A Shared History

HistoryA SHAREDHistory

From the Trojans to the Giants, Welcome Home

A Shared History A Shared History2

From the Desk oF the mayor

An IntegrAl pArt of AmerIcA’s pAstIme

Photo courtesy of rensselaer county historical society

A large, standing-room-only crowd – some arrived by wagon to provide their own seat – converge on Haymakers Field to watch the Troy Nine take on a visitor during the 1870 season.

Harry TuTunjian

It is only fitting that the history of America’s National Pastime – as baseball is known – is integrally linked to the Home of Uncle Sam. Throughout Troy’s well-documented

history, we can find places where baseball has left its very notable mark.

We were a city of firsts. The Troy Haymakers were the first team Latin American baseball pioneer Estaban Bellán played for when he broke a racial barrier he didn’t know existed. We are also the first home of Johnny Evers, known as much for his Hall of Fame career with the Chicago Cubs and winning two World Series, as for the poem titled “Tinkers to Evers to Chance” that anchors his fame today.

In addition, Troy was the first home of the aforementioned Haymakers that later became the New York Giants and now better known as the defending World Series Champion San Francisco Giants.

Much like Troy, the game of baseball is steeped in history but with its eye constantly looking forward. That’s why we find ourselves here today, looking forward to welcoming back to its ancestral home the trophy the San Francisco Giants won in last

year’s World Series.The World Series Trophy is an icon that will

have traveled between both coasts, to New York City, Cooperstown and Troy. The city and our residents are being shown respect

by the San Francisco Giants, who have an equal appreciation of our shared history, by giving us the opportunity to share in their accomplishment.

I encourage anyone who has an appreciation for Troy, baseball, or history to make their way to the Joe Bruno Stadium to view a trophy that we can all say is a little bit of our own, too.

In closing, we can rest happy knowing Troy is home to another first.

The Tri-City Valleycats won their first New York Penn League Championship here in Troy. They will continue our city’s baseball heritage and tradition into the future, keeping alive America’s pastime right here at home.

harry tutunjian is serving his second term as mayor for the city of troy

contentsPAge 4Troy’s BaseBall legacy

PAge 6cuTTing down PerfecTion... wiTh a Price

PAge 7BaseBalls firsT MinoriTy Player

PAge 8 one hall of a run

PAge 12 Troy’s Boy

PAge 15 a Bonehead Play

PAge 16 Michael “King” Kelly

PAge 20 locals who’ve Made iT

PAge 22 Tri-ciTy valley caTs


A SHAred HiStory A special magazine of

The Record

PubliSHerJAMES Murphy

editorLiSA robErt LEwiS

MAgAzine editorKEvin MorAn

AdvertiSing director hEAthEr G. DEForGE

Production director rAnDy pobrAn

circulAtion MAnAger JiM CoLLiEr

grAPHic deSignJ. wiChMAnn

WriterSED wEAvErChriS Fitz GErALDbriEn bouyEAbiLL pASSonnoriCh FyLEKEvin MorAn

PHotogrAPHyMiKE McMAhonJ.S. CArrASbASEbALL hALL oF FAMErEnSSELAEr County hiStoriAL SoCiEty

501 broAdWAytroy, neW yorK 12180PHone: (518) 270-1200

FAX: (518) 270-1202

Be Sure to follow the record’S coverage of the world SerieS

trophy at Bruno Stadium in print and online at

www.troyrecord.com

FRom The SpoRTS DeSk

Kevin MoranSportS editor

Kevin MoranSports editor

What started out 11 years ago as a plan to get Major League Baseball to acknowledge the city of Troy — one of

its original and honorary members of the National League — for its contributions to America’s Pastime comes full circle tonight at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium.

The many contributions can be found in this magazine, which includes stories written over the course of almost a dozen years.

The 2010 world-champion San Francisco Giants will allow a viewing of the World Series Trophy it won in November. The Giants bring the trophy to the city of Troy, where the franchise first competed in 1879. The team, then know as the Troy City Trojans, competed in the Collar City for four seasons before being illegally removed from the league. The team migrated south for the 1883 season to New York City, where it first competed as the Gothams and later became known as the Giants — because of the size of the large players from Troy.

The story of how Troy lost its National League franchise has been well documented through the years in The Record, which set out in 2000 — with the arrival of a brand new baseball stadium on the Hudson Valley Community College campus and a NY-Penn League franchise, the Tri-City ValleyCats — to get the National League to make good on its written promise of returning to the Collar City to play an exhibition game each season.

Exhibition games were one of the concessions Troy representative A.L. Hotchkins ascertained when team owners illegally removed Troy and Worcester, Mass., from the National League on a December evening in 1882. Troy and Worcester’s removal from the National League was illegal at the time because league charter stated only teams that failed to complete their schedule could be removed from the league. Troy and Worcester always complied with National League Charter.

The National League never returned to Troy for the exhibition games. For decades, the city of Troy never extended an invitation. That changed in 2000, when Bruno Stadium, a 5,000-seat facility, was built on the HVCC campus.

That same year The Record petitioned Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig to play an exhibition game at Bruno Stadium. The Commish said he would look

into the matter on several occasions, but again, an exhibition game was never scheduled in Troy.

When the final out of the 2010 World Series concluded, the plan went in motion to get the

Giants to return to their original home.The Record launched an on-line petition

to get the Giants to bring the World Series trophy to Troy. The Record’s digital editor, Tom Caprood, did an exception job pushing a column I had written and the open petition all over the internet through social media. The Associated Press picked up the story. More than 300 sites, including the Huffington Post, linked to the petition. Talk radio shows in San Francisco and the Capital District called for interviews. YNN and Fox 23 aired segments to bring attention to our efforts. Thousands of baseball fans from all over the country either signed the on-line petition or filled out the petition printed in The Record. The petition was presented to the Giants in December.

The Tri-City ValleyCats made it a collaborative effort when team owner, Bill Gladstone, and general manager, Rick Murphy, used their contacts to approach the Giants about a possible trophy viewing in Troy. The Giants agreed and added the Collar City to its World Series Trophy tour, which included stops in Stockton, Calif., Scottsdale, Ariz., New York City, Troy and Cooperstown.

The city of Troy has waited more than 100 years for this day. Make your way to the ballpark, grab a hot dog and have your picture taken with the World Series Trophy. Show representatives of the San Francisco Giants there is no place like home.

Welcome home. It feels good, doesn’t It?


The history of baseball in Troy is extremely rich, but what many don’t realize is the impact the Collar City has had on the game, beginning with the Lansingburgh Unions, who later

became the famous Haymakers.The history of professional baseball in the

city of Troy has been forgotten by many, but the city’s impact on the National Pastime is undeniable.

The Collar City was home to one of the first pro organizations — the Lansingburgh Unions of the National Association in 1860.

The team organized on Aug. 15, 1860, unifying the Priam Baseball Club of Troy and the National Baseball Club of Lansingburgh. The Lansingburgh Unions became one of nine professional teams in the country.

The Civil War slowed the growth of the sport, and at one point forced the Unions to disband because of the hostilities.

When Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, Va., the growth of the sport returned. So, too, did the Unions, who reunited in 1866. The team quickly joined the National Association of Baseball Players.

The Unions fielded a team that included William Craver, Peter McKeon, Andrew McQuade, Cal Penfield, James Ward, Michael McAtee, Thomas Abrams, Steve King and Mart King, players considered pioneers

of the sport.Six members of the team — McAtee, King,

Ward, McKeon, Abrams and Craver fought in the Civil War. The vets helped the Unions win more than 90 percent of their games, most of them coming vs. the upper-echelon teams in the nation.

Several of the Unions players helped establish how the game is played today in the modern era.

Craver, a catcher, was the first to stand directly behind the batter behind the plate. Keep in mind, this was also during an era when catchers were without gloves, chest and knee protectors, as well as face masks; shin guards weren’t used until 1907. Craver was also credited with the first slide.

He was one of the game’s first innovators, but his career ended in scandal. Craver, after leaving Troy to play in the Midwest, was implicated in the Louisville Four scandal of 1877, baseball’s first recognized fix.

Gambling and bribed umpires had been a problem throughout the early years, but Craver was one of the first players implicated — some 42 years before the Chicago White Sox conspired to throw the World Series.

Louisville inexplicably lost every game on a late-season eastern road trip, allowing Boston to win the pennant. All four players, including Craver, were suspended from baseball for

life. Craver returned to Troy, eventually securing a job with the police department.

When baseball resumed nationwide in 1866, the Unions often scored more than 100 runs per game. They beat one opponent, 117-2.

In August of the same year, the Unions made their initial trip to New York City to compete against three of the top teams in the country — The Atlantics, Mutuals and Eckfords.

Troy lost its first game to the Brooklyn Atlantics, 46-11, on Aug. 9 at the Capitoline Grounds.

The following afternoon the Unions beat the New York Mutuals, 15-13, in what was considered to be the biggest shock in the sports world to date.

As the Unions were leaving the field, the Mutuals jawed at the visitors, saying they couldn’t believe they lost to a bunch of “hicks and haymakers.”

The New York squad thought nothing more of the loss than a fluke. The name Haymakers stuck with the team throughout their existence.

In a rematch of the teams on Aug. 28 in Lansingburgh, the Mutuals scored nine runs in their first at-bat. The Unions rallied for a 32-18 victory in front of 2,500 fans. The Mutuals no longer thought of the Haymakers

TROY’S BASEBALL LEGACY:

A Bunch of HicksBill PassonnoThe Record

The Lansingburgh Unions Baseball Team – later known as the Troy Haymakers because of their upset of the New York Mutuals – poses, complete with pitchforks, for a team portrait.Photo courtesy of the BaseBall hall of fame


A Bunch of Hicks

as flukes.The team lost a large part of its success

that November, when pitcher Andrew McQuade perished in a train accident. The engine struck McQuade’s carriage. He died the next day.

The following season, 1867, the Haymakers beat the Hampdens of Springfield four times and the Unions of Morrissania — who were considered to be the national champions at the time.

In October, the Haymakers hosted their own tournament — the Rensselaer Park Tournament — and placed second.

The Haymakers hit .308, fourth-best in the offensive-minded league. Their leading home run hitter was right fielder Lip Pike, who finished in a three-way tie for the first home run crown with a total of four.

Left fielder Steve King paced the offense with a .396 batting average and John McMullin pitched all but one inning the entire season, compiling a 12-15 record.

The club was helped out by three forfeit wins over the Fort Wayne Kekiongas after that team folded part way through the season.

However, glory wasn’t the only thing the Unions experienced. They also endured negative issues.

The Unions were charter members of the National Association. Both the league and team had the reputation of being bought by gamblers. Umpires were allegedly bought at an alarming rate to ensure the betting cartels did well with their book.

Players made between $800 and $1,200 per season. Gamblers found many of them to be easy marks, offering them as much as a few hundred dollars to ensure a certain team won the game.

Jim Morrissey, an ex-congressman, was one of the Haymakers’ major sponsors. He eventually ran a national betting cartel. He also played a major role in the early development of Saratoga Race Course.

Morrissey bet heavily on the Haymakers, as much as $17,000 in an unforgettable game vs. the Cincinnati Red Stockings during the 1869 season.

The Unions played all across Rensselaer County, holding games at Rensselaer Park, Vails Lot, the old Village Green and Putnam Grounds, which today is known as Beman Park.

The Village Green played home field to the Unions in 1866-1878 and was located between the present 112th and 113th streets. In 1868, they also played home games at Rensselaer Park, a 42–acre horse park in North Troy or Batestown. The park was

referred to as the Union Grounds.All three locations were considered among

the best playing fields in the nation at the time.

