This presentation on the 1916 Negro Championship Series between the Chicago American Giants and the Indianapolis ABC’s was delivered for the series Negro League Soul sponsered by the Community Cup Classic Foundation and Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, Visit www.communitycupclassic.org for details and schedule of live streams of upcoming presentations.
Good morning everybody. Today we’re going to take a look at the 1916 Negro Championship Series between the Indianapolis ABCs and the Chicago American Giants. Now, in black baseball in 1916, there was no league, no structure, and no official organization or leadership. As such, the 1916 series was unofficially for a championship. But this exciting and controversial series did feature probably the two best teams in black ball. And more importantly, it represented a significant step toward the establishment of the Negro National League four years later. The 1916 championship was also a showdown between the two great black managers of the day, Rub Foster of Chicago and CI Taylor of Indianapolis. Andrew Rube Foster, born September 17th, 1879, Lraange, Texas. The son of a Methodist preacher, he was the top black pitcher in the first decade of the 20th century, pitching for leading clubs like the Chicago Unions, Cuban X Giants, and Philadelphia Giants. In 195, he defeated Philadelphia Athletics Hall of Famer Rubadell and earned his nickname In 1907, Foster joined Frank Leland’s Chicago Leland Giants, for whom he was named player manager. In 1910, Foster took control of the team from Leland. And a year later, in 1911, he recristened his team, the Chicago American Giants. Charles Isam CI Taylor, born January 20th, 1875, Anderson, South Carolina. Also the son of a Methodist minister. He served with the US Army in the Spanishamean War, then enrolled and graduated from Clark College in Atlanta, where he also starred on the baseball team. In 193, Taylor founded the Birmingham Giants, the first professional black team in the Alabama city. The Giants recruited heavily from southern black colleges, and Taylor would demonstrate a preference for educated ball players on his teams his entire career. The Birmingham Giants became one of the leading black teams in the South, even facing Fosters’s Leland Giants in a couple of games in 1909. Taylor’s success in Birmingham led to a job in 1910 managing the Westboden Sputrals. Now, you’re probably asking yourself, what in the world is a Westboden Spruel? We’ll start with the Westboden part. It’s a town in the Springs Valley in southern Indiana, an area known for its mineral springs. There were two large resorts in the neighboring towns of West Boden and French Lick, the future birthplace of NBA legend Larry Bird. Both resorts fielded black baseball teams who would regularly compete for the entertainment of guests. The French lick team was called the Pluto, named after the Greek god of the underworld from which the recuperative spring recuperative waters sprang. and the Westboden Spudles were named for the German word for mineral water. The backbone of the Spudles was their quartet of Taylor brothers. From left to right, third baseman Candy Jim Taylor, pitcher steel arm Johnny Taylor, second baseman and manager CI Taylor, and the youngest and best ball player of the bunch, Hall of Fame first baseman Ben Taylor. CI Sputrals regularly hooked up against Foster Chicago American Giants, usually losing but holding their own against their big city rivals. In 1913, the American Giants participated in the first interreional black championship series where they were defeated by John Henry Lloyd and the Lincoln Giants of New York. That same month, the Sputrles claimed a championship of their own, winning a series against the Indianapolis ABCs for the semi-pro championship of Indiana. That series led ABC’s owner Tom Bowser to hire CI Taylor to take the reigns of his ball club in 1914. Taylor brought most of his West Boden club north and combined them with the best holdovers from the ABCs to form the strongest black ball club the city of Indianapolis had ever seen. According to research by author Paul Dabono, the American Giants and ABCs met 20 times in 1914. The mighty Chicago side dominated the early season meetings, but the indie ball club improved as the season went on, and the ABCs took two of the last three series between the teams, establishing themselves as a new force to be reckoned with in Western black ball. The first time the clubs met in 1915 in late June in Chicago, the American Giants took three of five games in a tightly contested series. But the fuse on this budding rivalry was lit in the first game of their return engagement in Indianapolis in July of 1915. Here are the events of the day as described by the Indianapolis newspapers from the White Daily Indianapolis Star. Giants play for rain and lose out. Chicago teams tactics are so slow that umpire forfeits game to the ABCs who had tied score. The score and from the black Indian I’m sorry, this is from the black Indianapolis Freeman. The score was three-2 in favor of the Giants. Witwitworth had relieved Wickwear in the eighth. When our heroes come to bat, Shiveley led off with a hot single. Deos was walked by Witworth. And then Gatewood, who had relieved Witworth, walked both Charleston and Taylor, forcing one run over and tying the score. Umpire Gazelle then forfeited the game after more intentional delay on the part of the Chicago players who were trying to slow up the contest until rain came. And now these same events as presented by the black Chicago defender. American Giants in fierce riot at Hooser City. Umpire hits Pete Hill with gun in seventh inning in battle royal against the Indianapolis ABCs. Wickwware pitches great game and leads up to eighth. Other players hurt in melee. The score was three to two in favor of the Giants. Rub sat on the bench directing his team. In the