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FOREST CITY OF CLEVELAND
CLUB HISTORY
There are
contemporaneous references to baseball being played in Cleveland’s public square
as early as 1857. Local police tried to get the ball-players to stop, but
they appealed to “one of the city authorities” and “he quietly informed the
players that there no law against ball-playing there, for had there been he
should have put a stop to it at the commencement. The crowd sent up a shout and
renewed the game, which was continued until dark, while the Police went for
further orders from head quarters.” (Porter’s Spirit of the Times, April
18, 1857. There was another mention of ball-playing three weeks later in the
May 9 issue.)
Nevertheless, it was
not until after the end of the Civil War that “the regular game of base ball
[took the] place of what was known as ‘long ball,’ ‘square ball’ and ‘sock
ball,’ in which a soft ball was used [and in which] one of the ways of getting a
batter or base runner out was to hit or ‘sock’ him with the ball before reaching
or while off his base.” (Chadwick Scrapbooks, part one of multipart history of
baseball in Cleveland written by Robert S. Pierce and published in the
Cleveland Press around 1908)
At first, the
players of the new version in Cleveland seem to have been a group of clerks and
high school students who gathered together and formed sides on an ad hoc basis.
According to Robert S. Pierce, who was described as being the first Cleveland
baseball editor, “The first time the name ‘Forest Citys’ was used was in 1866.
A nine was selected from the most promising players among the young men engaged
in the sport. The original Forest City club was composed of the following: A.R.
Smith c and capt., George W. Stockley p, J.W. Clarke 1b, W.C. McEwen 2b, R.C.
Vilas 3b, W.L. Hurlbut ss, R.H. Wright lf, J.M. Gorham rf, T.H. Miles cf.”
(Chadwick Scrapbooks, introduction to multipart history of baseball in Cleveland
written by Robert S. Pierce and published in the Cleveland Press around
1908) Pierce added that “the first game of record took place on July 10, 1866,
on Case commons, a wide stretch of cow pasture, near the corner of Case and
Woodland avenues. Two teams, known as the ‘First Nine’ and ‘Second Nine’
contested for honors and were made up as follows: First – J.W. Clarke c, Everton
Lattimer p, H.H. Brown 1b, Frank Gorham 2b, W.H. Cutter 3b, Hall ss, L.C. Hanna
lf, Fred Partridge rf, Dodge cf. Second – A.R. Smith c, W.C. McEwen p, W.L.
Hurlbut ss, Frank Collins 3b, Dan Graham 2b, D.E. Wright rf, S.E. Williamson cf,
T.H. Brooks lf, J.M. Gorham 1b.” (Chadwick Scrapbooks, part one of multipart
history of baseball in Cleveland written by Robert S. Pierce and published in
the Cleveland Press around 1908)
Pierce’s claims do
not entirely correspond with the contemporaneous newspaper accounts cited in the
book Base Ball on the Western Reserve. Its author, James M. Egan, Jr.,
documents several matches played by the Forest City Club in the fall of 1865 and
the spring of 1866 against such opponents as the Penfields of Oberlin, the
Reserve Club of the Western Reserve College, and the Occidental Club from the
Cleveland High School. Competition had indeed become formal enough that a
silver ball and rosewood bat were offered to the champion club of the Western
Reserve. The Forest City Club earned that distinction by defeating the
Penfield Club on July 4th in a match played on the grounds of the
Forest City Cricket Club. The Cleveland club successfully defended the
championship in August and the trophies were put on display in a local
storefront. (James M. Egan, Jr., Base Ball on the Western Reserve, 5-8)
The new ambition of
the Forest City Club became evident in October when the club hosted the Detroit
Base Ball Club. The visitors won handily, but because of the inexperience of
the Forest Citys the setback was taken in stride. “Under the circumstances,”
wrote a reporter for the Cleveland Leader, “we believe that [the Forest
City Club] should feel highly encouraged at the result of the match. It has
played with confessedly the finest club in the West, a club its senior by four
years, and one whose members by long practice under a most excellent drill
master have become almost perfect.” The writer went on to express pleasure that
the home nine had “demonstrated the possession of material” that, with more
practice, would make them competitive with the Detroiters. (Cleveland Leader,
reprinted in the Detroit Advertiser and Tribune, October 19, 1866)
The Cleveland
baseball scene continued to heat up in 1867. The Forest City Club organized for
the season in April and soon had a formidable local rival in the Railway Unions,
a club made up of local railroad workers. The rivalry between the two clubs was
made all the more intense by the fact that Forest City catcher Austin R. “Pikey”
Smith, though “himself a railroad man, preferred to cast his lot with the Forest
Citys instead of with the Unions. He was a crack player and both teams coveted
his services. It was said that the offer of the captaincy was the weight in the
balance that finally settled the question in favor of the Forest Citys.”
