1925 Knoxville Colored High School baseball team

I was able to make a return trip to the Beck Cultural Exchange Center on Saturday afternoon. I was seeking baseball info from African-American newspapers that they have in their collection.  They're currently undergoing some rearranging and that resource wasn't available to me.  So I turned to their local yearbooks.

Knoxville Colored High School was formed in 1916.  Robert Booker wrote about the history of the Austin schools in a Knoxville News Sentinel column in 2009.

This team photo came from The Echo (vol. III), the KCHS yearbook of 1926.

I think that the coach, O. C. Twyner, was Olger Conelius Twyner.  I have found him in the both the 1927 and 1928 Knoxville City Directories.

1927 - Twyner, Olger C (c) (Mary H) sec-genl mgr Western Heights Merc Co  r 1817 College
1928 - Twyner, Olger C (c) (Mary H) tchr r 1817 College

That address today is at College and Jourolman, just north of Knoxville College.

Below is his draft registration card for World War One.

 Description: Registration State: Illinois; Registration County: St Clair; Roll: 1613396; Draft Board: 3
Description: Draft Card: T
Source Information: Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line].
Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.

Original data: United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls.
Imaged from Family History Library microfilm.

Searching through the public family trees at Ancestry, it appears that Coach Twyner passed away in May of 1975.

I'm assuming that Greeneville College is somehow associated with Tusculum College in Greeneville, Tennessee.  Nelson Merry College, an African-American school, was located in Jefferson City, Tennessee.  Walnut Hill High?  There is a Walnut Hill in Sullivan County, Tennessee.  There was a Langston High School located in Johnson City.

baseball images from the Beck Cultural Exchange Center

East Tennessee SABR Meeting in Bristol

On August 29, 2015, the East Tennessee Chapter of SABR had their summer meeting on August 29, 2015, in Bristol, Virginia.  Lucas Hobbs, the Vice President of Bristol Baseball, Inc., worked with the Bristol Pirates to make our memorable.

Bristol has a varied baseball history.  Some of the highlights are winning the Appalachian League title in 1922, 1942, 1950, 1972, 1974, 1985, 1998, and 2002.  They also had a player named Ron Necciai who struck out 27 batters in a single game.

There were three SABR members in attendance, with two guests.

The meeting started at 6pm, with Jeff Johnson, the Pirates pitching coach, talking with us about his time as a player and then as a coach.  The audio clip can be found on the audio page.  If that doesn't work (and I've been experiencing some issues with it, try this direct link to the mp3 file).

The meeting was cut short as Lucas had duties to attend to and I had the honor of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.  Let's just say it was a bit low and inside.  Or maybe I was channeling what Jeff Johnson said about teaching his pitchers to throw down and tight.

The Pirates were hosting the Pulaski Yankees in the final game of the season at Boyce Cox Field.  The baseball was enjoyable.  One of the guests at the meeting was Tony Hightower, father of the Pirates pitcher Scooter Hightower.  Unfortunately, Scooter got his second loss as a Pirate that evening as they fell to Pulaski 6-1 (box score).

The night was beautiful.  The following is an untouched photo from my cell phone.

Marshall Adesman and I sat in the reserved seats on the first base side and spent most of the game talking baseball and swapping stories.  We ended up running into Lee Landers, president of the Appalachian League.  More swapping of stories.

All in all, a nice night.

Base Ball Park, Knoxville, Tenn.

Over the years I've had the pleasure and privilege of meeting people involved with, or interested in baseball in east Tennessee.  One of those is Walter "Hawkeye" Bates.  I met Hawkeye through his involvement with the Knoxville Holstons Vintage Base Ball Club.  He's a member and I'm a fan.  Several months ago he mentioned to me that he had a photo/postcard of an old baseball ground in Knoxville.  My interest was immediately piqued.

We talked about it off and on through the summer and he finally got tired of me pestering him and sent a photo my way.

I looked through my reference notes and by the date that Hawkeye shares this would most likely be Chilhowee Park Base Ball Park.

I did see a listing on ebay for this postcard and a date of 1913 was attached.  I don't know if that was the date that the postcard was mailed or if there's some other info that indicates that this park was in use that year.  If it does depict a park in 1913 that might have been Caswell Park.

Thanks for sharing this, Hawkeye.  Keep your willow supple.

Wonder how this worked out...

We've all wondered what the skipper and the ump are actually saying when they get together and express their displeasure for a call or each other. 

Athletes and coaches are "mic-ed up" in current sporting events, why not do it 57 years ago?

The Sporting News - April 30, 1958

Well, as the photo caption says, the placing of the microphone enabled "...fans to hear the managers and umpires discuss ground rules in pre-game huddles and for the announcing of lineup changes after the game is underway."

I guess they didn't get to hear the juicy stuff.  Unless the coaches were really loud.

Early Standings of the 1902 City League

Following up on the City League of 1902, I next found mention of the league in the paper a few weeks after they started.  Two games each have been played.  And the C.M. McClungs are on top of the standings.

Knoxville Journal and Tribune - July 27, 1902
image from the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection

Constable Doyle, who broke his left arm, was Perez Dickson Doyle.  He appears in the 1903 Knoxville City Directory.

