You Wanna Buy Some Biscuits?

LEADING OFF: BOOK STUFF

Lately I have been working on a few loose ends from "Black Baseball in Alabama: Rough Diamonds of Dixie" as I felt that there were still too many players unidentified. It's a difficult task, slowly paging through records like census notes to compare with box scores often riddled with typos, misspellings and assumed names, making identification even harder. It's great fun!

As there are many more, even stranger and incredible tales to tell, there is much work left to dig out the details. Such as the annual World Series rematch that took place in Alabama each year. There's also the worlds longest road trip that culminated in a game in Alabama, the history behind the oldest ballpark in the country, the deadly beanball that rocked the foundations of the game, the outlaw league that got Montgomery back into baseball, and the wartime powerhouses that ruled the diamonds with major league talent.

Of course there are the players. Hall of Famers and local legends who have startling experiences in Alabama, unknown players with incredible performances, well known players with local connections and a whole lot of really exciting ballgames. 

I have reached out to dozens of former Montgomery Rebels players and from them have heard amazing, untold stories of their experiences of their playing days in Alabama. The input from players, executives and officials has been an irreplaceable resource and I am so thankful for the participation of those with personal connections. Also, these guys are hilarious!! I think you are gonna love what they have had to say. 

 

FORMER BISCUIT HURLER MAKES PITCH FOR DR. MIRACULOUS 

 The Biscuits are known for great pitchers and Jaime Schultz is among the best to have taken the mound in Montgomery, racking up K's left and right to become the franchise's single season strikeout leader. I reached out to him via cameo to make a pitch for my book and I appreciate the hardball delivery from a pro! Thank you, Jaime! 

 

SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR

To get your very own autographed copy of "Black Baseball in Alabama: Rough Diamonds of Dixie" along with a Dr. Miraculous game-worn* relic baseball card for only $45, you can contact me at any of the usual spots - Instagram or X/twitter as @drmiraculous  

 

BISCUITS NEWS

You have likely noticed a distinct change here at the ol' Montgomery baseball blog, specifically a shift away from daily coverage of the local double-A club. Icymi - this summers Biscuits fell flat and missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade, the longest active stretch of postseason appearances in baseball. It was also the longest active stretch of postseasons without a championship. The Biscuits boast a new single-season home run leader, as Will Simpson drove 26 longballs, setting a new franchise mark.

Adam Liberatore

After a long period of down-low shade it became apparent that a few in the skitz employ didn't have much respect for their most vocal online supporter. Some were even going out of their way to make it harder for Dr. Miraculous to bring fans info and updates (and i haven't even spilled the real gritty tea yet!!). When it got to the point that it seemed unprofessional, I walked away.

It was a frustrating development considering the time invested covering the team, the players, the games and documenting the Biscuits many highs and lows, while also dealing with the challenges facing a free lancer. I'm not ashamed to admit it hurt to feel unwelcome at my local baseball church due to a few spiteful attitudes. 

Perhaps that will change in the future. What won't change is the honest appraisal of baseball found on this blog, I simply call em like I see em. 

So lets get to it then! 

OUT WITH THE OLD

The Biscuits appear to have begun a front-office purge, seeking new occupants for at least a third of the executive offices, including  GM, Food Service Director, Ground Crew Chief and other important jobs that require college degrees and/or specialized technical knowledge. 

This is probably the result of multiple factors that led new ownership to start stripping the club down to match its financial status. Perhaps it is a long-overdue move, as some of the responsibilities seem to have been unfilled, ineffective, or handled by interns for many years. 

It is little surprise that the firm has chosen to make a change, as they surely have a good understanding of the current situation. 

TROUBLED WATERS

I personally haven't attended a Biscuits game in a couple seasons, and I see that I am not alone in my absence. Even the team's own figures seem to work against them, echoing the tale of how a franchise's fortunes have repeatedly faded across different decades, and why.

 WE LOVE OUR BISCUITS... BUT

People are staying away from Riverwalk, excuse me - DABOS Stadium, in droves. The Montgomery club set a new franchise low in attendance this season, continuing a downward trend that has been sliding nearly every year, even if we accept the sometimes inflated attendance estimates.

