Monographs

Follow

• 

  Baseball Takes Root in Oregon, 1866–1869, Revised

  Mark E. Eberle

  The first baseball club in the Pacific Northwest was organized in Portland, Oregon in 1866 as the Pioneer Base Ball Club (BBC). As the only club in the area, games were initially played between teams picked from the members of the club. The Clackamas BBC in Oregon City was organized later that year, and the first intercity baseball game was played between the first nines of these two clubs in Oregon City on October 13. The following year, numerous baseball clubs were organized, and the first baseball championship was held at the State Fair in Salem. In addition, a regional baseball association open to any teams in Oregon and the territories of Washington and Idaho was organized in Portland. These clubs and the association soon gave way to others, but they succeeded in establishing the sport in the region. This essay was originally published in 2020 and has undergone revisions and corrections for its release in 2025 as part of the five-volume anthology Peeking through the Knothole. The open-access, digital version of this essay is available through the “Download” button on this webpage. The print-on-demand version is available through the “Buy this Book” button for volume one of the anthology (Essays on Baseball Origins in the West, 1858–1883).

• 

  Early Integrated Baseball in Missouri, Revised

  Mark E. Eberle

  Beginning in the years before the US Civil War, African Americans fled or emigrated from the South to northern and western states and territories. Descendants of these emigrants occasionally had the opportunity to play baseball for predominantly white town teams and minor league clubs prior to 1946 under circumstances documented in states such as Kansas and California. Those same opportunities were virtually nonexistent in states where slavery had been legal at the outset of the Civil War. A few instances of integrated baseball teams involved in intercity competition in Missouri, a border state that remained in the Union, have been documented between 1886 to 1901. All of the teams identified so far represented cities and towns in northwestern Missouri, near the borders of Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa. The stories of these teams and Black ballplayers are described from available information published in contemporary newspapers. This essay was originally published in 2023 and has undergone revisions and corrections for its release in 2025 as part of the five-volume anthology Peeking through the Knothole. The open-access, digital version of this essay is available through the “Download” button on this webpage. The print-on-demand version is available through the “Buy this Book” button for volume three of the anthology (Essays on Crossing Baseball’s Color Line, 1874–1946).

• 

  Integrated Baseball in Ohio, 1883–1900: Sol White and Richard Male, Revised

  Mark E. Eberle

  Two essays amend and expand what has been published about two Ohio natives who played baseball in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as the sport became increasingly segregated. The first essay clarifies the early years of Sol White, a Black ballplayer from Bellaire, Ohio, who played on integrated amateur teams in his hometown beginning in 1883, as well as the integrated first nine in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1886–1887 and the segregated Pittsburgh Keystones in 1887–1888. About this same time, Richard Male, who was born in Columbus but was a longtime resident of Cleveland, played under the pseudonym Richard Johnson for white town teams in Ohio before joining low-level minor league clubs in Zanesville, Ohio and in Illinois. However, he was not signed by a high-level minor league or major league clubs after stories spread that he was Black. As with his contemporary, Charles “Bumpus” Jones of Cedarville, Ohio, another ballplayer with light skin, the question of whether Male was Black or white was answered differently in his hometown than in the world of organized baseball. This essay was originally published in 2024 and has undergone revisions and corrections for its release in 2025 as part of the five-volume anthology Peeking through the Knothole. The open-access, digital version of this essay is available through the “Download” button on this webpage. The print-on-demand version is available through the “Buy this Book” button for volume three of the anthology (Essays on Crossing Baseball’s Color Line, 1874–1946).

• 

  Integrated Baseball in Ohio, 1891–1907: Chavous, Harrison, Fountain, and Follis, Revised

  Mark E. Eberle

  In addition to Moses Fleetwood Walker, Welday (Weldy) Walker, John “Bud” Fowler, and Grant “Home Run” Johnson, other Black baseball players were members of integrated teams involved in intercity competition in Ohio during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when racial segregation was widespread. The experiences of four of these players are described. James Chavous was a native of Marysville who pitched for Marysville and several other teams, including the Page Fence Giants. In 1904, an injury to his hand limited his role on the diamond to serving as an umpire, primarily in games between white teams. Edward Webster “Webb” Harrison also played for Marysville and other teams before moving to Lima, where he eventually became a police officer. William Fountain (Fountaine) and his younger brothers, Fred and Andrew, also played for teams in their hometown of Lima. Charles Follis was a native of Wooster and is primarily remembered as the first Black professional football player. He also played for baseball teams in Wooster and several other cities, as well as Wooster University, before moving to Cleveland and later joining the Cuban Giants of New York. Their stories contribute to the growing knowledge of the early history of integrated baseball. This essay was originally published in 2023 and has undergone revisions and corrections for its release in 2025 as part of the five-volume anthology Peeking through the Knothole. The open-access, digital version of this essay is available through the “Download” button on this webpage. The print-on-demand version is available through the “Buy this Book” button for volume three of the anthology (Essays on Crossing Baseball’s Color Line, 1874–1946).

