David Tilden "Filipino" Altizer was born on November 6, 1876 in Pearl, IL. He managed the Aberdeen and Madison teams in 1920 and the Madison team in 1921 (45-50, 5^th), played in the league for 1920 (.300) and 1921 (.323) and in 1922 was a league umpire.

Altizer started his pro career in 1902, as an infielder and left handed batter, in the Eastern and Connecticut Leagues. He played part of the year in the Connecticut in 1903 and the complete seasons of 1904-05 winning their batting championship in 1905 with a .351 average. In 1903 he had a 22-game trial with Toledo of the American Association, but only hit .152.

In 1906 he played part of the year in the Tri-State League batting .362 in 27 games for Lancaster. That performance earned him a stint with the Washington Senators, that year, when he played shortstop and in the outfield for 115 games for a .256 average and .324 OBA. In 1907, Dave had his biggest MLB year when he performed at shortstop and first basee in 147 games for the Senators with a .269 average and .319 OBA.

Altizer's 1908 season was split between Washington (67 games, .224) and Cleveland to whom he was traded in August for Cy Falkenberg. As an Indian, he batted .213 in 29 games. The 1909 season was his last full year in the majors as he was with the Chicago White Sox for 116 games playing at first and in the outfield hitting .233 with a .330 OBP.

His 1910-1911 years were divided between Cincinnati and the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association. For the Reds he played in 3 and 37 games going a combined 23 for 85. At Minneapolis he performed very well with .300 and .335 averages leading the league with runs scored and stolen bases in 1910. He also set a league record in '10 with 61 sacrifices,

From 1912 through 1918, Altizer stayed full time with the Millers playing in 162, 166, 170, 149, 164, 149 and 52 games with .294, .292, .331, .302, .298, .322 and .241 averages. He again led the league in stolen bases in 1912 and runs scored in 1913, 1915 and 1916. Dave did not play pro ball in 1919 and played, managed and umpired in the "Dakota Leagues" from 1920-1922.

In 1,798 total minor league games, he batted .303 with 454 stolen bases and 1,291 runs scored. As a major leaguer, he appeared in 514 games batting a cumulative .250 and had a .318 OBA and .305 slugging %.. He is 20^th (shared with dozens) on the all time list for runs scored in one game. On July 2, 1906, he scored 5 in one of the games the Senators played that day.

He was known for shouting "No, no, no" whenever he was tagged out and, in 1908, invented a postcard with a photo of William Jennings Bryan which, when held up to the light, also showed a photo of the White House.

Altizer served in the U.S. Army in the Philippines, during the Boxer Rebellion in China (1900) and the Spanish-American War. He lost a son to death in World War I. Dave died on May 14, 1964 in Pleasant Hill, IL and was buried there at the Crescent Heights Cemetery.

Hi Bell

Herman S. Bell was born in Mt. Sherman, KY on July 16, 1897. He pitched for the 1922 Sioux Falls Soos (5-7).

In 1922 he also appeared at Paris in the Texas-Oklahoma League for 6 games (5-0) and 2 games for Seattle in the PCL (0-1). There is no record of his playing pro ball in 1923.

The right handed pitcher reached the majors in 1924 with the St. Louis Cardinals where he also played in 1926-27 and 1929-30. During those years, he appeared in 28, 27, 25, 7 and 39 games for 113, 85, 57, 13 and 115 innings as basically a reliever (he also started 28 games in that time frame) with 4.92, 3.18, 3.92, 6.92 and 3.91 ERAs. His record was 14-22 with the Cards and he led the league in saves for 1930 with 8. In the 1926 and 1930 World Series, he appeared in one game each for 2 and 1 innings allowing 4 and 0 hits for 9.00 and 0.00 ERAs. He was at AAA Rochester for the 1931 season (16-11, 3.26). In the 1924 season, he became the last man to start and win both ends of a double header in the major leagues. .

During his Cardinals' years, he also played in 1925 for Milwaukee (A.A.) with an 18-19 record and an ERA of 3.90. In 1928, 1929 and 1931 he played for Rochester (International) with 21-8, 11-5 and 16-11 records and 3.38, 3.54 and 3.26 ERAs. He also started and won a double header for Rochester in 1928.

Bell finished his MLB career with the New York Giants during the 1932-1934 seasons pitching in 35, 38 and 22 games finishing 120, 105 and 54 innings (including 10, 7 and 2 starts) compiling ERAs of 3.68, 2.05 and 3.67. He pitched in the 1933 Series for one game and one inning giving up no hits, walks or runs. Hi ended his pro career at Kansas City in 1935 (4-3, 3.67) and Milwaukee in 1936 (2-4).

In 221 major league games, Bell completed 663 innings, allowing 743 hits and 143 walks while striking out 191 batters. His ERA was 3.69, he had an OBA of .285 and a career record of 32-34.

After baseball, Hi owned and operated a restaurant in Glendale, CA. He died at his home there on June 7, 1949 due to a heart attack. His burial was at the Calvery Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Charlie Boardman

Charles Louis Boardman was born on April 27, 1893 in Seneca Falls, NY. He managed Valley City for part of the 1922 season and played for the Valley City/New Rockford-Carrington team in 1923.

Boardman had three brief stays in the major leagues from 1913-1915. In 1913-1914, he appeared in two games each season for 9 and 8 innings giving up 10 hits each year with 6 and 4 walks and 4 and 2 strikeouts. His ERAs were 2.00 and 4.91.

In 1915, the left hander pitched in 3 games for the St. Louis Cardinals finishing 19 innings allowing 12 hits and 15 walks while striking out 7. He had an ERA of 2.84.

Charlie appeared in a total of 7 MLB games (3 starts) for 35 innings giving up 32 hits and 25 walks. He had a 3.06 ERA and .254 OAV.

In 1917, Boardman pitched for the Minneapolis Millers in 24 games and 168 innings compiling a 3.54 ERA and a 7-10 record. After leaving as manager of Valley City in 1922, he pitched for the Millers and in Kansas City for a combined 7 games, 26 innings for an ERA of 6.92 and a 1-2 record.

For 23 years Charlie was a car salesman in Sacramento, CA. He died on August 10, 1968 due to a heart attack and was cremated.

Jim Bottomley

James Leroy "Sunny Jim" Bottomley was born in Oglesby, IL on April 23, 1900. He played for Madison in 1920 (.312).

Also in 1920, he had a short 6-game trial with Sioux City of the Western League (1 for 14). In 1921, he spent the complete year in the Texas League with Houston (.227, 4 HR, 62 RBI). His break through year was 1922 with the AAA Syracuse club in the International League where he hit .348. That got him a promotion to the St. Louis Cardinals for 37 games and he hit .325

The following is from "Baseball - The Biographical Encyclopedia":

"It may be hard to imagine a better day than that which Hall of Famer Jim Bottomley had for St. Louis on September 16, 1924, at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field. In the top of the first, facing starter Rube Ehrhardt with the bases loaded, Bottomley drove in two runs with a single. Then the doubled in another run in the second inning against Bonnie Hollingworth. With runners on second and third in the fourth inning, Robins manager Wilbert Robinson ordered pitcher Art Decatur to walk Rogers Hornsby (a .424 hitter that season) to get at Bottomley. The strategy backfired; Bottomley delivered a grand slam. Decatur was still on the mound in the sixth, when Bottomley responded with a two-run homer. By then the score was 13-1 and Bottomley had nine RBIs. In the seventh, he drove in two more runners against Tex Wilson to tie Robinson's 32-year-old league record. Hornsby tripled in the ninth and Bottomley's run-scoring single against Jim Roberts established a new RBI record.

"Bottomley grew up in Illinois coal-mining country and went to work as a blacksmith's apprentice at age 16. While playing semipro ball he caught the eye of a Cardinals scout during a game in which he hit two homers and three triples. In 1922, after playing with the Syracuse Stars, he earned a late-season promotion to St. Louis, where he hit .325.

"In his first full season, Bottomley batted .371, but had more than 110 RBIs in each of the next six years, leading the NL twice in that category, as well as leading it in doubles twice. In 1928 he had the remarkable double of leading the league in both home runs (with 31) and triples (with 20), while on his way to being named the league's MVP. In 1931 he barely missed leading the NL in batting average, finishing with a .3482 mark behind Bill Terry's .3486 and Chick Hafey's .3489 in the closest three-man batting race in baseball history.

"Bottomley also enjoyed a number of notable one-game performances. He collected three triples in one game on June 21, 1927; he hit for the cycle on July 15, 1927; he collected six hits on August 5, 1932; and he had five hits in a game three times. And he could make remarkable fielding plays. During game 2 on the 1931 World Series, Cardinal starter "Wild Bill" Hallahan was unraveling in the ninth inning against Connie Mack's powerful Philadelphia Athletics. Jimmie Fox walked and, after Bing Miller fouled out, Jimmy Dykes also walked. Jim Moore then reached when St. Louis catcher Jimmy Wilson dropped a third strike to load the bases. With two outs, Max Bishop popped one up in foul ground that Bottomley chased down and then dove over the A's bullpen bench and caught reaching into the stands to end the game.

"Bottomley was also a tremendous leader. In one game, after third baseman Les Bell had come up to the Cardinals near the close of the 1923 season, Bell made two throws clean over everything, to 10 to 20 rows high in the stands behind first base. 'When I came into the dugout after that inning I was felling pretty blue,' Bell said, 'Who sits down next to me but the regular first baseman, Jim Bottomley. All he did that year was hit .371. Jim put his arm around me and said, 'Now Kid, Old Jim will be out there tomorrow playing first base. So when you throw the ball, you throw it in the direction of first base and Old Jim will get it.' That made me feel better. What a fine gentleman he was.'