 Per-game attendance estimates

The Biscuits started strong, but began slipping right away. For more than ten years the attendance dropped with a steady decline until falling hard following the pandemic. With its new owner Lou DiBella, the club was able to tread water for a few seasons. However after Lou sold the team (as your Dr.M predicted) to OnDeck a private equity group (yeah, also called the corporate group ownership), attendance took a dramatic tumble as fans continued to turn away from baseball in Montgomery at an alarming pace. 

Looking at the graph, its no wonder Lou DiBella punted the Biscuits to dull the sound of the waves of people rapidly receding from the area. The friendly and likeable Lou remains with the ownership group as head of its Montgomery project.

How Bad Is It?  

Not going to the park doesn't mean isolation from info. Learning about the Biscuits like we always do, looking at stats, numbers and trends, checking social media, and keeping one eye on Montgomery baseball history gives a good indication of what happens when things go like they do. 

And it's not looking great.

Locals on online message boards are voicing strong opinions, saying what many have been thinking for some time. Most seem to like the team in general, but long for the "old days" when it was fun. They are unhappy with changes to the gameday experience, the prices, the food options, the start times, the nets, the service, just about everything. Some detractors even going so far as to pull for the Biscuits to pack it in completely. 

Reddit being Reddit

 

IT WOULDN'T BE THE FIRST TIME

The Montgomery clubs of the late 1940's and early 1950's boasted excellent attendance. The team won the pennant in '51 and set the citys franchise record with 110k attendance, but struggled afterwards. Crowd size generally correlates to how the team did in the standings in those years. 

In 1954, a new owner took over the team. Hoke Vandigriff personally signed top players who were Black for the first time, painted and improved the ballpark bathrooms/parking lots/fountains, updated the concessions stand, and hired ushers. 

overall season attendance estimates  

The effort resulted in boosting the number of attendees dramatically. Fans loved it and came back to the park in near record numbers in 1954.

 BUT THEN...

The Montgomery Rebels empty seat woes began the year following their integration, when owner Hoke Vandigriff was killed and the new owners abandoned Black players completely, joining a low level, segregated league (1957). Montgomery civic leaders even refused to name the park after the late philanthropist Vandigriff, largely due to his integration efforts, and quickly attached educator/horticulturist Wm. Paterson's name to the stadium instead.

The Rebels decisions to move to a lesser league (the Alabama-Florida League), shun top Black players, increase ticket prices and scale back concessions was as widely unpopular as can be imagined. Fans responded, voicing their displeasure by throwing a very a similar curve to the one Biscuits ownership is dealing with now. 

full season attendance estimates 

 The team was a pennant winner in '59, but couldn't muster even half the fans while playing in the lower level, all white league. There was one improvement for fans with the move to the AL-FL league, the Montgomery city council restored beer sales at the ballpark, since Black fans were no longer coming to watch games in large numbers. In actuality, no-one was coming to watch the games.

When faced with forced integration in 1962, the AL-FL league instead chose to fold the tent and cease operations. Montgomery was without a pro team for the first time since WW2. 

The Montgomery Rebels went defunct due to their inability to give Montgomery baseball fans what they wanted - a good, well-rounded team with strong local connections and financially responsible ownership. 

It wasn't until 1965 that Montgomery would rejoin double-A baseball and truly entered integrated baseball.

THE 70's WERE NO BETTER

During the 1970's the Montgomery Rebels were a powerhouse Detroit Tigers affiliate, winning five pennants in six years and claiming a rare three-peat of the Southern League Championship. 

However, Paterson Field was called a ghost town as fans were given the brush off under an owner who blamed falling attendance for his selling the club to Birmingham. In fact, the Rebels team was drawing some of Montgomery's biggest baseball crowds since integration in 1954.  

But costs had risen, owners said the team was less than profitable, leading the business-minded stewards to make moves that were unpopular with fans. Owners moved in a predictable pattern, raising prices, drastically reducing the food available at concessions, cutting back on staff and nixing nearly all promotions.

Fans responded as they had before, by refusing to buy tickets. 

full season attendance estimates 

 

 The team numbers peaked with the claim of nearly 100k fans overall in '79, due to a marketing scheme involving corporate purchases of bulk tickets to pump up attendance figures. The next year word leaked that a sale of the Rebels was in the offing, fans didn't want the team to leave, and turned out in overwhelming support. In 1980 the team legitimately had over 80k fans for the first time since Hoke Vandigriff's death. 