• 

  Early Baseball Career of Carl Mays in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Utah, Revised

  Mark E. Eberle

  Carl Mays was a successful submarine (underhand) pitcher in the major leagues from 1915 through 1929 with the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds, and New York Giants. He pitched in four World Series. He had 207 wins and 126 losses, with an earned run average of 2.92. His on-field credentials place him among the best pitchers of the time, yet Mays has not been enshrined with his peers in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Mays had a reputation for pitching inside when batters crowded the plate, and he consequently hit 89 men during his 15-year major league career. Sadly, one of the batters he hit remains the focus of his professional baseball legacy. In 1920, a pitch thrown by Mays hit Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman in the head. Chapman died at the hospital the following morning, the only major league player to die from an injury received during a game. Other authors have described this tragedy in detail, along with other events in the major league career of Carl Mays. What has been missing is a fuller account of his early days in baseball, when Mays was a dominant overhand pitcher as a teenager for semiprofessional town teams in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Utah. This study focuses on his experiences during this formative period, including his participation in the “flat bat game” in Kansas and his stint as a pitcher in Utah after he was caught riding freight trains west to pursue his baseball career. This essay was originally published in 2019 and has undergone revisions and corrections for its release in 2025 as part of the five-volume anthology Peeking through the Knothole. The open-access, digital version of this essay is available through the “Download” button on this webpage. The print-on-demand version is available through the “Buy this Book” button for volume two of the anthology (Baseball Biographies with Kansas Connections).

• 

  George H. Taylor: From Colorado to the Pinnacle of Black Baseball, Revised

  Mark E. Eberle

  George H. Taylor was a Black baseball player born in Kansas but raised in Denver, Colorado, where he learned to play the game. From the 1880s to 1894, he played primarily for integrated teams in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nebraska, and Iowa, including minor league clubs in Aspen, Colorado and Beatrice, Nebraska. Taylor was also invited to play for otherwise white teams in Cheyenne, Wyoming and Ogden, Utah after they saw him play on visiting teams from Denver. From 1895 to 1907, Taylor mostly played for Black teams in Michigan, Illinois, and Minnesota, including the Page Fence Giants, Leland Giants, and St. Paul Gophers, some of the best independent baseball teams in the country. This essay was originally published in 2023 and has undergone revisions and corrections for its release in 2025 as part of the five-volume anthology Peeking through the Knothole. The open-access, digital version of this essay is available through the “Download” button on this webpage. The print-on-demand version is available through the “Buy this Book” button for volume two of the anthology (Baseball Biographies with Kansas Connections).

• 

  Carson City Mints a Base Ball Club, 1869–1870, Revised

  Mark E. Eberle

  Baseball clubs had been organized in Nevada since at least 1866, but the organization of the Silver Star Base Ball Club (BBC) in Carson City in 1869 marked a change for the sport in the state. Some of the employees at the newly constructed Carson City Mint had experience playing for top ball clubs in the East, and other experienced ballplayers lived in the nearby mining community of Virginia City. The Silver City and Virginia clubs initiated intercity competition in 1869. In 1870, the Silver Star BBC picked up players from the Virginia BBC and played six games on a tour in California against teams from San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, and Stockton. The ball clubs, games, and associated events are described. This essay was originally published in 2021 and has undergone revisions and corrections for its release in 2025 as part of the five-volume anthology Peeking through the Knothole. The open-access, digital version of this essay is available through the “Download” button on this webpage. The print-on-demand version is available through the “Buy this Book” button for volume one of the anthology (Essays on Baseball Origins in the West, 1858–1883).