"Traded to the Reds just before the 'Gas House Gang' jelled, Bottomley returned to St. Louis for a last hurrah in 1936, this time with the Browns. When Rogers Hornsby was fired in 1937, Bottomley took over as player-manager and ended his career with a .310 average. In 1938 he returned to Syracuse and managed the Chiefs of the International League. He was then out of baseball until 1957 when he signed on as a scout for the Cubs. In midseason he was appointed manager of the class D Appalachian League's Cubs, but he retired after two games. Bottomley died of a heart attack in 1959. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1974."

From 1923-1932, the left hander was the Cardinals starting first baseman playing in 134, 137, 153, 154, 152, 149, 146, 131, 108 and 91 games with .371, .316, .367, .299, .303, .325, .314, .304, .348 and .296 averages. He played in the 1926, 1928, 1930 and 1931 World Series hitting .345, .214, .045 and .160 in 24 games. During those years, he led the league in hits in 1925, doubles in 1925-1926, triples in 1928, home runs in 1928 and RBIs in 1926 and 1928.

On December 17, 1932 he was traded to Cincinnati for Estel Crabtree and Ownie Carroll. For the Reds from 1933-1935 he was in 145, 142 and 107 games with .250, .284 and .258 averages.

On March 21, 1936 he was traded by the Reds to the St. Louis Browns for Johnny Burnett. With the Browns in 1936-1937 he was in 140 and 65 games hitting .298 and .239. In his 16-year major league career he played in 1,991 games and had 7,471 at bats. His career average was .310 with a .369 OBP, .500 slugging % and .988 fielding average after 1,885 games played at first. Jim was 27-for-99 as a pinch hitter.

In addition to managing the Browns in 1937 (21-56) he was also a coach with them that year. Between baseball stints, he farmed near Bourbon, MO. Bottomley died on December 11, 1959 in a St. Louis parking lot while Christmas shopping and was buried at the IOOF Cemetery in Sullivan, MO..

Ed Brandt

Edward Arthur "Big Ed" Brandt was born on February 17, 1905 in Spokane, WA. He pitched for the 1923 Aberdeen club.

From 1924-1928, Brandt pitched for Seattle (PCL). Records indicate that he appeared in 4, 5, 4 and 41 games for 0-0, 1-2, 2-0 and 19-11 records for unknown, 11.14, 3.43 and 3.96 ERAs. It is not known where else he may have pitched from 1924-1927.

Brandt made the Boston Braves team out of spring training in 1928, made 32 starts for them and relieved 6 times for a total of 225 innings allowing 234 hits and 109 walks with 84 strike outs, a 5.07 ERA, .273 OAV.and 9-21 record (led league in losses). In his next two Braves' seasons (1929-1930), he did not equal that number of starts in any one year, but did make 21 and 13 which were included in his 26 and 41 appearnces . His ERAs those years were 5.53 and 5.01 in 168 and 147 innings. .

He continued as a dependable Braves' starting pitcher from 1931-1935 as he made 29, 31, 32, 28 and 25 starts and 4, 4, 9, 12 and 4 relief appearances for 250, 254, 288, 255 and 175 innings. The left handed workhorse compiled ERAs of 2.92, 3.97, 2.60, 3.53 and 5.00 during those years along with records of 18-10, 16-16, 18-14, 16-14 and 5-19. In 1931 he started the season with 8 straight wins. In 1933 he led all pitchers with a .307 batting average.

On December 12, 1935, the forkballer was traded to Brooklyn with Randy Moore for Tony Cuccinello, Ray Benge, Al Lopez and Bobby Reis. For the Dodgers in 1936, he was in 38 games (29 starts) completing 234 innings for a 3.50 ERA and 11-13 record.

On December 4, 1936, Brandt was sent to Pittsburgh for Cookie Lavagetto and Ralph Birkofer. He finished his major league career with the Pirates in 1937-1938 by playing in 33 and 24 games (25 and 13 starts) with 176 and 96 innings with 3.46 and 3.89 ERAs and 11-10 and 5-4 records. Ed ended his pro career at Hollywood in 1939 (2-3).

During Ed's 11-year major league stay, he made 278 starts in 378 games completing 2,268 innings allowing 2,342 hits, 778 walks with 877 strike outs, a 121-146 record, 3.86 ERA and a .269 OAV. He finished his pro career in the 1939 PCL at Hollywood (2-3). He stands 10^th (as of 1992) on the Braves all-time innings pitched list with 1,762. Brandt was also a good hitting pitcher as in 1933 he hit .309 with 30 hits in 97 at bats.

After baseball retirement, he operated a hunting lodge in western Montana and owned a tavern in Clayton, WA. Brandt was killed on November 2, 1944 when he was struck by a car while crossing a Spokane street. He is buried at the Fairmount Memorial Park in Spokane.

Mike Cantillon

Michael E. Cantillon was the president of the South Dakota (1920 and 1923) and Dakota (1921-1922).Leagues.

Cantillon was born in Janesville, Wisconsin in 1867 to J. Cantillon and C. O'Rourke, who were Irish immigrants. They lived for a time in New Richmond, Wisconsin where Mike met his future wife, Margaret McNally, on a train where he was working as a conductor. He held many types of jobs during his early years and never attended college. Michael and Margaret had four children, Billy, Ruth, Margaret and Joe.

In 1905, Cantillon became the co-owner (along with brother Joseph D.) and manager of the Des Moines club in the class "A" Western League. Their "Underwriters" won the league pennant in 1905 (95-54) but lost a best-of-five inter-league series (3 games to 2) to the American Association's Milwaukee Brewers who were managed by Joe. The 1906 version was renamed the "Champions" because of their 1905 crown and they won the pennant again (97-50). That team set a Western League record by finishing 23 games ahead of the second place team and are considered as one of the 100 greatest minor league baseball teams of all time.

After the 1906 season, Mike, along with his brother Joe and their brother-in-law, E. J. Archambault of Milwaukee, became partners by purchasing the Minneapolis Millers in the class "A" American Association. The purchase price was $27,500, which was a great bargain, and Mike became team president.

Mike managed the Millers in 1907 (80-74, 3rd) and 1908 (77-77, 5th) while his brother was managing the Washington Senators. In 1909, he decided to work full-time in the front office and turned over the coaching reins to future Hall of Famer Jimmy Collins.

In 1910, Mike Cantillon hired his brother to manage a team whose roster was (and continued to be) stocked with major league veterans (in 1920, 20 of their 23 players played some major leagues ball). The Millers scored three-straight American Association pennants from 1910 to 1912 with 107-61, 99-66 and 105-60 records and they also won a forth title in 1915 (92-62). According to baseball historian Bill James, the 1910-1912 Millers were the best minor league team of the Deadball Era. Mike was given a gold match box by the 1912 team members which was inscribed "To Mike, From the Gang 11-28-1912." The box is currently in the possession of his great grandson Mike Bosanko.

Under the Cantillon's direction those years, the Millers also prospered off the field. In November 1911, the team announced plans to make Nicollet Park into "the finest park in the American Association". The Millers hired prominent architect Harry Wild Jones to design a renovated park with a new office building and park entrance. There was also a permanent 14-foot wall built around the park and the seating capacity was increased from 4,000 to 15,000. Mike Cantillon pressured the contractors to continue construction right up until the rain-delayed opening day for the 1912 season. ["President Cantillon did not forget himself in the arrangements and a garage for his automobile will be built under the Grandstand on the 32rst Street side" (Minneapolis Journal December 8, 1911)]

In 1913, Cantillon also owned a Minneapolis team in the Northern League, known as both the "Roughriders" or "Little Millers" which also played at Nicollet Park. Until 1918, the franchise continued to prosper. However, during that war year players began serving in the military and many fans were either joining them or working long hours in industries which supported the war effort. There was also much uncertainty over the future of the game as paid attendance at Millers' contests dwindled and finally, on July 21, 1918, league play stopped altogether.

Even though baseball would return in 1919, Mike Cantillon, now past the age of 50, decided to step back and relinquish control of the Millers. Led by the owner of the Minneapolis Athletic Club, George Belden, a group of 29 local businessmen purchased the team. Cantillon may have continued as part of the group until it was sold to Mike Kelley after the 1923 season.

During the 12 seasons that Mike Cantillon owned the Millers (1907 -1918), the team won four titles, finished second once and third three times. Those teams were made up of many future and former major league players, including Hall of Famers Rube Waddell, Bill McKechnie and "Red" Faber and a famed dead-ball era home run hitter - Cliff "Cactus" Cravath.

Mike Cantillon was a close friend of Charles Comiskey (owner of the Chicago White Sox from 1900-1931) and early in his baseball club ownership days, he lived off season in Chicago where his daughter Ruth was born in 1904. In 1911, he became a permanent resident of Minneapolis in the wealthy Washburn-Fair Oaks neighborhood. Cantillon's subsequent residences reflected an ability to afford housing in the elite neighborhoods of Minneapolis. For example, in 1931, he lived at 2625 Park Avenue.

Cantillon was called "Grandpa Can" by his grandchildren because he always had some candy to give them. He was a great card player (bridge, poker, Rummy) because he had the ability to count cards. Michael died in Minneapolis on April 12, 1946 from cirrhosis of the liver (as per his death certificate) and is buried with his wife Margaret (who died in 1910 from childbirth complications) and their daughter Margie at their family plot at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in New Richmond, Wisconsin. On the day of his death, an era ended in more ways then one as the Millers were sold to out-of-town/corporate interests - The New York Giants.

[Our special thanks to Mike Bosanko for much of the above biographical information on Mike Cantillon.]

Fred Carisch

Frederick Behlmer Carisch was born in Fountain City, WI on November 14, 1881. He managed the Sioux Falls Soos from 1920-1922 and played for them in 1920 (.274), 1921 (.297) and 1922 (.309).

From 1903-1906, Carisch made appearances in the major leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates as a catcher. He played in 5, 37, 32, and 4 games during those years with 18, 125, 107 and 12 at bats. His batting averages were .333, .248, .206 and .083.