Yet, regardless of the attendance numbers, the Rebels team was doomed. It was sold and moved after 1980. Montgomery was then left without organized baseball for decades, until 2004's Biscuits arrived. 

THE MORAL OF THE STORY 

These charts tell an important story with an underlying moral for baseball owners: When Montgomery fans are not heard, they will just walk away and refuse to participate. 

Fans will not come to the park, dropping attendance down just a few hundred die-hard baseball bugs a night, if even that many. 

This occurred in the 1950's when the Rebels roster was re-segregated and prices rose, and again in the 1960's when Montgomery continued its segregated team policy and moved to low level white-only leagues while prices again rose. 

Rebels grounds crew Fidrych & Brazell

And yet again in the 1970's when the team raised prices while simultaneously ruining the ballpark experience with cheap hotdogs, warm soda and beer watered down with ice. It has been surmised that driving away fans served the purpose of getting the city to let the team out of the stadium lease early. If so, it worked.  

They were so cheap, when the city refused to continue giving grounds crew service (due to unpaid ballpark rent) the team forced its gameday staff, players and coaches to do the grounds crew work

These Biscuits, however, are in a much different situation.

 

YOU'RE STUCK HERE

Your Montgomery Biscuits aren't going anywhere, they are stuck here. For a while. For a long while.

With an MLB affiliation signed in blood for most of the next decade combined with a rock-solid lease on Riverwalk, excuse me, DABOS stadium until 2040, the Biscuits are staying in Montgomery for better or for worse.

Its unlikely the city would allow the team to leave without paying off the lease, which would be a staggering cost. That would still leave them having to negotiate out of the stadium naming rights deal with DABOS, another potentially costly situation.

Montgomery is centrally located to the Southern League, making travel rather simple. A move within the footprint would be a difficult task, as would convincing a city to build a new ballpark. 

The Tampa Rays have no say in the matter, at least until their affiliation contract is complete. For Montgomery, as long as someone paints chalk lines on the field, the Biscuits will keep playing, even if local fan support evaporates completely.

 

THAT DON'T MATTER EITHER 

Loss of fan support seems to have little effect on MILB teams these days, they simply do not care about that (think back to the Jackson Generals for reference). They say they do, but it doesn't seem to show, even when the fans are speaking loud and clear through attendance.

Incomes are focused largely on luxury boxes, advertising, and revenue sharing (and of course, stadium naming rights deals). There is now a greatly reduced incentive to go the extra mile for hotdog money.

That's also why concession stands often close after the sixth inning. Saving on staff wages is worth giving up hotdog money, and they send the crew home early because fewer people are coming to the games. It's a vicious cycle.

But for longtime fans, ya'll already knew that.

RUMOR MILL & GOSSIP COLUMN

Recently I ran across an unconfirmed story that the Biscuits were looking to downsize the concessions for next season. This report said they planned on offering just soda/beer/popcorn/hot dogs as they tried to replace the stadium eats with local food trucks. However, the word on the street was that the Biscuits expected both a setup fee from the food truck operators for access to the park as well as a massive % cut of each nights income. Obviously, there were not a lot of folks jumping to sign up. No word yet on what plans the team might have shifted to. This is a variation on similar, previous efforts to include local eats that have failed repeatedly for many years. Someone will get this done eventually!

Also on the rumor front is the rampant opinion that the current new owners might attempt to flip the Biscuits to another new owner, preferably a local group interested in the prestige of being top Biscuit. They say this could happen in the next season or two, basically as soon as realistically possible. Scaling back operations also allows a new owner to look like a savior, bringing back the old times and favorite themes. 
 

 SO WHATS NEXT?

The team did begin adding or restarting perks for fans, including quite a few upgrades that I had been suggesting for most of the last fifteen years (including early entry for season ticket holders, guaranteed giveaways and discounts for long term and bulk seat purchases). It's a start, but not nearly enough to bring me back to section 117 with a see-thru bag.  

I have been told that fans today don't care about the players or the teams, but at every game people are asking those very questions while MILB tries to sell sizzle without steak to fewer and fewer attendees.