seventh, he sent Witworth to the mound, then Gatewood. Things looked dangerous for the old Roman and dust began blowing around the diamond. It looked cloudy. The two teams came to home plate. An argument ensued. Both teams grabbed bats. The umpire and Pete Hill had an argument and the umpire jerks out a gun and hits Pete over the nose. It is reported that his nose was broken. Several other players were hurt in the melee. The umpire forfeited the game to the ABCs. Hard to believe they’re reporting on the same events, isn’t it? Whatever happened, the forfeit win kicked off an unprecedented four-game sweep of the American Giants by CI Taylor’s ABCs. The fourth and final match of the series was an epic 13 inning affair that the ABC’s won seven to6 despite two home runs by Chicago’s Hall of Fame slugger Pete Hill. A week later, the Chicago Defender and Indianapolis Freeman published a lengthy piece by Rube Foster offering his version of the events of that controversial forfeit. Foster spoke about how a windstorm blew dust that made play impossible. So, the umpires ordered the base hat sprinkled with a hose. After they’d sprinkled the left side of the infield, it started raining and the umpires ordered play to resume. Rub disagreed. I appealed to the umpire and told him to make them sprinkle the ground between first and second base as it was impossible to see the right fielder. Keep in mind, Chicago led 3-2, but the ABCs had the bases loaded with none out. If the rain prevented the inning from finishing, the American Giants would win. Hence, the delaying tactics from Foster. The umpire getting angry called four balls on the batter and forced in the tying run and then forfeited the game to the Indianapolis club. It came so suddenly and unexpected. Pete Hill, captain of the club, ran over to see what the umpire had done, and his haste was so mistaken by the followers of the ABCs that the players and fans rushed on the field and started a riot. Foster later described what he called the most complete humiliation suffered at the start of the next day’s game. A police sergeant came upon the field and called me back, calling me the dirtiest names I had ever I ever had said to me. first asking me who started the argument at Sunday’s game. I said they did not know and he said to me, “You black son of a if you open your mouth, I’ll blow your brains out.” Foster went on to criticize CI Taylor, who he claimed was complicit in the police interference. “I have found him to be one of the lowest kind, and his low tactics ruined baseball at West Ben.” Foster signed his letter to the public. Yours for the good of colored baseball, Andrew Rube Foster. A week later, the defender and Freeman published Taylor’s lengthy rebuttal. CI Taylor, standing up for his baseball integrity. Rube Foster, careless in his speech, could be convicted for liel, jealous of the ABC’s manager. In the letter addressed to the editor of the Chicago Defender, Taylor questioned the events described by the paper. He asked if anyone in Chicago had seen Pete Hill with a broken nose and asked where other coverage could be found of the so-called riot. The white press did not even make mention of it. And I am sure that it is a very rare case when the white press in any part of the country don’t make capital out of any negro riots. If it had been as it appeared in the columns of your paper, the Associated Press dispatches would have carried it to every corner of this country. Next, Taylor turned his attention to Foster, who he accused of false accusations and representations. Taylor then presented letters he’d written to Foster over the past year about prospects for a Negro League. In them, he offered to be Rub’s lieutenant in the effort. There can be no real success for us individually except we are successful as a whole. It is nothing new for me to put you in the position as a leader. I have been with you at all times and all matters pertaining to the future welfare of the game among us. Later Taylor criticized Fosters’s adversarial ways and his tendency to try and destroy his opponents. It is unfortunate these that these acrimonious wrangles couldn’t be buried for all time. This time could be spent to much better advantage in trying to get the colored league organized. Taylor signed his letter. Yours for clean sport. CI Taylor. But Taylor’s reputation for clean sport took a hit in the season finale between the ABCs and a white all-star team put together by Detroit Tigers shortstop in Indianapolis native Dhoni Bush. On a close play at second base, white umpire called Bush safe. Enraging ABC second baseman Bingo Deamos. Deos pushed the umpire. Then Oscar Charleston running in from center field cold car cocked the Arbiter, knocking him to the ground and bloodying his face. This time a real riot ensued with players, fans, and police battling on the field. Somehow order was eventually restored and the game resumed that night. Deos and Charleston were arrested. They were bailed out by Tom Bowser and joined the ABCs as they quickly departed on a post-season tour of Cuba. CI Taylor wrote letters to the Freeman while in Cuba criticizing and apologizing for his players and re-emphasizing his long commitment to clean sport. In the aftermath of the riot, there was an outcry to end interracial games in the city, but apparently that idea was abandoned. At the dawn of the 1916 season, CI Taylor had a different fight on his hands as a business dispute with Tom Bowser resulted in a split between the two men and the announcement that both intended to field ABC teams that year. In June, the Chicago Defender bragged about the American Giants decisive wins over the ABCs, but it was Bowser’s club and not Taylor’s. Most of the players sided with their manager and Bowser’s ABCs couldn’t compete and quietly faded out of the picture. In July, Rube Foster visited Indianapolis where a meeting between Foster and Taylor