• 

  Alfred “Army” Cooper: A Baseball Career with the 25th Infantry, Negro Leagues, and Tournament Teams, Revised

  Mark E. Eberle

  Lefthanded pitcher Alfred “Army” Cooper was born in Kansas City, Kansas in 1899 and had a long career with Black baseball clubs between the First and Second World Wars. He played baseball while serving with the 25th US Infantry Regiment in Nogales, Arizona during most of the 1920s. After his discharge in February 1928, he pitched for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro National League until 1930. The following year, he played for several weeks with Gilkerson’s Union Giants, a prominent barnstorming team, before rejoining the independent Kansas City Monarchs as they barnstormed through the end of the summer. Cooper spent his final season in Negro Leagues baseball with for the Cleveland Stars of the East-West League in 1932. In 1933 and 1934, he played for semipro teams that entered the state semipro baseball tournament in Wichita, Kansas. Integrated teams were not allowed to participate in the tournament, but in both years, Cooper was selected to pitch for integrated tournament all-star teams. In 1935, he pitched for the Denver White Elephants, who entered the Denver Post Tournament. In each of the tournaments, Cooper’s team finished in third or fourth place, high enough to earn a share of the prize money. Through 1939, he played for various teams and lived in multiple states before retiring in Kansas City, where he passed away in March 1966. Cooper was buried in Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery. This essay was originally published in 2022 and has undergone revisions and corrections for its release in 2025 as part of the five-volume anthology Peeking through the Knothole. The open-access, digital version of this essay is available through the “Download” button on this webpage. The print-on-demand version is available through the “Buy this Book” button for volume two of the anthology (Baseball Biographies with Kansas Connections).

• 

  Baseball Career of Andy Cooper in Kansas, Revised

  Mark E. Eberle

  Andrew Lewis Cooper was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006. He was a lefthanded pitcher, who played and managed in the Negro Leagues from 1920 until his death in 1941, mostly for the Detroit Stars and Kansas City Monarchs. Cooper also played baseball in California, Cuba, and the Far East. However, his life before 1920 has been little studied. Andy Cooper was born in Texas, probably in 1897. Although he was a resident of Waco and began playing baseball in northern Texas, contemporary newspaper reports document an African American pitcher from Texas named Andrew “Lefty” Cooper playing for baseball teams in Wichita, Kansas during the summers of 1917 and 1919. In addition, Andy Cooper lived in Wichita during parts of the offseason while he played in the Negro Leagues during the 1920s and 1930s. He also wrote about baseball and his extensive travels in a series of columns for a Wichita newspaper, the Negro Star. This monograph recounts Cooper’s experiences in Wichita and frames some of the questions about his early life still in need of thorough research. This essay was originally published in 2021 and has undergone revisions and corrections for its release in 2025 as part of the five-volume anthology Peeking through the Knothole. The open-access, digital version of this essay is available through the “Download” button on this webpage. The print-on-demand version is available through the “Buy this Book” button for volume two of the anthology (Baseball Biographies with Kansas Connections).

• 

  Baseball Takes Root in Kansas, Colorado, and Nebraska, Revised

  Mark E. Eberle

  The spread of baseball during the mid-nineteenth century is sometimes associated with soldiers and former soldiers who served during the US Civil War. This association is partly true in Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska. However, white settlers from the Northeast and Midwest also brought baseball and similar ball games to the region before the Civil War began, and civilians played ball during the war. The first team organized in the region was the Denver Base Ball Club (BBC) in March 1862, although it disbanded as warmer weather permitted mining activity to resume. Increasing numbers of baseball clubs were organized in Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska soon after the war ended, and tournaments were held for the championship of each state or territory by 1871. The Otoe BBC of Nebraska City and the Omaha BBC also hosted the first professional baseball team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, in 1869. These and other aspects of baseball as it took root in Kansas, Colorado, and Nebraska are recounted. This essay was originally published in 2020 and has undergone revisions and corrections for its release in 2025 as part of the five-volume anthology Peeking through the Knothole. The open-access, digital version of this essay is available through the “Download” button on this webpage. The print-on-demand version is available through the “Buy this Book” button for volume one of the anthology (Essays on Baseball Origins in the West, 1858–1883).