He did not return to the majors until 1912-1914 when he was a back-up catcher for the Cleveland Indians playing in 24, 82 and 40 games with .275, .216 and .216 averages with .286, .287 and .298 OAVs. His last appearances as a major leaguer came in 1923 for the Detroit Tigers when he appeared in 2 games without an at bat.

In his 8 partial major league seasons, Carisch hit .227 in 226 games with 655 at bats. The right handed batter hit one home run, had a .280 career OAV and slugging % of ..285. He caught in 202 games and played first base in 14 more compiling a fielding % (including both positions) of .968.

Carisch was a major league coach with the Tigers in 1923-1924. For 20 years, after baseball, he sold large trucks for the White Truck Company. He died from heart disease on April 19, 1977, at the Alderwood Manor Covenant Hospital in San Gabriel, CA and was cremated.

Nick Cullop

Henry Nicholas Cullop was born in Weldon Springs, MO, on October 16, 1900. He played for the Madison team in 1920 (.341) as a pitcher (18-12). His surname at birth was “Kohlhepp”.

Nick started as a pitcher with a 49-50 record in 140 games through 1927, but also played infield and outfield positions. His batting averages from 1922-1924 at Des Moines and Omaha were .295, .280 and .322. In '24 he hit 40 home runs and in 1925 he clubbed 30, but his average tailed off to .210. He rebounded at St. Paul in 1926 for a .314 mark.

His first major league games came in 1926 for the New York Yankees with 2 pinch hitting tries (1 hit). He had his next trial with the Senators and the Indians in 1927 when he hit .231 and he had another few games in 1929 with the Dodgers (13 g, .195). Finally, as an outfielder with the Reds in 1930-1931, he played in 7 and 104 games hitting .182 and .263. His MLB career lasted 173 games for a .249 average, .308 OBP and .424 slugging %.

In1928-1930, he also played at Buffalo, Atlanta (.352 in 75 games), Atlanta again (.291 in 113 games) and Minneapolis where he led the American Association in runs scored (150), home runs (54) and RBIs (152) in 1930. Cullop also managed in 1930 at Dayton.

From 1932-1938, he played in AAA hitting over .300 each year except '38. In 1939-1940, he was in the Texas League and then played a few games as a player-manager from 1941-1944. As a minor league player, he appeared in 2,484 games and batted .312 with 420 home runs and 1,857 RBI (a minor league career record). He had 3 seasons when he led a league in home runs: 1925 Southern Association (30), 1930 American Association (54) and 1939 Texas (25). He had 12 seasons of hitting 20 or more home runs.

In the SABR publication "Minor League Baseball Stars - Volume II" (1985) , Cullop was selected as one of the top 15 minor players of 1877-1984. It stated "[He] was an aggressive and popular player and good outfielder."

Nick managed in the minors for 17 years (1940-1952, 1954-1957 and 1959). "The Sporting News" named him as the Minor League Manager of the Year in 1943 and 1947. He died on December 8, 1978, at Westerville, OH, and was buried at the Mifflin Cemetery in Mifflin, OH.

Larry Duff

Cecil Elba Duff was born on November 30, 1897 in Radersburg, MT. He pitched for the Mitchell Kernels in 1922 (15-6).

In 1921, Duff played at Peoria (Three-I) and Moose Jaw (W. Canada) with 1-3 and 0-0 records.

Duff had all of his major league experiences during the same year that he pitched in the Dakota League. He debuted with the Chicago White Sox on September 5, 1922. The right hander made one start and had two relief appearances for 13 innings and allowed 16 hits and 3 walks while striking out 7. His OAV was .340, he had a 4.97 ERA and a 1-1 record.

In 1923, he played for Springfield (Eastern) and Sioux City (Western) for 3-4 and 3-7 records and 5.76 and unknown ERAs. Duff played in the Virginia League from 1924-1926 for Rocky Mount, Norfolk and Petersburg with 23-11, 14-15 and 16-22 records and ERAs of 3.03, 4.70 and 4.22.

Duff's record is sketchy after that as he is known to have pitched 4 games for the PCL Oakland Oaks in 1927 (no record available) and 15 games at Boise (8-7, 4.46) and 8 more at Oakland (1-1) in 1928. It is assumed he did not play pro ball after '28.

He died on November 10, 1969 in Bend, OR.

Red Fisher

John Gus Fisher was born in Pittsburgh on June 22, 1887. He managed Miller for part of the 1920 season and Huron for a partial year in 1921. He may have also played for Huron (.266?).

Fisher's only appearances in a major league uniform were in 1910 for the St. Louis Browns. The left handed batter played in 23 games and had 72 at bats with a .125 average and a .181 slugging %. His OBP was .222 and he had a fielding average (played outfield in 19 games) of .935 by committing 2 errors in 31 chances. He was 0-for-3 as a pinch hitter.

He became a night watchman for the Henry Bickel Company in the Louisville area. Red died on February 1, 1940 from a heart attack at his home in Louisville and was buried at the Walnut Ridge Cemetery in Jeffersonville, IN.

Showboat Fisher

George Aloys Fisher was born on January 16, 1899 in Jennings, IA. He played for the Miller club in 1920 and won the league batting championship with a .378 average and also pitched some for them (5-3).

Fisher's first professional game was with the Minneapolis Millers in 1919 where he was used as a pitcher and was 0-for-2 at the plate. He also played with the Millers for 4 games in 1920 when he was 1-for-7 as a pitcher.

In 1921 he became a full time outfielder for St. Joseph in the Western League batting .352 in 163 games. The left handed batter returned to St. Joe in 1922 and increased his batting average to .359 in a league-leading 169 games. His 1923 season was mostly spent in the Eastern League for New Haven where he continued to hit very well at .365 in 115 games, but his first appearances that season were for the Washington Senators for whom he had 23 at bats in 13 games and batted .261 with 5 appearances as an outfielder. He was 1-for-4 as a pinch hitter.

Fisher played 15 more games with 41 at bats for the Senators in 1924 and hit .220. The bulk of his playing time came at Minneapolis where he appeared in 112 more games with a .309 average. He returned to the Millers in 1923 playing in 123 games as an outfielder and hit .350 with 96 RBIs. In 1926, George split his American Association year between Minneapolis and Indianapolis compiling a .329 average in 139 games.

From 1927-1929, he performed very well in the International League for Buffalo appearing in 111, 146 and 150 games with .320, .335 and .336 averages. Those years were finally enough for him to get a complete season in the majors which came in 1930 for the St. Louis Cardinals where he hit .374 in 254 at bats (8-for-20 as a pinch hitter) with a great .432 OBP. He had been obtained by the Cards from the Giants on April 10, 1930 with Doc Farrell for Wally Roettger.

For whatever reason, he was back in AAA for 1931 in Rochester and hit .325 in 120 games for the Red Wings. He returned to them in 1932 batting .286 in 49 games and had 36 games with Milwaukee for whom he hit .361. That season also was Showboat's last appearance at the major league level when he performed in 18 games with 11 as a pinch hitter (had 2 hits) hitting .182 for the St. Louis Browns in 22 plate appearances.

In 1933 he ended his pro career with 38 games and 116 at bats for Milwaukee hitting a lowly .216 and then went to Little Rock and Nashville of the Southern Association where he batted .293. In 1,575 minor league games, he had 5,755 official plate appearances and an exceptional .336 average.

As a major leaguer, he played in 138 games and had 340 at bats for a career .335 average and .503 slugging %. His OBP was .402 with a .946 fielding % in the 88 games he played in the outfield.

Fisher managed at Corpus Christi in 1953. He settled in Avon, MN where he operated "Fisher's Club" from 1935-1960. George died on May 15, 1994 in St. Cloud, MN, and was buried at St. Benedict's Catholic Church in Avon.

Ed Karger

Edwin "Loose" Karger on May 6, 1883, in San Angelo, TX. He managed Aberdeen for a partial season in 1920 and all of 1921. He also pitched in 1920 (7-3) and played first base (.296). Karger apparently only pitched in 1921 (8-7).

The left hander got his first taste of the majors in April 1906 for Pittsburgh where he appeared in 6 games (2 starts) for 28 innings with a low 1.93 ERA. On June 3 the Pirates sold him to the Cardinals with whom he pitched 25 games with 20 being starts. He completed 191 innings with a 2.92 ERA and .271 OAV. Karger was 7-19 for the year.

He was back with St. Louis in 1907-1908 for 39 and 22 games (32 and 15 starts) with 314 and 141 innings compiling ERAs of 2.04 and 3.06 for 15-19 and 4-9 records. Obviously, 1907 was his career year. On December 12, 1908 he was traded to the Reds with Art Fromme for Admiral Schlei.

His stay at Cincinnati was short lived as he only played 9 games (5 starts) for them in 1909. In 34 innings, he had a 4.46 ERA and .217 OAV. In June, he was sold for the waiver price to the Red Sox for whom he appeared in 12 games with 6 starts for 68 innings and a 3.18 ERA.

Karger finished his major league career in 1910-1911 for the Sox making 27 and 25 appearances, including 25 and 18 starts, with 183 and 131 innings compiling ERAs of 3.19 and 3.37. His records were 11-7 and 5-8 those years.

In 165 MLB games (123 starts), he finished 1,091 innings allowing 1,012 hits and 314 walks while striking out 415. He had a career 2.79 ERA, .246 OAV, 48-67 record and hit .220.

Ed became a construction engineer and lived for a number of years in Canada. He died at the Thomas' Resthaven Nursing Home in Delta, CO on September 9, 1957, and was buried at the Delta Cemetery.

Cliff Knox

Clifford Hiram "Bud" Knox was born on January 7, 1902, in Coalville, IA. He caught for the Mitchell Kernels in 1922 (.288).