The Unions also enforced bylaws and team etiquette. If the laws were broken, the team members could be subject to fines and penalties — similar to the kangaroo court run in the clubhouses by today’s major league clubs.

Offenses included: profanity at practice, 10 cents; arguing with the umpire, 10 cents; neglecting duties on the team, 10 cents; refusing the captain’s say, 25 cents; leaving a meeting, $1. If a team member committed one of these offenses, he faced possible expulsion from the team. That decision was based upon a vote of the team’s players.

The Unions also had established officers throughout their history. James McKeon, the older brother of Peter and the Sheriff of Rensselaer County, held the president’s position.

John H. Campbell was vice president; John W. Schofield and James H. Spotten were secretary and treasurer, respectively.

Before the start of the 1970 season several of the players headed west — Craver, Clipper Flynn, King and McAtee — to compete for the Chicago White Stockings. The Chicago Cubs are the direct descendent of the White Stockings.

Baseball in Troy took a year’s hiatus. Then in 1871, when baseball was finally recognized as professional — teams paid players in the past, but didn’t admit to the compensation — Troy joined the National Association of Professional Baseball Players.

This league lasted five seasons. More than 20 teams competed in this area, when it cost only $10 to secure a franchise. But only three teams lasted the duration, mainly because teams relied on gate receipts for profits. If a team did not draw well, it usually folded, and only lost a $10 franchise fee. A larger fee, giving owners more to lose, may have

resulted in stability.Troy competed in 1871 and for part of

1872 before folding.The Haymakers met Boston in its first game,

losing on Center Island in the middle of the Hudson River. When the teams met several days later in Boston, Troy won 28-14 for its first victory.

The Haymakers competed in two notable games that season. The first was played in Fort Wayne. The umpire awarded Troy a forfeit victory after the ball ripped and the Kekiongas refused to submit another.

The second resulted in the highest scoring game in professional baseball history. The Philadelphia Athletics beat Troy, 49-33. The teams combined for 74 hits and 20 errors. Each player finished with at least one hit and one run scored. Seventeen of the 18 players knocked in a run.

Ironically, the Athletics offered Troy a 9-0 forfeit victory. But Troy refused because people paid money to see a game.

Philadelphia disputed a call by umpire Edward Tighe. Several players cursed at Tighe, who walked off the field because of the profanity. Troy persuaded him to return, but then Philadelphia refused to take the field as long as Tighe was the umpire.

Troy officials then asked Samuel Holly, an official of the Niagara team who was at the game, to finish the game as the umpire. He agreed and the Athletics went on to beat Troy.

The Haymakers started the 1872 season, with nine victories in 12 games. They went from first place to nonexistent in August.

In 25 games, the club finished with a winning percentage of .600, but ultimately succumbed to the instability of the National Association. Despite a .301 team batting average and a 2.60 team ERA, the Unions did not draw many fans and folded on July 23.

Professional baseball did not return to Troy until seven years later.


In the time period the Troy Haymakers played baseball in vacant lots across Rensselaer County, gambling was as present as dirt in the infield.

In fact, throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, betting on baseball games was as common as hot dogs and crackerjacks at today’s game.

The Haymakers were associated with one of the biggest gambling schemes in baseball history.

Troy’s franchise, one of the elite teams in the country during the 1868 season, defeated the other top clubs on a regular basis.

Their success enabled them to schedule a game with the Cincinnati Red Stockings, the only professional baseball franchise. Each franchise compensated its players, but only Cincinnati openly flaunted the fact it paid its 10 players an average salary of $900.

The Red Stockings traveled all over the country, and welcomed all comers in the Midwest. A 60-game winning streak does that to a team’s confidence.

Toward the end of the 1868 season, the Haymakers played a contest against the Red Stockings. The champions of the West beat Troy, 26-8 at Rensselaer Park.

Determined to gain revenge the next

season, the Haymakers acquired William “Cherokee” Fisher, one of the hardest throwers in the nation.

On June 7, 1869, Lansingburgh’s Vail’s Lot was again the apex for the thundering herd of hitters known as the Red Stockings.

The Haymakers were described by the newspapers as having a “don’t-care-if-you-do” attitude and let the Red Stockings have their way in the early innings of the game.

The Haymakers emerged with a different approach late in the game, entering the bottom of the ninth inning trailing 32-30.

Catcher William Craver had a chance to tie or win the game for the Haymakers, but he fouled out to end the game, stranding two runners on base.

As the summer progressed, the Haymakers won more. They easily handled the best college club on the Eastern Coast, the Harvards.

Yet, the Haymakers remained bitter over their two losses to Cincinnati. Still, they would get another chance to beat them later in the season. Since losing to Cincinnati, the Haymakers dropped only two other games.

During the Haymakers’ western tour towards the end of August, when they won eight games, lost two and tied one, they

defeated teams easily by scores of 34-21 (Cleveland) and 44-20 (Mansfield, Ohio).

These two contests were in preparation for a return match with their nemesis Red Stockings. A three-game series was set for Cincinnati, Aug. 26-28.

The Red Stockings had won every game they played in the 1869 season, including a victory over the Haymakers in Lansingburgh.

But, the Cincinnati papers warned the club to beware of a rough game from the Haymakers, who had given the Red Stockings a close call only two months before.

The Red Stockings heeded the advice and decided to have the game fixed against what they believed was their stiffest challenge to date.

While touring the streets of Cincinnati the day prior to their match up against the Red Stockings, the Haymakers heard shocking sums of money were bet in favor of the Red Stockings. Cincinnati was listed as a 2-to-1 favorite. Haymakers fans who attended the game bet whatever money they could afford in an attempt to double their cash.

The Haymakers knew gambling was present in games, but had no idea they’d be the victims of a fixed game to start the series.

The Troy team arrived in top condition, every player healthy and ready to take another crack at the champions from the West.

Game conditions were perfect, drawing trains full to capacity from around the area. More than 10,000 attended to see if the Red Stockings could remain unbeaten.

The Haymakers took the field at 2:30 p.m. and were met with some applause from the Cincinnati crowd.

Approximately 1,000 people gathered on the streets of downtown Troy to hear inning-by-inning wireless dispatches at the stores of Col. Egolf and Tom O’Brien.

The Red Stockings proposed W.R. Brockway of the Buckeye club as umpire, and the Haymakers thinking he was an honest man, accepted his services for the afternoon.

The Haymakers used Bearman (to this date, after years of research, no one has found a first name for this player) as starting pitcher, instead of Fisher.

Bearman using his slow delivery, sent down in the Red Stockings in order. The phrase used today “mowed down in 1-2-3 order” was derived from Bearman recording three consecutive outs.

Cutting Dow n PerfeCtionBill PassonnoThe Record

Photo courtesy of the rensselaer co. historical society


During Troy’s half of the inning, the Haymakers scored six runs.

In the second inning, the Red Stockings tagged Bearman for six runs and Fisher relieved him.

Cincinnati’s Harry Wright attempted to steal second and Fisher tagged him out, some 10 feet from the base. But to the chagrin of the Haymakers, Brockway declared Wright safe.

It was now evident that Brockway was the “10th man” for the Cincinnati nine.

The Red Stockings tallied four more until the first actual out of the inning was made.

In the midst of the corrupt calling, the Haymakers continued to play and pounded the Red Stockings’ pitcher for six more runs to take a 13-10 lead.

In the next two innings, the Red Stockings managed only three runs and the score remained tied, 13-13.

Each team plated four runs in the fifth inning, with Troy’s Steve King crushing a home run into left field.

However, the bias remained and Brockway ensured that every close decision went in favor of the Red Stockings. The Haymakers demanded a new umpire, but were refused.

Cincinnati’s Cal McVey led off the sixth inning and struck a foul ball which was apparently caught by Craver before it reached the ground. Brockway, looking the other way, decided it was not caught.

After the bogus call, Fisher stormed off the mound and advanced toward the unbiased umpire, only to be restrained by teammates. Haymakers President James McKeon, who was also the sheriff of Rensselaer County at the time, ordered his team to “pack up their bats” and leave the field.

As the Haymakers were leaving the field, the Cincinnati crowd began cursing the visitors for not continuing the game. McKeon cured back at the crowd as he was leaving the field.

Brockway then stood up on his chair and announced, “I declare this game in favor of Cincinnati because of Unions of Lansingburgh refuse to continue it!”

This decision drew loud applause from the crowd who tried to attack the Haymaker team as it left the field.

The Cincinnati newspapers called the Haymakers “low and vile persons” and that their protest was a “transparent trick.”

While the Haymakers left the field with a tie to save their backers from large potential losses, it was generally agreed that Brockway wanted to protect the bets of his Cincinnati friends at any cost.

The committee later ruled that all bets were

automatically off.In the end, the closest the 1869 Red

Stockings came to defeat was on that fateful Aug. 26 afternoon when the Haymakers came to Cincinnati and played an abbreviated five-inning 17-17 tie with the Reds.

Troy officials decided to leave in the middle of the night to avoid potential trouble.

The Haymakers were convinced they could fairly beat the Red Stockings on fair ground, but the Cincinnati team refused to play them when they visited the New York State Fair at Elmira in September.

Perhaps the fix job the Haymakers endured was foreshadowing, since another illegal motion would force Troy out of the National League some 10 years later.

Jackie Robinson, who along with Branch Rickey and the Brooklyn Dodgers, put an end to Major League Baseball’s Color barrier in 1947.

Almost 80 year earlier, Esteban Bellan and the Troy Haymakers paved the way for Latino standouts, such as Roberto Clemente, Juan Marichal, Orlando Cepeda, Pedro Martinez and Sammy Sosa, to play in the big leagues.

Bellan played third base for the Haymakers from 1869 to 1873. He’s the first Latino player to compete in the major leagues, playing in the National Association of Professional Players.

Major League Baseball does not recorgnize the National Association as pro ball, so in most cases, Bellan does not get the credit he deserves. Instead, Major League Baseball recognizes the start of professional baseball with the advent of the National League in 1876.

There’s no disputing the “Cuban Sylph” played for the Haymakers. He’s included in several team portraits. Stats are almost non-existent for Bellan, as is the case for most National Association players. He was known as Steve Bellan while

competing for the Haymakers.American sailors and

Merchant Marines introduced the game of baseball to the Caribbean and Latin America in the mid-to-late 1800s. Bellan first picked up the game in his native Cuba, where United States sailors helped construct the first baseball field.

Bellan attended Fordham University in New York from 1863 to 1869. The Bronx school competed vs. St. Francis Xavier in 1959, the first college baseball game.

Bellan, after graduation, traveled Upstate to compete for the Haymakers. He returned to Cuba four years later to organize the first baseball team in Havana. The first organized baseball game played in Cuba happened in December of 1874. Bellan’s Havana squad beat Matanzas, 51-9.

Bellan also played a major role in building the Havana Baseball Academy, which exists today. The academy has enabled Cuba to dominate the amateur game of baseball for decades, winning three golds and two silver medals since baseball became an Olympic sport in 1992. The Cubans have also won one silver and 17 gold medals in the Pan-Am Games. The tiny island’s national team is ranked No. 1 in the world by the IBAF.

Long before Jackie robinson, there was esteban bellan:

BaseBalls first minority player


Kevin MoranThe Record

One Hall Of a run

Collectively, the Troy City Trojans baseball team did little to endear itself to the National League. The city of Troy’s National League franchise —

yes, it’s the same National League that exists today — was financially strapped from the beginning, and never produced a winning record.