(Pierce, part 3)
The Railway Union
club posed a great threat to the Forest City Club’s hold on local supremacy, as
the challengers were “backed by a number of railroad officials, among whom were
Robert Bice, then superintendent of the Big Four, afterward mayor of Cleveland;
William Thornburg, Charles A. Davidson and C.H. Gale. These gentlemen furnished
the players with uniforms and generally stood good for their expenses.” (Pierce,
part 3) The two rivals played a series of closely contested matches in the next
two years.
By
the spring of 1868 the Railway Unions appeared to have gained the upper hand,
beating their rivals 21-14 to earn the coveted bat and ball. But the Forest
Citys quickly regrouped. Though still at least nominally an amateur club, the
Forest Citys now featured Jim “Deacon” White and his cousin Elmer, both of whom
hailed from Corning, New York. After a tie on Independence Day, the Forest
Citys beat the Railway Unions three straight times, regaining local supremacy
and causing their rivals to disband.
The Forest Citys
also squared off against many national powerhouses in 1868, but in this regard
they had only mixed success. The club did manage to avenge the previous year’s
loss to the Detroit Base Ball Club and to beat a few other clubs from other
cities, but matches against the Athletics of Philadelphia and the Unions of
Morrisania resulted in lopsided defeats.
At the conclusion of
the 1868 campaign, the National Association of Base Ball Players finally
sanctioned professional play and the Forest Citys faced a difficult dilemma.
Would they hire an entire roster of professionals? Would they remain strictly
amateurs (at least in name)? Or would they try to find a balance between the
two?
The same choice confronted every top amateur clubs, but the case of the Forest
Citys of Cleveland was especially interesting because the club had already begun
to tightrope between the two polar opposites. In 1868, they had joined forces
with the rival Railway Unions to build an enclosed ballpark on Case Commons and
fifty-cent admission had been charged for all important matches. The opening of
the new ballpark had been accompanied by articles in the local newspapers
arguing that the charges were necessary to defray the heavy costs. (James M.
Egan, Jr., Base Ball on the Western Reserve, 23-24)
Impressive crowds
did indeed turn out for the big matches played in 1868, but the lopsided losses
that the Forest Citys suffered in their matches with outside clubs made it
unlikely that attendance could be sustained unless new players were recruited.
And if the Forest City lineup was indeed upgraded, where were the players to
come from?
One option was to
follow the example of the cross-state Red Stockings of Cincinnati and sign a
nine that consisted almost entirely of Eastern professionals. But this course
would create hard feelings by thrusting longtime regulars out of their
positions, and would ensure a backlash unless wins ensued.
Alternatively, the
Forest Citys could continue the moderate approach pursued in 1868, when several
young players from local rivals such as the Peconics of the Humiston Academy
were added to the roster. The demise of the Railway Unions meant that those
players would now be available, and the Forest Citys could become an all-star
lineup of Cleveland’s best players. But would such a squad prove competitive
against top professional clubs?