• 

  Baseball Takes Root in New Mexico, 1867–1883, Revised

  Mark E. Eberle

  The first known baseball club in New Mexico was organized in Santa Fe in 1867 as the Santa Fe Base Ball Club (BBC). As the only club in the area, games were initially played between teams picked from the club’s members. In November 1868, the Bradley BBC at Fort Union in northeastern New Mexico challenged the Santa Fe BBC to a game. Given the distance between Santa Fe and Fort Union, they met for the game in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Originally scheduled for Thanksgiving Day, the game was postponed two days because of snow. This was the first known baseball game in New Mexico between clubs from different locations. Baseball clubs were organized sporadically in the territory during the 1870s, but baseball and intercity competition became more widespread after 1881. This essay was originally published in 2020 and has undergone revisions and corrections for its release in 2025 as part of the five-volume anthology Peeking through the Knothole. The open-access, digital version of this essay is available through the “Download” button on this webpage. The print-on-demand version is available through the “Buy this Book” button for volume one of the anthology (Essays on Baseball Origins in the West, 1858–1883).

• 

  Bert Wakefield and the End of Integrated Minor League Baseball in Kansas, Revised

  Mark E. Eberle

  Bert Wakefield was a lifelong resident of Troy, Kansas, where he was an active member of the community—business owner, member of social organizations, and musician. Wakefield was also an African American who played on several integrated and Black baseball teams through the 1890s and early 1900s, including the Chicago Unions, Chicago Union Giants, Algona (Iowa) Brownies, Renville (Minnesota) All-Stars, and the original Kansas City Monarchs. In addition, Wakefield served as the captain of the predominantly white Troy minor league team in the Kansas State League in 1895. In this role, he joined Bud Fowler as the only Black players to captain minor league teams during this era. Wakefield also umpired at least one ballgame between two white teams. This biography recounts Bert Wakefield’s varied experiences in baseball. This essay was originally published in 2018 and has undergone revisions and corrections for its release in 2025 as part of the five-volume anthology Peeking through the Knothole. The open-access, digital version of this essay is available through the “Download” button on this webpage. The print-on-demand version is available through the “Buy this Book” button for volume two of the anthology (Baseball Biographies with Kansas Connections).

• 

  Black Baseball in Kansas City, 1870–1919, Revised and Expanded

  Mark E. Eberle

  The Kansas City Monarchs, a Black baseball team founded by J.L. Wilkinson in 1920, is one of the storied franchises in Negro Leagues history. The story of Black baseball teams and players in Kansas City prior to this is less known, yet it forms the foundation on which the 1920 Monarchs were established. The early amateur and semipro teams first organized in the 1870s each played a few years, but in 1899, former classmates organized the Lincoln High Schools and played as the Jenkins’ Sons in 1900–1907 and the “original” Kansas City Monarchs in 1908–1909. Two professional teams—the Kansas City Kansas (KCK) Giants and the Kansas City Royal Giants—took center stage from 1909 to 1912. The KCK Giants continued to compete in subsequent years as a semipro team, along with the Kansas City Royal Americans and other teams. In 1918, after the United States entered the First World War, the top team was named the Kansas City Allies. After 1900, a few of these teams had the opportunity to play exhibition games against minor league and major league clubs. This essay was originally published in 2019 as Black Baseball in Kansas City, 1870–1899. The original essay has undergone revisions and corrections, and new text has been added to cover the years through 1919 for its release in 2025 as part of the five-volume anthology Peeking through the Knothole. The open-access, digital version of this essay is available through the “Download” button on this webpage. The print-on-demand version is available through the “Buy this Book” button for volume four of the anthology (Black Baseball in Kansas City, 1870–1919).

• 

  Black Pioneers of Integrated Baseball in California, Revised

  Mark E. Eberle

  During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Black athletes were barred from playing baseball in the major and minor leagues, as well as other teams of white players, with relatively few exceptions. Research on baseball’s color line has primarily focused on organized baseball (the major and minor leagues). The nine essays in this monograph are an introductory exploration of integrated baseball in California at various levels, from amateur to professional teams. The first six essays are biographies of seven Black ballplayers who played on predominantly white teams engaged in intercity competition for multiple years from 1886 to 1909. The seventh essay presents information about Black umpires in the state who officiated games involving one or two white teams. The eighth essay is the story of William Carroll and the Trilbys of Los Angeles, a prominent Black baseball club at the turn of the century. The final essay examines possible patterns associated with where and when the integrated teams played in California, supplemented by descriptions of the experiences of three Black soldiers of the 24th and 25th US Infantries who integrated teams west of the Rocky Mountains after their discharges from the army. This essay was originally published in 2023 and has undergone revisions and corrections for its release in 2025 as part of the five-volume anthology Peeking through the Knothole. The open-access, digital version of this essay is available through the “Download” button on this webpage. The print-on-demand version is available through the “Buy this Book” button for volume three of the anthology (Essays on Crossing Baseball’s Color Line, 1874–1946).