Also in 1922 he played 17 games for Des Moines (Western) where he hit .73. It is not known where he played in 1923.

In 1924, he appeared in his only major league games for Pittsburgh as in 6 appearances and 18 at bats, the switch hitter got 4 singles for a .222 average. He also walked twice to compile a .300 OBP. Cliff caught in all of those games and had a .917 fielding average. Records do not indicate any other pro games that year as he broke his finger and an ankle while with the Pirates. .

Knox played 92 games at Birmingham (Southern) in 1925 (.265) and 65 games for Hartford (Eastern) in 1926 (.268). In 1927, he was with the Class "B" Portland team in the New England where he hit .255 in 45 games.

Spartanburg (So Alt) and Nashville (So. Assoc) were his stops in 1928 as he hit .308 and .257 in 23 and 68 games. In 1929, he appeared in 140 games for the Southern Atlantic Spartanburg-Macon team (.286). He had more appearances in the same league for Augusta in 1930 (.326).

In 1931-1932, he played for Peoria in the Three-I League batting .293 and .297. Knox moved to the Western League in 1933 playing for Omaha (.320) and Rock Island in 1934 (.295).

It was back to the Three-I in 1935 with Decatur (.320) and then to Mitchell (SD) of the Nebraska League for 1936-1937 (.347 and .293). He finished his pro career at Fayetteville of the Ark-Mo League in 1938 (.326). All told, Knox played at least 16 years in professional baseball.

After baseball, he became a football official working games in the Big Eight and Missouri Valley conferences. He also officiated several Sugar Bowl games. Knox died on September 24, 1965, in Oskaloosa, IA, at the Mahaska Hospital after a lingering illness. Knox was buried at the Oskaloosa cemetery.

Mark Koenig

Mark Anthony Koenig was born in San Francisco on July 19, 1904. He played for Jamestown in 1922 (.254).

He began his pro career in 1921 for Moose Jaw (.302 in 84 games) and had 4 at St. Paul that same year. In 1922, he also played 7 games again for St. Paul (7-for-17).

In 1923, he played 156 games at Des Moines of the Western League (.288) and finished the year at St. Paul for two games. His 1924-1925 seasons were spent with the Saints as he played in 68 and 126 games for .267 and .308 averages.

Koenig was a late season call up in 1925 by the New York Yankees and played in 28 games hitting .209 as a shortstop with 110 at bats. He became their regular shortstop in 1926 [although he was a shaky fielder with 52 errors] and continued in that roll through the 1928 season. During those years he batted .271, .285 and .319 in 147, 123 and 132 games. His OBPs were .319, .320 and .360. In 1929 he became an utility infielder and hit .292 with a .335 OBP. He had a great 1927 World Series going 9-for-18 with a .611 slugging %. Admittedly, a good reason for that success was that Babe Ruth followed him in the batting order.

The switch hitters' last games as a Yankee came in 1930 with 21 appearances and 74 at bats. His batting average fell to .230 and he was traded on May 30 to the Tigers with Waite Hoyt for Ownie Carroll, Yats Wuestling and Harry Rice. With the Tigers that year he played short, third, outfield and even pitched. His batting average was .240 with a .295 OBP.

He stayed with the Tigers through the 1931 season playing in 106 games as an infielder and pitcher. He batted .253 with a .282 OBP. In 1932 he was released to San Francisco, but was called up in August by the Cubs [when Billy Jurges was shot] where he stayed through the rest of the '32 season and all of 1933. Those years, he was a utility player in 33 and 80 games batting .353 and .284. The Cubs only rewarded him with a one-half Series share in 1932 even though he hit so well. Their Series' opponents, the Yankees, reacted hotly to the affront on their former teammate and the situation contributed to the ill fillings between the clubs during the series.

On December 20, 1933, he was traded to the Reds for Otto Bluege and Irv Jeffries. Koenig was a full-time player with Cincinnati for 1934 playing in 151 games albeit at all of the infield positions. His average was a decent .272 with a .289 OBP. That year he, along with Jim teammate Jim Bottomley refused to fly on road trips and took trains instead. On December 14, the Reds traded him to the New York Giants with Allyn Stout for Billy Myers and cash.

Mark played out his major league career with the Giants in 1935-1936 for 107 and 42 games, again as a utility infielder, with .283 and .276 averages and .306 and .373 OPBs. That ended a good 12-year MLB stay.

As a big leaguer, Koenig played in 1,162 games and had 4,271 at bats with a career .279 batting average, .316 OBP, .367 slugging % (he hit 28 home runs) and a .927 fielding %. In 5 games as a pitcher, he completed 16 innings allowing 18 hits and 19 walks while striking out 9. His ERA was 8.44 with a .300 OAV.

In 1937, he finished his pro career in the PCL at Mission where he hit .289. He also played some games in Mission in 1932 (.335). He managed at Sioux Falls in 1941 and 1946.

Koenig died on April 22, 1993, at the Willow View Convalescent Center in Willows, CA and was cremated. He had suffered from lung cancer, congestive heart failure and pneumonia.

Harry LaRoss

Harry Ramond "Spike" LaRoss was born on January 2, 1888 in Easton, Pa. He played outfield for Redfield team in 1921 (.319) and for the 1922 Fargo club (.231).

In 1914 he reached the pinnacle of professional baseball as a major leaguer with the Cincinnati Reds. The right hander played in 22 games with 48 at bats and had a .229 batting average, .260 OBP and .250 slugging %. He had problems with errors in the outfield as his fielding % was .739 (6 errors in 23 chances).

In 1920 he played 22 games for Charleston of the Southern Atlantic League and hit .233.

LaRoss died at the Hines Memorial Hospital in Maywood, IL, on May 22, 1954.

Chief LeRoy

Louis Paul LeRoy was born in Red Springs, WI [according to "The Minor League Register"] or Omro, WI [as per Total Baseball and "Big Mac"] on February 18, 1879. He pitched for the 1920 Mitchell Kernels (18-6).

A Seneca Indian, LeRoy started his pro career in 1902-1903 with Buffalo in the Eastern League. In 20 and 18 appearances his record was 13-5 and 5-4. At Montreal, also in the Eastern, in 1904-1905, he threw 245 and 250 innings in 31 and 32 games for ERAs 14-10 and 18-12 records.

In late season 1905, he appeared with the New York Highlanders for 3 games and 24 innings for a 3.75 allowing 26 hits and 1 walk while striking out 9. With the Highlanders in 1906 he appeared in 11 games and 45 innings for a 2.20 ERA. The remaining part of the season was spent at Montreal where he pitched in 21 games and 177 innings for a 6-14 record.

From 1907 through 1909, LeRoy played for the St. Paul Saints in the American Association. In 40, 49 and 57 appearances he finished 302, 332 and 372 innings for 14-22, 16-21 and 20-17 records. He had a one game trial in 1910 with the Red Sox when he pitched 4 innings giving up 6 hits and 2 walks for an 11.25 ERA. That was the his last taste of the majors.

The rest of his 1910 season was with the Saints where he pitched 268 innings in 46 games and completed a 14-16 record. He stayed in St. Paul for the 1911-1912 years pitching 300 and 277 innings in 60 (led league) and 44 appearances for 18-23 and 20-10 records.

He was also at St. Paul in 1913 and also pitched for Indianapolis with a combined 11-20 record in 44 games and 235 innings. Louis stayed in Indianapolis for 1914 and was in 44 games and 201 innings compiling an ERA of 3.27 and a 12-7 record. In 1915 he played in the PCL for 30 games and 143 innings with a 3.97 ERA and then returned to St. Paul for 57 more innings in 11 games (3.00 ERA).

In 1916, he began playing in the lower minors performing at Springfield (Eastern) and Muskegon (Central) for 23 and 8 games in 137 and 47 innings. His record at Springfield was 10-8 and his ERA at Muskegon was 1.91 with a 3-3 record. For the 1917 season he pitched in LaCrosse (Central Assoc) for 20 games in 129 innings (10-7, 2.72) and had one appearance at Joplin (Western).

In1918 he had one more shot at the high minors as, at St. Paul, he pitched in 3 games for 19 innings with a 3.79 ERA. The rest of his season was spent in the PCL for Seattle with 14 games and 108 innings where he had a 7-5 record. It is not known where he pitched in 1919 and he ended his pro career at Mitchell in 1920.

In the majors, LeRoy pitched in 15 games for 73 innings allowing 66 hits and 15 walks while striking out 39. His ERA was 3.22 and he had a OAV of .244.

As a minor leaguer, he had 10 years of pitching more then 200 innings and 4 years with 300 or more innings. He played in 642 games and finished 3,802 innings giving up 3,746 hits and 967 walks with 1,702 strikeouts. His record was 239-222.

LeRoy Died on October 10, 1944 in Shawano, WI.

Willie Ludolph

William Francis "Wee Willie" Ludolph was born on January 21, 1900 in San Francisco. He pitched for the Sioux Falls Soos in 1921 (11-5, 1.95), 1922 (12-6, 2.21) and 1923 (8-3, 2.23).

In 1921, Ludolph also played in Des Moines (Western) in 11 games and 55 innings for a 0-2 record and with his home town San Francisco Seals club for whom he appeared in 4 games with a 3.00 ERA and 1-0 record.

After the South Dakota League folded in 1923, he pitched at Bay City (Michigan-Ontario League) in 11 games with a 2.09 ERA and 9-1 record. Those good years earned him an advancement to the Vernon club of the PCL (26 games, 4.63 ERA, 7-10) and his one-and-only shot in the majors.

In May and June 1924, Ludolph relieved in 3 games for the Detroit Tigers completing 6 innings and allowing 5 hits and 2 walks. He struck out one and had a 4.76 ERA and .250 OAV.