In the end, the club
made a Solomon-like decision and presented an 1869 first nine consisting of an
almost equal mix of imported professional players and local stalwarts. (The
exact proportion is difficult to determine. At least three new professionals –
Al Pratt, Art Allison and John Ward – were added. Eb Smith may have been a
fourth, and John Riley of the Railway Unions was described as a professional by
several sources. One more was added in August when Jim White returned.) This
amalgam roster was implausibly billed as an amateur club, with a club
representative writing, “we are charged with having secured professional players
in our nine, which assertion is positively untrue. We have strengthened our
nine somewhat by the acquisition of Pratt, Ward and Allison, but neither [sic]
of these players is a professional, all being in business in this city, and
making base ball a secondary matter to business requirements. Our club is
strictly an amateur organization.” (New York Clipper, June 19, 1869) Not
surprisingly, few observers believed this claim and the Forest Citys were
generally listed as a professional club.
Oddly, while new
professionals were being brought in Jim and Elmer White both left, although Jim
returned in August. The results of the decision to use the half amateur-half
professional lineup were more predictable: an undefeated record against amateur
clubs, with most of the victories coming by lopsided margins, but only one win
in seven contests against professional rivals.
The 1869 season also
saw the Cleveland Base Ball Association fend off efforts to take their park
away. A group of citizens, with the backing of the City Council, contended that
the club had illegally blocked a street by enclosing their field. The matter
loomed over the club until May, when the city attorney ruled in favor of the
ball club. (James M. Egan, Jr., Base Ball on the Western Reserve, 32-33)
The developments of
1869, especially the phenomenal success of the cross-state Red Stockings of
Cincinnati forced the hand of Cleveland’s top club. In 1870, the Forest City
Club’s first nine consisted entirely of professionals from New York and
Pennsylvania (including both Whites). The club lost more than half its games
against professional rivals but proved competitive even against such foes as the
Red Stockings of Cincinnati and the White Stockings of Chicago, while posting
wins against the likes of the Nationals and Olympics of Washington, the Eckfords
and Atlantics of Brooklyn, and the Mutuals of New York. Two matches were also
played against their namesakes, the Forest Citys of Rockford, and fittingly the
contests were split.
With most of the
same players, the Forest Citys entered the National Association in 1871 and
posted a 10-19 mark in the first major league season. The club made a concerted
effort to upgrade its talent in 1872, but the fates were against them. The
Great Chicago Fire had led both Chicago and Rockford to drop off of the circuit,
leaving Cleveland as the only “western” city in a league of East coast clubs.
The Eastern clubs were reluctant to travel to Cleveland, and the Forest Citys
struggled on the field as well. (James M. Egan, Jr., Base Ball on the Western
Reserve, 66-72) The club disbanded at mid-season and, according to Robert
Pierce, “Attorney W.M. Reynolds was made receiver, and Arnold Green, an attorney
for the stockholders, paid all debts in full.” (Pierce, part six) It was six
years before Cleveland had another professional baseball club. (James M. Egan,
Jr., Base Ball on the Western Reserve, 72-76)
During its nearly
seven years of existence, the makeup of the Forest City Club changed
dramatically and by the end all of the original players had been replaced by
Eastern professionals. Nonetheless, memories of the original members did not
fade as quickly. Robert Pierce recalled that the early players, “were nearly
all scions of the best families in Cleveland, and the games always attracted a
good turnout of fathers, mothers, sisters, sweethearts and the usual following
of ardent and admiring supporters. All contests took place in the open field
with no seating accommodations except the green grass. The game was played for
pure love of it, and some of the players become quite expert. So far as history
records, no umpires were mobbed in those days, but feeling often ran high and
long disputes over questionable decisions frequently occurred, to be settled
only by the substitution of a new arbitrator.” (Pierce, part two)
CLUB MEMBERS
THE AMATEUR YEARS:
1865-1868
Theodore
Francis Branch: Theo Branch was the pitcher for the Peconics of Humiston
academy, then became one of the outfielders of the Forest City Club in 1868. He
was born in Prussia on May 28, 1849, and became a civil engineer. He moved his
family to North Dakota in 1880 and became a surveyor and the clerk of the
district court for Stutsman County. He returned to Ohio shortly before the
century and died in Cleveland on October 16, 1916.