• 

  Bud Fowler Beyond the Box Score: Third Edition

  Mark E. Eberle

  John W. Jackson, better known as Bud Fowler (1858–1913), was a Black baseball player, captain, manager, umpire, organizer, and promoter. He was also a barber, playwright, and song writer. His baseball career spanned at least 33 years, from 1877 to 1909. In 1878, Fowler became the first known Black baseball player in the major or minor leagues, and he went on to play for a total of 20 minor league clubs and numerous other teams with rosters composed predominantly of white ballplayers during the era of racial segregation. He played for teams from New England to southern California and from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. Consequently, he was the most widely known Black baseball player in the country during his lifetime. In 2022, Fowler was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. This monograph expands on earlier studies of Fowler’s life outside his performance on the diamond, including topics such as playing for multiple teams each year, confronting racism, occupations other than baseball, financial challenges, and the impacts of his baseball career on others. It also includes two appendices, one about his immediate family in New York and one about the 15 exhibition games his teams played against major league clubs. The main narrative of the third edition has been substantially expanded and revised.

  Originally published April 18, 2024. Second edition released April 3, 2025. Third edition released October 8, 2025.

• 

  Captain George W. Bradley, A.Q.M., and the Bradley Base Ball Clubs, Revised

  Mark E. Eberle

  George W. Bradley served as a quartermaster for the New York Volunteers during the US Civil War. After the war, he became an assistant quartermaster (A.Q.M.) in the regular army with the rank of captain. Captain Bradley served at several posts, mostly in the West. While serving at Fort Harker, Kansas in 1867 and at Fort Union, New Mexico in 1868, teams from the forts were organized under the name Bradley Base Ball Club (BBC). In Kansas, the Bradley BBC defeated the Smoky Hill BBC from Ellsworth, but in New Mexico, they lost to the Santa Fe BBC in a game played at Las Vegas. The contest in Las Vegas is currently the earliest documented game played by two clubs from distant localities in New Mexico. Captain Bradley was transferred to Philadelphia in 1880, where he passed away in 1882 at age 51. His daughter, Kate Mickles Bradley, and her mother, Agnes, eventually moved to Washington, DC. Kate became well known as a professional art model and a teacher and performer of the Delsarte method of expression, which influenced acting and modern dance. Agnes and Kate both passed away in New York in 1920 and were buried with George in Arlington National Cemetery. This essay was originally published in 2020 and has undergone revisions and corrections for its release in 2025 as part of the five-volume anthology Peeking through the Knothole. The open-access, digital version of this essay is available through the “Download” button on this webpage. The print-on-demand version is available through the “Buy this Book” button for volume one of the anthology (Essays on Baseball Origins in the West, 1858–1883).

• 

  Cricket and Base Ball in Kansas, 1860–1869, Revised

  Mark E. Eberle

  During the 1860s, cricket clubs were organized before the first baseball clubs in Kansas. Following the US Civil War, baseball grew in popularity, and soldiers and immigrants from the Northeast and Midwest brought the sport with them to the state. This essay describes the first two cricket clubs in Kansas—the Leavenworth Occidental Cricket Club and the Wyandotte City Cricket Club—and the transition to baseball. This essay was originally published in 2019 and has undergone revisions and corrections for its release in 2025 as part of the five-volume anthology Peeking through the Knothole. The open-access, digital version of this essay is available through the “Download” button on this webpage. The print-on-demand version is available through the “Buy this Book” button for volume five of the anthology (Essays on Baseball from Various Viewpoints, 1856–1940).