In four seasons — 1879-1882 — the team never finished better than fourth. The closest it came to first place was 1881, when the Trojans finished fifth, 17 games behind first-place Chicago. They’re overall record stands at 134-191, a .412 winning percentage. The Trojans never competed in a postseason game. Records debate how well the city of Troy supported its team. Some state the Trojans averaged as many as 2,000 fans per game during their tenure. Others state attendance continued to dwindle, to as few as 350 to 400, because fans couldn’t afford the $20 season ticket or the hefty league-mandated 50¢ per game. Others simply didn’t want to spend money on a second-tier team.

What is known is that for the final game of the 1881 season, with first-place and defending champion Chicago in town, 12 Troy fans sat through a driving rainstorm. To this date, those 12 fans stand as the National League’s all-time low attendance.

Despite Troy’s problems — mainly finances and poor fielding in an era of no gloves — the Trojans hold the distinction of dressing some of the game’s all-time best.

In a two-year span, five eventual Hall-of-Famers competed for Troy. They were first basemen Dan Brouthers and Roger Connor, pitchers Tim Keefe and Mickey Welch and catcher Buck Ewing. Connor, Ewing, Welch and Keefe broke in during the 1880 season.

Can any other team claim that type of success? Which major-league club can say it produced five Hall-of-Famers in a two-year span, or broke in four during the same season?

The New York Yankees’ teams of the 1920s, with Lou Gehrig and Murderer’s Row, can make that claim. So, too, could the Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, White Ford Yankees of the 1950s-60s. Perhaps even the Connie Mack-managed Philadelphia Athletics from 1909 to 1912 can match that type of talent.

The differences are those Yankees teams are the most celebrated in major-league history, and deservedly so, with 26 World Series championships. Connie Mack and his franchise is revered in baseball history.

For the Troy franchise, however, there’s just a monument at Knickerbacker Park in Lansingburgh, several reports written and stored in the Hall of Fame Research Center in Cooperstown and a folder on the hometown team at the Rensselaer County Historical Society.

The Baseball Encyclopedia has a listing of all the former Troy players. Five plaques in that hallowed hall in Cooperstown state five players started their major-league careers playing for the Troy City Trojans.

That’s it. Nothing else. It’s as if the National League wants no

part of Troy. Perhaps the National League is ashamed of itself, and rightfully so. Maybe the National League knows the injustice it did to Troy in 1882, when it illegally removed the Trojans from the league.

Documents from league meetings state Troy resigned from the National League. That’s incorrect. Six of the senior circuit’s eight members illegally voted Troy and Worcester from the league. Six owners strong-armed Troy and Worcester into resigning, the only way such a move could be deemed legal.

There were no grounds for dismissal for either franchise, other than the National League wanted to move into the nation’s largest cities at that time, New York and Philadelphia. Both teams struggled financially, but there wasn’t a stipulation in the National League charter stating teams could be removed for that reason.

The only reason a team could be removed from the league was if it failed to complete its schedule. That was never the case. The Trojans

played as many games as any of the other seven NL franchises.

A rival league emerged and sold beer and whiskey at its games to draw fans away from the National League. The Senior Circuit at the time was a dry league — meaning alcohol was not served as its games. The NL, in an effort to combat the rival league and its growing attendance, stole franchises from Troy and Worcester and transplanted them to larger communities.

The Worcester Brown Stockings became the Philadelphia Phillies. The Trojans moved to New York to become the Gothams and eventually the Giants. Today the 2010 World Series Champion Giants play in state-of-the-art Pac-Bell Park in San Francisco.

For their cooperation, the National League made Troy and Worcester honorary members. That distinction still stands today. It’s nothing more than writing on a piece of paper.

But the bottom line is that Troy has a storied, albeit brief, major-league history. In those four short years, Troy produced more talent and history than the Montreal Expos, San Diego Padres, Houston Astros, Florida Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies.

None of these modern-day franchises has produced five Hall-of-Fame players. All of them have been around longer than the Troy Trojans. Yes, Troy was a major-league city, with incredible individual talent. Four seasons produced five plaques in Cooperstown. Here is their story.

1879The National League awarded Troy its

franchise, despite the city not having a population of at least 75,000 citizens, which was a league prerequisite. The Trojans, in their gray and red flannel uniforms, played like an expansion team, finishing their inaugural season 19-56, and in last place.

Horace Phillips started the season as manager, but after a 12-34 start, the team’s stockholders wanted a change. Player-manager Bob “Death to Flying Things” Ferguson replaced Phillips.


The highlight of the season was prospect Dan Brouthers. The Trojans first tried to make him a pitcher, but that failed when Brouthers allowed 35 hits over 21 innings in three appearances. He was also victimized by poor fielding when the Trojans committed 23 errors in one of his starts. The strapping 6-foot-2, 175-pounder was better suited for swinging the bat. His .275 average led the Trojans, but Troy was unhappy with his erratic fielding.

That was a touchy subject with the Trojans. They competed without gloves in the dead-ball era. A fundamentally sound infield was a must to succeed. Troy committed 370 errors its first season in the league. That explains how the Trojans lost 56 games, despite pitchers George Bradley (2.85) and Harry Salisbury posting ERAs of less than 3.00.

Brouthers made 33 errors at first base, second baseman Thorny Hawkes committed an unsightly 56 and catcher Charlie Reilley finished with 43. The Trojans sent all three players to the minors.

Troy made the right call with Hawkes and Reilley — neither player had much of a career. Brouthers was a different story. He’s the biggest mistake the Trojans ever made, with the exception of allowing itself to be thrown out of the National League.

The Trojans sent their top slugger of the 19th Century to the minor leagues, a move similar to Boston selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees for the 1920 season. The hard-hitting first baseman’s .342 batting average is the highest for anyone who played the position. Brouthers’ .518 slugging percentage is tops among anyone who competed in the majors before 1900.

Buffalo picked up Brouthers for the 1880 season. From there he launched a career that landed him in Cooperstown. Brouthers won the batting title five times (1882, ’83, ’89, ’91, ’92). He topped the league in homers in 1881 and ’86 and led the NL in RBI in 1892.

Brouthers’ best date at the plate came on Sept. 10, 1886. He cracked three home runs, a double and single to total 15 bases. He’s one of only a handful of players to this date that can claim they had six hits and six stolen bases in a game.

“Big’’ Dan Brouthers finished his career with a .343 batting average, which ranks ninth all-time in major-league history. He’s considered one of the best pure hitters to ever play the game and ranks with the likes of Ted Williams, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Rod Carew and Tony Gwynn. Some publications rank Brouthers as one of the top 50 players to ever compete in Major League Baseball.

Brouthers finished with 106 home runs, 460 doubles and 205 triples in the dead-ball era. He also totaled 1,296 RBI and 256 bases.

He’s credited for the old baseball adage “Keep your eye on the ball,” when asked for advice when it came to hitting.

Brouthers was such an accomplished hitter that, at the age of 46, he won the Hudson River League batting crown in 1904. The Giants, because of Brouthers’ longtime friendship with legendary manager John McGraw, promoted him for two games after such a stellar effort in the Class D league.

Brouthers and McGraw were Baltimore’s top players during the 1894 season. Brouthers knocked in 128 runs, but the Orioles were swept by the New York Giants in the best-of-7 Temple Cup. Brouthers, after getting the call from McGraw and the Giants, failed to get a hit in five at-bats during two games. His promotion to the majors in 1904 made him a rare four-decade player.

He finished his career just as he started, with the New York Giants, the descendants of the Trojans. Brouthers worked as a press box attendant at the Polo Grounds until passing away in 1932.

1880

The Trojans lost their off -the-field battle with the National League. But they did field an improved team. Syracuse, because of poor finances, resigned its team after the 1879 season. Troy pushed and petitioned the National League to relocate the Syracuse franchise to Albany. Team officials hoped that the long-standing rivalry between the cities would help solve Troy’s financial problems.

The National League decided against Albany. League owners did not want two franchises in such close proximity. The National League relocated the Syracuse franchise to Worcester.

On May 17, Troy was supposed to be in Providence for a scheduled make-up contest. The Grays were set for the game. People were charged admission, but the Trojans were a no-show.

Instead, the Trojans competed in a game vs. rival Albany, which although not a member of the National League, fielded a semi-pro team. The Trojans met Albany in the state capital at Riverside Park. The Trojans hoped to draw a big enough crowd to eliminate increasing debt.

Providence at first received a forfeit victory, but that was later overturned. Incensed Providence ownership then called for Troy to be removed from the league. That request was also denied.

Rumors ran rampant that Providence and Boston were so certain Troy would be banished from the league that both franchises started bargaining for Troy’s top talent. On the field, Ferguson, determined to improve the

Trojans, attempted to acquire fundamentally sound infielders. He wanted to back his talented rookie pitching staff, and he had the right plan. Pitchers “Smiling” Mickey Welch and Tim Keefe combined to pitch 679 innings. No other pitcher took the mound for the Trojans that season. Welch was the workhorse, throwing 574 innings.

The pitcher’s mound was only 45 feet, 50 inches from home plate. This duo had the full package to dominate opponents, using a delivery that either had to be sidearm or underhand — the overhand delivery was illegal until 1884.

Troy cut down on its errors and fielded a better team. What hurt the Trojans was a lack of offense. The Troy squad scored a total of 392 runs. Only two players hit more than .300, led by rookie Roger Connor’s .322 effort. Connor and Buck Ewing were the third and fourth Hall-of-Famers, joining Keefe and Welch, to launch their careers with the Trojans that season.

Connor broke in as a left-handed third baseman, but was moved to first after a separated shoulder restricted his throwing. He had a team-high 60 errors.

Ewing, voted the greatest catcher of the 19th Century, also started his career with Troy. He hit a single in his first game, but played only 13 contests before finishing with a .178 batting average. Troy played its first doubleheader during the 1880 season. There are conflicting reports as to whether it was the first ever played — Worcester and Providence played the first scheduled doubleheader during the 1882 season.

But there are published reports of Troy and Chicago hooking up for a twinbill on Sept. 2, 1880. The teams played an early afternoon game, broke for lunch, then came back for the nightcap. Although the games weren’t scheduled as a doubleheader, the teams did play two that day, with the second being a make-up of a rainout.

But the first doubleheader, or even Connor’s breakout rookie season, couldn’t overshadow Troy’s pitching staff. Welch posted a 34-30 record, with an ERA of 2.54. He ranked fourth in games started (65), victories and innings pitched. “Smiling” Mickey, who was given the name by cartoonist E.V. Munkitrick, did not possess overpowering stuff. He opted to use a sharp biting curve, a change-up and screwball, later popularized by Christy Mathewson and Carl Hubbell.

His first two years with Troy he completed all of his 104 starts. His first year with the Giants, Welch pitched more than 400 innings. Before signing in 1894 he insisted his contract contain a clause stipulating he could pitch more frequently than every other day. Welch completed 62 of 65 starts in 1884, striking out


a league-high 349 batters. During the 1885 season, Welch won 17

consecutive games. His streak lasted from July 18 to Sept. 4, when on that day, while filling in for an ill Keefe, he lost to Philadelphia 3-1. His final record that season was 44-11, leading the National League in winning percentage.

When asked to what he attributed his success during the 1885 season, Welch responded, “To drinking beer.” Welch finished with an all-time record of 308-209. His ERA was 2.71. He won 20 or more in seven consecutive seasons, and 30 or more games four times in his 13-year career. Welch also owned a National League record by striking out nine consecutive hitters. That stood until 1970, when Tom Seaver of the New York Mets struck out 10 consecutive San Diego Padres. Welch also holds the distinction of being the first pitcher ever used as a pinch-hitter.

Keefe was 6-6 his first season with Troy. His ERA of 0.86 led the league and remains the National League record to date. He was first in fewest hits per nine innings (6.09).

