Baseball in Conneaut: 1908
by Andy Pochatko

At the turn of the 20th Century, baseball was the preferred sport of America. Besides the professional baseball teams that were located in the major cities such as Boston, Brooklyn, New York, and Cleveland, many of the smaller towns enjoyed the excitement of having a barn-storming or semi-pro team local to them. This area was of no exception.

Besides the teams of the industrial league, Conneaut was able to organize to semi-pro baseball teams; the Lake View Parks and the Conneauts. The main locations for the teams to play was at Lakeview Park, located at the lake front, on the corners of Lake Erie and Sandusky Sts. Other than away games, both teams also used the playing theater at the Hotel Tarry-a-While.

In preparation of the first baseball game, some improvements had to be made to the playing field and surrounding areas. First the field was improved by removing two trees, one in left field, and the other in right. The grass also had to be mowed, as well as the infield area cleaned of larger rocks, this was so the ball would not bounce off any object. Bleachers were also constructed to sit the fans. Measuring nine tiers high, and one hundred feet long, the bleachers would sit 600 spectators. An awning had been purchased beforehand to protect the patrons from the sun’s rays.

There was much anticipation for the first game to be played. That event was to be held on Saturday, June 19, with the Lake View Parks hosting the County Engineers of Cleveland. Before and after the baseball games of the day, there was dancing held at the Dancing Pavilion, with Peck’s orchestra providing the music.

Some interesting and exciting games were scheduled for the teams. One game that had been scheduled to take place was one against the Cherokee Indian baseball team versus the Conneauts. The “scalp lifters,” it seems, were so successful that they were they were able to provide their own electric lighting and their own canvas fence. There was no record of this game taking place.

The most exciting game of the season for the fans must have taken place on July 4th. On this date it was set for the Conneaut teams to face each other for the Conneaut Championship. Both teams felt that they were going to beat the other, and to prove it they put up fifty dollars to the winning team. A large crowd of people was expected for the holiday celebrations, of which the two baseball games were the highlights. To supply for the many fans that would be attending the ball game two extra bleachers were constructed.

Clyde “Kid” Newell and Joe Wending were to pitch for the Parks and they were opposed by Wilson of the Conneauts. (In some instances only the last name of the player were provided in the articles.) In the second game the pitching for the Parks was to be split between “Ham” Sargent, a former pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, and Wendling. By the end of that day it was clear that the Parks were the better of the two teams. Even though the games had been close with the scores of 2-0 and 6-5, strong pitching and opposing players errors allowed for the Parks to prevail that day.

The teams had great support from the fans. When the teams would go to different towns, the people would follow. Some of them would come by trolley car which ran into Erie, via Route 20, or if they could not afford to take the trolley they could hitch up their horse and buggy and go. (The first car would not be introduced until the next year.)

Both teams produced good players, but the Parks had the upper edge to the when it came to securing talent.

The most dominant pitcher in Conneaut was Clyde Newell. Newell had originally started with the Conneauts, but later quit and joined the Parks before the game July 4th. It would be near the end of the season when the Parks could have lost him to another team. It was the Erie Sailors who were after Newell, but to the luck of the Parks, he wanted to stay so that he could further develop his arm.

Of course no pitcher is any good without the help of the catcher. The Parks has Sam Cowan. Cowan had been playing ball for years, but the truth was he wasn’t very good. But Sam kept practicing and eventually developed a rocket arm and became a fairly decent hitter at the plate.

The first season was not without some drama, however. In the early season, the manager for the Parks, then B.A. Bennett resigned. He was replaced by Stewart Pierce. Bennett had felt that he was unable to devote as much time to the baseball team as requested by the front office. In addition to their manager resigning, the team also lost their team captain, first baseman Williamson, with a sprained wrist.

The end of July saw, after beating the Ashtabula ‘Bulas, a paper from Ashtabula suggested that the team had been tipped off by someone. This came from a previous acquisition in which the Parks had signed “Nig” Dye, who had previously pitched for the Ashtabula team.

In August the Conneauts had a major blow when three members of the team, Manager Kenney, Treasurer Bynane, and Ganley left. It was the object of these three to start a new baseball team in Conneaut, one that could win the championship in Ashtabula County. When this did not arise, Kinney returned to his job as the manager, but not before the Conneauts had reorganized, and became the Red Stars.


Before this research paper most people had forgotten of the baseball teams that had played down along the Lake Shore. It was the hope of the author that people can read, enjoy, and learn something from the time he spent gathering material. It is recommended that if you want to know more, that the reader takes a look at the microfilms at the Conneaut Public Library. Look especially for the 1909 season and see how the teams fared, or if they even made it to the next season.


Bibliography

Ashtabula Team Loaded For Locals. Conneaut. Conneaut News Herald. July 28, 1908

Awning For Park Bleacher Seats. Conneaut. Conneaut News Herald. June 4, 1908

City's Breathing Spot Is Opened. Conneaut. Conneaut News Herald. June 21, 1908

Clash July 4th For Big Wager. Conneaut. Conneaut News Herald. June 4, 1908

Cowan Developed Into Great Catcher. Conneaut. Conneaut News Herald. July 6, 1908

Decoration Day in Conneaut. Conneaut. Conneaut News Herald. May 29, 1908

Indian Team Will Play Local Nine. Conneaut. Conneaut News Herald. June 26, 1908

LakeView Captain Is Out Of The Game. Conneaut. Conneaut News Herald. July 6, 1908

Lake View Parks Win Championship. Conneaut. Conneaut News Herald. July 6, 1908

Lake View Will Be The Mecca. Conneaut. Conneaut News Herald. July 3, 1908

League Pitcher To Work One Game. Conneaut. Conneaut News Herald. May 29, 1908

Newell to Pitch For Park Team. Conneaut. Conneaut News Herald. July 1, 1908

New Manager For Park Team. Conneaut. Conneaut News Herald. June 23, 1908

Players Leave Conneaut Team. Conneaut. Conneaut News Herald. August 10, 1908

Sargent Works in Final Game. Conneaut. Conneaut News Herald. July 3, 1908


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