• 

  Crossing Baseball’s Color Line: Javan Emory, Jacob Francis, Hershel Schnebly, and Howard Molden, Revised

  Mark E. Eberle

  This set of three essays describes the careers of Black baseball players and umpires who dealt with a color line that barred them from participating with most teams of white players prior to the mid-twentieth century. The first essay — Javan Isaac Emory: Multiple Trips across Baseball’s Color Line — tells the story of Emory’s playing career during the late nineteenth century with integrated and segregated teams at several levels in Pennsylvania, from town teams to professional leagues. The second essay — Jacob B. Francis: Organized Baseball’s First Black Umpire — recounts the story of the first Black umpire in the minor leagues in 1885 and 1886 in upstate New York. At the other end of this period in history, the third essay — William Hershel Schnebly and Howard “Smokey” Molden: The Persistent Color Line — introduces two players in rural Nebraska who played in semipro leagues during the 1930s and 1940s. As the color line in minor league and major league baseball was about to end after World War II, they experienced attempts to implement segregation on the diamond at a local level. These essays were originally published in 2021 and have undergone revisions and corrections for release in 2025 as part of the five-volume anthology Peeking through the Knothole. The open-access, digital version of these essays is available through the “Download” button on this webpage. The print-on-demand version is available through the “Buy this Book” button for volume three of the anthology (Essays on Crossing Baseball’s Color Line, 1874–1946).

• 

  Deaf Baseball Players in Kansas and Kansas City, 1878–1911, Revised

  Mark E. Eberle

  During the late 1800s and early 1900s, William Hoy and Luther Taylor were well-known baseball players in the major leagues. Hoy and Taylor were also deaf. Consequently, they were given the same inappropriate nickname—Dummy. Several other deaf ballplayers enjoyed careers in the major and minor leagues, as well as on other professional teams. This narrative focuses on the lesser-known aspects of the early history of deaf baseball players and teams, with an emphasis on Kansas. It opens with the experiences of students at the Kansas State School for the Deaf at the end of the nineteenth century, where Luther Taylor was a student. The successes of players on school teams led to the organization of independent teams composed primarily of deaf players, such as the Kansas City Silents. This narrative closes with the minor league career of Joseph Laughlin, a well-liked third baseman with good defensive skills, who was nevertheless stereotyped for being both deaf and American Indian, neither of which affected his ability to play baseball. A preliminary list of deaf ballplayers in the major and minor leagues prior to 1920 is also included. This essay was originally published in 2019 and has undergone revisions and corrections for its release in 2025 as part of the five-volume anthology Peeking through the Knothole. The open-access, digital version of this essay is available through the “Download” button on this webpage. The print-on-demand version is available through the “Buy this Book” button for volume five of the anthology (Essays on Baseball from Various Viewpoints, 1856–1940).

• 

  Early Baseball and Historic Liberty Park Stadium in Sedalia, Missouri, Revised

  Mark E. Eberle

  Small baseball parks with grandstands constructed prior to the Second World War continue to be lost around the country, and much of the sport’s history is lost with them. Missouri has a few such ballparks remaining within its borders, including those in Carthage, Hannibal, and St. Joseph. In addition, Sedalia has what is arguably one of the finest examples in the nation of a small ballpark with an historic wooden grandstand constructed in 1937–1938 that continues to serve its original purpose. This article is a brief introduction to baseball in Sedalia from the end of the Civil War through the Great Depression, along with the history of baseball in the city’s Liberty Park that culminated in construction of the grandstand still in use more than 80 years after it was constructed. This essay was originally published in 2017 and has undergone revisions and corrections for its release in 2025 as part of the five-volume anthology Peeking through the Knothole. The open-access, digital version of this essay is available through the “Download” button on this webpage. The print-on-demand version is available through the “Buy this Book” button for volume five of the anthology (Essays on Baseball from Various Viewpoints, 1856–1940).

• 

  Early Football in Abilene, Kansas, from Lott to Eisenhower, 1891–1910, Revised

  Mark E. Eberle

  During the late nineteenth century, the name “football” could refer to early versions of soccer, rugby, or American football. In 1891, the city of Concordia, Kansas even had a women’s football team, who probably played soccer (association football). However, American football soon dominated interest in Kansas. Given the likelihood of injury and the organized practice time and coaching necessary, communities were slow to take up American football during the early years of the sport. Consequently, few games were played against teams from other communities. Another monograph summarized the history of football in Kansas through 1891 and the beginning of intercollegiate football. This monograph continues that story by using Abilene as an example of football in smaller cities and the rise of high school teams from 1891 to 1910. At the beginning and the end of this period, Abilene sent local athletes Abe Lott and Dwight Eisenhower to the US Military Academy at West Point, where both played varsity football. This essay was originally published in 2020 and has undergone revisions and corrections for its release in 2025 as part of the five-volume anthology Peeking through the Knothole. The open-access, digital version of this essay is available through the “Download” button on this webpage. The print-on-demand version is available through the “Buy this Book” button for volume five of the anthology (Essays on Baseball from Various Viewpoints, 1856–1940).

