In the early 1900s, baseball was America's Pastime, and certainly popular with residents of the north Caddo Parish oilfields - both as a spectator and participatory sport. Newspaper articles at various times mentioned teams representing the communities of Lewis, Mooringsport, Myrtis (also listed as Myrtistown), Oil City, Rodessa, Trees City, and Vivian.
The following article appeared in the sports section of the Shreveport Times 30-Sep-1912, Page 6:
However the loser's manager immediately claimed his team to be the true champion, stating his case days later in the Times. Rebuttal by Oil City management led to the decision for the teams to play again in order to determine one true champion in a game about which it was said "it will be for blood!" But how did events reach this level of hostility? The tale unfolds below.
Background
In 1911, an "Oil League" had been founded in northern Caddo Parish that included Myrtistown (also known simply as Myrtis), Oil City, Rodessa, and Trees City.
Shreveport Times 23-Jul-1911, Page 9
A new expanded organization was announced in February of the following year, to be comprised of teams representing communities along the Kansas City Southern Railways line anchored by Texarkana to the north, Shreveport to the south, and in between: Mooringsport, Oil City, Vivian, and Rodessa, and Trees City.
Shreveport Times 26-Feb-1912, Page 6
An article previewing one of the games against Trees City mentioned Oil City's intent to build a new park with a grandstand and improved field.
Shreveport Times 28-Apr-1912, Page 11
The Team
In Jun-1912, the Shreveport Times reported the Oil City club to be one of the better teams in the league. It was noted the team was the playing in the new ball park. The lineup at that time included:
Boston (first base)
Boylston (second base)
Davidson (pitcher)
Fowler (left field)
Fowler (right field)
(Ed) Grimsinger (third base)
Shaw (catcher)
Wagner (short stop)
(Tom) Zagst (center field)
It's not known if there were two Fowlers, or if this is a reporting error. It's possible that one of the (or only if the case) Fowlers was young local dentist Dr. Sanders Fowler, who had played college ball just a few years earlier at Louisiana Industrial Institute (now Louisiana Tech University). Boylston may have been W. H. Boylston, then a cashier at the Oil City Bank.
Shreveport Times 25-Jun-1912, Page 9
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| Ed Grimsinger |
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| Tom Zagst |
Source: 1913 Oil City Baseball Team photo contributed by Ron Newton
An August article mentioned that a
Mack Boring played second base in a game witnessed by the reporter.
Teams were commonly sponsored by a company and while listed as amateur, were "semi-professional" in that playing on a team may have been a condition of, or at least incentive for employment. This would of course mean team affiliation changed with said employment. A review of game results reveals last names shown with one team appearing on another; notably Jack Rumsey, who left Oil City for Marshall, Texas in mid-season, only to appear later in the year pitching for Trees City. By 1913 he was back with OC. Abb Peddy (pictured further down), a pitching sensation for Vivian, was listed as playing for Oil City in a couple of instances.
Center fielder Tom Zagst and (likely business, not field) manager Gustave A. Morse were the vice-president and secretary/treasurer respectively of Monarch Lumber Company,
formed in March 1912. Given their connection and the "M" appearing on the players' caps, it's likely Monarch was the team sponsor.
No overall schedule/results have been found, however after the "first" championship game, their record was reported to have been 19 wins, 8 losses (70.3%). The following scores were gleaned from newspaper accounts, while others may not have ever been reported to the press:
14-Apr - Trees 4, OC 1
23-Apr - S. O. Co. (Trees City) 3, OC 0)
05-May - OC 3, Vivian 1
13-May - OC 7, Mooringsport 1
19-May - Trees City 5, OC 2
26-May - OC 3, Trees City 0
13-May - OC 7, Mooringsport 1 Notably, Oil City pitcher Jack Rumsey struck out 18 batters. He left shortly afterward to play
for Marshall, Texas (but would later return in 1913).
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| Jack Rumsey |
Source: Ron Newton
22-Jul - OC 5, Trees City 0
04-Aug - Vivian 11, OC 4
11-Aug - OC 12, Trees City 2 (as originally reported in newspaper)
11-Aug Trees City 4, OC 2 (per Trees fan later writing in to Shreveport Times)
12-Aug - Mooringsport 8, OC 3
15-Sep - Trees City 11, OC 0 Sy (sic) Watson was noted to have pitched (not very well) for OC. Make note of the name as this person played a part in supposed later intrigue regarding the championship..
24-Sep - OC 5, Shreveport 4
The "First" Championship Game
Though no standings ever appeared to support, and no other methodology was disclosed to determine a champion, the OC club claimed the Oil League championship in light of its 4-3 victory over Vivian.
Shreveport Times 30-Sep-1912, Page 6
Not so fast, said Jonathan Byrd, Vivian manager, who disputed OC's claim in a letter to the Shreveport Times, claiming to have beaten beaten them eight times in 10 games played.