Unless the Biscuits, like most affiliated baseball teams, can come up with a reason for fans to pull for their team other than thinking Big Mo is funny looking enough to come see, a mostly-empty stadium will be the likely result. 

At least, until they can sell the team. Hey, you wanna buy some Biscuits?

THIS WEEK IN MONTGOMERY BASEBALL HISTORY 

This week marks the anniversary of the Montgomery Rebels demise - on October 22nd, 1980 the team was sold and moved to Birmingham, sending Montgomery into the baseball dark ages. No affiliated pro team would call Montgomery home until 2004. (ouch, babe!)

 

* Dr. Miraculous game worn pants from on-field batting practice with the Biscuits at Riverwalk Stadium now DABOS Field.

I am not affiliated with, employed by, or connected to the Montgomery Biscuits Baseball Club. 

Please contact for takedown requests of copywritten material.

 

Summer Book Tour!

 

Dalton Moats

 Nobody told me it would be like this!

No one clued me in to the fact that once a book is published that author would not have any time to write. Keeping up with events and appearances has cut drastically into my research, not to mention my blogging! But it has given me a chance to meet folks excited about the history of baseball in Alabama, and that is a wonderful thing.

A good friend recently gave me advice, "Keep throwin fastballs if they work, dawg" and I have to admit could not agree more. 

 

SUMMER BOOK TOUR

This week begins my summer book tour, and I am so excited! 

BIRMINGHAM 

I will be appearing on Friday June 19th in Birmingham at historic Rickwood Field for the annual Juneteenth East-West Classic Game and All Star Home Run Derby. With stars such as Gary Sheffield and CC Sabathia on hand for the festivities, I am really looking forward to being a part of the fun. There is a five-inning All Star Game chock full of former MLB stars, which takes place right after Prince Fielder works to defend his crown in the annual Juneteenth Home Run Derby.

 

HUNTSVILLE 

The very next day, Saturday June 20th, I am headed to Huntsville, where I will be talkin baseball and meetin/greetin folks at Harrison Brothers Hardware, the oldest hardware store in the state. 

Harrison Brothers have a lot of cool Alabama-centric gifts and products as well as a fabulous selection of books and food. I am really looking forward to shopping there along with meeting everyone!

MONTGOMERY 

On a more local note, I will be among the writers in Montgomery at New South Bookstore, on Saturday, August 15th for their Local Authors fair. Located downtown, just blocks from old "Whisky Avenue", a location that makes a couple important appearances in the book. I think it is exciting to be bringing awareness of the history back to where it actually happened.

In the fall I have been asked to speak at Alabama State University, where I hope to highlight the many famous stars who played baseball at the old ballpark on their campus, such as Rube Foster, Satchel Paige and Willie Mays. Their original baseball stadium has many features still extant and they are worth preserving and appreciating as links to the players who appeared there.

Also this fall, I have an appearance at the Goat Hill Gift Shop at the Alabama State Capitol building scheduled, where I will speak about baseball history for the Montgomery Historical Society. I am very excited about this and have a great respect for all the folks at the MHS.

I am really looking forward to all these events! Getting to talk baseball in places mentioned in the book is a fabulous opportunity that I am so thankful for, even if it does cut into my research time a little. Ya'll come on out, they will be great fun.  

Mention that you saw this blog and I will have a special gift for you!

 

RESEARCH NOTES

1920 Palmist ad in Montgomery

Not that I have been completely idle, mind you! I am always searching to tie up loose ends, finding names or placing players with teams where I can, to fill out details. To that end, I dove headfirst into reading the 1920 Montgomery County Census rolls, looking for info on local ballplayers. It was a fascinating, yet very challenging, read!

The census rolls were written by the enumerators, aka census-takers, by hand and in cursive. All those hand-written lists were later digitized at varying levels of blurriness. The enumerators did not ask how to spell names, simply wrote them as they heard them spoken, leading to some strange typos. Also, some census-takers were much better with penmanship than others, making it more interesting to try to pick the letters in a very fancy alphabet soup. 

SURPrISE!!!! 