was arranged at the offices of the Indianapolis Freeman. At this meeting, the two adversaries hammered out an agreement to play a pair of six game series, one in late August in Chicago and a second in October in Indianapolis. The papers in both cities quickly began trumpeting the 12game set as being for the world’s colored championship. That claim would be strengthened when both teams defeated the visiting Lincoln Stars from New York, generally considered the best black team in the East. When the Lincoln Stars visited Indie in late July, their leadoff hitter and center fielder was none other than Oscar Charleston, who had jumped the ABCs for New York after spending the early season in CI Taylor’s doghouse over the events of the previous October. The visit to his hometown was apparently enough to convince Oscar to jump back to the ABCs, and he remained in Indianapolis when the Lincoln Stars returned east. And so the eyes of the black baseball world turned toward the first showdown between the ABC’s and American Giants and their great managers CI Taylor and Rube Foster. Now let’s take a close look at the personnel of these two ball clubs. Starting with the challengers, the Indianapolis ABCs. Batting first, 23-year-old George Rabbit Shiveley, one of the fastest men in baseball and the leadoff dynamo of the ABC’s offense. Shiveley played three years for West Boden before moving with the team to Indie. Batting second, Elwood Bingo Deamos, one of the greatest defensive second baseman of all time. The defensive metrics at seamheads.com show Bingo as the career leader in defensive runs saved at any defensive position by a huge margin. He was a weak hitter but well-versed in the dead ball arts of bat control and bunting. Does that make Bingo Deas a Hall of Famer? I don’t know. Let’s ask Bill Mazeroski. Batting third, 32-year-old Candy Jim Taylor, a veteran third baseman who’d already won championships with the 199 St. Paul Gophers and the 1912 American Giants. After his playing career, Candy Jim managed them in the Negro Leagues for 30 years. He’s the career leader in Negro League games and seasons managed. On a local note, among the 13 Negro League teams Taylor managed are the 1921 and 22 Cleveland hate stars and the 1926 Cleveland Elites. Hitting cleanup, a 27year-old Hall of Famer in the prime of his career, Ben Taylor, the best black ball first baseman before Buck Leonard. His career batting numbers are very similar to those of J George Sysler, the white player he was frequently compared to and the best white ball first baseman before Lou Garri. Besides being a great all-around hitter, youngest brother Ben was an outstanding defensive first baseman. Statistically, 1916, whose numbers you see here, was one of the worst of his 21 seasons. Ben Taylor had a lifetime 332 batting average and 852 OPS. Batting fifth, shortstop, Morton Stxs Clark, a weak-hitting glove man who’d played with CI Taylor in both Birmingham and Westboden. Hitting sixth, catcher Russell Powell, a solid receiver having by far the best hitting season of his seven-year career. Now, I want you to imagine your CI Taylor. It’s spring of 1915. You’re starting your second season at the helm in Indianapolis. An 18-year-old local kid approaches you for a try out. And that kid asking you if he could join your team was arguably the greatest baseball player of his generation. I figure CI Taylor felt he’d been kissed by the baseball gods. Charleston started out as a pitcher, but his hitting was too good to keep on the bench. In 1916, he’s a fiery 19-year-old phenom who excels at everything on the diamond. Oscar’s batting seventh in this series, which is unusual. He usually hit fifth behind the tailor. I can’t help but wonder if CI was punishing Charleston on his return from the New York Lincoln Giants. batting eight 30-year-old outfielder and utility infielder George Brown, another longtime Westben brutal brought along to Indianapolis. On the bench, Jim Jeff, a fleetfooted left-handed hybrid pitcher outfielder and one of the few ABCs left over from the days before CI Taylor took over the team. Jeff was the ABC’s number three starting pitcher in 1916 and a solid hitter who’d relinquished the starting job in center field to young Oscar Charleston. Also on the bench, one of my personal favorite figures in black ball history, gentleman Dave Malar. Here he’s a 21-year-old rookie just starting out under CI Taylor. Malarcher would move to Chicago in the 1920s and became synonymous with the American Giants, replacing Rube Foster as manager in 1926. 29-year-old Jack Watts was the little used backup catcher. On the mound, William Dizzy Dismukes. His nickname was ironic. Dizzy was a college educated and crafty intelligent pitcher on the mound. After his playing days, he regularly wrote about the Negro Leagues for the Pittsburgh Courier. And in the 1940s, he served as traveling secretary of the Kansas City Monarchs. Here in 1916, Dizzy Dismukes is a right-handed submarine pitcher and the workhorse ace of the ABC’s small pitching staff. Lewis Dicta Johnson was a 29-year-old spitballer. He pitched a no- hitter for the American Giants in 1913, but spent most of his career with Indianapolis. He was a solid, if unspectacular, starting pitcher for 15 seasons of top level black ball. There’s one more ABC pitcher I’d like to mention. Steelarmmed Johnny Taylor, the second oldest of the Taylor brothers, was 36 years old in 1916 and at the end of his long career. He pitched just an inning and a third in 1916 and would make only one more appearance in Top Level Blackball after this season. Steelarmmed Johnny Taylor did not figure in this series with Chicago. In the eyes of many, Rube Foster Chicago American Giants were the defending champions of black baseball. They were a veteran team. The average age of the starting lineup was 30. And unlike most of the ABCs, these players had plenty of experience in