Tuesday, April 28, 2020

A few words from Ivan Pelaez


Over the winter and into spring I noticed one of the people being active and engaging on social media is Ivan Pelaez.
The Biscuits reliever possesses observations and insight that he offers to others with a unique understated realism. Ivan is one of those folks who makes friends everywhere he goes, due in part to his outgoing personality and easy speaking manner.


Ivan makes friends at Rickwood Field

Ivan enjoys his time in the 'pen
I have always liked Ivan and not just because the first thing he said to me was a comment on my facial hair. "Now THATS a mustache!" he said to me when we first met, even as he himself sported a premium lip-sweater.


Ivan has a fantastic view on life that is wholesome and down to earth yet firmly planted in the real world. Able to sum up a situation and inflect the perfect balance of hopes-fears-reality, Ivan's voice in the Biscuits bullpen often frames the moment as deftly as a catcher pulling a close pitch into the strike zone to give the ump a better look.


It is for that and many other reasons that I reached out to him and asked him to write a guest piece for the blog. I was honored when he accepted and quickly offered up this short piece on the topic of being a ballplayer with no baseball.





Well what’s life without baseball for me? 

Well I have two boys that keep me pretty much on business all day so I’m pretty much on daddy duty 24/7 so Instead of throwing baseball I’m changing diapers and instead giving out high fives I’m giving out milk and juice boxes. 


I still get my throwing in the afternoons. It’s definitely a little chaotic from me then most people I’ll tell you that. 


It’s big bummer that we aren’t out there playing games but I’m taking this time to spend as much time with my family and my boys as I can and enjoying the little Moments that I would miss when I’m gone so I’m grateful for that but I’m excited to get back and start working again.

Nice!
Thanks for sharing, Ivan!
Be safe and enjoy the family time, we look forward to seeing you back on the center berm soon!








Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Today in the Past 4-22, Dramatics of Mobile visit Montgomery, Alabama's First Baseball Conference


Today we continue our look at the history files. Before putting these items together for this post, I had no idea that there were multiple items from the same day in the same year!


As good as history is, its time to get something current. In the next post we will hear from Biscuits reliever Ivan Pelaez on what it's like to be a ballplayer with no baseball.




APRIL 22 1868 
Montgomery defeats Mobile in opening game of the year.

Baseball players from across the state have gathered in Montgomery for Alabama's first baseball convention and are on hand to take in the tilt between the host city Montgomery and Mobile.



The Mobile Dramatics are formed from a theater troupe and other notable sporting and businessmen of the port city.

Third baseman for the Dramatics John Payne is a Confederate Navy war hero.



The report from the Mobile newspaper said that left fielder Patterson was kicked by a horse during the game and had to be substituted.




The Montgomery club is likewise composed of well known businessmen and sporting names.


The Umpire for the contest is from the Selma baseball club, though he gets some complaints from the Mobile team for his close calls.

Though Montgomery wins the game, the best report of the contest is from the Mobile newspaper, which is included here.











Later the Dramatics would thank Montgomery for hosting them in the city.



John Payne, Mobile Dramatics team captain & third baseman


APRIL 22 1868 

Alabama Baseball Convention forms the states first baseball constitution and elects officers in early organization efforts.

One of the most important baseball events in state history, the many clubs of the state come together to elect officers and draft a constitution. Delegates will be selected to represent Alabama to the National Conference in New York.

On the surface, one of the most boring files in the history cabinet. Yet further inspection shows a list of convention officers, a valuable who's who of Alabama baseball of the era.

John A. Payne, best known to historians as the captain of the ill-fated Confederate submarine CSS Hunley, is elected as President of the state baseball convention. A founding member of the Mobile Dramatics club, Payne is a well known sportsman and runs an import company in Mobile.

Wetumpka, Selma, Montgomery and Greenville are also represented among the officers of the state baseball convention. This convention sets down the rules for clubs in the state, requirements include having eighteen members per club and that no club delegate can be under 21 years of age.


Missing from this list of baseball notables is Alec Pearsall, the former Excelsior is technically banned by the New York baseball authorities and his inclusion could risk the state being accepted into the National Association. This event would have taken place on Pearsall's 29th birthday. 