Reading the Census Roll for 1920 was very illuminating, offering clues to ballplayers names and addresses as well as their professed occupations and relatives. Several players were found listed as railroad workers and store clerks, a few important individuals homes were located. However, what struck me the most was a racial quirk I found happening in town that noone ever talks about. 

1920 was the last census that included race in its query without asking the person themselves. The census enumerators were given free judgement on determining race for the individuals they interviewed, they didn't ask just "eyeballed" it. The choices were few, basically it was White, Black, Mulatto, Hebrew, or Asian. 

The surprise, for me, came in the locations of many "Mulatto" families, the outdated and distasteful catchall phrase for mixed racial heritage was a very frequently recurring notation in Montgomery census info. I expected there to be streets and neighborhoods in town that were "white" and "black", and there were. 

Yet, I was not prepared for the fact that between these streets and neighborhoods of strict racial makeup, there was often a mixed racial area filled with "Mulatto" families. I didn't count them, but the frequency was surprising, particularly considering many enumerators often simply put "Black" instead of even trying to discern a non-white persons race. Finding these areas between white and Black streets, especially noting the frequency of them, was not quite what I expected, but maybe I should have. In spite of its reputation, folks all across Alabama have spent a long time interacting to build communities together, no matter what backgrounds were involved.

 

OTHER NEWS AND NOTES

Ya'll want an index? I have had a couple requests for making an index for "Black Baseball in Alabama: Rough Diamonds of Dixie" and if there is much more call for it, I would be willing to put one together. I know it would make it easier to find places and people. It was omitted due to the vast size it would have required to include in the print edition. Sound off in the comments below and let me know!

Also in the works is a folio collection of the rare images that were acquired for the book. Many are colorized, though the book didn't include the colorization on the interior pages, just on the cover. There are also quite a few that didn't make it into the book, due to space requirements. I expect this to be ready in the fourth quarter of the year, its an impressive set of photos!  

A new set of Dr. Miraculous baseball cards will be available by the end of the summer, including huge stars and rare images of local greats. The last set was gone in just hours, make sure to watch for this one, its a keeper! 

For fans who crave more info, I have been putting short vids up on my Instagram page, a few have also been posted on X/Twitter or on my youtube channel, which is also a good spot if you like butt-kickin Alabama-local hard rock music! Let me know in the comments if you are finding the vids in the wild or if I should post them here!

This fall I am determined to get the podcast machine cranked up for deeper dives into baseball topics. Stay tuned for more info on this!

I am also planning a series of Ask-Me-Anythings on X/Twitter and possibly Reddit, I will keep ya'll posted on that as well as it develops.

 

HISTORY TIME!

Coming up in Montgomery baseball history we celebrate the no-hitter tossed by Mel Parnell of the Maxwell Field Bombers at Cramton Bowl on June 25th of 1941. Two thousand fans were on hand for the game, a welcome distraction from wartime stress.

Parnell was a young hurler who would go on to fame with the Boston Red Sox after starring on this wartime flyers club while in the service. 

Mel Parnell, a lean lefty with a strong fastball, later led the American League in Wins in 1949 as a member of the Red Sox and was twice a MLB All Star for Boston. Mel is a legendary Red Sox hurler, who still holds the franchise records for wins by a lefty starter. 

1940's Cramton Bowl baseball game

How great was he? He is mentioned in the "Talkin Baseball" song by Terry Cashman! 

In 1956, Mel Parnell would throw a no-hitter for the Red Sox, it would be the last Boston no-no by a lefty until Jon Lester's gem in 2008. In June of 1950 Johnny Pesky's home run in Fenway hit the fair pole, causing Boston's starting pitcher Mel Parnell to call it "The Pesky Pole" to reporters after the game, a name that has stuck for decades. 

However, Parnell wasn't the only stud on the Maxwell Bombers staff, future major leaguer (and Birmingham native) Royce Lint was also on the Bombers club and would show up Parnell by throwing TWO no-hitters later in the season for Maxwell!

 

Mel Parnell with Boston

 

Doc Talks Satchel Paige and Birmingham Black Barons

 

 

Things have been really busy this spring, but I knew I was due to post here! So its time for another Doc Talks vid, this time I am reading from my book "Black Baseball in Alabama: Rough Diamonds of Dixie" about one of the biggest names in the sport. 

