Game 25, played May 3, 1924

The Seattle Indians played their 25th game of the 1924 season on May 3, 1924. The game resulted in a 3 to 2 loss for the Indians.

The loss put Seattle down  2 to 3 in the series against Salt Lake, and left the Seattle ball club at 10 wins and 15 losses for the year.

The game featured Ted Baldwin getting the boot from umpire Biff Schaller. Schaller had played some for the 1919 Seattle Indians, when the team returned to the PCL.

Before that, Schaller played for several years with the Seals, and even had some major league experience. He was a backup outfielder for a few games in 1911 with the Tigers, and saw some time in 1913 with the White Sox.  As a total aside, I just noticed that Red Killefer and Bill Lelivelt both played on the 1909 Tigers. Bill is, of course, Jack's brother.

Some other tidbits in the news that day concerned the expensive hands of some PCL fielders, one of whom would prove to be worth quite a bit for Murderers' Row.

While I'm sure most are familiar with Tony Lazzeri, Johnny Frederick had a nice career as well. He finally hit the majors in 1929, joining Tony in New York City, albeit a little further south at Ebbets Field, wearing number 1 for the Brooklyn Robins. He led the NL in doubles with 52 in his rookie year, finishing ahead of the 42 hit by team mate Babe Herman.

Herman, incidentally, was, in 1924, still a year away from a strong year for the 1925 Seattle Indians. Frederick roamed center field between Herman in right that year and Rube Bressler. How many players got to go to work with Babe and Rube?

Curiously enough, Bressler had started out as a pitcher, much like the pitcher who started that day for Salt Lake, Lefty O'Doul. O'Doul and Frederick would be teammates with Brooklyn's outfield corps in 1931, along with Herman and Bressler. O'Doul would hit .368 in 1932, to win the NL batting title. From 1924 to 1932, O'Doul hit, in the PCL: .392, .375, .338, .378; and in the MLB: .319, .398, .383, .336, and .368.

The year O'Doul hit .398, he closed out the season on a 15 game hitting streak in which he batted .462. One more game that year, and he's probably in the Hall of Fame.

In addition, Mike Sexton was visiting Seattle that week. He was the commissioner of the minor leagues, a position he would hold for 22 years, and had been involved during the off season in settling a dispute in the PCL about the control of the Los Angeles market. More on that later during a road trip to Vernon.

That story also mentions the trip Sexton took to see Daniel Dugdale, and references the Duke and Dugdale battery. I'm guessing this is for the 1889 Minneapolis Millers, for whom Dugdale caught and Martin Duke had a banner year, winning 24 games and striking out 347 batters.

As far as Sexton's story about the origin of organized baseball in Rock Island, I found in Baseball Reference a team from 1883 that was independent, and an 1879 team for Davenport. I am guessing this would be a good lead as far as the origin of that Rock Island team. (okay, I kept looking. I found an obituary on Google News Archive. Sexton was born in 1863, and died in 1937. He was President of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues from 1908 to 1933. Baseball Reference shows that as 1909 to 1931, which aligns with another story I saw which said he was the head of the minors for 22 years.)
Simply click on the image at left and it should expand to a legible size. I included the scan of the hair gel ad. I presume this was a popular hair style.

Game 24, Friday, May 2, 1924

Reported on Saturday, May 3, 1924.

Speedy Indian Is Death to Bees In Closing Innnings

In their 24^th game of the year, the Seattle Indians evened up the week's series against the Salt Lake City Bees with a thrilling 5 to 4 victory in 12 innings. One of the more exciting games of th earlier part of the 1924 season, it brought the overall record for the Indians to 10 wins and 14 losses. Here's the caption for the Aunt Eppie photographs below:

"Aunt Eppie, The Times' big long range camera, caught some real action in yesterday's game between the Seattle Indians and the Salt Lake Bees. In the upper photograph Vitt is out because Cliff Brady thought faster than he did. Vitt was on second when Frederick grounded to the Indian second sacker. Brady juggled the ball, knew Frederick would probably beat his throw to first, so turned and shot the ball to Ted Baldwin, and Vitt, who had turned thrid, was out in a run down. Ted Baldwin to Earl Baldwin to Ted Baldwin. The latter player is catching the ball from his namesake. Sam Crane is backing Ted up and George Stueland with his back to Aunt Eppie is also set to get in the play if necessary. Duffy Lewis is the Salt Lake coacher – while Umpire Phyle also gets into the picture. The lower photograph is a riot scene and as aproof of the fact that Frank Tobin, the tousle-haired athlete in the background, won the argument in question, please note that he has his head up. Ted Baldwinhas entered as a peacemaker along with numerous others and stands between Tobin and his late antagonist, Les Sheehan, whose head is bowed in defeat, as it were. Nobody seems overly excited, but Lefty O'Doul, who got married Monday, can be seen leaving the scene of action. The trouble started when Tobin blocked Sheehan of fthe plate on an attempted double steal. Sheehan lost his head and started kicking. They rose to their feet and Tobin landed with both fists. Then the fight ended."

Regarding the column, here's a partial transcription:

George Stueland pitched unbeatable baseball after the third inning of yesterday's Salt Lake-Seattle battle and the Indians came through with a rally in the twelfth inning that netted them a run and a 5 to 4 victory over the Bees.

Apparently Stueland doesn't get warmed up properly. In his first start against Sacramento he walked three men in the first four innings. In the second game he walked five in the first four. Yesterday, he walked five in the first three. But after those spells of wildness he was pitching well nigh perfect baseball.

His poor start yesterday almost gave the Bees the game. In fact, except for a dropped fly ball by Fritz Coumbe they would have won 4 to 3 in nine innings. Two walks in the second and one in the third were turned into runs for the Bees when Jenkins and Sheehan delivered doubles.

Game 21, Salt Lake Bees at Seattle

Well, these things keep taking longer and longer so I am going to just post the next two or three series in full order without the transcriptions of the dailies. I will still scan all the stories and the box scores, and maybe highlight something here and there, and maybe do a few other things to make this run on a little further.

For the 21^st game of the season, the Indians welcomed the Salt Lake City Bees to Seattle. The Bees had opened quite the can of Bonneville Park whoop-ass on the Indians. Now, we get to see if the Indians can take advantage of their own home field. As luck would have it, the rain gods were not in Seattle's favor, as they lost 2 to 0 in a rain-out.

As usual, the scribes of sportswriting's golden era had fun with this one, making up a nice little story to go with the rain out.

Seattle's Starting Lineup:

Billy Lane, Center Field

Cliff Brady, Second Base

Sam Crane, Shortstop

Brick Eldred, Right Field

Elmer Bowman, First Base

Ray Rohwer, Left Field

Ted Baldwin, Third Base

Earl Baldwin, Catcher

Wheezer Dell, Pitcher

George Steuland came into the game in the fifth to run for Wheezer Dell. Dell was replaced on the mound by Vean Gregg. George Cutshaw then batted for Gregg, and Jimmy Welsh batted for Earl Baldwin. Then the rain was just too much. Read the Salt Lake part of the box score, some pretty legendary names there.

Week Two Review: Seattle v. Salt Lake City

The Seattle Indians finished the second week of the season week of the 1924 Pacific Coast League season running their record down to 3 wins and 10 losses. Following their 2-5 start at Washington Park in Los Angeles, they went 1-5 at the bandbox called Bonneville Park against the Salt Lake City Bees. They would leave Salt Lake City to head back to Seattle for their home opening series against Sacramento. The Seattle club hit the ball well, but the Bees were just a better hitting team. They were a good enough hitting club that a young Tony Lazzeri batted 7^th most of the week, while Lefty O’Doul, soon to give up pitching, batted at the bottom of the order on his pitching day. Every single pitcher the Indians used in week two gave up at least 5 earned runs.

            The hottest hitters of the week for Seattle were right fielder Brick Eldred and third baseman Ted Baldwin. Batting cleanup, Brick hit .455 for the week, going 10 for 22 in the six games, including 4 doubles, and scoring 10 runs. Baldwin batted 7^th usually, and went 10 for 26 with 2 doubles and a sacrifice hit. He had continued the hot bat he had in Los Angeles, bringing his average down to .386 in 10 games. The other hot bat was Jimmy Welsh, who homered in all 4 games he saw time in, one as a pinch hitter in the first game of the series and 3 more in each of the last three games of the series after replacing Elmer Bowman at first base. Overall, Welsh was 6 for 15, scoring 4 runs. This gave him a .320 average for the year in 8 games as a utility player. Welsh would have a good 1924 season, his second with the Indians, and be purchased in December by the Boston Braves. There he would get to play with a trio of aging Hall of Famers, including shortstop/manager Dave Bancroft, Rube Marquard, and Casey Stengel. Welsh would play in Stengel’s final game in May and Marquard’s final game in September. Welsh played against Bancroft, who had been traded to the Giants on May 17, 1930, which would also be Welsh’s last year in the majors. Incidentally, Stengel had broken into the majors in 1912 along with Welsh’s Seattle coach and   fellow utility infielder George Cutshaw. Of course, Stengel didn’t get to the Hall of Fame for his hitting.