1868 base ball equipment ad




APRIL 22 1839 
Andrew T. "Aleck" Pearsall is born in Florence Alabama. He would be Alabama's first baseball player, playing for the famed Brooklyn Excelsiors.

Pearsall played alongside Alex Creighton, the games first star pitcher, was on the baseball first road trip and appeared in the first ever box score. A left-handed hitting first baseman, Pearsall was also known for his defense - attributed in part to his "surgeon's hands".

Pearsall would be expelled from the Excelsiors for joining the Confederate army as a surgeon during the Civil War. Following the war he came to Montgomery where he set up a medical practice and helped organize the cities first baseball teams.

Pearsall, along with John A. Payne of Mobile, is credited with bringing baseball to Alabama in 1867, although the game was already being played at Spring Hill College in Mobile before the Civil War.




APRIL 22 1893 
"Little" Joe McGinnity wins his second Montgomery start, beating Nashville for the second time in three days. This time the score is 7-4.



APRIL 22 1921
Montgomery Grey Sox win season opener vs Birmingham 2-1, before the game the 1920 NSL pennant was raised. Also, a parade was held to spark local interest in the club, which won the championship the previous season.





Monday, April 20, 2020

Today in the Past 4-20, Introducing Joe McGinnity, Grey Sox join NSL



No post last week, there was way less to work with. While teams from Montgomery often open the season in the middle of April, the history files are pretty shallow for interesting game events. Maybe not every day, but most days this week should have at least a short post.

Our coverage of an historic event begins in this post, the Montgomery Grey Sox are widely known as one of the top teams in the south when Rube Foster organizes the Negro Southern League. The Grey Sox will challenge for the national title in 1920 and as this is the 100th anniversary of their fabulous first season in the NSL the blog will be covering the Grey Sox pennant push this summer. 

Can the Grey Sox win it all? Follow the team here this season and find out!


FROM THE RESEARCH ROOM

May 1931, Hardy debut with Grey Sox
I heard from Jeb Stuart - no, not the civil war era general, the modern baseball researcher! He is one of the researchers working on a book project for SABR detailing the 1942 Kansas City Monarchs, a club that was full of notable players. One of those players, catcher Paul Hardy, spent a few seasons with the Montgomery Grey Sox in the 1930's.

Jeb is doing the research on Hardy and emailed me asking if I had any info on the former Grey Sox backstop. I was thrilled to be able to offer up a pair of news items relating to Hardy, including a writeup on his debut game with Montgomery. I also had a mention of him with the Grey Sox in a pre-season writeup.

Hardy had a long and storied career, mostly after his Montgomery service. He was particularly popular in the northwest and served as manager for teams such as the Harlem Globetrotters and Seattle Steelheads clubs.



Obviously, being a gonzo-style baseball historian, I was happy to provide what I have to the mainstream guys. Always a feather in the cap to provide assistance. And of course, I would be remiss if I didn't share those files with you here!

April 1932 Montgomery Grey Sox preseason news



1937 advert

 TODAY IN THE PAST 4/20



APRIL 20 1893 
"Little Joe" McGinnity
Joe McGinnity is signed to play for the Montgomery Colts by manager John McCloskey. He arrives on a late night train after a long trip and proceeds to pitch that days game, beginning a twenty-six year career that includes over a thousand games pitched.

Called "Little Joe" when he gets to Montgomery, McGinnity makes his first start and has a rough opening to his pitching career.

A base on balls and a hit by pitch to the first two hitters lead off the game. After earning his first career strikeout Mac is helped by an unconventional 9-5-4 double play to escape his first jam, getting outs at third and second base on a muffed fly ball.

Joe McGinnity gets the win and is on his way to Cooperstown by beating Nashville 10-4. The future Iron Man held the opposition to just five hits after a very long train ride brought him to his first game.

Local account of Joe McGinnity's first game



1897 advert


APRIL 20 1908 
Nashville and Montgomery each score three in the first inning and then battle to 15 innings without a run before darkness ends the contest tied.