DOC TALKS SATCH

It's a subject I was interested in from the very start, Satchel Paige and how he got his start with the Black Barons. Learning the true history of one of the most legendary pitchers was one of the most fascinating aspects of research for my book. Everyone has heard of Satchel, there are so many great stories and legends, separating his myth from fact was a big task but a lot of fun. 

I had access to some of the best info, from biographies to local reporting of the era. A deep look at the Black Barons business ledger was incredibly rewarding, covering financial details on a day-to-day basis it offered the keys to several mysteries. Satchel wrote his autobiography "Pitchin Man" fairly early on,  during his playing career. I found that gave him much control over his own narrative, some important details of his life were errant and others were omitted entirely, likely by design. Yet many of his in-game exploits were not just true, but tended to be downsized for believe-ability.  

Satchel was playing loosely organized ball with his older brother's local Mobile team when he was signed, possibly dealt for cash, and began pitching pro ball for Chattanooga. After a successful rookie season the Chattanooga White Sox sold him to Birmingham in the middle of the his second year. He was young and threw hard but had little control, which led to...

 

 

In this video I used a few of my colorization efforts, something I have been working on for a number of years now. After getting into photo editing for the many images here, it seemed a natural progression. I find the visual aspect of older images is greatly improved with the colorization process, making identification so much easier and giving a more realistic look for modern viewers.

Also we get a look at the custom baseball cards I have been designing for events. I use the local teams they played for and always include deep facts on the back. Catch me in person and I might have one for you!

Feel free to comment or ask questions below, I always look forward to them! 

 

Doc Talks Vintage Gear

 

Here I share some of the equipment used in the early days of baseball. 19th century gear was mostly handmade from available materials, from bats made out of wagon wheel parts to balls cobbled from leather scraps. 

 

ITS A DATE!

On Saturday, February 28th at 11 am. I will be seeing the Birmingham Children's Theatre production of Catching The Moon, a blues opera about Toni Stone - a woman who challenged gender norms by playing pro baseball in the Negro Leagues. Following the show I will join the actors onstage for a talk-back session to answer audience questions about the play and its subjects. I encourage everyone to come out and support this wonderful production.

 

 

 

 

The Dr.'s BookShelf, Dodgers & A's Visit This Month in Montgomery Baseball History

 

Reader comments on the blog are always wonderful, and super helpful to guide me towards what you want to see. A recent comment (thank you Stephen!) suggests that some might be interested in the books I used for research and I am happy to oblige. Is there a topic I should cover? Let me know in the comments! Can't read? Thats okay too, there are lots of pictures to look at this week, let me know your fave!

These are a mix of national and local history, baseball and otherwise, the things I tend to be looking for is often secondary to the subject matter. One of the reasons I wrote about baseball in our state is that I found there to be a nearly criminal lack of info compiled on the subject.

Reading is one of the most rewarding and important aspects of life, I enjoy it as often as I can. I generally prefer non-fiction, and have leaned into local history and baseball. My bookshelves are drooping in the center from carrying too much weight, and my "to read" stack is usually pretty hefty too.  

So when I was told I would need a bibliography in my book, I wondered if they expected a supplemental volume, as there are scads of books I used for info. Some offered a single page, paragraph or even a lone sentence that was pertinent. Some info was from websites no longer available, some items were notations made more than a decade ago with no reference of origin. 

Fortunately, the workaround was to use "Selected Bibliography" to trim the sizeable herd, here I will try to cover a few that may not have made that list as well as some reasons for the ones I did include.

For Alabama and baseball history these are some of my prime go-to sources:

Baseball in Montgomery by Clarence Watkins, an excellent overview of the most notable teams and players that includes many photos in an easy to read format. 

Baseball in Birmingham by Clarence Watkins, see above, Watkins also has a book on Memphis that is of the same fine caliber.  

Steamboat Johnson

Standing the Gaff by Steamboat Johnson, an unheralded gem, this account of turn-of-the-century baseball in the old Southern Association was written by umpire Steamboat Johnson and provides a rare firsthand account of the games, players and events that few other writers cover or even heard of. Also, it is hilarious!

A Complete History of the Negro Leagues by Mark Ribowski, pretty nearly as advertised, despite the impossible claim of being complete, Ribowski does a great job touching all the bases.