championship level baseball. Leading off, Jesse Phantom Barber, a speedy leadoff man and regular with Chicago for most of the decade. He usually played outfield, but was versatile and played regularly at every position except pitcher and catcher during his career. In 1916, Barber split his time between outfield and second base and would start at both during the series with Indianapolis. Batting second, 33-year-old John Preston Pete Hill, a 2006 inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Hill was a teammate of Rube Fosters with the Philadelphia Giants and moved to Fosters Chicago Club in 198 where he became the American Giants biggest star. Hill was a fivetool player and arguably the best hitter of the dead ball era. Historian James Riley wrote that the all-time dead ball outfield consists of Tai Cobb, Tris Speaker, and Pete Hill. I agree completely. Batting third, right fielder Frank Duncan, nicknamed Pete or Rebel. This is not the Frank Duncan who caught for the CA City Monarchs in the 20s and 30s, but a dead ball star who, like Foster and Hill, joined Chicago from the great Philadelphia Giants team of the mid as Duncan was an expert practitioner of the aggressive small ball style used by Rub’s American Giants. On a local note, Frank Duncan ended his career as player manager of three ill- fated Cleveland Negro League squads. The 1926 Cleveland Elites, where he took over for Candy Jim Taylor late in the season, the 1927 Cleveland Hornets, and the 1928 Cleveland Tigers. If Pete Hill was arguably the best black hitter of the dead ball era, the argument is with his cleanup hitter, John Henry Lloyd, blackball’s greatest shortstop, and a 1977 inductee to Coopertown. In 1916, Pop Lloyd is 32 years old and still one of the best players in baseball, black or white. He’d spent the majority of his 27 career with Eastern teams, but have a had a couple of short stints with Rube in Chicago. Short and chunky third baseman Bill Francis batted fifth. The 37year-old had been a teammate of Lloyd’s Back East and an American Giant since 1914. He was a very good defensive third baseman. At the plate, he walked a lot and was hit by pitches a lot. James Riley compares him offensively to Eddie Stany and Ron Hunt. The number six hitter was hulking right-hander Leroy Grant. The 27year-old was a poor defensive first baseman, but an excellent hitter. Like Lloyd and Francis, he’s a veteran of the great New York Lincoln Giants clubs of a few years earlier. Batting seventh, 30-year-old catcher Bruce Pwway. Pway had been with Chicago since 1910, the first year Foster ran the team, and by reputation is the ble best black catcher in the West. He’s a pretty ordinary hitter, but has a legendary throwing arm, a valuable commodity in a dead ball catcher. Batting eighth, Harry Bachmann. A weak hitting second baseman. The stats at Seam Head suggest he was also a weak fielding second baseman. Bachmann spent two seasons with the American Giants and the rest of his 9-year career with lesser teams in Chicago. On the days when Jesse Barber started at second, Robert Edward Judy Gans started in left field. The 29year-old was at something of a turning point in his career. Up to this point, alternating his time between the American Giants and the New York Lincoln Giants, Judy Gans was a star, an outstanding hitter who batted third in the order for the legendary 1913 Lincoln. But something happened in 1960, most likely an illness or an injury, though I can’t find mention of one. This season, Gan’s batting stats tumbled and remained poor for pretty much the rest of his career. Whatever the cause, Judy Gans went from star to scrub pretty much overnight. Here’s one for you nickname fans, the Red Ant, Frank Wickwear. He started out in 1910, a 22-year-old sensation who joined the Leland Giants and immediately supplanted the veterans, including Rube himself, as the ace of the pitching staff. Seamheads credits him with an 8 and0 record and 1.81 81 erra that season. Historian James Riley describes him as an angular right-hander with a blazing fastball and says Wickwear defeated fellow cans and Walter Johnson two out of three games were both when both were at their peak. Frank Wickwear moved around a lot in his career following the money but he always managed to wind up back in Chicago. He made four appearances with the ABCs early in 1916, but as always returned to Rube Fosters’s American Giants. Dick Witworth was just 20 years old, a right-handed pitcher with a sinking fastball. He was sensational for several years, but finished by age 28. Tom Johnson was a solid but unspectacular starting pitcher nicknamed college boy or school boy because he attended Morris Brown College in Atlanta. And so with all that context behind us, let’s finally dig into the games between the Indianapolis ABCs and Chicago American Giants for the 1916 Negro Championship. Game one, Sunday, August 27th, 1916, Shoring Park in Chicago. And it’s just what you’d want in game one of a championship series, a showdown between the aces, Dizzy Dismukes, and the Red Ant, Frank Wickwear. Two walks, an error by shortstop Specs Clark, and a clutch two out single by Leroy Grant gave Chicago a quick three nothing lead. Frank Wickwware didn’t allow the ABCs a hit until the sixth and was pitching a crisp two hitter through eight in the top of the ninth with Chicago leading three to nothing. Two singles and a hits hit batsman loaded the bases for Indianapolis with just one out. Morton Clark hit a double play grounder that was bobbled by second baseman Bachmann. A run scored on the error and the bases were still loaded. With Russell Pal batting, Wickwear’s one-two delivery skipped past catcher Bruce Pway. Pway quickly recovered and threw a strike down to second, retiring the retreating Ben Taylor. John Henry Lloyd tried to double up Deoss at third, but his throw skipped past third baseman Bill Francis. Deos then tried to score