APRIL 20 1920 
"Negro Southern League is Formed - Montgomery Team Will Play Exhibition Game With Crack Indianapolis Club -

The local negro baseball team known as the Grex Sox will open the Negro Sourthern League season in Montgomery on Friday, April 30, May 1 and 2 with the Birmingham Giants. The league is composed of eight clubs, Knoxville, Atlanta, Birmingham, Montgomery, Pensacola, New Orleans, and Jacksonville.

The opening dates are Birmingham at Montgomery, New Orleans at Pensacola, Knoxville at Nashville, Jacksonville at Atlanta.

President Staples of the local club has gathered together one of the strongest aggregations of ball tossers in the South, having returned from a scouting trip Wednesday with three new pitchers. He assures the public of clean baseball and is out for the first pennant of the new league. No games will be played in any town when a Southern League team is playing.

On Tuesday, April 20, the Grey Sox will entertain the strong A.B.C. club of Indianapolis, Indiana, the strongest negro club in the country. The game will give the local fans an opportunity of seeing just what kind of club the Grey Sox will be.

The game will be played in Southside park on South Holt street, just one half block from the car line. The new park has a special grand stand for white patrons."


1920 Montgomery Grey Sox








Friday, April 10, 2020

Today in the Past 4/10 - Gray Sox, Phillies, Senators, Reds, Bama Come to Town



Remember when we all heard then-Mayor Strange say there had never been a major league team play in Montgomery before? I always think of that when I put together these posts. 



APRIL 10 1921 
The Montgomery Grey Sox host the Bacharach Giants at South Side Park on Holt Street.

Legendary pitcher Cannonball Dick Redding is the hurler for the visiting Giants, facing starter Slim Sallee of Montgomery.

The 1921 Gray Sox team is a powerhouse, the defending southern champion.  The Giants, out of Atlantic City, are Negro National League contenders.

A large crowd turns out to see the contest, including many whites. White fans seem to support the Gray Sox well, as evidenced by the efforts to accommodate them in the grandstand.

Bacharach Giants ca 1921, Dick Redding back row second from left



APRIL 11 1948 
The Philadelphia Phils rout the Washington Senators at Montgomery exhibition 9-1.

Knuckleballer Dutch Leonard allowed one run on six hits in a complete game. Leonard also contributed a pair of hits to help his own cause. Del Ennis had two hits and three runs batted in for the Phils.

Young Richie Ashburn, batting leadoff, was hitless in two trips to the plate. Ashburn would make his MLB debut for these Phillies just eight days later.



April 11, 1949 
Bud Lively
Reds blank Rebels 11-0 as Cinci faces down Montgomery in exhibition game.

The Reds starter is Buddy Lively, who pitches seven shutout innings. Dixie Howell has two bases loaded doubles to provide plenty of run support.

Pitcher Buddy Lively opened the 1941 season with Montgomery and his father pitched for Montgomery in the 1910's.
 





APRIL 12 1920
"Southern League Formed - Montgomery, Alabama, April 12. -

Final plans for the completion of the proposed Negro Southern Baseball League resulted in the formation of an eight club circuit, with a bright prospect of 10 cities composing the final arrangement of the organization.

A bird's eye view of the league reveals excellent grounds for the success of the venture; the cities selected appeal to be about evenly balanced in population, have good transportation facilities and are not too long a distance removed from each other for a heavy mileage to cut serious inroads and thus weigh heavily against the proper financial progress of the promoters.

C.I. Taylor who was cited for Conspicuous service through putting into being a like organization in the northwest, was a deeply interested participant in the final arrangements, and his words of wisdom went a long ways towards encouraging options on franchises.

The following cities qualified for franchises in the new league: Birmingham, Nashville, Knoxville, Atlanta, Pensacola, Montgomery, New Orleans, Jacksonville. A committee on the arrangement of a schedule hopes by the end of the week to have their dates allotted, as the opening day is set for April 29."


APRIL 12 1946 
Montgomery scores four runs in 10th to edge University of Alabama in a game in Tuscaloosa.

Manager Dixie Walker saw Montgomery win 12-10 with the Rebels tying the game with four runs in the seventh inning.