Totals for week 2:

·         Billy Lane, CF for all six games, batted first all six games. 6 for 21 at the plate including 2 doubles. Now hitting .282 on the season, going 13 for 46 in 13 games and putting 10 runs on board.

·         Cliff Brady, 2B for all six games, batted second for six games as well. Brady continued a slow start, going 5 for 24 with 1 double and 1 sacrifice, putting 3 runs on the board. For the year he was hitting .231 after playing all 13 games with a 12 for 52 performance at the plate, and contributed 7 runs.

·         Sam Crane, SS for all six games, and entrenched as the #3 hitter. The Indians team captain maintained his hitting consistency, going 8 for 25 with 3 doubles and a sacrifice. He did have 3 errors for the week. His 5 runs gave him 6 for the season in 11 games, and his season average stood at .319 after two weeks, going 15 for 47.

·         Brick Eldred, RF for all six games, batted cleanup all games. Eldred brought the hottest bat to the best spot, going 10 for 22 for the week with 4 doubles and 10 runs. This put him at an even .400 for the season, getting 18 hits in 45 at bats in all 13 games, with 15 runs to boot.

·         Elmer Bowman, 1B for three games. Bowman hit in the fifth spot, but gave way to the hot bat of Jimmy Welsh later in the week. His 3 for 12 performance for the week put 4 runs on the board, but dropped his season average down to .282, with 10 runs in 10 games.

·         Jimmy Welsh, 1B for three games. Welsh took Bowman’s spot in the field and hitting order, hitting 4 home runs during the week. He started off the week with a pinch hit home run batting for team captain Sam Crane in the 8^th inning of the first game of the series. He followed that with one home run in each of the final 3 games of the series. For the week Welsh was 6 for 15, and for the season 8 for 25, a .320 average with 7 runs scored in 8 games overall.

·         Ray Rowher, LF for all six games, hit 6^th in all the games as well. He was 8 for 24 for the Bees series, with 3 doubles, a home run and a sacrifice hit as well. The 4 runs he scored gave him 11 for the year, batting .300 on 15 for 50 hitting over all 13 games.

·         Ted Baldwin, whose mother named him Henry, was 10 for 26 for the week, scoring 2 runs to go with a .384 average with 2 doubles and a sacrifice thrown in for good measure. That gave him a .386 average for the two week old season, with 6 run and 17 hits in 44 at bats.

·         Frank Tobin and Earl Baldwin split the catching duties and the eighth spot in the order. Earl Brucker, a young catcher who got into his first minor league game during the week also made an appearance, going 2 for 2 with a double and a home run in the first game of the series ending Sunday double header. Tobin was 3 for 10 for the week with a sacrifice hit, dropping his average for the year to .381, hitting 8 for 21 in 6 games overall with five runs scored. Baldwin was 3 for 11, with 2 doubles and a home run. That gave him a .250 average on 7 for 28 hitting in 8 games. Brucker would one day manage the Reds for a week, sandwiched in between Luke Sewell and Rogers Hornsby in 1952, and later be instrumental in bringing auto racing to El Cajon after an attempt to build a spring training camp for the Tigers failed. As a catcher, he would finally make the majors in 1937, at the age of 36, and play until 1943.

·         Other position players to see time that week were Frank Emmer, Frank Osborne and George Cutshaw. Emmer was the backup SS and 3B. Osborne was a utility outfielder who had been used as a relief pitcher 4 times in the opening week in Los Angeles, and Cutshaw would see occasional action, but was also Manager Red Killefer’s bench coach.