Knoxville, Tennessee, City Directory, 1903

Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. 
Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Perez Doyle was born in 1872, being 30 years old when he managed the South Knoxville team.  According to his death certificate he died of "cancer of stomach" in 1939.  He's buried in the New Prospect Presbyterian Church cemetery just off of Sevierville Pike, behind Chapman Ford Crossing in south Knoxville.

Singleton's Tigers Win

113 years ago today John Singleton's Tigers played the colored team from Chattanooga at Baldwin park and beat them 9-5.  Another game was scheduled for the 25th.

Knoxville Journal and Tribune - July 25, 1902
image from the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection

Baseball between colored teams was not uncommon in and around Knoxville at this time.  But who was John Singleton?  In the 1900 US Census there's a John Singleton who was 28.  No occupation is listed for him.

In 1910 we find a John Singleton who is now 38.  He's a city policeman, married with a daughter.  Ten years later he's 48 and a city detective. 

Chicago's Broad Ax, a black paper, carried the story of his appointment.

The Broad Ax (Chicago, IL) - April 28, 1917
image from GenealogyBank.com

I think that John Singleton the policeman/detective was also the John Singleton that ran a baseball team in 1902.

Foreign Born Players for Knoxville teams

For the summer meeting of the East Tennessee Chapter of SABR, I took a bit of time and assembled a list of players born outside of the United States that have played for a Knoxville team according to Baseball-Reference.com  

I assume that this list is not complete as there are some limitations on Baseball-Reference.  Some of the data just isn't there. 

The players are listed in chronological order of playing time.  I decided to stop at 1965 as the influx of foreign born players started to greatly increase and time was running out to do the research for the meeting.

Phil Nadeau - born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1872
Played outfield for the 1909 Charleston Seagulls / Knoxville Appalachians of the South Atlantic League
His minor league career spanned from 1894 to 1914

Dutch Schesler - born in Frankfort, Germany in 1900
Pitched for the 1936 Knoxville Smokies of the Southern Association
His minor league career spanned from 1920 to 1943
He played 17 games for the 1931 Philadelphia Phillies

Jack Aragon - born in La Habana, Cuba in 1915
Played catcher for the 1939 Knoxville Smokies of the Southern Association
He was back with the 1950 and 1951 Knoxville Smokies as both player and manager
His minor league career spanned from 1937 to 1951
He played 1 game for the 1941 New York Giants

Earl Cook - born in Stouffville, Ontario, Canada in 1908
Pitched for the 1941 Knoxville Smokies of the Southern Association
His minor league career spanned from 1932 to 1946
He played 1 game for the 1941 Detroit Tigers

Al Campanis - born in Kos, Dodescanese, Greece in 1916
Played infield for the 1942 Knoxville Smokies of the Southern Association
His minor league career spanned from 1940 to 1948
He played 7 games for the 1943 Brooklyn Dodgers

Lou Polli - born in Baveno, Italy in 1901
Pitched for the 1942 Knoxville Smokies of the Southern Association
His minor league career spanned from 1922 to 1945
He played 5 games for the 1932 St. Louis Browns
He played 19 games for the 1944 New York Giants

William Casanova - born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada in 1930
Played outfield for the 1956 Montgomery Rebels / Knoxville Smokies of the South Atlantic League
His minor league career spanned from 1951 to 1956

Jacques Monette - born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1930
Played outfield for the 1956 Montgomery Rebels / Knoxville Smokies of the South Atlantic League
Played outfield for the 1957 Knoxville Smokies of the South Atlantic League
His minor league career spanned from 1950 to 1958

Bill Diemer - born in Woodslee, Ontario, Canada in 1931
Pitched for the 1957 Knoxville Smokies of the South Atlantic League
His minor league career spanned from 1951 to 1957

Dave Roberts - born in Panama in 1933
Played for the 1957 Knoxville Smokies of the South Atlantic League
His minor league career spanned from 1952 to 1966
He played for three seasons in the Majors (Houston and Pittsburgh)
He later played for seven seasons in two different Japanese Leagues

Arnold Hallgren - born in Winfield, Alberta, Canada in 1933
Played outfield for the 1959 Knoxville Smokies of the South Atlantic League
His minor league career spanned from 1952 to 1961

John Ryan - born in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada in 1939
Played infield for the 1961, 1962, and 1963 Knoxville Smokies of the South Atlantic League
His minor league career spanned from 1960 to 1971

The 1963 season saw six foreign born players. The Smokies were part of the Detroit Tigers’ organization.

• Pete Craig - Canada 
• Mike Cuellar - Cuba 
• Ricardo Delgado - Puerto Rico 
• Chico Fernandez - Cuba 
• Larry Rojas - Cuba 
• John Ryan - Canada 

The 1964 season saw two foreign born players. The Smokies (Southern League) were part of the Detroit Tigers’ organization.

• John Hiller - Canada 
• Larry Rojas - Cuba 

The 1965 season saw two foreign born players. The Smokies (Southern League) were part of the Cincinnati Reds’ organization.

• Rogelio Alvarez - Cuba 
• Francisco Obregon - born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1936 

Because some people like numbers -- from 1897 to 1965 there were 20 different foreign born ball players associated with the Knoxville team.

• 9 players from Canada
• 5 players from Cuba
• 1 player from Germany
• 1 player from Greece
• 1 player from Italy
• 1 player from Panama
• 1 player from Puerto Rico
• 1 player from Venezuela