Keefe also used a little chicanery. He mixed in a change of pace, the first pitcher to do so, to go along with his fastball. He’s also credited as being the first pitcher to take notes on opposing hitters. Keefe learned shorthand in case his arm broke down and he needed to change careers. He kept his notes and tendencies of opposing hitters in shorthand.

“I never saw a pitcher better than Keefe,” Welch said. “It is true that he did his greatest work at the old distance of 50 feet. But if he had been a modern pitcher at 60 feet, 6 inches, he would have had no superior. He was a master strategist who knew the weakness of every batter in the league.”

Keefe also holds the distinction of being one of the game’s first holdouts, sitting until Troy came up with a salary of $2,100 — $100 more than the league-mandated maximum. He also held the distinction of the highest-paid member of the Giants when he demanded and received $4,500 after

the 1888 season. Some thought his career was over in 1887.

That season Keefe beaned John Burdock on the temple. The Boston second baseman almost died from the injury, causing Keefe to suffer a nervous breakdown.

He returned in 1888 to dominate National League hitters. He led the league in wins (35), ERA (1.74), winning percentage (.745), strikeouts (333), fewest hits per nine innings (6.55) and shutouts (8). He completed 51 games, third-best in the league. Keefe also posted a 4-0 record in a postseason series with the American Association champ St. Louis. This series served as the predecessor to the World Series.

Keefe finished with a lifetime record of 342-225 in 14 seasons, and an ERA of 2.62. Keefe struck out 300 or more hitters three times in his career, joining fireballers Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax and Randy Johnson as the only pitchers to accomplish the feat.

He was one of the first pitchers to wear the “ace” label. He didn’t endear himself to owners, however, because of his role as an executive in the first players’ union.

He retired after the 1893 season, when he posted a 10-7 record with Philadelphia. He then applied to become an umpire. He was hired, but his tenure was brief. After several controversial calls during a game that involved the team and location where he enjoyed his greatest success, the Giants at the Polo Grounds, he was labeled a thief and a cheat. The New York fans pelted him with pebbles

and debris. Security escorted him from the facility. Later that night, Keefe telegraphed his resignation to league offices.

Only 20 pitchers won 300 or more games in their careers. Two of them started their careers

in Troy.

Keefe ranks eighth on the all-time victory list, while Welch is 18th.

1881

Things started to unravel a bit for the Trojans. Team officials had trouble making payroll — the players’ average salary was $1,500-$2,000 per player.

Attendance continued to plummet. There were rumors of gambling because more people were waiting for the score via telegraph than actually attending the games.

John Morrissey, a resident of Troy who played a prominent role in the founding of Saratoga Race Course, supposedly had a heavy interest in the team. And, as the story is told, the well-known gambler wasn’t that big of a fan of the Trojans. He viewed the game as nothing more than something from which to make a profit, by either betting for or against the hometown team. On the field, Troy hoped to improve with the same philosophy, strong pitching and defense.

Welch and Keefe again pitched every inning for the Trojans. They were as dominant as the preceding season, but errors once again cost the Trojans.

Troy finished 17 games — the closest it had ever come to first place — behind Chicago.

President James Garfield was shot in July. He clung to life for months in the White House because surgeons could not extract the bullet. He eventually passed away because of the wound inflicted by an assassin.

Troy played on the day of his burial. The team drew the ire of newspaper editorials from across the country. The Chicago Tribune actually stopped covering baseball for several weeks because of the incident.

Connor emerged as Troy’s offensive force. He again led the Trojans in hitting (.292) and stole 51 bases. He gained most of the notoriety among Troy’s everyday players, which caused a rift among the team. What garnered Connor most of the attention came on Sept. 10. That afternoon vs. Worcester, Connor was credited

with the first grand slam in the history of the National League — 10 years after its inaugural game. His homer in the bottom of the ninth beat Worcester 8-7 in a game played at Albany’s Riverside Park.

Jealousy spread throughout the Troy quad, explaining Connor’s 51 errors at first base. Connor had the reputation of a sure-handed infielder, despite

no glove. Reports state that infielders jealous of Connor bounced balls or whipped difficult throws to the Troy first baseman.

Still, the Trojans had their


moments in 1881, mainly the success of Keefe, Welch, Connor and Ewing.

Connor was the game’s first great home-run hitter. He totaled 136 for his career during the dead-ball era. That record stood until Ruth cracked his 137th homer during the 1921 season.

Connor met his wife in Troy. His 6-foot-2 stature was extremely large for that era. Team officials sent him to one of Troy’s numerous clothing outlets in the Collar City to have a larger uniform made. There he met a seamstress, whom he later married. Between seasons he laid sewer pipe in Troy and West Troy, now known as Watervliet.

He was Troy’s top hitter the three seasons he spent with the Trojans. He’s unofficially credited with New York’s franchise being named as the Giants.

When the Troy franchise relocated to New York the team was known as the Gothams. Manager Jim Mutrie referred to the team as “My giants” in reference to Connor and others, who stood over six feet tall. Eventually the team officially adopted the name Giants.

In addition to the number of home runs he hit, Connor was also known as the first master of the tape-measure shot.

His most famous blast came one afternoon at the old New York Polo Grounds, which was located on 110th Street and Fifth Avenue. Connor’s blast sailed over the right-field fence and eventually landed on 112th Street.

Several members of the New York Stock Exchange were in attendance. So taken by the Herculean blast were they that they took up a collection for the slugger. Fans donated more than $500 and eventually presented Connor with a gold watch.

During the 1888 season, he hit a league-best 14 home runs, helping the Giants win the pennant. He also hit three in one game.

Connor retired in 1897, with a career average of .317. He ranks fifth all-time in triples with 227, bettered only by Sam Crawford, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner and Jake Beckley.

1882 Ferguson and the Trojans attempted to win

with the same philosophy as in past years, pitching and defense.

Troy’s manager moved Connor to center field to cut down on all the intentional throws in the dirt. He relied mainly on Welch and Keefe for his pitching staff.

He also moved the versatile Ewing to third base in hopes of coming up with a better defense. But again, errors cost Troy. The Troy press referred to the team as “Ferguson’s Fumblers” because of the 341 errors committed. Second baseman Fritz “Dandelion” Pfeffer led the circuit with 73 misplays.

Reports say he was given his name because of his erratic fielding. His teammates said the rookie was better at picking weeds — hence the name Dandelion — than he was at picking a hard-hit horsehide, also known as a baseball.

Later in his career, Pfeffer went on to play for the Chicago White Stockings. He became a close confidant of and late-night carouser with Troy native Mike “King” Kelly. Pfeffer’s play improved later in his career. Kelly often cited Pfeffer as the best second baseman and one of the smartest players in the league.

Finances again became a problem for the Trojans. Rumors started that teams from around the league donated money to help pay the Troy players. That wasn’t the case.

The Troy franchise paid its own players. It also spent $5,000 in preparing a new facility in West Troy — its location sits on the intersection of 19th Street and the D&H rail tracks in Watervliet.

The Trojans, again, were a non-factor in the pennant race. They finished the season 35-48, in seventh place and 19 1/2 games behind Chicago.

Ewing had his breakout season with Troy, hitting .303 and accumulating 13 triples. He spent most of the season at third base, and also played outfield and first base in his career, but without a doubt his best position was behind the plate.

When Major League Baseball announced its 19th Century team, Ewing received votes from legendary managers Connie Mack and John McGraw. Ewing is known as the 19th Century’s best catcher. He also handled most of the catching duties for the duo of Keefe and Welch, which arguably is the best 1-2 combination baseball has ever seen.

“He was a thinking man’s player,” Welch said about Ewing. Ewing was the first to master the technique of throwing out runners from the crouch. He was also the first to use a snap-throw behind the runner at first base.

“Buck could throw from any position,” wrote John B. Foster, editor of the Spalding Baseball Guide. “It was not by accident that he threw fearlessly and unswervingly when he squatted down behind the batter, but because he chose to throw that way, because he knew he could and did catch runners with the same easy skill that he would have caught them if he were standing.”

Ewing stole 336 bases, one of the leaders among catchers. In one game Ewing stole second and third base, then proclaimed to everyone in the stadium, “Now I’m stealing home,” which he did, using a hard slide.

Ewing led the league in home runs (10) in 1883 and triples (20) in 1884 while playing for the Giants. He had one final connection to

the Capital District. In 1893, the Giants traded Ewing to Cleveland for infielder George Davis, a Cohoes native. The Veterans Committee elected Davis to the Hall of Fame in 1998.

The Trojans played their final homestand — as well their final games associated with Troy — Sept. 27-29. The Trojans swept a three-game series from the Worcester Brown Stockings. Troy made a profit of $3 for the final game.

Throughout the season, rumors circulated about Troy and Worcester being removed from the league. Several publications around the country reported on the demise of both squads. Troy officials denied those rumors, and in fact, threatened legal action to remain. They had spent $5,000 on a new facility and expected to compete in 1883.

Less than three months after the final game of the 1882 season, at a meeting of the National League owners in Providence, representatives from Chicago, Providence, Boston, Buffalo, Cleveland and Detroit voted to remove Troy and Worcester from the league. The vote was 6-2 for removal, although nowhere in the National League charter did it state teams could be removed from the league.

Troy representative A.L. Hotchkin refused to hand in the team’s resignation. He again threatened legal action. When the other National League owners agreed to some concessions — making Troy an honorary member, having each member of the National League play two to four exhibition games per year in the Collar City if Troy fielded a team and giving Troy preference if it wanted to join the National League again — Hotchkin resigned the franchise.

He returned to Troy thinking the franchise could raise enough revenue from 32 exhibition games played annually against National League clubs to eventually return to the league. In reality, he was duped by six other owners.

National League teams never came to Troy for exhibition games, denying the Collar City the finances to field another team. Troy never applied for another franchise.

All that remains from the Trojans is a monument in Lansingburgh, information written in several books or preserved articles stored in folders. And yes, there are the broken promises made by six members in the National League — which are in writing.

But Troy’s contribution to America’s Pastime is significant. There are five plaques in that hallowed hall in Cooperstown to prove it.


The surly players on the Chicago Cubs roster didn’t take too kindly to a 95-pound youngster from the Collar City named Johnny Evers when he was called up to the

National League club in 1902. All Evers possessed when his contract

was purchased from Troy’s New York State League team that summer was a distinct lantern jaw and a burning desire to prove himself on the baseball diamond.

His talent? Well, the players in Chicago doubted Evers had any of that.

Evers went on to produce a Hall of Fame career that did wonders in changing that perception, but it wasn’t an easy road to glory.

Evers was universally hated by his cantankerous teammates and deemed a joke as a ballplayer at the dawn of his career.

The Cubs would not let the 21 year old ride inside of the old horse-drawn bus that took the team to and from the ballpark.

Instead, as an example of their resentment toward the youngster, Evers had to perch himself atop the roof of the bus when the team traveled.

Furthermore, when Cubs manager Frank Selee had the audacity to plug the little fella into the lineup, the team threatened to go on strike and claimed they were planning to murder Evers.

Evers was forced to wear a uniform designed for a much larger player, making his diminutive stature seem even more disproportionate.

Evers had the last laugh. He had no intentions of returning to Troy as a failure.

Born in the Collar City on July 21, 1881, Evers enjoyed a career in the majors that brought him fame, fortune and a standing as one of the fiercest baseball players in the history of the game.

Evers was bestowed with the National Pastime’s highest honor in 1946 when he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in

Cooperstown. Yes, a player from the

Collar City who stood 5 foot 9 and never played at a weight of more than 125 pounds is enshrined along with such baseball immortals as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner.

Evers was inducted into the Hall one year after another Troy legend, Mike “King” Kelly, was awarded the same honor.