    

     The pitchers were uniformly slaughtered throughout the week. Percy Jones made two appearances, starting the week and finishing in relief. He had 8 2/3 innings total with 10 earned runs, 4 walks, 2 strikeouts, 4 hit batters and 2 wild pitches. Those numbers closely parallel his 1920 season with the Cubs. Bill Plummer, father of the future Mariner’s manager (his wife was sister of Seattle teammate Earl “Red” Baldwin), was 1-1 in two long relief appearances, giving up only 5 earned runs in 11 1/3 innings with 5 walks, 5 strikeouts, and 2 hit batters. Suds Sutherland was 0-1, losing his only start of the week, but also the pitcher to go the distance during the week. He gave up 9 earned runs with 4 walks, 5 strikeouts and 1 hit batter. Vean Gregg was still winless, getting a no decision in an otherwise loss in which Gregg gave up 5 earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. Victor Pigg had 1 relief appearance and 1 start, giving up 9 earned runs with 4 walks and 4 strikeouts. George Steuland went 7 2/3 innings in one long relief appearance, giving up 7 earned runs with 5 walks, 7 strikeouts and a hit batter. Wheezer Dell only lasted 4 1/3 innings in his start, giving up 12 earned runs with a walk and 2 strikeouts. Lastly, Jim Bagby, a 31 game winner for the 1920 World Series champion Cleveland Indians, lasted 2/3 of an inning in one start, giving up 7 earned runs while striking out two. On a side note, his teammate Elmer Bowman had a two cup of coffee career in the majors. In the first of those two games, he got one pinch hit appearance against Bagby in 1920. His last cup of coffee was later that season against Black Sock Lefty Williams.

Games 10 and 11, Saturday, April 19, 1924

“Circuit Clout In Ninth Inning Gives Tribe an Even Break

Two Wild Ball Games Divided by Seattle and Salt Lake-Fans Kept at Park for Four Hours

Special to The Times.

SALT LAKE CITY, Saturday, April 19-The Seattle Indians and the Salt Lake Bees broke even in a double bill here this afternoon, the Indians dropping the first game by a 9 to 8 score, but copping the second by a score of 13 to 11. [ed note: looking for a team that was both Bees and Indians?]


                The first game was a thrilling and sensational battle, won in the last half of the ninth, with Fritz Coumbe and Suds Sutherland pitching good ball most of the distance. The second was just one of those things that happen at Bonneville Park, where the fences are close in and the atmosphere is rare. There were hits, runs and boots galore and the fans were kept at the park until after 6 o’clock.


                Vean Gregg and Elmer Ponder started to the hurling in the second game. They were bumped hard and often and both had to be removed. Plummer took up the burden for Seattle, while Harry O’Neill did the work for the Bees. O’Neill was removed for a pinch hitter and Phil Mulcahy, who started the first game, went in. Singleton went into the game in the ninth.


                Seattle started off with a pair and was not headed until the eighth inning when the Bees scored three on Lazerre’s homer after two men got on the bags. The Bees were put within reaching distance of Seattle in the fifth when a bevy of base hits brought them six runs.”

These results were printed in the Sunday, April 20, edition of the Seattle Times. Due to the rain and snow earlier in the week, Seattle would wind up its second series of the season with two double headers in two days. Games 10 and 11 of the year were games 3 and 4 of the Salt Lake series. As usual at Bonneville Park, the games were a high scoring affair, with 41 runs being put on the board for the day, bringing the series total to 77 runs. One thing to pay attention to, and I will calculate the numbers eventually, is to look at the box scores for the importance of the sacrifice hit.

Reading the description and looking over the box score, the first game looks like it would have been fantastic. Phil Mulcahy started the game for SLC, but was out after pitching one inning and then walking the first two batters in the second. Fritz Coumbe came in to calm down the Indians until the ninth. At that point, Rudy Kallio came in to get the final out, and then with SLC coming back in the bottom of the ninth, Kallio picked up the win.

John Philip Mulcahy was born in San Francisco on February 28, 1906 (and died sometime in 1946). He was signed by SLC as an 18-year old "off the sandlots of Oakland". He would pitch five years in the PCL, and one last season at the age of 23 with the 1929 Little Rock Travelers of the Southern Association.  Back on March 9, Mulcahy had pitched for the Bees in their loss to the Fresno Athletic Club, a Nisei semi-pro club.