Thomas Hope Brooks:
Thomas H. Brooks does not appear to have ever been a member of the first nine of
the Forest Citys, but his prominent place in Cleveland society meant that he was
often mentioned in later articles about the club. He was born in Patriot,
Indiana, on October 10, 1846. His father, a doctor, moved the family to
Cleveland the following year. Thomas graduated from Williams College in 1870,
and established the Brooks Foundry in 1875. He remained a successful Cleveland
businessman until his death on May 29, 1919.
Charles Brown:
Charles Brown was the regular pitcher of the Forest Citys in 1868, but was not
mentioned in later accounts of the club and his common name makes it impossible
to identify him.
Harvey Huntington
Brown: Harvey H. Brown was the club’s starting third baseman in 1868 and a
back-up in 1869 and 1870. He was born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, on June
30, 1848, and became a noted Cleveland iron and steel manufacturer. He died in
Cleveland on August 2, 1923.
Arthur Edwin Burt:
Arthur Burt was born in Liverpool, Ohio, on April 30, 1851. He attended
Humiston Academy and played for the school team, the Peconics, before joining
the Forest Citys and becoming one of their regular outfielders in 1868. He lost
his spot to new recruits and became a seed dealer. But when he died in
Cleveland Heights on April 16, 1939, his status as the last living member of the
Forest Citys was prominently mentioned in his obituary.
James W. Clarke: J.
W. Clarke was the club’s regular first baseman from 1865 to 1868 and its
president in 1867. His play in the first contest between the Forest City Club
and the Detroit Base Ball Club prompted the Leader to rave, “His play was
accurate and scientific from beginning to end. One catch of his, in particular,
received enthusiastic cheers, and was pronounced by connoisseurs the
finest they had ever seen.” But like most of the original Forest Citys, he
eventually lost his spot in the first nine. He was born in New York State in
June of 1842 and was a partner in the firm of Ingham, Clarke & Co., book
sellers, while he lived in Cleveland. Like fellow club member Theo Branch he
moved to North Dakota during the 1880s. By 1900, he was living in Ashland,
Wisconsin, and by the 1910 census his wife was listed there as a widow.
John Melancthon
“Lank” Gorham: “Lank” Gorham was born in or near Cleveland on January 2, 1841,
and worked as an accountant. He died in Cleveland on November 30, 1916.
Leonard Colton “Doc”
Hanna: One of the unfortunate realities of the Forest City Club was that its
early members died when there was more pressing world news and were deprived of
detailed obituaries. Several died during World War I, while Brooks died on the
day that many Cleveland troops returned home from the war and Burt died as the
Second World War loomed. In addition, the passings of others coincided with
major tragedies – Stockley died on the day after the San Francisco Earthquake,
Vilas died in Chicago on the day before the Iroquois Theatre Fire, and Harvey
Brown on the same day as President Harding. As a result, Leonard C. Hanna’s
death was singular in receiving extensive coverage of his long-ago days on the
ball field. Hanna was born in Lisbon, Ohio, on November 30, 1850, the younger
brother of Mark Hanna, the U. S. Senator who masterminded William McKinley’s
rise to the presidency. Mark Hanna also founded the M.A. Hanna Co., which
became a very successful coal and iron shipper. Leonard Hanna attended Doctor
Holbrook’s Military School and then joined his brother in operating this firm.
He too became wealthy and influential, but when he died in Cleveland on March
23, 1919, it was his baseball career as “Doc” Hanna that was the focus of an
article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer by W. R. Rose. Rose recalled that
“everybody called him ‘Doc’” and that he was a “hard hitter and quick on his
feet and always tractable.” He usually played left field, “that section of the
garden being considered in the early days the most important.” The era “when
the game was a pastime pure and simple, staged on commons or cow pastures, with
neither enclosed grounds or grand stands, where the ball was lively, the batting
vigorous and the scores ran high, the contests often lasting from noon till
dark,” soon passed and amateurs like Hanna were replaced with professionals.