Shreveport Times 04-Oct-1912, Page 9
Bird's comments infuriated OC manager Morse who responded regarding the controversy, advising another game would be played to settle the matter. As he put it, "The game Sunday will be the deciding game and it will be for blood!" He contended the teams had played six times with each taking two wins, and two were called off due to "squabbles."
Shreveport Times 05-Oct-1912, Page 7
Championship Redux
For a second time, Oil City defeated Vivian, this time 4-1, to become undisputed champ, led by the pitching of Watson, hitting of Richardson, and fielding of Osborne.
Shreveport Times 07-Oct-1912, Page 8
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| Sam Richardson |
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| Forrest Osborne |
Source: Ron Newton
For reasons unknown, Vivian's star pitcher, Hugh Ashby Peddy (AKA, Abner or "Abb" Peddy), who was identified as likely starter for the first, apparently did not play in either of the championship games. Earlier mentioned as Texas League material, Manager Bird convinced the Cleveland Naps (later renamed Indians) of the American League to sign him for the 1913 season, bypassing the minors, at least initially. Below he was touted to Cleveland fans as an upcoming sensation.
He was shortly sent to the minors where he had a spotted career, though he did briefly return to Cleveland for spring training a few years later before being sent down again.
Read Hugh Peddy's career stats at
Baseball-Reference.com
Post Game Comments
Bird sarcastically acknowledged Oil City as champs and expressed a desire to play again. This was certainly intended as a "trap" as, should Vivian win that subsequent game, would he not claim they were the rightful champions? Of note is apparent acknowledgement of the use of "leaguers" by OC, a factor in the later story, while not claiming the practice to be foul. Perhaps he regretted not thinking of it himself.
Shreveport Times 19-Oct-1912, Page 7
Morse responded, crowing a bit, and stating Oil City would play no more games against Vivian that year.
Shreveport Times 20-Oct-1912, Page 11
Say It Ain't So, Roscoe!
Did Oil City management take some "creative" measures in order to earn the crown of the oilfield?
First it must be pointed out that the name in the headline below is wrong. The reporter must have assumed Cyrus must have been the player's first name, as he went by the nickname "Cy" (also appearing occasionally as "Sy" or "Sie"), but his real name was in fact Roscoe Pearl Watson.
A 1913 newspaper article about Cy Watson mentions his coaxing Oil City management to hire to additional former pros - Rube Gardner and Prince Gaskell, to beef up team strength. It's possible the heretofore unmentioned Caldwell who hit two home runs and a double in the first championship may well have been Gardner playing under another name.
Shreveport Times 06-May-1913, Page 9 (republished from the Houston Chronicle)
All three were certainly available for duty as they were in the area with careers either over (Watson), in limbo (Gaskell), or transitioning between teams (Gardner). Earlier in 1912 it was mentioned both Gardner and Gaskell were
among professionals living in Shreveport in the offseason.
Who Were These Ringers?
Details about these "
ringers" are as follows:
Roscoe Pearl "Cy" Watson (1882-1954) The Watson listed as pitching in both championship wins was "Cy" Watson, a journeyman minor league player who had helped lead Houston to the 1910 Texas League championship. His baseball career waning, he had come to work in the Caddo oilfields.
Houston Post 07-Jun-1912, Page 3
Read Cy Watson's full stats at
Baseball-Reference.com
A 1915 article mentions Watson attending a Shreveport Gassers game.
Per his obituary, he remained in the oil business in later years, and passed away in 1954.
Galveston (TX) Daily news 23-Feb-1954, Page 5
Luther Curtis "Rube" Gardner (1883-1953) From Huntington, Tennessee, Rube played with several southern baseball clubs over his career, including the one in Shreveport. For the 1912 season, he as a member of the Topeka Kaws.
Topeka (KS) Daily Capital 01-Oct-1912, Page 2
Shortly after the Oil League championship games, he was drafted by the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League. The following is an excerpt from his obituary:
Fresno (CA) Bee 09-Mar-1953, Page 7-B
Read Rube Gardner's full stats on
Baseball-Reference.com
Prince Douglas Gaskell (1885-1966) - Note his name is more often misspelled as Gaskill. Originally from Texas, Prince Gaskell began his professional career playing for Houston in the South Texas League before joining the Shreveport Pirates in 1907.
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| Prince Gaskell is shown middle row, second from left |
Shreveport Times 05-Apr-1959, Page 5-D
He later pitched for the Chattanooga Lookouts where he
once gave up a home runt "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, who was playing for rival Savannah in the South Atlantic League. He additionally played for several teams in the northeast and midwest, as well as
Below Prince is shown in 1909 while at Chattanooga....
Macon (GA) Telegraph 22-Dec-1909, Page 6
....and with the
Denver Bears in 1914.
Denver Post 02-Oct-1914, Page 15
Rocky Mountain news 17-Dec-1914, Page 11
He finished his career in 1917, playing briefly for San Antonio before wrapping up in his longtime off-season home, Shreveport.
Read Prince Gaskell's full stats on
Baseball-Reference.com
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