Fritz Coumbe had been a teammate of Seattle captain Sam Crane with the 1920 (and 21) Cincinnati Reds on October 2 of that year when they played against  and Pittsburgh (and future Indians 2B George Cutshaw) in the last triple-header in MLB history. Coumbe played centerfield in one game and right field in another that day. Coumbe was tall and lanky, and had ended up in SLC after 8 seasons in the majors. Seattle captain Sam Crane would have a much more tragic end to his career, including a long prison sentence for the murder of his girlfriend and her lover. He served just under 15 years in prison, getting out at the age of 50. His parole was vouched for by Connie Mack, who had signed Crane as a 19 year old. Over 7 seasons he only played 124 games, but logged in over 1,200 in the minors. A defensive whiz, his career batting average was just 8 points over the Mendoza line. Coumbe was a Pittsburgh teammate that year of the SLC starter of game 2 in this double header, Elmer Ponder, Seattle back-up second baseman George Cutshaw, and the typically nicknamed "Chief" Moses Yellow Horse, a Pawnee and the first full-blooded Native American to play in the majors. In 1924, Yellow Horse was pitching for the Sacramento Solons. I will have an expanded posting on Mose Yellow Horse when the Indians play the Solons in their home opening series.

Rudy Kallio, the final relief pitcher for the Bees in game 1, had a three year career in the Majors, but played off and on in the PCL until the age of 47. Kallio and Seattle starter Suds Sutherland had also opposed each other back in 1914 in the Western Canada League when Kallio played for the Saskatoon Quakers and Sutherland for the Edmonton Eskimos. Both ended their careers hopping back and forth between Pacific Northwest PCL clubs, retiring in Oregon. Kallio (1892-1979) ended up in Newport (I wonder if he visited the sea lion caves or sold taffy?) and Sutherland (1894-1972) in Portland. 

Game 9, Friday, April 18, 1924

"Pigg Slaughtered". I suppose Victor Pigg never really stood a chance of avoiding that headline. In this game, former Yankees and Red Sox pitcher, and future major league outfielder, Lefty O'Doul was the winning pitcher, with the Pigg performance contributing equilaterally to an evenly dismal start of .222 after nine games. And, being a quality pitcher, O'Doul knew what to do with a 9-4 lead in the fourth inning, so there wasn't much of a reason for anyone else to pitch for SLC. With the number of extra-bases being hit at Bonneville Park, I imagine Duffy Lewis, the Bees Manager, must have appreciated being able to rest his pitching staff once in awhile. O'Doul also contributed with his bat. The Indians and Bees would play two consecutive double headers on Saturday and Sunday. The Saturday game was added due to the rain outs. Sunday was the usual day for a PCL double header.

Game 8, Wednesday, April 16, 1924

The Indians travelled to Salt Lake City on Monday the 14th, but had a rain/snow out on the 15th. They finally kicked off the series with the Bees at hitter friendly Bonneville Park. Bill Plummer was the loser. One name to take note of is Tony Lazzerri, or as it's spelled in the box score, Lazerre. Another is Lefty O'Doul, who was working his way back to the majors after arm injuries sidelined his pitching career. A lot would happen to Lefty between this game and October 4, 1933, when he would get a single and 2 rbi's in his only career World Series at bat. Lazzeri is in the Hall of Fame, O'Doul is not. He should be. Baseball before WWII was always more than the Major Leagues and the Hall of Fame has recognized that in important ways. They should look at expanding their reach to individuals like O'Doul who do not fit into any tidy category or box. Players and managers who have exceptional contributions outside of the Majors should be recognized. Players who hit .349 for their career should be. I think O'Doul passes the HOF smell test in spite of his short playing career.

The Bees had moved to SLC in 1915, having first seen life as the Sacramento Solons. They would only last two more years in SLC (just long enough for Lazzerri to establish a record for home run excellence with 60) before moving to LA to be the Hollywood Stars, and then to San Diego to become the Padres. Although business was apparently good in 1915, by this game, only 200 fans would attend the early season games.

The box score and column were reported on Thursday, April 17. The following column is from the same day. It details more information about a second rain out that day and how that might affect the pitchers getting stronger for the season. Also, it details some biographical information about Victor Pigg, who would have a four year career in the minors, starting with Seattle and ending in the Western League with Omaha. Follow that link from the Skagit River Journal, which gives details on Pigg's family and life. By 1927-8, Pigg was playing in Bellingham for Northwest baseball legend Tealey Raymond.