But Hanna never lost his affection for the game, being a backer and board
members of many later clubs, holding a private box at League Park until his
death, and even umpiring one major league game. “Some day,” concluded Rose,
“when a list is made of all the prominent Clevelanders who have helped along the
game of baseball during the past half century, it will be found that the roll of
names includes a large proportion of the men who have built up the city – and L.
C. Hanna’s name will be near the top.”
William L. Hulbert:
William Hulbert, whose name was often misspelled as Hurlbut or Hurlburt was born
in Binghamton, New York, on January 28, 1844. He worked in the coal business
and died in Cleveland on August 4, 1918.
William P. Johnson:
William P. Johnson first played for the Occidentals and then joined the Forest
Citys in 1868. He was born in Ohio around 1848 and worked as a bookkeeper for
the Commercial National Bank.
John Henry Kirkwood:
John Kirkwood was born in Baltimore on September 8, 1850. He played for the
Occidentals before joining the Forest Citys in 1868 and seeing spot duty in the
outfield. He became a bookkeeper and died in East Cleveland on October 5, 1929.
Lemuel O. Rawson:
Lem Rawson was born in Connecticut in March of 1838 and served separate terms in
the Union Army in the 84th and 150th Ohio regiments. He
became an officer of the Forest City Base Ball Association and worked as an iron
sales manager. He died in 1902.
Charles J.
Sheffield: Charles Sheffield was born on September 6, 1845, in New Haven,
Connecticut, where his father was the founder of Yale’s Sheffield Scientific
School. He graduated from Yale himself, then moved to Cleveland and went into
the mining and shipping of coal. In the early 1890s, his health began to fail
and a trip to Europe did not provide relief. He became bedridden and died in
Cleveland on July 26, 1895.
Austin R. “Pikey”
Smith: Austin “Pikey” Smith was the captain of the original Forest City nine and
was much older than most of his teammates, having been born in New York State
around 1833. He worked as a ticket agent at the Union Agent. After his playing
days ended, he remained involved with the local baseball scene and a note in the
Cleveland Herald on June 26, 1872, stated that he had been elected secretary of
the Forest City Club and would travel with club management. He died in
Cleveland on January 8, 1881.
George W. Stockley:
George Stockley was born in Cleveland in December of 1843. He studied for the
law but instead went into business. After a stint as a banker, he became
President of the Telegraph Supply Co. Later his close friendship with inventor
Charles F. Brush led to his selection as President of the Brush Electric
Company. After many years as one of Cleveland’s most prominent businessmen he
moved to New Jersey, and died in Atlantic City on April 19, 1906.
Taylor: A man named
Taylor played six games for the Forest Citys in 1868. He can’t be positively
identified, but given how many of the club’s new players that year had
previously been with other Cleveland clubs, he was probably a William Taylor of
the Peconics of the Humiston Academy.
Royal Cooper Vilas:
R. C. Vilas was born in Ogdensburg, New York, on November 19, 1842. He was the
club’s regular third baseman in 1866. Vilas then became a successful railway
executive and eventually the president of the Pyle National Electric Headlight
Company. He died at his home in Chicago on December 29, 1903.
Willard Elmer White:
Elmer White and his first cousin, Jim White, joined the Forest Citys in 1868.
He played with the club until his death from tuberculosis on March 17, 1872, in
Caton, New York, at the age of 22.
James Laurie White:
Jim “Deacon” White was born on December 7, 1847, in Caton, New York. In 1868,
he moved to Cleveland to take a job at the McNairy and Claflin car shops and
play ball for the Forest Citys. He joined the Central Citys of Syracuse in
1869, but it is not clear whether he played any games before rejoining the
Forest Citys in August. He agreed to play for the White Stockings of Chicago in
1870, but had another change of heart and remained in Cleveland. He remained
with the Forest Citys until the club disbanded in 1872 and then announced his
retirement. But he again change his mind and played in the major leagues for
two full decade, winning six pennants and establishing himself as one of the
greatest players of all time. He died on July 7, 1939, in Aurora, Illinois.
Judge Samuel E.