Making a name for himself in the Collar City, Evers was born of Irish descent to John and Ellen Evers when Troy was a thriving industrial city with a booming economy along the Hudson River.

Evers, whose father was a Troy government clerk, graduated from St. Joseph’s Christian Brothers Teachers School in 1898. After graduation, he worked in a collar factory and played ball on the side in the city’s sandlots.

He went on to marry Ellen Fitzgibbons of Troy in 1909. The couple had two children, Helen and John Jr.

Evers honed his baseball skills by competing for some of the finest independent clubs in the area. His reputation as a no-nonsense warrior eventually earned him a spot on Troy’s New York State League team.

Lou Bacon, Evers’ manager in Troy, was enamored with his young star and recommended him to his good friend Selee in Chicago.

Bacon sent Evers to the Windy City, telling Selee that if he wanted to keep the young second baseman, he should send $200 to the Troy team. If Selee wasn’t interested in Evers, he could simply return him without any payment.

Despite the fact that Evers’ teammates had considerable disdain for him, it was a win-win scenario that proved to pay huge dividends for Selee and the Cubs.

Proving his worthIt took Evers some time to silence his many

skeptics, but he was eventually praised as one of the smartest and most determined players in the National League.

Evers combined exceptional speed, sure-handed defense and a strong throwing arm to earn himself the starting second base

Brien BouyeaThe Record

Troy’s Boy AKA Johnny Evers,

‘The Crab’


position in his first full year with the Cubs in 1903.

He teamed with Joe Tinker and Frank “Peerless Leader” Chance to form the legendary Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance double play combination that broke the backs and hearts of several National League clubs.

Evers wasn’t a Ruthian-type slugger by any means, hitting only 12 home runs in his 18-year career. However, Evers did have offensive value. He owned a respectable .270 lifetime average and posted a career-best .341 mark to go along with 63 runs batted in 1912.

Although he lacked brute strength, Evers was an exceptional contact hitter, striking out just 142 times in 6,134 at-bats.

Evers was at his best when his team needed him the most. He hit .350 in both the 1907 and 1908 World Series and a lofty .438 when he led the Boston Braves to their miracle 1914 World Series title.

Evers also proved to be an exceptional bunter, but it was his speed that served him as his best offensive attribute. He swiped 324 bases in his career with a personal best of 49 in 1906. Evers stole at least 25 bases in seven seasons.

The amazing Cubs Evers helped the Cubs win three

straight National League pennants from 1906-1908 and capture the World Series in 1907 and 1908. The 1906 club posted a 116-36 record, the best mark in the history of the majors.

The Cubs won an average of 107 games in those three seasons and took the 1906 flag by 20 games.

Evers was a leader with a huge heart, displaying his fire and baseball knowledge throughout every stage of his extraordinary baseball journey.

Besides Evers and fellow Cooperstown inductees Tinker and Chance, the Cubs had a dominant pitching staff led by Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown, who average 25 victories per season from 1906-1909.

Brown was a Hall of Famer and the ace, but Jack Pfiester, Ed Reulbach, Carl Lundgren and Orvie Overall helped make the pitching staff the deepest and most reliable in baseball.

Yes, those Cubs had it all, not to mention Selee, who was widely considered the finest manager of his time.

a True baseball mind and a fiery spiriT

In 1908, Evers’ knowledge of baseball’s rules enabled him to turn the National League pennant race around via the infamous Fred Merkle play, sparking the Cubs to their third straight pennant.

Evers observed that Merkle of the New York Giants had not touched second base on a game-winning hit that would have captured the pennant for the Giants.

Evers — as legend has it — retrieved the ball Merkle hit from a least one Giant and several fans to force Merkle out at second. The game was ruled a 1-1 tie because of darkness and the bedlam that ensued when maniacal fans spilled onto the field at the Polo Grounds.

Evers had unsuccessfully pleaded a similar case to umpires in Pittsburgh only weeks before the Merkle incident. This time, the umpires ruled in Evers’ favor.

The teams were forced to play again to decide the National League race. Evers and his mates defeated the Giants 4-2 to win the pennant by one game. They later earned

their second World Series victory in as many years.

Evers’ bedside companions on the road were baseball rule books, The Troy Times (The Record) and The Sporting News. He studied the game intensely at night while eating large amounts of candy before he fell asleep.

His extensive baseball knowledge combined with a volatile personality to make Evers a character for the ages.

Evers was regularly thrown out of games and suspended several times for fighting with opposing players and umpires. He also set off bench – clearing brawls on a number of occasions.

He was once quoted as saying, “My favorite umpire is a dead one.”

One altercation involving Evers instigated a riot in Pittsburgh in 1915.

During a confrontation with an umpire,

Evers, who was playing for the Braves at the time, wandered into the Pirates’ dugout and started to drink from the water fountain.

When the Pirates’ Fred Clarke wanted Evers removed from the dugout, Evers started throwing water at the enraged Clarke. A legendary brawl followed.

Evers and Clarke became belligerent, exchanging several blows before tumbling down the steps of the dugout. The scene got worse as both teams entered the melee and even the fans got into it by throwing objects and rushing to the field.

The police had to be called to the scene and Evers drew a three-game suspension.

Evers contemplated walking away from the game after the brawl, but changed his mind after management convinced him otherwise.

The Pittsburgh incident came only weeks after Evers claimed National League umpires were conspiring to keep his team from winning the pennant, saying “They’re only following instructions; they’ve ordered a close race.”

The National League did not pursue action against Evers for his claim once he said he was only speaking in the heat of the battle.

Despite his lack of size, Evers, who was known as “The Crab” for his behavior on the diamond, never backed down from a confrontation, no matter how big his opponent was.

riCh and famous Evers was making just $60 a

month while playing ball in Troy and only $100 a month in his early days in Chicago.

However, Evers went on to become one of the highest paid players of his era, but it didn’t happen as soon as it could have.

The Federal League was a short-lived venture that attempted to compete with the National and American leagues in 1914 and 1915. The upstart circuit tried to coach established players to join up with the promises of lucrative contracts.

When Tinker jumped to the Federal league in 1914, Evers had the opportunity to join the “outlaw” league, too.

Charles Weeghman, one of the financial supporters of the Federal League, met Evers in New York in 1914 and offered him a $15,000 annual salary and a $30,000 signing bonus.

To the surprise of many, Evers turned down the big money. It seemed too good to him to be true — and it was.

The Federal League lasted only two


seasons and many of the player contracts were never honored by management because of the league’s financial hardship.

However, the Federal League offer proved to be a good thing for Evers. He used the bargaining leverage to negotiate a $10,000 yearly salary with the Braves, placing him among the highest paid players in the sport.

The ‘Miracle Braves’After several disputes with Cubs ownership,

Evers was shipped to the Boston Braves in 1914. His legend grew as he helped guide the club to one of the most improbable seasons in baseball history.

The Braves were languishing in the National League cellar for much of the season, but thanks in large part to Evers’ leadership and never-say-die attitude, the team suddenly found its stride and shocked the world by sweeping Connie Mack’s mighty Philadelphia Athletics in the World Series.

Evers hit a robust .438 in the Fall Classic and was honored by the National League with the Chalmers Award (equivalent to today’s MVP honor) for his outstanding season.

Evers was reaping the financial benefits with the Braves. When the club assumed Evers’ contract it also handed him a $20,000 bonus for agreeing to come to Beantown.

By collecting even more bonuses for his team’s championship campaign, Evers made

roughly $35,000 for the season, giving him the designation of baseball’s highest paid player at the time. In comparison, Cobb, widely regarded as the greatest hitter of his or any era, made just $17,500 that season.

Evers spent a portion of the money on a lavish home in the Collar City and invested the rest of it.

afTer The gloryWhen the bulk of his playing days

concluded in 1917, Evers went on to manage in the majors and in the Capital District.

He later made token playing appearances for the White Sox and Braves when he was coaching.

Evers piloted the Cubs in 1921 after previously serving the team as player/manager in 1913. He also guided the White Sox in 1924, but that marked the end of his big league managerial days.

Evers also coached with the Giants (1920) and White Sox (1922-1923) and scouted for the Braves (1933-1934)

He returned home to Troy and coached the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute baseball team in 1931. Although Evers spent only one year at RPI before returning to scout for the Braves, he came back to the Capital District in 1935 as the manager of Albany’s International League team.

Evers regularly attended the World Series in the 1930s. He was in Chicago when the

Cubs played the New York Yankees in 1938. Unknown to Evers, he was going to be reunited with Tinker, his old teammate — who he had not seen in years — on a radio broadcast.

The two immediately embraced and started spinning tales of their legendary days with the Cubs.

“Both of us could hardly keep from crying,” Evers said.

In 1939, Evers served as vice president and general manager for Albany’s Eastern League Entry. He also owned his own sporting goods store on Central Avenue in Albany and was superintendent of Bleecker Stadium.

However, Evers health was deteriorating at this time. He suffered a stroke in 1942 and was partially paralyzed the last five years of his life. Another stroke two years later confined him to his room for

much of his time and affected his voice.Late in life, Evers showed enough physical

improvement to be able to talk with his friends, especially his cronies from Albany Lodge 49 of the Elks, about his glory days as one of baseball’s greatest gladiators.

He had also recovered sufficiently enough to travel to Cooperstown in 1946 to be inducted into the hallowed Hall of Fame with Tinker and Chance.

Evers died less than a year later at the age of 65 at St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany on March 28, 1947. He is buried in a modest plot at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Troy and is also recognized on a baseball heritage monument in Knickerbacker Park.

“The untimely passing of Johnny Evers will sadden every American who loves competitive sports,” New York Gov. Thomas E. Dewey said when Evers died. “As a member of the immortal Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance combination, he was one of the greatest infielders of all time. More than one generation of Americans will join in mourning his loss.”

leaving Behind a legacyFrom being a part of the most famous

double-play combination in baseball history to his role in one of the game’s most infamous plays, Evers earned himself a cozy spot in baseball lore and the right to have his plaque alongside the rest of baseball’s legends.

He was immortalized in a poem titled “Baseball’s Sad Lexicon,” written by Franklin P. Adams. Only “Casey at the Bat” is a more recognized verse of baseball poetry.

It follows:

“These are the saddest of possible words Tinker to evers to chance.

Trio of Bear cubs and fleeter than birdsThoughtlessly pricking our gonfalon

bubble,Making a giant hit into a double,

Words that are weighty with nothing but trouble

Tinker to evers to chance.”

Many baseball teams of that era experienced heartbreaking pain thanks to his dynamic trio and can identify with the author’s frustration of seeing this well-oiled double-play machine at its finest.

Johnny Evers is long gone, but his place in baseball history is assured and will never be forgotten.

Not bad for a little squirt from Troy.


It is rare that a single play during a baseball game could decide the fate of an entire season and still be a debated topic of conversation almost 100 years later.

However, one legendary occurrence that did indeed determine a club’s playoff fortunes was the infamous Fred Merkle Bonehead incident during a one-game playoff to decide the National League championship in 1908.

The Chicago Cubs and New York Giants ended the season with 98-85 records and needed a playoff at the Polo Grounds in New York to decide who was going to the World Series.

Merkle, a 19-year-old, second-year player, was playing for the Giants — the former Troy Haymakers and present day San Francisco Giants of the National League — against the Cubs on Sept. 23.

The score was tied 1-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning with Harry McCormick on third base and Merkle on first, and two outs.

In the batter’s box stood Al Bridwell with a chance to drive in the game-winning run and send the Giants into the World Series.

What transpired next would live forever in baseball lore.

Bridwell smacked a line drive just over the pitcher’s head into center field, scoring McCormick and winning the game for New York.