and collided violently at the plate with first baseman Grant covering, but Grant held on to Francis’s throw and tagged out Deamos to end the game. The Wild 2653 double play gave Chicago a 3 to1 win and triggered another riotous scene involving the ABCs. Deos, enraged at being called out, punched home plate umpire Harry Gul in the face, setting off another brawl. American Giants defeat ABC’s Taylor’s ABCs. Rowdyism on part of Indianapolis voice spoils contests. Visiting player strikes umpire goal. Quick action on part of Giants players averts serious clash. ABC’s hard losers. fans disgusted with Hooser Hooser’s rough tactics. At least that’s how the Chicago Defender reported it. For what it’s worth, the Indianapolis Freeman, Indianapolis Star, and Chicago Tribune report on the game without mention of any incidents. For Chicago, three runs, five hits, one error. Indianapolis, one run, four hits, one error. The winning pitcher was Wickwear, the loser, Dismukes. This was originally scheduled as a double header, but the second game was never played. As a result, only five series games were played in Chicago. Game two on Monday, Chicago leads the series 1- nothing. Spitballer Dicka Johnson for Indianapolis against Chicago’s Dick Witworth. According to the Indianapolis newspaper, CI Taylor was ejected from the game in the second inning. No details are provided and the Chicago papers make no mention of the ejection. The starting pitchers dominated the first six innings. Dict Johnson, no runs, one hit, two walks, six strikeouts. Dick Witworth, no runs, two hits, three walks, four strikeouts. With the ABC’s batting in the top of the seventh with two outs and the bases loaded, Witworth walked his counterpart Johnson to force in the game’s first run. In the bottom of the seventh, Leroy Grant hit an RBI single, then stole second, stole third, and scored on Bruce Pway sack fly. Chicago leads two to one. Top of the eighth, Ben Taylor doubled and scored on Russell Pal single. Game tied 2-2. Bottom of the eighth, Leroy Grant singles with the bases loaded and two out, driving in two. Chicago leads four to two. Grant has five RBI’s through two games. Top of the ninth, ABC’s threaten. Two outs. George Brown on third. Bingo Damas on first. Candy Jim Taylor batting. Bruce Pway throws out Deamos stealing second to end the game. It’s the second game in a row that ends with Deos thrown out on the bases. To the best of our knowledge, no one got punched this time. CI Taylor chased by Chicago. ABC’s are beaten for Chicago. four runs on five hits and two errors. The ABC’s two runs on eight hits and no errors. The winning pitcher, Dick Whitworth. The losing pitcher, Dick Johnson, who struck out seven, walked three, and hit three. The American Giants lead the series two games to none. Game three on Tuesday, Jim Jeff pitching for the ABCs, Tom Johnson for Chicago. Some games in this series were covered by the papers in depth and others barely at all. This Tuesday afternoon affair is one of the latter. The ABC scored three in the ninth off reliever wickwear to earn a 7 to4 victory. The big hit was Candy Jim Taylor’s long fly to left center, but Jesse Barber misplayed for an RBI triple. Indie shortstop Specs Clark was the batting star going three for five with a walk, two runs scored, and three driven out. Taylor’s ABC’s brace up and beat the American Giants. For the ABC’s, seven runs on 13 hits and no errors. Chicago, four runs, 10 hits, one error. The winning pitcher was Dizzy Dismukes, who came on in the fifth in release relief of Jim Jeff. the loser Tom Johnson. We go to game four on Wednesday, August 30th. Chicago leading the series two games to one. On the mound, Dizzy Dismutes, who pitched four and two/3 innings yesterday and eight innings two days before that, against Dick Witworth, starting on one day’s rest. Dick Witworth allowed only one hit through the first seven innings as Chicago cruised to a 5-2 win. Judy Gan’s two RBI double in the fourth was the big blow for the American Giants. Fosters take 52 game from Indianapolis team. For Chicago, five runs, eight hits, no errors. Indianapolis, two runs, five hits, one error. The winning pitcher, Dick Witworth, now 2 and 0 in the series. The losing pitcher, Dizzy Dismukes, who has a record of one win and two losses just four games into the series. Bruce Tetway drew three walks in four trips to the plate for Chicago, scoring twice. The final game in Chicago, game five on Thursday. Dicta Johnson and Frank Wickwear each making their second start. Frank Wickwear outdled Dicta Johnson, holding Indie scoreless through eight. The ABC’s rallied in the ninth. A pair of hits combined with errors by Lloyd and Barber gave Indianapolis a 3-2 lead. Bottom of the ninth, Oscar Charleston misplayed Frank Duncan’s fly for a twobase error. Bill Francis drove Duncan home with the tying run and the game was called after 10 innings due to darkness. Charleston’s errors cost ABC’s game at Chicago. For the ABCs, three runs, eight hits, five errors. The American Giants, three runs, 10 hits, and three errors. John Henry Lloyd went four for four. Leadoff hitters Rabbit Shively and Jess Barber each had three hits in a walk. The series ended, Chicago, three wins, Indianapolis one win, and there was one tie. And the Chicago Defender had little doubt what that meant. Again, the championship of the world world’s champions, the American Giants. There seems to be more than a little confusion about what actually constituted the championship series. The defender, we see claimed the title for the American Giants because they won the series in Chicago. Many other sources, both at the time and since, treat just the games in Indianapolis as the championship series. But most contemporary sources pre treat the games in Chicago and Indianapolis, though separated by a month and a half, as one extended series, and I’ve chosen to do the same here as well. There