In 1925 he returned to Vernon where he finished 266 innings in 42 games and compiled a 3.65 ERA and 13-12 record. In 1926-1927, he pitched for Mission (PCL) in 43 and 41 games completing 253 and 238 innings with 3.81 and 5.03 ERAs.. His records were 15-13 and 9-20 (led league in losses).

His stay at Mission ended after 8 games in 1928 (2-4, 3.31) and Willie played the rest of the year at Little Rock (Southern Association) for whom he had a 4.71 ERA and 12-10 record in 29 games. In 1929-1930 he stayed in the same league and pitched for Birmingham in 36 and 33 games (239 and 210 innings) with ERAs of 3.62 and 4.71 and 21-8 and 14-9 records.

He ended his pro career in Oakland (PCL) during the 1931-1937 seasons. For the Oaks, he appeared in 39, 38, 38, 37, 37, 33 and 12 games completing 184, 271, 262, 231, 283, 250 and 99 innings for ERAs of 4.94, 2.76, 3.09 (led league), 3.97, 3.08, 2.70 and 2.45. He records those year were 10-12, 16-14, 19-9, 16-12, 20-13, 21-6 and 7-4.

In his exceptional minor league career, Ludolph played 17 years in 568 games. He finished 3,730 innings giving up 3,874 hits and 1,089 walks while striking out 1,233. His ERA was 3.52 and his record was 243-173.

After his baseball life, he worked in the milk trucking business for a company owned by his brother. Ludolph died from a heart attack on April 8, 1952 in Oakland and was buried at the Sepulchre Cemetery in Hayward, CA.

John Michaelson

John August Michaelson was born on August 12, 1893, in Taivalkoski, Finland. He pitched for the 1922 Valley City team (4-8).

Michaelson began his pro career in 1921 in two games for Flint in the Michigan-Ontario League. Also that year he made his only appearances for a major league team - the Chicago White Sox. In August and Septemeber 1921, the right hander pitched in 2 games for the Sox completing 2 2/3 innings, allowing 4 hits and one walk while striking out one. His ERA was 10.13 and his OAV was .400.

After pitching in 1922 for Valley City, he played for New Haven in the Eastern League (0-1). It is not known where or if he pitched professionally in 1923.

The last pro record found for Michaelson was his appearances for Kalamzoo (Mich-Ontario) in 1924 where he pitched in 21 games for a 1-11 record and 2.81 ERA.

John became a painting contractor and died from a heart attack on April 16, 1968, in Woodruff, WI., while dumping rubbish at a city dump. He was buried at the Marenisco Cemetery in Marenisco, MI.

Frank Naleway

Frank "Chick" Naleway was born in Chicago on July 5, 1902 ["The Baseball Necrology" lists July 4, 1901]. He played shortstop for Sioux Falls in 1920 (.227), 1921 (.233), 1922 (.291) and 1923.

In 1923 he played in St. Joseph (Western) in 56 games (.198) and, in 1924, for London-Kalmazoo (Mich-Orlando) for 89 games (.270). On September 16, 1924, Naleway reached the majors with the Chicago White Sox. The right hander played his only MLB game that day with two at bats, no hits and he walked once. In the field, he committed one error in 4 chances as a shortstop.

Naleway's only other professional record that was found were for the 1927-1928 seasons when he was at Burlington and Ottumwa (Mo. Valley) appearing in 124 and 85 games hitting .305 and .296.

Frank died young from the effects of multiple sclerosis on January 28, 1949 in Chicago. He was buried at the Resurrection Cemetery in Justice, IL.

Tom Oliver

Thomas Noble Oliver was born on January 15, 1903, in Montgomery, AL. He was a minor league player from 1923-1929 and 1934-1942; a minor league manager from 1940-1942, 1946-1947, 1950 and (it is believed)1956, a major league player and coach.

From 1923-1929, Tom went up the minor league classification latter from Minot, in the North Dakota League (.207), to Little Rock in the Southern Association where he hit .321 and .338 in 1928-1929. The next 4 years (1930-1933) he was generally a starting outfielder for the Boston Red Sox playing in 154, 148, 122 and 90 games with averages of .293, .276, .264 and .258. Those years were his only MLB experience, but the graceful outfielder thrilled Red Sox fans with his speed and strong arm. As a rookie in 1930, he led the league with 646 at-bats. From 1934-1938, he played at AAA with 3 years at Toronto.

In his major league career he played 514 games hitting .277 with no home runs. In the minors, he played in 1,781 games with a .293 average and 57 home runs. Famed sportswriter Fred Lieb likened Oliver's defensive abilities to that of Tris Speaker and Joe DiMaggio.

He managed in the minors for 7 years (it is believed) apparently including 1956 with Fargo-Moorhead of the Northern League (49, 74, 8^th). His other managerial assignments were also in the low minors. Tom scouted for the Phillies in 1948-1949 and was a major league coach for the Phillies in 1951-1953 and the Orioles in 1954. He also scouted for the Minnesota Twins for 15 years and served in the U.S. Navy during WWII. His death came on February 26, 1988, at his home in Montgomery, he was cremated and the remains were interred at the Greenwood Cemetery there.

Del Paddock

Delmar Harold Paddock was born on August 8, 1887, in Volga (Brookings County), SD. He played outfield and pitched for Mitchell (.356 and 1-2) in 1920.

After playing semi-pro ball in Seattle, Del started professionally as a pitcher in 1910 for the Vancouver Beavers in the class "B" Northwestern League as he pitched 2 no hitters: June 21 - a 4-0 victory over Spokane and on September 13 - a 3-1 win over Tacoma. Del played for Dubuque in 1911.

In January 1912, the New York Highlanders sold him to the Chicago White Sox where he made his major debut on April 14, 1912 when he was hitless in one at bat. The Sox returned him to the Highlanders for 46 games that year as an infielder hitting .288 in 156 at bats. Speedy Paddock (he stole 9 bases) hit 5 doubles, 3 triples and one home run in his 26 hits. He also walked 23 times for very good on base percentage of .393. His fielding percentage was poor at .889. He did not make a pitching appearance in MLB. His 1912 American League games were the only ones played in the major leagues.

He was sold to Rochester in 1913 and was sent to Buffalo for 1914, but joined the St. Paul Saints in the middle of the season and remained there until he was sent to Chattanooga in 1917. He last played pro ball with Mitchell, SD (Dakota League) in 1920 (.356 as an outfielder and had 1-2 records in 32 innings as a pitcher) and at Sioux City in 1921 (.353 in 53 games). .

Del served in World War I and suffered for 10 years with heart problems. He died from a heart attack on February 9, 1952, in Remer, MN, while at his cabin on Rice Lake. He had lived there with his wife for 10 years. Paddock is buried at the Ditson Cemetery in Girard, IL.

Roy Patterson

Roy Lewis "Boy Wonder" Patterson was born on December 17, 1876 in Stoddard, WI. He managed and pitched for the 1921 (3^rd place, 8-5 pitching record) and 1922 (7^th place, 4-8) Wahpeton-Breckenridge Twins.

When Patterson was about 5 years old, his family moved to St. Croix Falls, WI, where he lived the rest of his life. In the early 1890s, he pitched and was an outfielder for the town ball New Richmond (WI) "Millers" and other local "bush" teams. In 1898, he played for the Duluth Dukes of the then amateur Northern League.

Patterson divided his first professional career in 1899 between Duluth (of then pro Northern League) and St. Paul (Western) where he pitched 51 innings in 5 games for a 2-3 record. In 1900 Charles Comiskey moved the Saints to Chicago and took Roy with him. At first, the American League (of which Chicago was a member) was a minor league, but in 1901 it became the second major league. For the Chicago White Stockings/White Sox, he then began a string of eight straight seasons as a great big league control pitcher.

In 1901-1903, he was a front line starter in 35, 30 and 30 games with relief appearances in 6, 4 and 4 more games. The right hander completed 312, 268 and 293 innings those years with ERAs of 3.37, 3.06 and 2.70 and 20-15, 19-14 and 15-15 records. Patterson had the distinction of throwing the first pitch ever by an American League pitcher which was an accidental honor since three other earlier scheduled games had been rained out. His 1901 team wins the league's first pennant

His usage began is lessen in 1904 as he appeared in 22 games and started 17 for a 2.29 ERA in 165 innings with a 9-9 record. In 1905, he was only used in 13 games (9 starts), but he had a 1.83 ERA in 89 innings.

Roy ended is stay in the majors in 1906-1907 with 21 and 19 games (18 and 13 starts) finishing 142 and 96 innings for 2.09 and 2.63 ERAs. As a major leaguer, he threw a spitball and appeared in 184 games and completed 1,365 innings allowing 1,327 hits and 273 walks with 442 strike outs. His career ERA was 2.75, he had a OAV of .255, a 81-72 record and he completed 119 of his 152 starts. Patterson missed the 1906 World Series because he had arm trouble developed by his being overused in the final days of the pennant race.

He then started a 7-year stay with the Minneapolis Millers. From 1908-1914 he appeared in 43, 29, 44, 40, 35, 34 and 21 games for 306, 208, 318, 293, 282, 290 and 162 innings. His records were 21-13, 11-12, 22-12, 24-10, 21-9,18-12 and 10-10. During the 1908 season, he beat Rube Marquard 1-0 in 11 innings and in 1910 came in as a reliever in the first inning of a game and pitched the remaining 17 2/3 innings in a 3-2 victory over St. Paul. The Millers won American Association pennants in 1910, 1911 and 1912.

In 1915, he went to Winnipeg to manage and pitch for their team in the re-formed Northern League. On July 9 he was fired by the team owner, with whom he did not get along, and finished the year with the Fargo-Moorhead club also in the Northern. He composite record that year was 21-5 record in 27 games and 235 innings. His 1916 season was spent at St. Joseph where he appeared in 26 games for 198 innings and a 12-11 record. Another source indicates that he may have umpired some games in the Northern League that year.