However, Merkle only ran halfway to second, and seeing McCormick cross the plate, turned off the base path and toward the clubhouse in right field — to avoid the fans who had stormed onto the field after the winning run had scored — before he touched second base.

Two members of the Cubs observed that Merkle had never reached second base, which kept the force play open.

The two players, Troy native and Hall of Fame second baseman Johnny Evers and shortstop Joe Tinker, yelled to center fielder

Artie Hoffman to throw the ball in. As Evers was standing at second base

waiting for the ball, Tinker retrieved base umpire Hank O’Day to get him to make the out call.

Joe “Iron Man” McGinnity, who was coaching at first base for the Giants, knew the out call was about to happen.

McGinnity then ran onto the field, grabbed the ball and tried to throw it into the stands and off of the playing field.

Jake Pfister, the Cubs pitcher, grabbed McGinnity’s arm and caused him to throw the ball toward third base. Meanwhile, fans continued to flood the infield.

Harry Steinfield, the third baseman for Chicago, advanced for the ball, but a fan picked it up before he got to it.

In the meantime, New York players motioned for Merkle to get back to second base. As Merkle was retreating back to the infield, some Cubs players saw him and held him back.

Without the official ball, Evers collected another ball and motioned to the umpire to make the force out at second base.

When Evers tagged the sack, umpire O’Day ruled Merkle out at second base. Since order on the field could not be restored, the game was ruled a tie.

Christy Mathewson — one of the greatest pitchers of all time — assured everyone that he had grabbed Merkle by the arm and made certain he touched the base.

Matthewson even clamed that if league officials ruled against the Giants, he would

never play professional baseball again. After meeting with National League

president Harry Pulliam that night, O’Day’s out call was upheld by the league and the game entered the books as a tie.

New York newspapers grilled Merkle on his play dubbing his mistake “Merkles Bonehead Play.”

The contest was later finished on Oct. 8. the cubs won 4-2, in front of 35,000 spectators at the Polo Grounds and went on to win the pennant and the World Series —

their last one to date. Since the legendary Merkle Bonehead

Play, the rule that all base runners must reach the next base from their original position after a batter records a hit, has been strictly enforced in order to win a game.

When Evers returned to the capital region in the 1930s, he opened a sporting goods store in Albany.

The store, known as Johnny Evers Sporting Goods Company, was known for selling merchandise that Evers collected during his playing days.

One of those items was the ball that was used to call Merkle out during the fateful Sept. 23, 1908 ballgame.

The store continued to run in Albany through Evers sons and future generations — however they had no idea of the famous ball.

Several decades ago, the ball was found in a shoebox by another John, who was Evers’ great-grandnephew.

More than 80 years old, the ball still held a hand-written message “Merkle Sept. 23, 1908,” probably crafted by Johnny Evers himself.

“When I found it, I thought it was the ball, no doubt,” said John Evers, the great-grandnephew who lives in Albany and has also done extensive research on the ball and his famous relative. “All the people in the family said he brought it back to Albany and I knew that was it.”

At that time, the store was being run by Evers’ brothers. With the combination of the store falling on some hard times and memorabilia prices skyrocketing, the brothers decided to auction off the ball, along with the other memorabilia, in an effort to raise money. The ball was auctioned off to a private bidder and though the price was undisclosed, John Evers believes it was in five figures.

John Evers, unknowing of the ball’s past at the time, used the item as a paperweight for a couple of years.

“Holding the ball that was responsible for Chicago’s last World Series appearance, it’s pretty cool,” John Evers said.

Bill PassonnoThe Record

A Bonehead Play & Johnny on the Spot...


Years before Babe Ruth captured the country’s attention as the Sultan of Swat, a Troy native owned America’s Pastime.

Michael Kelly, born in 1857 in the Collar City, so captivated the sport of baseball he earned the nickname of “King.” Since that time neither Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Musial, Williams, nor Mays were anointed as royalty.

The stories and lore of 19th century baseball players are passed on from generation to generation. Myth eventually mixes in with the truth and tall tales are spun.

Such isn’t the case with Kelly, who was born on New Year’s Eve in 1857. Some say the party never ended for Kelly from the minute he took his first breath.

Kelly and his family only lived in Troy for five years. When his father, Michael, returned to the Collar City after fighting in the Civil War — he fought with the New York 165th Volunteer Regiment — he immediately moved his family to Washington, D.C. The eldest Kelly secured a federal job in the nation’s capital.

When Kelly’s father passed away the family moved to Paterson, N.J., where Kelly learned the game of baseball on the sandlots.

Kelly kicked around with the semi-pro teams. He actually caught on with the Cincinnati Red Stockings in the late 1870’s, but this squad was no longer the champion of the West. In fact, the franchise had become a joke.

But that didn’t stop Kelly from embarking on a Hall of Fame career.

He’s credited with being one of the game’s earliest innovators, as well as one of its first rule breakers.

• Kelly didn’t invent the slide. That innovation of the game belonged to William Craver, who played for the Troy Haymakers. Kelly altered that aspect of the game, being the first to use the hook slide.

• Kelly is credited as the first outfielder to back up his infielders.

Kevin MoranThe Record

The First Mighty King


• Kelly was the first right fielder to take a line drive on a bounce and fire to first base in time to take away a hit.

• Kelly was the first catcher to set up signals with his pitcher, and to signal the fielders what the pitcher would throw next.

• Kelly and Cap Anson were the first to use the hit-and-run play. The original Baltimore Orioles are normally credited with this, but research proves they only perfected this aspect of the game.

• Kelly is credited as the innovator of having pitchers and infielders back up bases to guard against overthrows.

• Kelly was the first catcher to drop or throw the birdcage catcher’s mask in the basepath of a runner in an attempt to trip him. Certainly not a flattering attribute, but it’s documented that Kelly helped win a game or two using this strategy.

• Kelly was credited as the first player stalked by fans for an autograph.

Before his 16-year career was over, Kelly won two batting titles, four National League pennants while competing for the powerful Chicago White Stockings in the first days of the National League, took part in one of the first player strikes and set the world of baseball on its ear when he was sold for the unheard of sum of $10,000— making him the “$10,000 Dollar Beauty.”

No wonder the first hit song for Thomas Edison’s new phonograph invention was called “Slide, Kelly, Slide,” in honor of the talented catcher/right fielder.

Kelly was the most talented player of his era, as well as the most flamboyant. That’s how he caught the eye of Anson, the feisty player/manager of the Chicago club.

Anson was a known disciplinarian. He set team curfews and took a no-nonsense approach to the game. That’s why his relationship with Kelly is so intriguing.

Kelly had a reputation as a ladies man. He liked to carouse all night with a female on each arm. He disdained curfew and rarely followed them, partying so hard he may have made Mickey Mantle blush.

Kelly’s dashing good looks and a handle bar mustache — some 90 years before Rollie Fingers bought his first tube of mustache wax — made him a target of females in any city

he visited.The Chicago manager wanted to stock his

team with the best players. In Kelly’s case, he was willing to look the other way when it came to the off-the-field antics.

Perhaps it was the way Kelly played the game. He invented the hook slide, and when it looked like that innovation wouldn’t work, Kelly used both spikes in an opponent’s arm or chest to dislodge the ball.

Years later, Ty Cobb applied similar traits. He was known as one of the most miserable human beings to play the game. When Kelly spiked an opponent, it only endeared him to his fans.

Kelly first caught the attention of Anson during the 1879 season. Cincinnati and Chicago were competing in a National League game. Kelly, competing for the Red Stockings, smacked the ball to left field. He attempted to stretch a single into a double. The ball reached second before Kelly, but he was called safe.

An argument ensued, and while the Chicago squad argued with the umpire, Kelly took off for third and made it all the way home to score a run. The following season, Kelly played as a member of Anson’s

White Stockings.This is where Kelly started to build his

national reputation. During this era, the game was played with one umpire. Whenever Kelly had the opportunity, he’d head from second to home on a single or a ground ball to the infield. Kelly had a knack for cutting third base 15 to 20 feet short. More often than not he succeeded because the umpire’s attention was directed to first base.

Anson and Kelly made almost an unbeatable pair when in Chicago. They teamed together for seven seasons, capturing the National League pennant four times.

Kelly won the batting championship in 1884 (.354) and 1886 (.388) with the White Sox. He drew fans from all over the country with his base-running antics.

Wherever the White Stockings — today’s Chicago Cubs are direct descendents of this team — competed, whether it was Providence, Cleveland, Kelly’s hometown of Troy, Worcester, Mass., Boston, Buffalo or Cincinnati, they played to sold-out venues.

“As a drawing card, Kelly was the greatest

of his time,” Baseball historian Maclean Kennedy wrote. “Fandom around the circuit always welcomed the Chicago team, with the great Anson and his lieutenant, King Kelly.”

Kelly was dangerous on the basepaths. He never strode far off the base. He never attempted to distract the pitcher. Instead, he lowered his head and used his speed. Once he took off, the crowd was famous for screaming “Slide, Kelly, Slide.” More often than not, after Kelly used the hook slide he innovated when the dust cleared, Kelly was safe. The National League does not have a stolen base total for Kelly from 1878 to 1886. He did steal 315 bases his final seven season in the league (1887-1893).

Kelly’s antics on the field certainly drew its share of admirers. So, too, did his talent. Sadly, Kelly is most often remembered for his antics, rather than his talent.

“There was no trick in baseball that Kelly didn’t know,” Kennedy added. “Yet, there was never a more brilliant player. Colorful beyond description, he was the light and life of the game.”

“King” Kelly always pulled off tricks. It wasn’t necessary for him to do these stunts, for he possessed excellence to such an extent that he didn’t have to resort to trick play, but he liked that part of the game.”

Kelly’s abilities left a lasting impression with legendary New York Giants manager John McGraw. Before he became a Hall of Fame manager, McGraw competed for one season vs. Kelly.

“The greatest play for the standpoint of quick thinking that I have ever seen was one made by King Kelly,” McGraw said.

McGraw witnessed a game in which Kelly was catching. Kelly’s team held a one-run lead in the ninth inning and needed one out to record the victory.

A walk and an error put the tying runner on second base. The next batter cracked a single through the right side. The outfielder’s throw was to Kelly’s left, toward the third base line. Kelly dropped his glove, caught the bouncing ball with his bare hand. He swung around to tag out the runner with one hand, in an era when two hands were needed to catch the ball.

“I’ve seen many great plays in all my time in baseball,” McGraw said. “That one always stood out as the headiest one of them all.”

Kelly continued to party and play hard. His nightlife antics after the game started to


affect his skills. There’s published reports that Kelly missed games because of hangovers. He was also seen taking shots of whiskey behind the bench during a game.

When asked if he ever consumed alcohol during competition, Kelly said, “It all depends on how long the game is.”

Kelly never turned down a beer, or his favorite, a shot of Irish whiskey. Team officials hired security to follow Kelly during the season. The team fined Kelly $250 in 1885 for incessantly missing curfew. A story in July ran in the Chicago papers stating Kelly was fined the hefty sum for consuming lemonade at 3 a.m. Kelly refuted the published report.

“I have to offer only one amendment,” Kelly said. “In that place where the detective reports me taking a lemonade at 3 a.m., he’s off. I never drank a lemonade at that hour in my life! It was straight whiskey!”

Anson grew tired of dealing with Kelly’s shenanigans. He pushed Chicago officials to trade Kelly, using the Irishman’s taste for the bottle as an excuse.

“Kelly was a whole-souled, genial fellow with a host of friends, and but one enemy, that one being himself,” Anson said. “Time and again I have heard him say that he would never be broke, but money slipped through Mike’s fingers as water slips through the meshes of a fisherman’s net, and he was as fond of whiskey as any representative of the Emerald Isle.”