• 

  Evans’ All-Nations and Mayetta Indians Baseball, 1917, Revised

  Mark E. Eberle

  On 4 April 1917, the United States declared war on Germany and prepared to enter what would later be referred to as the First World War. Those preparations would last through the summer, as many young men spent one last season playing baseball before leaving for Europe. Among these teams in northeastern Kansas were two local teams not composed solely of white players. The Evans’ All-Nations was an integrated team in Horton composed of white, black, American Indian, and possibly Mexican players. Jesse Evans, a local black barber, managed the team. About 25 miles southwest of Horton, on the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Reservation, the Mayetta Indians baseball team was organized in 1906 and played into the 1920s. Most of their players were American Indians. In 1917, the Evans’ All-Nations and Mayetta Indians put competitive teams on the field that played each other, local town teams, and clubs in Topeka, both white and black. As the United States mobilized for war, during a time when segregation was entrenched in the United States, these two baseball teams composed of local playwers were sought as opponents in northeastern Kansas. This monograph recounts that season for these two teams. This essay was originally published in 2019 and has undergone revisions and corrections for its release in 2025 as part of the five-volume anthology Peeking through the Knothole. The open-access, digital version of this essay is available through the “Download” button on this webpage. The print-on-demand version is available through the “Buy this Book” button for volume three of the anthology (Essays on Crossing Baseball’s Color Line, 1874–1946).

• 

  Everyone Wore Masks: Winter Baseball during the Flu Pandemic of 1918–1919, Revised

  Mark E. Eberle

  Efforts to control the influenza pandemic of 1918–1919 were in the hands of local officials, creating a mosaic of regulations. Among the aspects of society affected by these regulations were organized sports, which attracted large groups of people that could contribute to the spread of the disease. Infection rates were highest during the cooler months, so baseball was largely unaffected. However, southern California had an active winter baseball season that attracted major league players, who earned money by playing for teams such as the Pasadena Merchants. Pasadena and the Standard-Murphy team from the oil field region near Whittier were in the midst of a five-game series for the self-proclaimed semipro championship of southern California, when the Pasadena City Commission passed an ordinance requiring everyone to wear a cloth face mask in public. Baseball players would not be exempt, and they refused to play under these conditions. However, instead of moving the game to another city, the players changed their minds and donned the masks on 26 January 1919 for what turned out to be an 11-inning contest. The novelty of the game attracted photographers, and news of the event was reported by newspapers across the country. Four days later, the mask ordinance in Pasadena was rescinded. This narrative summarizes the events surrounding the game, in which several major league players participated. This essay was originally published in 2020 and has undergone revisions and corrections for its release in 2025 as part of the five-volume anthology Peeking through the Knothole. The open-access, digital version of this essay is available through the “Download” button on this webpage. The print-on-demand version is available through the “Buy this Book” button for volume five of the anthology (Essays on Baseball from Various Viewpoints, 1856–1940).

• 

  “Foot Ball Seems To Be Usurping the Place of Base Ball.” Football in Kansas, 1856–1891, Revised

  Mark E. Eberle

  Following the US Civil War, baseball quickly spread among communities across Kansas. Football was less widespread, and the first reports of “foot ball” during this period referred to early versions of association football (soccer) or rugby. American football developed from modifications to rugby rules beginning in the late 1870s and continuing into the early twentieth century. A few Kansas communities experimented briefly with soccer, rugby, and American football teams based on the model of town team baseball. However, interest in American football soon dominated, with attention focused on collegiate teams. The first intercollegiate games in Kansas were played in the autumn of 1890 by teams representing Baker University, the University of Kansas, and Washburn University. The following year, these three schools organized the state’s first intercollegiate sports league—the Triangular League. This monograph examines the early histories of soccer, rugby, and American football in Kansas through 1891 and the partition of the seasons for football and baseball. This essay was originally published in 2020 and has undergone revisions and corrections for its release in 2025 as part of the five-volume anthology Peeking through the Knothole. The open-access, digital version of this essay is available through the “Download” button on this webpage. The print-on-demand version is available through the “Buy this Book” button for volume five of the anthology (Essays on Baseball from Various Viewpoints, 1856–1940).