Anything about Montgomery written by author Wayne Greenhaw. I have a pair of his books on Montgomery city history and they are full of images and info, giving a view into the past and the most important events in the capital city. 

Cuban Star: How One Negro League Owner Changed the Face of Baseball by Adrian Burgos Jr was a great insight to the workings of Negro League teams and their owners, as well as the numbers racket, to which so many teams were tied. For students of baseball history, this is simply a must read for its insight on how this owner did indeed do what the title says.

Few and Chosen: Defining Negro League Greatness by Monte Irvin and Phil Pope. Getting firsthand accounts is one of my preferred ways of learning about history, having Monte Irvin share his own opinions and observations is a rare and fascinating insight. This book offers unique value with Irvin's own  comparisons as a professional playing alongside some of the greats, as well as Monte's recollections on what other players told him about the veterans they had seen. I love this book.

Humorist H. Allen Smith wrote a series of baseball fiction books based on a fiesty cat who owned a major league team (a movie was made in the 1940's from the first book, both titled "Rhubarb") but a pair of releases he penned with the help of sports researcher Ira L. Smith (no relation) are much more interesting for history buffs. "Three Men on Third" and "Low and Inside" are both collections of true baseball anecdotes. None are more than a couple paragraphs long, mostly ranging from kind of cute to riotously funny. These books offers tidbits on many players rarely discussed today, but of significance to local history buffs. Plus they are all a great read, as anything by H. Allen Smith is. 

Outsider Baseball: Weird World of Hardball on the Fringe by Scott Simkus is a fabulous book that delves into the unofficial games between white MLB clubs and teams they shouldn't have been facing, i.e. comprised of Black and/or Latino/Hispanic players. It is a great work that unlocks a rarely studied aspect of baseball with statistical comparisons and discusses many important games and events. It's excellent!

The Glory of Their Times: The Story of Early Days of Baseball by Lawrence Ritter, from 1966 this doesn't get enough praise! My preference is the audio that features the actual interviews with these historic players telling their own story in their own words. Few other works provide the connection that this book and its related recordings convey. No Negro League content, very few Alabama associations, but nearly essential reading/listening for baseball history buffs.  

REFERENCE SECTION 

James Brunson compiled an absolutely massive tome of teams, players, executives and other important details with a 19th century focus. Black Baseball 1858-1900: A Comprehensive Record of the Teams... is an amazing collection of early baseball history. It is a reference book not a sit down read, but the info contained is rarely found elsewhere and quite voluminous!

Along the same lines, James Riley's Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues is a reference-style book that lists players, owners, executives, teams and cities in alphabetical order. Published in the 1990's, this book omits some details learned later and focuses mostly on the top level of teams, but offers a detailed biography of each player that is beyond any other source. My own copy is bulging with post-its noting where players and teams of interest are found. A valuable reference on my shelf that I use often. 

The Negro Southern League by William J. Plott, the most complete history of the league that all top Alabama cities aspired to join, this book offers a great view into the struggles the circuit faced. The teams and players are well documented, a Herculean feat by author Plott and one of the most important books on my shelf. 

Black Baseball's Last Team Standing: The Birmingham Black Barons by William J. Plott, a solid and detailed overview of the Black Barons franchise from start to finish, including rosters, standings, notable events and rare photos. Were I to teach a class about the BBB's, this would be the textbook. There are several excellent histories of the Black Barons published, but this one is my preferred.

Early photo of Montgomery Advertiser offices ca 1870's

The Montgomery Advertiser/Alabama Journal, and also the Montgomery Times. Local newspapers provide an insight that is as close to the source as possible. For my research I read each and every Advertiser sports page from 1865 through 1950, and quite a few from the decades afterwards. Then I took a look at the Birmingham News and any other newspaper in the country that would cover baseball - online sources have digitized many of the nations newspapers and provide a rich vault of info. Finding a local team mentioned in a Cincinnati or Pittsburgh newspaper were often breakthrough moments.

BBB's Ledger

I wrote about it last year, but the Birmingham Black Barons business ledger can be viewed online, and I found it to be the single most important artifact that I have studied as pertains to Alabama baseball. From it can be discerned the players who were rowdy, who were fastidious, who were in need of cash or had wives demanding a players pay envelope! Broken down by year and player, it covers every (legitimate) expense the club incurred or cash it paid out from about 1926 through 1930. Is it boring to read? Heck yeah, but it's also chock full of obscure info and features the correct spellings of player names!