Kelly’s downfall with Chicago came at the end of the 1886 season. The White Stockings won the National League pennant. The St. Louis Brown Stockings won the American Association title. The two teams met in a playoff series to determine one champion.

St. Louis shocked the White Stockings and the nation by winning the series. Kelly won the NL’s regular-season batting title that season (.388) but he hit only .208 in the series, a 5-for 24 effort.

Chicago’s loss was a major embarrassment for the National League. Chicago owner A.G. Spalding finally listened to Anson’s pleas about sending Kelly elsewhere. Spalding always looked the other way when it came to Kelly, baseball’s biggest draw. But after losing to St. Louis, Spalding was irate.

He vowed to clean up the Chicago nine,

and stated intoxication, on or off the field, would not be tolerated. Kelly sparred with team officials during the offseason and winter, mainly in the Chicago and New York press. Kelly spent the offseason in Hyde Park with his wife’s family.

Spalding called upon some friends, officials of the Boston Beaneaters. He’d been a pitcher for that team while competing in the National Association, the predecessor to the National League.

Spalding asked if Boston was interested. If so, Kelly could be bought for $10,000. A Boston representative went to Hyde Park. The deal was if Boston could sign Kelly, it could purchase him from Chicago.

If Kelly wouldn’t sign with Boston, the deal was off. The Boston franchise, eager to dress Kelly in a city known for its Irish heritage, quickly approached the game’s most famous player.

Kelly didn’t want out of Chicago as much as he wanted more money. He negotiated a deal with Boston, and agreed to play for $5,000. The salary cap for players was set at $2,000. Boston agreed to pay Kelly $3,000 to use his picture for advertising, thus the King became baseball’s first paid pitchman.

Newspaper editorials berated Kelly and the Boston franchise for the $10,000 sale. They took the stand that a baseball player should not make more income than the President of the United States. Kelly didn’t pay attention. He was the highest-paid player

in the game, something he aspired to be for years.

Kelly spent three seasons in Boston, hitting between .294 and .318. He was the toast of the town. Literally.

Thousands of Irishmen came to the ballpark everyday to see one of their own dominate a game that caught the attention of the entire nation.

In 1890, the players revolted against salaries, which resulted in the first players’ strike. They set up their own league, Brotherhood of Ball Players, using pitcher Tim Keefe, who started his career with the Troy Haymakers. Keefe served as one of the players’ first representatives.

Spalding and the rest of the owners attempted to break this league. They were losing money and desperately needed to get the best players back in the National League.

Spalding approached Kelly midways through the season. The two met in New York. Spalding counted $10,000 in cash and laid it on the table, telling Kelly the money was his if he came back to the National League.

Spalding thought if Kelly jumped leagues, so would the other players. Kelly turned down the cash, denying Spalding the chance to break the Brotherhood. “I’m broke, A.G.’ Kelly told Spalding. ‘But I cannot break my word. It wouldn’t be fair to the fellows.’”

Before the meeting ended, Kelly secured a $1,000 loan from Spalding. To this day it’s debated he ever repaid the $1,000.

The Brotherhood lasted one season. The players returned to the National League and American Association the following year, Kelly competed for Cincinnati (NL) and both Boston franchises in 1891.

His skills deteriorated from his carousing. He was overweight and out of shape. Kelly kicked around for two more seasons before calling it a career after 20 games with the New York Giants in 1893.

Kelly still lived like a King. He never walked into a saloon where he didn’t buy a round of drinks. Kelly took to vaudeville to subsidize his lust for the bottle and women. His rendition of “Casey at the Bat,” played to full houses along the East Coast.

Traveling to New York from Boston on a steamship, Kelly who was fighting a bad cold, developed pneumonia.

When admitted to a Boston hospital, orderlies dropped his gurney.

“I think, me mates, this is me last slide,” Kelly said to the medical staff.

He was correct. Kelly died the following day, on Nov. 8, 1894, some 36 years and 361 days after being born in Troy.


It’s the 1880 season, the Chicago White Stockings

find themselves in a tie game in Boston. The score is tied at 17-17. Dusk starts to turn to evening. Boston loads the bases with two outs. A hit

by the Red Caps and Boston wins the game. If Chicago can get an out, the game will be suspended and the teams will come back the following day to finish. The Boston batter cracks a long drive to right field. Mike “King“ Kelly tracks the ball into the gap. He leaps high into the air, grabs the ball with both hands and lets loose with a victorious war whoop as he starts to trot off the field.

The umpire shouts three outs and suspends the game because of darkness.

Once into the clubhouse Cap Anson and the rest of the White Stockings congratulate their teammate. One member of the team asks Kelly for the ball.

“How the hell do I know where the ball is,” Kelly said. “It went a mile over my head.”

CatChing Detroit off guarD

The White Stockings are home for a game vs. Detroit. The Wolverines have a runner on first and second base.

A Detroit hitter slaps the ball into the left-center gap. The runner on second rounds third as the Chicago outfielder retrieves the ball.

Kelly, playing catcher on this play, drops his glove and turns away from the plate, as if the ball was caught for the third out.The baserunner sees this, and slows to a trot, thinking the inning is over. Kelly then whips around to catch the incoming throw from his teammates, and slaps the tag on the unsuspected Detroit baserunner. always thinking aheaD

Kelly again uses his wit at the expense of the Detroit Wolverines.

The game is in the ninth inning with one out and the score is tied at 2-2.

Kelly beats out a bunt and moves to second when Detroit pitcher Stump Weidman walked Ed Williamson. The two successfully pull off a double steal.

Kelly slides into third, but starts screaming and clutching his arm. Williamson rushed over to help his injured teammate.

“For the love of heaven, Ed, pull my arm” then he whispered to Williamson, “Say Ed, soon as Weidman raises his arms I’m going to break for home. You sneak along with me. Then play for me and forget about you. But when I’m close, I’ll straddle my legs and you slide under.”

When play resumes Kelly breaks for the plate. Weidman flipped to the catcher Charlie Bennett, who has more than enough time to make the tag.

Before Kelly goes to the plate, he stops running, spreads his legs and Williamson slides between them for the winning run. Williamson had cut third base by 15 feet. The game’s only umpire was watching Kelly heard toward home and never saw Williamson miss third base.In today’s game Williamson would be called out for passing a teammate on the base paths— another example of Kelly’s innovation forcing the National League to amend its rule book.

Play or PayKelly’s baseball antics made him

famous. They also overshadowed a kind Irishman with a heart bigger than his 1888 batting average of .388.

One Sunday in Chicago, Kelly spent the afternoon at Guttenberg Race Track. He had exactly $100 in his pocket, and placed his entire amount on the nose of a horse called Play or Pay. He chose this horse because Kelly negotiated 30-to-1 odds with Chicago bookie Ike Thompson.

Play or Pay won at the wire, allowing Kelly to pocket $3,100.

Before Kelly returned home he had given at least $500 to friends and admirers. He lost another $2,000 betting on other nags.

A reAl hidden bAll trickWhen King returned to his neighborhood

he stopped in at his favorite saloon, purchasing drinks and cigars for everyone.

Later in the evening, when he headed for home, Kelly wandered upon a small girl sitting in the gutter and crying. He scooped her into his arms and asked what was the matter.

The small girl told Kelly that her father had died the previous week. Her mother was also ill, but the family had no money for the proper medical treatment.

Kelly handed over what he had left in his pocket, a little more than $100 to the little girl.

Kelly continued his trip home, stopping to negotiate a loan with a friend so he could eat dinner that evening.


Rip Coleman’s name is never celebrated with the New York Yankees’ eight pennants when the 10 years of the 1950s are discussed. His 9.00 earned run average is among the worst on the Yanks’ all-time postseason pitching roster.

And his career regular-season won-loss record of 7-25 certainly is less than mediocre.

But Coleman did play parts of five major league seasons in the American League, and is celebrated as the last Troy native to pitch in the major leagues.

While Coleman says that playing with future Hall of Fame players such as Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto and Whitey Ford “wasn’t much different” from being around other stars, he found the Yankees’ winning tradition tough to live up to.

“They were pretty much like star players on other teams,” Coleman said. “They just had more of them. And they won. You were expected to win and it could be a little intimidating.

Coleman recalled his only World Series appearance, at Ebbets Field in Game 4 of the 1955 Fall Classic — right, the first one the Dodgers won.

“I was very nervous, unbelievably so,” Coleman said. “Casey Stengel had said he wasn’t going to use any left-hander (for three games) in Brooklyn.”

Ebbets Field’s left-field fences were among the closest in the majors, and with all the Dodgers’ right-handed power — Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson, Gil Hodges and Carl Furrillo — staying right-handed made sense to the Yankees.

“Well, I was the first guy they called for,” Coleman said. “I’m just sitting there (in the bullpen), relaxed, just taking it all in, and the next thing I know, I’m in the game.”

Coleman was charged with just one run in one inning-plus, but permitted five hits.

“It was humbling,” he said.Coleman pitched three years for La Salle

Institute, 1946-48, and then finished his high school career at Troy High.

In the 1951 season, Coleman delayed

college and pitched the entire season at Kansas City, posting a 12-7 record.

The following season the Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas City, and thus the Yankees moved their Triple A team to Denver, and assigned Coleman there. He won 16 games and was among the league leaders in wins, innings and earned run average.

He was 13-3 with 11 consecutive wins in 1954 when the Yankees called him up to the majors.

The Yankees and A’s made numerous multi-player deals in the 1950s and early 60s and in one, prior to the 1957 season, Coleman was involved: a seven-player deal that brought Bobby Shantz, a former 24-game winner who filled out the Yankees’ starting rotation and helped them win a third and fourth consecutive pennant in ’57 and ’58.

Coleman doesn’t use the fact that the A’s were awful in the mid - ‘50s to excuse his 1-10 record in 1957 or his career record of 7-25.

“That wasn’t it,” he said. “I just didn’t click in the major leagues. In the minors, I was dominant, but in the majors … I don’t know. Sometimes it is a case of right place, right time, right team and things didn’t work out for me.”

Major MeMories

Rip Coleman: a minoR StaR, a majoR obStaCle

Ed WeaverThe Record

Billy Harrell is another of Troy’s links to Major League Baseball.

Harrell, who spent his youth growing up in Troy during the 1930s and ‘40s enjoyed a spectacular two-sport career at Siena College. He’s best

known for being an All-American guard for Siena, while leading the then Indians to two National Catholic Invitational Tournament championships.

But even bigger — and sometimes difficult — opportunities beckoned Harrell after he signed a professional contract with the Cleveland Indians organization in the 1950s.

Harrell won born in Norristown, Pa, on July 18 1928, but moved to Troy when he was six months old. He grew up at 105 Ferry St.

billy HaRRell: one of tRoy’S all-time GReatS

Rick FyleThe Record

MAKING It b IGHarrell was a minority inside the large

fraternity of white baseball players. Certain towns wouldn’t let black players into restaurants — or even into towns for that matter, especially in the Deep South. The lines of outright segregation and racism were clearly defined.

Harrell’s white teammates had to get takeout food for him and bring it back to the bus.

“I just never let the name-calling or other things bother me,” Harrell recalled about his playing days from the early 1950s until the mid 1960s. “It was uncomfortable at times, but I had good teammates. You never let it get to you.”

After becoming the first Siena athlete to sign a professional contract, Harrell spent his first five seasons toiling in the Indians’ organization, including stops in Reading, Pa., and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In 1955, Harrell finally got a taste of big-league ball.

The ballplayer from Troy — the first player from the Collar City to reach the majors since Hall of Famer Johnny Evers — banged out eight hits in 19 at-bats for a .421 batting average.