would be one unfortunate lineup change for Chicago. Dick Witworth had been their best pitcher over the first five games, but suffered an unknown injury and would be unavailable in Indianapolis. Frank Wickwear was also said to be suffering a sore arm, so the American Giants pitching would be tested in the rematch. In Witworth’s place, a 24year-old unknown mystery man, right-hander Ruby Tyrese, formerly with the Tennessee Rats and All Nations. Said to be Rub Foster’s latest find, Ruby Tyrese would be making his big-time debut on the biggest stage possible. As I’ve mentioned throughout, the Chicago Defender and Indianapolis Freeman, both of which enjoyed broad circulations beyond their title cities, were integral in publicizing this series and sparking this rivalry. Unsurprisingly, the Freeman reported that editors from the Defender would attend the games in Indianapolis at as honored guests of the editors of the Freeman. And so the series picks up on Sunday, October 22nd at Federal League Park in Indianapolis with the first game of the scheduled double header. Chicago, of course, leads the series 31 to1 and Tom Johnson on the mound for the American Giants against Dicta Johnson for the ABCs. After first inning walks by Pete Hill and John Henry Lloyd, Bill Francis ripped a two-out double to give Chicago a quick two nothing lead. Leading off the ABC’s third, George Brown walked on four pitches. Bingo Deos beat out an infield roller to put men on first and second. Dicta Johnson grounded out to his opposite number, Tom Johnson. As the runners advanced, George Shiveley bunted toward first. Catcher Pway chose to take the out at first while Brown scored. After Morton Clark walked, the ABC’s attempted a double steel. Bruce Pway threw down to Harry Bachmann at second base. Bachmann stepped in front of the bag and quickly returned the throw to Pway who tagged Deos for the third out. John Henry Lloyd struck out to lead off the fourth from the Indianapolis Freeman. This is the first time Lloyd has ever struck out against this team and the crowd kitted him. Brothers Candy Jim and Ben Taylor hit back-to-back singles to open the fourth. Oscar Charleston hit a sack fly to right, advancing the Taylor and tying the game at two. Ben Taylor later scored on a two-out bingo deas single to give Indianapolis the lead, but the CAGs reclaimed the lead a half inning later on RBI singles by Jess Barber and Pete Hill. Tom Johnson allowed Indie just two singles over the last five innings to nail down the win. Rube Foster takes first game. Dicta Johnson in good form, but wildness proves costly. Fielding of Lloyd and Clark are features for the American Giants. Five runs on seven hits and two errors. Indianapolis, three runs, six hits and two errors. The winning pitcher, Tom Johnson, he’s one and one in the series. The loser, Dicta Johnson, falls 0 and2. Jesse Barber scored two and drove in two for Chicago. And let’s go back to that headline for a second. Lou Foster takes first game. Not the American Giants, Rub himself. You frequently find the newspapers in both cities describing these games as a personal clash between Rub and CI. The Freeman was renowned for its illustrations and their game one coverage included this remarkable action photo of Pete Hill connecting for a single in the fifth inning. There was another famous photo taken that day. this pregame shot of the two managers. Unsurprisingly, the other two gentlemen in the photo are Indianapolis newspaper men. And in the second game of that Sunday double header, Rube Fosters’s find makes his debut. Ruby Tyrese on the mound for Chicago against Jim Jeff for Indie. But the game was called due to darkness in the middle of the fourth with Chicago ahead 3 nothing. This was indie right fielder George Brown’s last appearance in the series from James Riley’s encyclopedia. Quote, “In 1916, Brown inexplicably left the team during the playoffs against the Chicago American Giants in October and went home to Metropolis, Illinois.” End quote. Pitcher outfielder Jim Jeff would play in right field the rest of the series. Game seven restarted from the beginning on Monday. Federal League Park in Indie. Chicago leading the series 411. Another showdown between the staff aces. Fireball Wickwear versus Submariner Dismukes. Leading off the second for Chicago, Bill Francis worked Dizzy Dismukes for a walk, but Dismukes picked off Francis for the first out. The second batter, Bruce Pway, also drew a walk-off dismutes and was also picked off first by the crafty right-hander. Judy Gans then became the third consecutive batter walked by Dismukes and he was thrown out stealing by catcher Jack Watts. Three batters, three bases on balls and no runner reached second base. In the sixth inning, Jack Watt’s little finger on his throwing hand was broken by a John Henry Lloyd foul tip. Watts was only playing because the regular catcher, Russell Pal, suffered a sprained finger in the second game Sunday. Pal replaced the more seriously injured Watts and would catch the rest of the series for Rindy despite the ailments. Through seven innings, the two aces were each throwing shut shutouts supported by excellent defense. Brilliant glove work from Pop Lloyd and the ABC’s Keystone duo of Bingo Deas and Morton Clark received praise from multiple newspapers. Specs Clark led off the eighth with a single but was picked off first by Wickwear, but the Taylor brothers followed with two more singles, putting runners at the corner with one out. Oscar Charleston flew out to right fielder Frank Duncan too shallow to advance the runners, but Jim Jeff singled past Lloyd to drive in Candy Jim Taylor with the only run Dizzy Dismukes would need. Nine innings pitched, three hits, no runs, walked five but picked off two of them and struck out two. In the classic pitchers duels, Jeffrey Single gives ABC’s game for the ABC’s one run on 10 hits and three errors. American