World War I caused a shortage of pitchers at Minneapolis, so he returned to the Millers for 1917-1919. In 8, 14 and 4 games, he completed 72, 98 and 20 innings compiling 1.50, 2.30 and [unknown] ERAs. In 1917, he was on the Minneapolis roster from late June to mid-August compiling a 5-3 record with his season ended by a "sprained" arm. June 29 was proclaimed "Patterson Day" at the Millers' home field "Nicollet Park" when he made his first comeback start which they lost 1-0.

His last known pro appearances were in the Dakota League [his record shown above]. In the minors, he appeared in at least 355 games for 2,714 innings and had a career 183-113 record. In those seasons where ERA was calculated, he had a 2.45 mark.

When he returned to St. Croix Falls, he continued to be an avid baseball fan listening to radio play-by-plays the rest of his life and he followed the local town teams. In the 1930s Patterson umpired Polk County Fair baseball tournaments and he remained in good physical condition by playing tennis every day during the summer and by swimming in the St. Croix river near Nevers Dam and Wolf Creek. In the winters, he skated and played some hockey.

In 1923, he took over his father's drayline business hauling freight from the train depot to local businesses first with horses and then by truck. In the early 1940s, he sold his business and semi-retired, but then purchased the contract to carry express (package and freight) in St. Croix Falls and mail between his home town and Dresser, WI. In April 1949, the Minneapolis Millers brought him back to celebrate their 50^th anniversary by having him throw out the ceremonial first pitch of the season.

On April 14, 1953, he died from a heart attack while driving near the top of the Fair Ground hill in St. Croix Falls where he had just buried his grandson's pet dog [the dog's owner was in the Navy]. He had managed to pull his car off to the side of the highway and was found with his hand still on the wheel of the running automobile. Patterson was buried at the St. Croix Falls Cemetery.

Ollie Pickering

Oliver Daniel Pickering was born in Olney, IL on April 9, 1870. He managed Redfield for part of the 1920 season and played in the outfield for 32 games (.223).

Pickering played major league ball with Louisville (National League) in 1896-1897 for 45 and 63 games with batting averages of .303 and .252. He also played part of the 1897 season with Cleveland of the NL (.352).

In 1901-1902 he was with Cleveland in the American League where he performed in 137 and 69 games with averages of .309 and .256 and OAVs of .383 and .306. In the first game of the newly-formed American League, he was the first ever batter.

Ollie moved on to the A's of Philadelphia in 1903-1904 for 137 and 124 games compiling .281 and .226 averages. In 1907 he was with the St. Louis Browns for 151 games (.276) and he capped his major league career in 1908 with Washington playing with 113 games (.225).

In his 8 seasons, he was known as a speedy outfielder with good range and appeared in 885 games and had 3,349 at bats with a .272 average, .334 OBP. a .332 slugging % and 194 stolen bases. As an outfielder in 859 games (also played first in 2 games second in 2 more), he had a combined .949 fielding mark.

He spent the 1909-1910 seasons with the Minneapolis Millers playing in 70 and 160 games with averages of .210 and .241. His other minor league stops included Columbus.

Pickering managed Houston in 1895, Vincennes in 1913, Owensboro in 1914 and Paducah in 1922. He died after a long illness at his home in Vincennes, IN on January 20, 1952. He was buried at the Fairview Cemetery there.

George Pipgras

George William Pipgras was born in Ida Grove, IA on December 20, 1899. After serving overseas with the Army Engineers during World War I, he pitched for Madison in 1921 (12-6).

In 1922, he pitched in 42 games at Charlestown (So. Atl) and compiled a 19-9 record and 2.94 ERA. On January 3, 1923 Pipgras was traded from the Red Sox to the Yankees with Harvey Hendrick for Al DeVormer and cash. He pitched a few games for New York in 1923-1924 appearing in 8 and 9 (2 and 1 starts) with 33 and 15 innings for 5.94 and 9.98 ERAs. In 1925, he pitched for Atlanta and Nashville (So. Atl) for a composite 19-15 record and an ERA of 4.65.

Pipgras pitched in 50 games for St. Paul in 1926 (22-19, 3.87) and then settled in for a 6-year run as a mainstay of the Yankees' pitching corp through the most fabled period in their team history.

From 1927-1932, the right hander pitched in 29, 46, 39, 44, 36 and 32 games with 21, 38, 33, 30, 14 and 27 starts for 166, 301 (led league), 225, 221, 138 and 219 innings. His ERAs, during those years were 4.11, 3.38, 4.23, 4.11, 3.79 and 4.19 and he had records of 10-3, 24-13 (led league), 18-12, 15-15, 7-6 and 18-9. His 4.11 ERA was the best of the Yankees' starters in 1927. Also that year, the fastballer started game 2 of the World Series and gave up a triple to lead-off hitter Lloyd Warner, then a sac fly to Clyde Barnhart before settling down to win 6-2. In his career, he started and won all of his 3 Series' games (26 innings, 2.77 ERA) and was the pitcher in game 3 of the 1932 Series (the one of the supposed Babe Ruth called shot). He led the league in shutouts in 1930.

In 1933 he started the season with the Yankees (4 starts, 33 inn., 2-2, 3.27), but on May 12, he was sent back to the Red Sox with Bill Werber for $100,000. For Boston the rest of the season he was in 22 games including 17 starts with 128 innings and a 4.07 ERA and 9-8 record.

That was the end of his productive years in the majors. He pitched in only 2 and 5 games for the Red Sox in 1934-1935 with 3 and 5 innings for 8.10 and 14.40 ERAs.

In his 11 major league seasons, Pipgras made 189 starts and was a reliever in 87 more games finishing 1,488 innings allowing 1,529 hits and 598 walks with 714 strikeouts. His career ERA was 4.09, he had a 102-73 record and a .266 OAV. He once was robbed in a railroad station which caused him to lose his 1932 World Series watch.

George ended his pro career at Nashville in the Southern Association in 1935 (4.80, 4-6). In 1938 he became an American League umpire who once ejected 17 players during a Browns-White Sox game. Pipgrass remained an umpire until 1946. He died on October 19, 1986 in Gainesville, FL, was cremated and buried in Memorial Park Cemetery in St. Petersburg.

Bill Shipke

William Martin "Skipper Bill" or "Muskrat Bill" Shipkrethaver [later changed to "Shipke"] was born on November 18, 1882 in St. Louis. He managed Huron in 1920 (3^rd) and Aberdeen for part of 1922. Shipke also played second base in 1920 (.254).

Bill made the Cleveland Naps out of spring training in 1906, but only stayed with them for 2 games with 6 at bats and no hits. In 1907-1909, he became a utility player for Washington for whom he played 64, 111 and 9 games with .196, .208 and .125 averages and .262, .297 and .222 OBPs.

In his 4 major league seasons he appeared in 186 games and had 552 at bats with a career .199 batting average, .280 OBP and .261 slugging %. He played in the field at third (179 games), second (3) and short (2) with a .935 fielding %.

Shipke continued in baseball as a scout for the Reds and Indians. On September 10, 1940, he died at a hospital in Omaha due to a leakage of the heart and high blood pressure. He was buried at the West Lawn Cemetery in Omaha.

Harry Seibold

Harry "Socks" Seibold was born on April 3, 1896, in Philadelphia. He apparently played for Valley City in 1923 a pitcher and outfielder (.246, pitching record not known).

Siebold's first appearances in the major leagues were in 1915 as a shortstop in 7 games for the A's. He also appeared in 3 other games with combined 28 at bats and 3 hits. In 1916, he was converted to a pitcher in the minors and pitched in 3 A's games (2 starts) for 22 innings with an ERA of 4.15 and 1-1 record and he also played one game in the outfield (2-for-12 as a hitter).

In 1917, he pitched in 33 games for the A's with 15 starts, 160 innings for a 3.94 ERA and 4-16 record. He also appeared in his last 2 games as an outfielder (.220 in a total of 59 at bats). He finished his stay with the A's in 1919 with 14 games and 46 innings for a 5.32 ERA and 2-3 record. A sore arm limited his effectiveness.

In 1920-1921, Socks was in the PCL for Seattle and Oakland pitching in 35 and 29 games with ERAs of 3.48 and 7.34 and records of 13-14 and 3-8. It is not known if he played pro ball in 1922, but it is believed that it was the first time he "retired" from baseball. As mentioned above, he was with Valley City in 1923.

In 1924, he pitched in the PCL again for Oakland in 12 games (0-1). He retired again in 1925 and did not play from 1925-1928. In 1928, Siebolt got back on track with a 22-8 record and 3.00 ERA for Reading of the International League in 38 games.

Socks then made it back to the majors with the Boston Braves for the 1929-1933 seasons. During those years he made 33, 36, 33, 28 and 11 appearances completing 206, 251, 206, 137 and 37 innings. His ERAs were 4.73, 4.12, 4.67, 4.68 and 3.68 and he had records of 12-17, 15-16, 10-18, 3-10 and 1-4. In 191 major league games on the mound, Seibolt pitched 1,064 innings, allowed 1,179 hits, 405 walks and 296 strike outs. The right hander's career ERA was 4.43 and he had a 48-85 record. His career batting average was .192 with 7 games at short and 3 in the outfield.

He ended his pro career with Albany of the International League with a few appearances in 1934 (0-1).

Seibolt died in Philadelphia on September 21, 1965.

Al Simmons

Aloys Szymanski [later changed to Aloysius Harry Simmons] "Bucketfoot Al" was born on May 22, 1902, in Milwaukee. He played for the 1922 Aberdeen Grays (.365).

Simmons was originally signed by the Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association and they sold him to Aberdeen for $100 but with an option to buy back his contract for the same amount at the end of the 1922 season. Not only did he hit .365 but he played errorless ball in the field. Needless to say, Milwaukee bought his contract after the season.

