of the practiced grace of a hippopotamus attempting to use cutlery. At 6’4” and 220 pounds, just about the…
Germantown, Philadelphia – Christmas Eve 1902. Kirby Hocking and Martin Pitsch walked around the Christmas Market organized by the Germantown Cricket Club. It was noon, falling snow covered the streets, and the first stands closed down. After four days, most sold their goods and wanted to go home. Unlike the typical American, most German-Americans stick…
GM of the Year Voting Landon Kerr (BRK) – 25 Points Martin Pitsch (PHI) – 23 Points Doug Olmsted (SLB) – 21 Points Max Ehrlich (TCE) – 11 Points Alexander Madigan (LBL) – 5 Points Herman DeBarr (DET) – 5 Points GM of the Year Winner Landon Kerr (Brendan), BRK In 1902, Brendan managed to…
Ocie Stibbs had been throwing like this for as long as he could remember; 50 pitches a day to keep his arm strong. Unfortunately, this throwing session was mostly serving as the Whales’ backup catcher Noah Forbes’ calisthenics. Every third pitch seemed to whiz by Forbes to the backstop. For some reason, throwing wasn’t coming…
On a gray and uninspiring afternoon in Brooklyn, something extraordinary was happening. In a showing that was clearly practiced but barely choreographed, the long, lithe southpaw from the Western League fired pitch-after-pitch towards Whales’ backup catcher Noah Forbes. His delivery, all limbs and violence, was equal parts riveting and unrepeatable. The ultimate location of each…
In the second year of GM Michael Dunleavy’s regime, the Oilers improved their win total from a season ago by five games (42-56 to 47-51). They finished in a tie for last place in the Frontier Division with the Saint Louis Reds, closely following the second place Cleveland Athletics (49-49) and the first place Saint…
The Philadelphia Brewers bounced back from a subpar 1901 season and surprised the league by winning the division easily. Then, in the League Cup, the Brooklyn Whales ended the Brewers’ dream of another title since 1898. Martin Pitsch, Philadelphia Brewers GM, and Kirby Hocking, the organization’s player oracle, met to discuss the upcoming season in…
The snow has melted, the docks are teeming, good Christian boys are home with their mothers. And yet, Boston is mourning. With so few looking past the four walls of their shops, their factories, and their homes, Boston needs its heroes. Someone to look up and out to. Someone larger than life, who embodies the…
Herbert Hamilton – Boston Globe, January 3rd, 1903 As I walk into the Boston Yards around sunset, there are two people in the entire stadium waiting to greet me. Neither look up. The groundskeeper goes about his business, repairing the various frozen destructions of another middling Banshees season. And one of the top pitching prospects…
Jericho Downing, Richmond Daily NewsDECEMBER 15, 1902 After a great deal of activity in the grandstand offices above Libby Hill, General Manager Preston Kirby spoke with the Daily News this afternoon to confirm that longtime Oiler hurler Donald Henwood will join the Rifles arsenal for the 1903 campaign. Donnie is a 9-year veteran of the…