Williamson: Samuel Williamson is not known to have ever been a member of the
first nine of the Forest Citys, but he was mentioned in several accounts as one
of the early crowd of ballplayers. He was born in 1844 and died at his home in
Glenville, Ohio, on February 21, 1903.
Darwin E. Wright:
Like Williamson, Darwin E. Wright does not appear to have ever belonged to the
first nine. He was born in February on 1844, became the city’s public service
director under Mayor McKisson, and died in Cleveland on November 15, 1907.
Others: Bradbeer,
Herse or Herss, William P. Johnson, William C. McEwen, George W. Melton, Parker,
Skaits or Skates, A. I. Truesdale, R. H. Wright
1869-1870:
PROFESSIONAL YEARS
Arthur Algernon
Allison: Art Allison was one of the professionals who joined the Forest Citys in
1869 and he remained a starter until the Forest Citys disbanded in 1872. He
played professional baseball for four more seasons. The brother of Doug
Allison, star catcher of the Red Stockings, Art was born on January 29, 1849, in
Philadelphia, and died on February 25, 1916, in Washington, D.C.
James Leslie
Carleton: James Carleton was an Easterner who became the starting first baseman
of the Forest City Club in 1870. Carleton, who was born on August 20, 1848, in
Clinton, Connecticut, remained with the Forest City Club until it disbanded in
1872. He stayed in Cleveland for several years after that, working as a real
estate agent, before giving professional baseball another try with a club in
Natick, Massachusetts. He was back in Cleveland by the early 1880s, and one
article stated that he was “interested in the Bell telephone and has made a
pile.” He eventually settled in Detroit, where he worked as a stockbroker until
his death on April 25, 1910.
Charles John “Chick”
Fulmer: Philadelphian Chick Fulmer played eight games for the Forest Citys in
1870 and went on to a long major league career.
Georg A. Heubel:
German-born Georg Heubel was another Philadelphian who joined the Forest Citys
in 1870 and went on to play in the majors. He later worked as groundskeeper of
the Philadelphia park, but was blamed for a disastrous fire after the 1894
season and was dismissed. He died two years later.
Eugene Boynton
Kimball: Gene Kimball was born on August 31, 1850, in Rochester, New York, and
played ball there before becoming the second baseman of the Forest Citys in
1870. He became more famous as a professional billiard player than as a
ballplayer. Kimball died in his native Rochester on August 2, 1882.
Albert G. Pratt: The
career of pitcher Al Pratt is described in the entry on the Allegheny Club.
John Riley: John
Riley (or Reilly) was a regular for the Railway Nine in 1868, but became a
starter for the Forest Citys in 1869. Little is known about him.
Eben Smith: Eb Smith
was a Brooklyn native and the brother of Sydney Smith. He had played for
various New York clubs and the Nationals of Washington before joining the Forest
Citys in 1869. (Marshall Wright lists him with the Forest Citys in 1868, but
this appears to be Pikey Smith.)
Ezra Ballou Sutton:
Ezra Sutton was born on September 17, 1850, in Palmyra, New York, joined the
Forest Citys in 1870, and would become one of the game’s best third basemen,
remaining in the major leagues until 1888. He died on June 20, 1907, in
Braintree, Massachusetts.
John Ward: John Ward
had played for the Eckfords of Brooklyn, the Haymakers of Troy and the Nationals
of Washington before joining the Forest Citys in 1869.
SOURCES: Two primary
sources were relied upon in this entry. The first was James M. Egan, Jr.,
Base Ball on the Western Reserve (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2008), a
documentary history of nineteenth-century baseball in Cleveland and surrounding
area. Egan’s work is impressively detailed and anyone wishing to learn more
about the Forest City Club should consult it. The second was a multipart
history of baseball in Cleveland written by early Cleveland baseball editor
Robert S. Pierce, which was originally published in the Cleveland Press
around 1908 and was included in the Chadwick Scrapbooks. Details of the
contests between the Forest Citys and the Detroit Base Ball Club come from my
Baseball Fever: Early Baseball in Michigan. Additional information has been
culled from contemporaneous press coverage, as cited in the notes.
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