The following is from "Baseball - The Biographical Encyclopedia":

" 'I hate pitchers,' Al Simmons once said. 'Those guys are trying to take the meat and potatoes right off my plate, the bread and butter out of my mouth,' Said Yankees outfielder Tommy Henrich, 'When Al Simmons would grab hold of a bat and dig in, he'd squeeze the handle of the doggone thing and throw the barrel of that bat toward the pitcher in his warm-up swings and he would look so bloomin' mad - in batting practice. What a smasher he was. He's got to be the most vicious man I ever saw at home plate. Oh, but was he an angry man when he strode up to bat. He hated pitchers with a vengeance and showed it.

"He briefly attended Stevens Point Teachers College and played semipro baseball for a team in Juneau, WI before signing in 1922 to play professionally with the Milwaukee Brewers...[H]e changed his name to Simmons which he found in a newspaper ad for a hardware store. In 19 games for the Brewers he hit only .222 and was farmed out to Aberdeen of the South Dakota League where he hit .365. The next year he moved up to Shreveport of the Texas League, hit .360, then returned to Milwaukee for the final 24 games of the season, hitting .398. Owner Connie Mack of the Philadelphia A's bought his contract for the 1924 season for $50,000.

"Simmons had an unusual batting stance. His left foot was pointed straight down the third-base line and as the pitch was delivered he strode toward third. He appeared to be pulling off the pitch, what was traditionally called 'stepping into the bucket.' The bucket was the water bucket on the bench. Consequently he was called "Bucketfoot Al" much to his displeasure. Simmons later explained, 'Although my left foot stabbed out toward third base, the rest of me, from the belt up, especially my wrists, arms and shoulders was swinging in a proper line over the plate. A fellow's got to hit the way that comes naturally to him.' He added, 'Hitters are born, not made.'

"Mack told his players, 'Let that young man alone. If he can hit like [he did in Milwaukee], it's all right with me if he stands on his head at the plate.' Criticism all but disappeared when Simmons hit .306 with 102 RBIs as a rookie. That was just a hint of his potential. He drove in 100 runs in each of his first 11 seasons and batted .300 each of those seasons as well. In his sophomore season Simmons cracked out 253 hits, the fourth-highest total ever and hit .387. He scored 122 runs and drove in 129. He finished second in the American League in slugging average with a .599 mark.

"After nearly a decade in the second division, usually in last place, Mack was rebuilding his Athletics in the mid-1920s. Infielder Jimmy Dykes, Pitcher Eddie Rommel, catcher Cy Perkins and outfielder Bing Miller were already in Philadelphia when Simmons and second baseman Max Bishop arrived in 1924. In 1925 Mack added catcher Mickey Cochrane and pitcher Lefty Grove. The team jumped to second place in the American League.

"In a few more years all the pieces of the puzzle were in place. Jimmie Fox came to the team in 1926 but didn't have a position until Mack installed him at first base in 1929. Foxx and Simmons then formed a one-two batting punch that rivaled the New York Yankees' duo of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Mack rejuvenated the A's by recruiting talented youngsters but he also hired some veterans in their final seasons. Outfielders Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker and Zack Wheat all played for Philadelphia in the late 1920s. Although Cobb was generally detested, Simmons got along with him well. Simmons never had trouble with anyone who could make him a better hitter. But Simmons' single-minded attention to his own hitting made him unpopular with many teammates.

"In 1927 Simmons hit for the highest batting average of his career, with .392, but a groin injury limited him to only 106 games. Nevertheless, he knocked in 108 runs. The next year illness restricted him to 119 games, but he hit .351 with 107 RBIs. Later, when he career was over and he was only 73 hits shy of 3,000, Simmons considered whether there might have been occasions when he could have played despite illness or injury. Simmons stayed healthy in 1929. He hit .365 with 34 home runs, 114 runs scored and a league leading 157 RBIs. 'The Sporting News' named him league Most Valuable Player and the A's moved past the Yankees to capture their first pennant since 1914.

"Philadelphia then beat the powerful Chicago Cubs to a five-game World Series in which Simmons hit .300. In game 4 the A's where trailing 8-0 in the seventh inning when Simmons led off with a home run. Philadelphia eventually scored 10 runs in the inning, the greatest rally in World Series history. In 1930 Simmons won the league batting title with a .381 mark. He led the league with 152 runs, hitting 36 home runs and collecting 165 RBIs. Out of curiosity, Washington Senators owner Clark Griffith checked Simmons' season record and discovered that 14 of his home runs were hit in the eighth or ninth inning. Simmons also led league outfielders in fielding in 1930. Although his powerful bat garnered all the attention, he was also one of the best defensive outfielders of his day, sure-handed and blessed with an excellent arm. When Lefty Grove lost his bid for a league-record 17^th straight win because of a substitute left fielder's misplay, he was enraged at Simmons for being out of the lineup.

"The A's took their second straight pennant in 1930. In the World Series, the St. Louis Cardinals took them to six games before the A's triumphed. Simmons hit .364 including home runs in both the first and final games. Simmons held out for a salary increase in 1931. At the beginning of the season Mack announced that Simmons would not be in the opening day lineup. Mack took the cab to Shibe Park that morning. As he reached for his wallet, the cabbie told him, 'If you can't afford Al Simmons, you can't afford me either.' A few hours later, Simmons signed a three-year contract. On the first pitch to him that day, Simmons homered.

"Simmons hit .390 in 1931 to win his second consecutive batting championship. He added 105 runs scored, 128 RBIs and 22 homers as the A's won their third pennant in a row. They disappointed in the Series, however. Behind the inspired play of Pepper Martin, St. Louis defeated Philadelphia in seven games. Simmons hit .333 with eight RBIs and for the third straight Series two home runs. Philadelphia fell to second place in 1932, 13 games behind the Yankees. After so much success, the A's seemed to lack their earlier spark. Simmons said later, 'When I finally decided I had it made, I was never again the ballplayer I was when I was hungry.' His batting average slipped to .322, but he still hit 35 home runs, with 151 RBIs, 144 runs scored and al league-leading 216 hits.

"The depression destroyed the A's. Connie Mack could no longer afford to pay high salaries without an influx of cash. As the 1932 season ended, he sold Simmons, Dykes and Mule Haas to the Chicago White Sox for $150,000. White Sox fans expected Simmons to continue hitting in the .360 to .380 range. But he no longer had the terrifying Jimmie Fox batting behind him nor was Comiskey Park as friendly toward hitters as Shibe had been. Still, he was named to play in the Inaugural All star game and batted .331 for the season with 119 RBIs. His 14 home runs, however, were his lowest total since his rookie year.

"During the winter of 1933-1934 the Sox moved Comiskey's home plate 10 feet closer to the fences. The move was intended to help Simmons, but he increased his home run total only four. In reality, he never was a true home run hitter like Foxx, who hit towering shots. Most of Simmons' homers were line drives. Although chosen for the all star game for the third straight season in 1935, Simmons had a poor year. His RBIs dropped to 79. His first major league season he did not top 100. His batting average fell to .267. Sold that December to Detroit for $75,000, he rebounded to hit .327 with 112 RBIs, his 12^th and final time over the 100 mark.

"During the next several years he played for Washington, The Boston Braves, Cincinnati, the Boston Red Sox and eventually the A's again. Simmons finally retired after playing only 4 games in 1944. Following his retirement Simmons coached for the A's and Cleveland. He was elected to the Hall Of Fame in 1953, three years before his death from a heart attack."

On April 4, 1937, he was sold to the Senators for $15,000 and played for them in 1937-1938 in 103 and 125 games batting .279 and .302 with 85 and 95 RBIs. He was sold to the National League's Boston team on December 29, 1938 for $3,000 and was with them (93 g, .282) until August 31 when he was sold to the Reds for the remaining part of the year (9 g, .143). He also played in the '39 World Series going 1 for 4 in one game. .

For the 1940-1941 season, he returned to the A's as a player-coach and was in 37 and 9 games with .309 and .125 averages. Simmons was 8-for-16 as a pinch hitter in 1940. He did not play in 1942, but returned in 1943 for the Red Sox where he appeared in 40 games batting .203. His last major league games were with the A's again in 1944 when he was 3-for-6 in 4 games with 2 of the games being pinch hitting appearances (1 for 2).

During his 20 years of major league play, he performed in 2,215 games and had 8,759 at bats. He career average was .334, OBP of .380 and slugging % of .535. He played in the outfield in 2,142 games and at first for one game with a .982 fielding %. Al was 17 for 66 as a pinch hitter. His excellent World Series play caused him to be ranked in Series' records as 5^th with a slugging % of .658 and 8^th in home run % at 8.2 at bats per homer.

Simmons was manager at Jacksonville, TX in 1936 and a major league coach for the A's in 1940-1942 and 1944-49 and for the Indians in 1950-1951. He died on May 26, 1956 from a heart attack suffered in front of the Athletic Club in Milwaukee where he had been living. His burial was at the St. Adalbert's Cemetery in Milwaukee.

Wib Smith

Wilbur Floyd Smith was born on August 30, 1886 in Evart, MI. He managed Jamestown in 1922 (5^th) and Watertown in 1923 (4^th). He caught in 37 games in 1922 (.234) and probably played in 1923 as well.

Smith's only major league games came in 1909 for the St. Louis Browns. The left handed batter appeared in 17 games for them batting .190 in 42 at bats. He caught in 13 and played first in one other game. His fielding average was .836.

Wib played for the Minneapolis Millers in 1910-12 for whom he appeared in 34 games for a .288 average.

After baseball, Wib worked for 25 years for the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company with his last 15 as manager of their branch in Fargo, ND. He retired in Fargo and died there at a hospital on November 18, 1959. His burial was at the Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis.

Jerry Standaert

Jerome John Standaert was born in Chicago on November 2, 1901. He played second and third for the 1922 Watertown team (.332).