Giants, no hit runs, just three hits and no errors. Dismutes the winner takes his record to two and two. Frank Wickwear the loser. He falls to one and one. Game eight on Tuesday. Chicago leading the series four games to two with that one tie. Ruby Tyrese against Dick Johnson. Jim Jeff led off the ABC’s third with a base hit. Dict Johnson’s sacrifice moved him to second and he scored on a single to left by Morton Clark. In the fifth, Bingo Deas hit a long drive to right but was caught at the plate trying to stretch his hit into a home run. Bingo was nailed by a perfect relay. Frank Duncan to John Henry Lloyd to Bruce Pway. I’m not certain how many times Bingo Deoss has been retired on the bases in this series, but it is become some becoming something of a motif. Meanwhile, Victor Johnson was silencing the American Giants bats, allowing just three singles through six. It had been 18 innings since Chicago last scored a run. In the top of the seventh, Rube Foster took up his position in the first base coach’s box. On the way there, he picked up a stray baseball glove and put it on his hand. ABC’s first baseman Ben Taylor objected to the glove and told the first base umpire to make Foster remove it. The umpire asked Rube to remove the glove. Rube asked the umpire what rule of baseball he was violating. failing to get a satisfactory answer. Rub took his beef to the umpire and chief at home plate. “What rule am I violating?” asked Rube. The umpire admitted there was no specific rule being broken, but remained firm that Foster should remove the glove. The back and forth continued for some time until the umpire finally told Rube to either remove the glove or leave the coach’s box. Rube chose the latter but took his team off the field with him and refused to continue the game. Rube Foster was a complicated individual. He was a great leader and a remarkable organizer whose tireless and selfless efforts made Negro League Baseball a reality. But he was also a fierce competitor who hated to lose. And he could be petty, pedantic, self-righteous, and full of what I like to call his rudeness when his superiority was threatened. Foster withdraws team from field. Manager of American Giants becomes obstinate and third game of series is forfeited to ABC’s. Locals had the lead. The ABC’s one run, five hits, and one error. American Giants no runs, three hits, no errors. Indianapolis awarded a 9 to nothing forfeit win. Dic Johnson the winner. He goes to 1-2. The loser was Ruby Tyrese 0 and1 on the series. And Chicago’s lead has been cut to one game. It rained on Wednesday, so game nine waited until Thursday. Chicago leading the series four to three with that one tie. Tom Johnson on the mound against Dizzy Dismutes for the ABCs. and dismutes notched his third victory of the series, scattering seven hits in Indy’s 8-2 win. Oscar Charleston went four for four in the contest with three RBI’s and two runs scored. Right fielder Jim Jeff threw two runners out on the bases, one at third and another at home played. ABC’s gained big lead over rivals. Taylor’s men annex fourth game of series for colored title 8-2. Next contests will be played Sunday. For the ABCs, eight runs, 12 hits, and two errors. American Giants, two runs, seven hits, one error. Dismutes the winner, he goes to three and two. Tom Johnson, the loss, goes falls to one and two. And remarkably, CI Taylor’s ABCs had pulled even with Fosters’s American Giants. at four wins a piece plus the one tie. To maximize publicity and profits, it was announced after Thursday’s game that the series would conclude with a double header on Sunday to decide the colored championship of the world. From the bottom line of this ad, bleachers 25 cents, grandstand 40 cents, boxes 50 cents, first game called at 130. Game 10, Sunday, October 29th at the Federal League Park. With the series tied up at four apiece and though Frank Wickwear hadn’t started since Monday, Ruby Tyrese gets the nod for Chicago. There’s little doubt that Wickwear’s arm troubles played into the decision. And for Indianapolis, Iron Man Dizzy Dismukes, making his fifth start in the 10ame series. He also won a game in relief. The American Giants first three batters, Jesse Barber, Pete Hill, and Frank Duncan, all singled off to Smukes. Barber scored on Duncan’s hit. Hill later came in on a sack fly by Leroy Grant. Two nothing American Giants. Bottom of the third, Chicago up 3 to one. Morton Clark earns a base on balls off Tyrese to start the inning. Candy Jim Taylor singles. Center fielder Hill overthrows third baseman Francis, allowing Clark to score and Taylor to take third. After brother Ben grounds out to Tyrese, Oscar Charleston rips a triple to left to tie the game at three. It’s Charleston’s sixth consecutive hit following an RBI single in the first and a four for four performance the day before. Then Russell Pal singled to give the ABCs the lead and end Ruby Tyresese day on the mound. Frank Wickwear came in from the bullpen and despite some wildness got out of the inning without further damage, but the ABCs got to the red ant in the sixth, tagging him for seven runs on five singles, a walk, and four American Giants errors. Three of the errors were committed by Hall of Fame shortstop John Henry Lloyd having the worst inning of his illustrious career. Now, I have to admit I was taken aback when I found the great Pop Lloyd committing three errors in one inning. It seemed contradictory to the reputation Lloyd enjoys at shortstop. But with some relief, I discovered that in 1971, the great Brooks Robinson, paradigm of defense at third base, committed three errors in an inning against Oakland, which goes to show it can and does happen to the best of them. Leading 12-3, ABC’s hurler Dizzy Dismukes tired in the eighth. Six hits in a walk gave Chicago four runs and loaded the bases with just one out. CI Taylor called upon his brother brother Ben to swap positions