As the 1919 Legacy Baseball League season dawned, clubs and fanatics would mourn those that did not return from war, or those whose ball-playing days had to end too soon because of the injuries inflicted upon them, and they would embrace to their bosom those that returned to play again. The Providence Angels’ rooters were…
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New Ownership at the Helm at Pittsburgh. A look into John Warner.
As the Baseball season came to a close and fans and families alike await for the War in Europe to come to an end, the winds of change had blown through the Allegheny. Chester Colfax, who had been the Owner and Founder of the Pittsburgh Oilers since the Inception of the LBL in 1894 who…
The Battle of Aix-Celle
August 5, 1918 – Near Aix-Celle, France The fog rolled low and heavy over the fields, thick as sour milk and just as hard to breathe. Vizefeldwebel Alois Boeselager moved in a crouch, the leather strap of his gas mask case creaking quietly with each step. The men behind him followed in staggered pairs, hunched…
Letter from Charleroi
July 15, 1918 — Philadelphia, PA Peter Boeselager returned home and just felt tired. After his family’s faithful passage across the Atlantic Ocean, which cost the lives of his uncle Walther and his mother, he had to keep the brewery running. Gerrit De Groot wouldn’t return to the United States soon, and his father wasn’t…
Staying in Port Sunlight
May 13, 1918 — Port Sunlight, United Kingdom Soft light filtered through the lace curtains of the small, well-kept room. Outside, the model village of Port Sunlight hummed with the quiet routine of peacetime, seemingly distant from the war that had reshaped the world. Karl Boeselager poured a second cup of tea and set it…
Waking up in Liverpool
April 3, 1918 — Headache. Karl Boeselager’s head felt like someone had used it for batting practice. The pain was sharp, and he wished he could hold his head, but his arms felt heavy, stiff, and numb. For a moment, he thought he was still on the ship, adrift in a nightmare, but he felt…
1918 Preview and Odds & Ends
SEASON PREVIEW: BROOKLYN WHALES The Whales’ string of back-to-back Legacy Cups ended in 1917 when the Brooklyn franchise was quickly eliminated from the Eastern League Championship series by the ascendant New York Bakers. 81 year old manager Marques Williams will hope for a return to form from the Brooklyn team in 1918, but may face…
A Bitter Brew
March 27, 1918 — The drizzle falling over New York Harbor was the kind that soaked a man without him noticing until it was too late. Karl Boeselager stood at the railing of the SS Albany, collar turned up against the wind, watching the Statue of Liberty fade into the mist. He remembered the statue,…
U.S. Collegiate Baseball Association: Officers’ Union
The Officers’ Union The Officers’ Union is a brotherhood of martial academies where discipline meets competition. Its member institutions—West Point, the Naval Academy, The Citadel, and Norwich—are united not by region or sentiment, but by code. Their athletes march before they warm up, salute before they shake hands, and understand instinctively that the field is…
War Robs LBL of Major Talent
The war draft was hard on teams and fans of baseball. The LBL saw a massive chunk of its top talent leave for overseas to fight for the freedom to play this beautiful game, and we hope they all come back to entertain the American people soon. The loss of players will test both the…