Standaert had two minor league stops in 1923. First for Marshall (E. Texas), he was in 24 games (.327) and then at Shreveport (Texas) where he played 37 more (.238). In 1924, he was at Winston-Salem (Piedmont) for 112 games (.332).

On April 16, 1925 he made his major league debut pinch hitting for the Brooklyn Dodgers [he failed to get a hit]. He spent the remainder of the year at Springfield (Eastern) hitting .330 in 140 games.

In 1926 he was an utility infielder for the Dodgers in 66 games playing 21 games at second, 14 at third and 6 at short for a .918 fielding %. He had 113 official plate appearances and batted .345 with a .378 OBP.

His 1927 year was spent at the Southern Association's Memphis team where he performed in 138 games batting .305. He returned to the Chicks in 1928 for 112 games and a fine .358 average.

The right hander's next and last MLB games came in 1929 for the Boston Red Sox for whom he played 19 games and had 18 at bats for a .167 average. In his major league career, he performed in 86 games and had 132 at bats for a .318 average. His OBP was .362 and he had a slugging % of .424.

In 1930 he played for Mobile in the Southern Association (.301) and for Springfield (III) in 1931 (.319) and 1932 (.289). The last record of his playing professionally was in 1934 for Cedar Rapids of the Western League (.322).

Standaert died on August 4, 1964 in Chicago and was buried at the St. Mary Cemetery in Evergreen Park, IL.

George Stueland

George Anton Stueland was born on March 2, 1899 in Algona, IA ["The Baseball Necrology states Renwick, IA]. He pitched for the 1920 Sioux Falls Soos (22-9).

In September 1921, Stueland first wore a major league uniform for the Chicago Cubs. In 2 games and 11 innings he allowed 11 hits and 7 walks while striking out 4. He had one start and compiled a 5.73 ERA and .282 OAV.

He had his big chance with the Cubs in 1922 starting 11 games and reliving in 24 more. He completed 113 innings for a 5.81 ERA and 9-4 record. In 1923, he only appeared in 6 games for them with 8 innings and a 5.63 ERA. During the 1924 season, he pitched 51 games for Seattle (PCL) with an 18-13 record and 4.55 ERA.

The right hander's last major league appearances came in 1925, for the Cubs, when he pitched in 2 games for 3 innings and a 3.00 ERA. In his career, he appeared in 45 MLB games finishing 135 innings giving up 153 hits and 64 walks while striking out 52. He had a 5.73 ERA, .297 OAV and a 9-6 record.

The rest of his 1925 year was at Columbus (AA) where he was 3-18 with a 5.94 ERA. In 1926, he again pitched 4 games at Columbus (0-3) and was at Lincoln (Western) the rest of the year for 22 games (8-9).

In 1927-1928 he finished his pro career in the Western League pitching for Lincoln and Wichita in '27 for a total of 31 games (9-15) and at Wichita and Amarillo in '28 for 24 games (7-11).

Stueland died on September 9, 1964 in Onawa, IA,

Art Thomason

Arthur Wilson Thomason was born on February 12, 1899, in Liberty, MO. He played at Huron in 1920 (.314).

Late in the 1910 season, Thomason played in 20 games for Cleveland as an outfielder. He was 12 for 70 as a left handed batter (.171) hitting 11 singles and one triple. He also walked 5 times for a .227 OBP. His fielding average was .944.

After 1920, Thomason's only other pro seasons are believed to be in 1922 and 1923 in the Mississippi Valley League. For Waterloo and Rock Island he played a total of 122 games in '23 for a .315 average and in '23 he was in 123 games for Rock Island only (.295).

Art became a clerk of the county court for Clay County, MO, for 5 years after serving three terms as City Marshall at Liberty, MO. He was an avid fisherman and hunter, but his foot froze during a 1939 hunting trip which resulted in it's amputation. Thomason died on May 1, 1944, in Kansas City, MO, at the Research Medical Hospital of complications following surgery. He was buried at the Fairview Cemetery in Liberty.

Pete Turgeon

Eugene Joseph Turgeon was born in Minneapolis on January 3, 1897. He played short for Aberdeen in 1920 (.316) and 1921 (.302).

In 1922, he was the shortstop for Des Moines (Western) for 130 games with a .260 average. He started his 1923 season at Beaumont (Texas) where he played 150 games hitting .290. In September, Turgeon appeared in 3 games for the Chicago Cubs coming to the plate 8 times and getting one hit. He committed one error in 8 chances at shortstop. They were the right hander's only major league appearances.

In 1924, Pete began a 6-year stint with Wichita Falls (Texas) as a middle infielder. He performed in 156, 105, 160, 157, 158 and 142 games and hit .284, .294, .297, .305, .245 and .306. His home run numbers were good for his position as he hit 28, 18, 26, 18, 19 and 22 those years. .

In 1930, he played for the American Association's Milwaukee Brewers and batted .319. He also played for them part of 1931 with the remaining games for Toledo (combined .283). Turgeon stayed with Toledo from 1932-1934 with averages of .259, .188 and .235.

His final pro appearances were made playing for Fort Worth of the Texas League in 1935 (.211). Pete had a good 15-year minor league career.

Turgeon was a World War I veteran and, after baseball, owned two liquor stores in Wichita Falls, TX. He died at his home there on January 23, 1977. The Crestview Memorial Park in Wichita Falls was his burial location.

Hoke Warner

Hoke "Hooks" Warner was born on May 22, 1894 in Del Rio, TX. He probably was not a catcher for Minot in 1923 (.250). [He is included here as a possible Dakota League player.]

Warner made the Pittsburgh Pirates in August 1916 and played at third base for 42 games and second for one other. He made 168 official plate appearances with a .238 average. In 1917, he was only in 3 games with the Bucs and went 1-for-5. He finished his time with Pittsburgh in 1919 as, in 6 games, he was 1-for-8 as a third baseman. He was probably in the service in 1918 and it is not known if he played in 1920.

Warner's last MLB games were in 1921 for the Cubs as he appeared in 14 games with 38 at bats (.211) again at third base. His final major league totals were: 67 games, 219 ab's, .228 ave, .268 obp, .274 slug. with 56 games at third and one at second base. His fielding average was .906.

No records can be found for him in 1922 and 1924. His last known pro appearances were at Syracuse (IL) in 1925 when he went 0-for-4.

Warner was a World War I veteran. He died of a subdural hematoma and liver disease in San Francisco on February 19, 1947 and was buried in Del Rio.

Ed Whiting

Edward C. Whiting (aka Harry Zieber] was born in Philadelphia in 1860. It is believed that he managed Fargo in 1922 and Jamestown in 1923 for partial seasons. Due to the age issue, this may be incorrect.

Whiting appeared in early major league baseball games for Baltimore in 1882 (.260 in 74 games), Louisville in 1883 (.292 in 58 games) and 1884 (.223 in 42 games). In 1886 he ended his big league career with 6 games for the National League Washington club (0 for 21).

He caught 168 games, played outfield in 10, first in 6 and also made appearances at second and third. In his total 180 games, he batted .255 with a .282 OPB and .347 slugging %.

His death date is not known.

Ralph Works

Ralph Talmadge "Judge" Works was born on March 16, 1888 at Payson, IL. He managed Madison for part of the 1920 season.

A right handed pitcher, Works came up to the Detroit Tigers in May 1909 and appeared in 16 games (4 starts) for 64 innings and a 1.64 ERA. In 1910-1912, he was in 18, 30 and 27 Tigers' games including 10, 15 and 16 starts completing 86, 167 and 157 innings. His ERAs those years were 3.57, 3.87 and 4.24 and he had an 11-5 record in 1911. He also played for Cincinnati for part of the '12 season (3 games, 2.79). He was called "Judge" by his teammates because of his scholarly countenance.

His last major league games came with the Reds in1913 when he made 5 appearances for them with 15 innings and a 7.80 ERA. During his 5 MLB seasons, he pitched in 99 games (48 starts) finishing 499 innings allowing 512 hits and 202 walks while striking out 208. His career ERA was 3.79 and he had a .271 OAV. Works' record was 24-24.

Works also managed at Fulton in 1922. After baseball retirement, he became a salesman and lived in Pasadena, CA. He died at this home there on August 8, 1941 due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head [an apparent double suicide in which his wife also died]. Works was buried in the Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena, CA.

Other Major League experience possibilities:

Gregory (P 1920) Frank Gregory - 1912 Reds?

Pepper (P 1923) Bob Pepper - 1915 A's?

Jack Schmidt (1b 1921) Charles John "Butch" Schmidt - 1909, 1913-1915 Yankees and Braves?

Sources:

"The Minor League Register" edited by Lloyd Johnson, pub: Baseball America

"The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball" (2^nded) edited by Lloyd Johnson and Miles Wolff, pub: Baseball America

"Total Baseball" (6^th ed), pub: Total Sports

The Baseball Encyclopedia - 10^th edition - pub: Macmillan

"The Baseball Necrology" by Bill Lee, pub:McFarland

"The Historical Register" compiled by Bob Hoie and Carlos Bauer, pub: Baseball Press Books

"The Baseball Biographical Encyclopedia", pub: Sport Classic Books

"On to Nicollet" by Stew Thornley pub. by The Nodin Press

Mike Bosanko

Stew Thornley

The Sporting News

Beckett.com

Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, New Richmond, Wisconsin

"St. Croix Falls' Patterson had Long Baseball Career" by Ward Moberg in the "Dalles Visitor" - May 1986; published by Polk County, WI

"Minneapolis Star" - April 14, 1953

Professional Baseball Player Statistical Database 1920-1929; pub by Old Time Data Inc.

Jerry Jackson

Chicago Historical Society

"The Ballplayers" edited by Mike Shatzkin; published by Arbor House

2000 Cups of Coffee by Marc Okkonen-unpublished [available for download on SABR members-only web pages]