Other boring stuff that comes into play fairly often - old fire insurance maps, phone directories, institutional publications such as school yearbooks, municipal promotional material such as pamphlets or postcards. And court records, a ton of them, as well as Ancestry dotcom and Library of Congress website. 

 
DONT LIKE EM's! 

Should I mention the books I don't like? There are several "popular" books on baseball and particularly Black baseball that I have less fondness for, with a variety of reasons. One thing that irks me about them is that they have been highly recommended by so many, but have so little about Alabama or are simply wrong. Others are just swings and misses.

A couple of them are Bruce Adelson's Brushing Back Jim Crow spreads a very misleading myth about Montgomery's pro baseball integration, a myth that has helped prevent an investigation into a string of deaths. Also, Henry Aaron's I Had A Hammer shares Hank's very negative opinions about Montgomery, yet also offers details on the city's amenities for Black players, such as the hotels, barbershops, restaurants and taxi services that catered to non-whites. Love Hank, but it's tough to hear him dog my city due to its reputation instead of his personal experience. The book did offer insight as to why Hank rarely visited Montgomery after his playing days.

Useless were the websites such as MLB or Cooperstown, I suggest instead seeking the CNLBR website that holds a trove of Dr. Layton Revel's excellent writings on Negro League players, teams and history.

So thats mine, whats new on your shelf?

 

THIS WEEK MONTH IN MONTGOMERY BASEBALL HISTORY 

FEBRUARY 1 1943 Rebels owner Ben Goltsman buys Meridian roster to fill Montgomery's lineup. The Rebels ended up not fielding a team and in mid-1943 the Chattanooga Lookouts relocated to Montgomery during the season. Wartime caused manpower shortages and idled entire leagues, forcing drastic changes for the clubs and leagues that were left.

 FEBRUARY 3 1923 Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics arrive for spring training in Montgomery. It was not their first trip (see below) but it was the first time they visited Cramton Bowl, which they described as one of the finest sporting facilities in the nation.

FEBRUARY 7 1950 Charlie Metro announced as Montgomery manager, he would helm the club through 1953, posting winning records in three straight seasons. 

Metro would be the Rebels manager with the most victories in the twentieth century, and also would go on the invent the batting tee and be a member of the Chicago Cubs "college of coaches" managing in the major leagues.

 

FEBRUARY 11 1905 The Montgomery Baseball Club reorganizes, with E.E.Winters as president and treasurer. Winters was head of the Montgomery Traction Railway Company, which caused issues for fans trying to travel to the ballparks not also owned by the Traction Company. Eventually the league ruled streetcar executives could not hold ownership in teams.

FEBRUARY 22 1954 The Brooklyn Dodgers hold a baseball camp in Montgomery for Air Force teams. This Dodgers team featured greats such as Jackie, Campy, Newcomb, Pee Wee, The Duke, Gil Hodges, Carl Erskine and Johnny Podres. 

FEBRUARY 26 1905 The Southern League board meets in Montgomery, adopts a 140 game season, and makes other constitutional changes. This basically ushers the league into the modern era, with longer seasons and larger rosters.

FEBRUARY 27 1906 The AL Champion Philly Athletics begin Spring Training in Montgomery. Connie Mack's A's include Chief Bender, Rube Waddell, Eddie Collins, Eddie Plank and Jack Coombs. While in Montgomery, Rube Waddell has some career-defining experiences, including extinguishing a burning house single-handedly, being kidnapped, unsnarling traffic by lifting a streetcar back onto its tracks, and learning to roller skate on downtown sidewalks. 

1906 Philadelphia Athletics team

The 1906 A's had several local connections, veteran starting outfielder Topsy Hartsel had played with Montgomery way back in 1898. Young outfielder/third baseman Rube Oldring had just appeared with Montgomery the summer before, earning a major league job with the Yankees before joining the Athletics. Also on that A's club was third baseman Art Brouthers, a 23-year old Montgomery native who had also been with the Montgomery Senators club in 1905.