The Indians finished second in the American League, three games behind the powerful New York Yankees.

“The batting average looks impressive, but it was a very limited number of at-bats,” Harrell said. “Regardless, it was an enjoyable experience.”

Harrell spent 1956 in the minors, but in 1958 he was the Indians primary third baseman. It was the only season in which Harrell was a semi-regular in the big leagues. The light-hitting, but slick fielding Harrell — who was 30 at the time — hit only .218 in 229 at-bats. He socked seven home runs and finished with 19 RBI, both career highs, and committed only one error in the field. The Indians released Harrell the following season.

“My biggest worry was that I was going to be stuck in the minors after I got drafted, but I worked around those obstacles and spent some time in the big leagues,” Harrell said. “Some guys are Triple A players for their entire careers, but at least I had somewhat of a breakthrough. I got to play ball with a great amount of guys and it was a wonderful experience that I would never trade for anything.”


MAKING It b IGThroughout his career in the

major leagues, Rudy Meoli exemplified a journeyman infielder.

He appeared in 310 games with three major-league clubs — California Angels, Chicago

Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies. Meoli played professional baseball for 11 years, bouncing between the majors and minors for seven franchises.

Meoli, whose grandparents owned a small market in Lansingburgh, broke in with the Angels for a cup of coffee in 1971. His lifetime batting average of .212 conveys the stats of a journeyman infielder.

Meoli’s name will never be mentioned as one of the Angels’ top sluggers, but he forever holds a link to several of the franchise’s greatest moments. The slick-fielding shortstop played critical roles in several of the more memorable baseball games in the second half of the 20th Century — namely preserving several of Nolan Ryan’s no-hitters.

Meoli competed as an infielder for three of Nolan Ryan’s no-hitters and nearly witnessed a fourth.

“I’m just glad I wasn’t at bat,” Meoli said with a laugh. “It was a good time. He’s a great guy who was a hard worker. He deserved every bit of praise that he got. Those kind of guys don’t come along very often.”

Meoli, classified as a rookie in 1973, worked his way into the role as everyday shortstop. He not only had the chance to witness Ryan’s no-hitter, he preserved a May

Major Playersa look at the troy natives who coMPeted in the Major leagues.

E.P. Bevens, 1871William H. Craver, 1871William Flynn, 1871Ralph H. Ham, 1871Mart N. King, 1871

Stephen F. King, 1871Michael J. McAtee, 1871Michael ‘King’ Kelly, 1878Charles Ahearn, 1880Charles F. Briody, 1880Michael H. Lawlor, 1880Thomas F. Evers, 1882James H. Devlin, 1886William A. Fagan, 1887

Richard D. Buckley, 1888John F. O’Brien, 1888Anthony Von Fricken, 1890Henry Kileen, 1891Henry J. Cote, 1894Daniel J. Minnehan, 1895Charles Baker, 1901Hugh J. Hearne, 1901Johnny Evers, 1902

John H. Doscher Jr., 1903John C. Rafter, 1904James J. Esmond, 1911Joseph F. Evers, 1913Alfred C. Todd, 1932Marcus L. Filley, 1932Walter ‘Rip’ Coleman, 1955Billy Harrell, 1955Rudy Meoli, 1971

15 gem in Kansas City.With two outs in the eighth inning, Royals

pinch-hitter Gail Hopkins sent a pop fly over Meoli’s head into no-man’s land in short center field.

“It was a play I actually made before in winter league ball in a crucial playoff game,” Meoli said. “It was a short blooper to center field. I was in the right place at the right time.”

Meoli scrambled after the ball as center fielder Bobby Valentine — better known for his success as a manager and ESPN analyst — spend in front center field. Meoli, with his back to the infield, stretched to make a diving catch, preventing baseball’s all-time strikeout king from losing his no-hitter.

“I was playing up a little bit and (second baseman) Sandy Alomar told me to back up a little bit,” Meoli said. “I don’t know if I would have caught up to it or not if I hadn’t. I thought I had a chance because I knew it would be in between, but if Bobby (Valentine) had yelled something, I’m out of it. The Astroturf helped because you can really run on that turf.”

Ryan, who went on to pitch a record seven no-hitters, praised his shortstop’s defensive effort.

“I wasn’t going to let them beat me,” Ryan told the Dallas Morning News years later when reminiscing about the no-hitter.

“But after Rudy made that catch, in my own mind, I decided I was going to throw a no-hitter, and if they hit me, it was going to be off my best stuff.”

Meoli made another to preserve Ryan’s next no-hitter, which came July 15 in Detroit. Detroit slugger Gates Brown, with one out in the ninth inning, laced a frozen rope toward shortstop, which Meoli snagged over his head.

Rudy Meoli: CalifoRnia dReaMin’Chris Fitz GeraldThe Record

AreA PlAyers gone Pro

“I knew it was going to be a hit, but I was just standing there, the ball came right at me,” Meoli said.

“I played in three of his (Ryan’s) no-hitters,” Meoli said. “I think the only person to play in more was (catcher) Jeff Torborg. I think he played in four. I was fortunate to play in three; most people don’t get to play in any.”

Meoli was also involved in one of Ryan’s near no-hitters in 1973. In the second inning of a game in Anaheim vs. the New York Yankees, both Meoli and Alomar chased after a bloop off the bat of catcher Thurman Munson. The Texas Leaguer found grass, denying Ryan a third no-hitter that season. Munson’s bloop was the only hit Ryan allowed that day.

“We both ran out together and we both called for the ball,” Meoli said. “They ruled it a base hit, and I said “I’d be glad to take an error.”

“I think it is just a matter of coincidence,” Meoli said of his contributions to Ryan’s no-hitters. “You realize what’s happening, so you just make sure you give a 100-percent effort. Something like that doesn’t happen very often.”

Meoli has no memory of his time in Troy. His parents moved to California when he was an infant. He grew up in Southern California and turned down a scholarship offer to Arizona State to sign with the Angels, who drafted Meoli in the fourth round.

Meoli has never returned to Troy, but his wife and daughter traveled to the Collar City, specifically to see his name engraved on the monument at Knickerbacker Park in Lansingburgh.


Bill Gladstone and Rick Murphy were in need of a new home for their New York-Penn League baseball franchise.

Joe Bruno had a vision.And thus the seeds were sewn that

produced both Joe Bruno Stadium and the Tri-City ValleyCats.

That was 10 years ago.The ValleyCats have become one of the top

franchises in short-season Class A baseball and won the 2010 NY-P championship, carrying on a long tradition of minor league baseball in the Capital District.

Bruno, the former majority leader of the New York State Senate, was able to secure state funds to build the stadium that bears his name for Hudson Valley Community College, which leases the facility to the ValleyCats for the summer NY-P season.

“It’s one of the accomplishments I’m most proud of,” Bruno said of his role in bringing pro baseball back to the area.

Gladstone, Murphy and the Pittsfield Mets franchise’s other owners needed a place to play when officials in Pittsfield dragged their heals on a proposed new stadium to replace worn and rundown Wachonah Park. The playing field and players’ clubhouse facilities did not meet professional baseball’s new, higher standards under Rule 54 and funds couldn’t be raised to renovate the 85-year old park.

Talks of a stadium between the franchise owners and Pittsfield city officials never got

Ed WeaverThe Record


serious.“It came to a point where it appeared

that a new facility wasn’t going to happen,” Murphy said. “The funding, the support just was not there.”

The Gladstone group looked at Central Islip, L.I., Staten Island and Saratoga Springs as possible sites to relocate.

New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon approached Gladstone about moving the NY-P franchise to Brooklyn with local officials funding most of the cost of a stadium.

“Bill’s from Brooklyn, Fred’s from Brooklyn,” Murphy said while noting that the New York Yankees would have to agree with the move and also, the Yankees would be given permission by baseball, if they so desired, to bring an NY-P League team to Staten Island – which they eventually did.

“We were going to operate the team, our franchise, since we had for 12 years, that was the agreement,” Murphy said. “But what happened at the 23rd hour was that the Wilpon people came out and said, ‘the Wilpon family doesn’t go into business unless they have control and run it.’

“Well, that’s not going to happen,” was the reply Murphy said. “So, we said, ‘what about the capital region?’’’

Gladstone and Murphy met with then Town of Colonie Supervisor Mary E. Brizzell about refurbishing rundown Heritage Park, which had housed the New York Yankees’ Class AA farm team for 10 years.

“That would have required an awfully lot of money and that didn’t work out,” Murphy said.

“But we looked at the (entire) market because a market of over one-half million people in a 35-mile radius seemed to be an area that could support affiliated baseball.”

Murphy pointed out that the ballpark in Lowell where the NY-P League’s Lowell Spinners play was built for the University of Massachusetts-Lowell with state funds. So, the Gladstone group looked for something similar.

“That was a model that proved to be successful in (our) league,” Murphy said, “and so Bill reached out to Senator Bruno. Bill and the senator ultimately decided that Rensselaer County, as opposed to Saratoga County, was where there was the highest probability of making it happen.”

Having ended its affiliation with the Mets, Gladstone’s group needed a new parent team to go with their new home.

“At the time, Gerry Hunsicker was the general manager of the Houston Astros,” Murphy said. “He used to work for the Mets … we were wondering who we should be

affiliated with and the Astros were up in Auburn. We knew Gerry and he knew there were talks of a new facility with prospects of being in the (NY-P) League.”

So, the Astros left Auburn, supplied the players for Gladstone’s franchise in the final year in Pittsfield, 2001 – as the Pittsfield Astros – and followed the team to Troy one year later.

“It was a dream to bring pro ball back to the area,” Bruno said. “I was able to help with the budget process to the tune of about $14 million and we moved ahead.”

HVCC uses the stadium in April and May, area high schools compete for Section II championships late in the season and the ValleyCats play from mid-June until Labor Day.

“Hudson Valley got what (the school) needed, too,” Bruno said. “They were playing on sandlots. We built the new facility and took the existing fields and fixed all of that.”

Bruno gave praise to former HVCC President John Buono for his work on the project and of Gladstone, said, “Bill Gladstone couldn’t be a better partner to deal with. He’s motivated, he’s people-oriented and he wants to deliver real value as well as entertainment.”

The World Champion San Francisco Giants franchise began in Troy during the early days of the National League in the late 19th century. Troy, Albany and Schenectady had teams in the Class B New York State League from 1900-1916 and Albany was a member of the Class A (later AA) Eastern League in the 1920s, 1938-59 and 1983-94.

Schenectady was in the Eastern League from 1951-57 and had a team in the Class C Can-Am League in the late 40s.

Bruno said the rich history of pro baseball in Troy and the Capital District in general was an extra motivator for him.

“Oh, absolutely,” the 82-year old said. “So many people tell me of their memories going to the ball game when they were young. Troy, the Albany Senators, Schenectady Blue Jays; there was always something going on in the Capital District.”

What really pleases Bruno, though, he says, “is just seeing the families enjoying themselves. That gives me the greatest satisfaction, seeing people of all ages watching the game, having a couple hot dogs and popcorn and ice cream, just having a good time at an affordable price. That’s what we set out to do and that’s what it’s all about.”

Bruno said last year’s NY-P League championship “was fantastic” and he gets a sense of pride seeing former ValleyCats such as Hunter Pence and Ben Zobrist succeeding in the Major Leagues.

“Over the past few years, I haven’t heard any negative comments, like, ‘Hey, you know that bill you passed …’ or ‘Why didn’t you do such-and-such,” Bruno said, “but every time I’m over there (at the stadium), I hear comments like, ‘Getting this stadium is the best thing you ever did.’

“That makes me feel great.”

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