with Dismukes and take the mound. On the surface, this seems like an odd decision. Though Ben originally broke in as a pitcher, it had been several years since he pitched regularly or particularly well. But if you look closer, you can see that CI Taylor’s choices were limited. Since George Brown skipped the team after game six, Dismutes Indic Johnson had handled all the pitching duties while number three pitcher Jim Jeff manned right field. Furthermore, backup catcher Jack Watts was out injured, leaving the rookie Dave Malar as the only position player left on the bench. Apparently CI preferred his brother brother Ben on the mound and dismutes at first over Jeff on the mound and Malarcher or a pitcher in right. Catcher Russell Pal made Ben Taylor’s job a lot easier by picking Bruce Pway off third for the second out. Then Jess Barber grounded weakly to second and Ben was out of the jam. Down five runs, the American Giants stage one last comeback attempt in the ninth. With two outs and Frank Duncan on first, Bill Francis walked. Then Harry Bachmann singled to center to load the bases. Bruce Tetway walked to force in a run and the tying run was coming to the plate, but Judy Gans grounded grounded the Clark and the ABCs prevailed 12 to8. colored. Uh the umpires ruled it was too late to start the scheduled second game. The ABC’s led the series 5 to four with one tie. For the ABCs, 12 runs on 15 hits and one error. American Giants, eight runs, 14 hits, seven errors. The winning pitcher, Dismukes, he goes to 4 and2. The losing pitcher, Ruby Tyrese, falls to 0 and2. And by modern rules, Ben Taylor picked up a save. Naturally, the competing cities had different takes on what had transpired. The Indianapolis Freeman proudly proclaimed the ABC’s world champs with a banner headline. While the Chicago defender refused to recognize the American Giants forfeit loss in game eight and declared the series tied and the championship undecided, the controversy continued for several weeks on the pages of The Defender. In a tiresome series of articles, Rub Foster presented his side of the story, declaring that the forfeit was unjust, the series unfinished, and no one the champion. He called CI Taylor disobedient and not a man of his word while complaining that he and his ball club were treated unfairly at every turn. CI Taylor didn’t bother to reply this time, choosing to let the results speak for themselves. The obvious choice for series MVP, Dizzy Dismukes. The ABC’s won five games. Dizzy won four of those and the other was a forfeit. The ABC’s leadoff man, George Shiveley, was the leading hitter. He led all regulars in all four stash lines slashline stats. And Chicago’s leading hitter was John Henry Lloyd. Unfortunately, he also led all players in errors with eight. And here are the other statistical leaders in the 10ame series. Shively led in hits. Candy Jim and Pete Candy Jim Taylor and Pete Hill each scored seven runs. Leroy Grant drove in 10 in the 10 games. Jess Barber hit three doubles. Candy Jim and Oscar Charleston two triples. There were no home runs in the series. The ERRA leader was Dick Witworth and he was certainly missed by Chicago in the second half of this series. Frank Wickwear led in strikeouts with 20 and Dizzy Disputes led in width by one percentage point over Wickwear. There’s another another table I’d like you to look at to put this series in context. These are the top 20 position players and wins above a above replacement in the dead ball era. And here I’ve highlighted the men on this list who played in this 1916 series. Five ABCs in red, five American Giants in blue, fully half the list, including the top two in Chicago teammates Pete Hill and John Henry Lloyd. But the real legacy of the 1916 Championship Series was the impact it had on the formation of the Negro National League just four years later. For the first time, there was a viable rival to the American Giants for Western Black Ball Supremacy. More importantly, there were two teams less than 200 m apart, very talented and evenly matched with passionate fan bases and an attentive local press. This was a real intercity rivalry and a major step toward the viability of a Negro baseball league. The homeless Cuban stars were another strong western club and the St. Louis Giants would take big steps forward in the coming seasons. Rub Foster was instrumental in getting the Detroit Stars up and running in 1919 and a year later the All Nations would morph into the Kansas City Monarchs. Together, these six teams formed the backbone of the Negro National League, founded by Rube Foster in 1920. CI Taylor did indeed serve serve as a lieutenant to Rube Foster, and his ABCs were a leading team in the league’s first two seasons. Unfortunately, CI passed away from pneumonia in February 1922 at the age of 47. His mighty Indianapolis ABCs continued for 5 years of decline before folding in 1926. My sources for this presentation include two amazingly researched books by Paul Dabono that just formed the theformational backbone for this presentation. Jeremy Beer’s um biography of Oscar Charleston, James Riley’s indispensable biographical encyclopedia, and Dixon and Hanigan’s photographic history is the first place I read about this series some 30 years ago. Websites used included AGOT type and the Saber Bio Project. Statistics came from scene heads and stats for the series were compiled with the generous assistance of Larry Lester. clippings def came from the defender and Freeman from microfilm uh Chicago and Indianapolis dailies from newspapers.com and oddly enough the 1915 Indianapolis Freeman can be found on Google News. I’d like to thank our collaborators, Lifeline Sports, the Community Cup Classic, Panache 5, the partnership, uh, Haya, Kyahaga County Public Library, South UKIP, Lindhurst Branch, and yours truly. And special thanks to our most valuable partner, Kayahaga Arts and Culture.
