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The Pioneering and Forgotten Baseball Team of Lincoln, Nebraska · Nebraska History Podcast

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The following episode features a historic article from the
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Nebraska History magazine. This article may reflect the
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language and attitudes of its time and while it offers
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valuable insight into the past, may contain expressions or
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viewpoints that are outdated or offensive by today's standards.
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Any outdated terms do not reflect the current views or
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perspectives of the Nebraska State Historical Society.
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Welcome to the Nebraska History podcast.
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I'm your host, Chris Goforth. Each episode we explore articles
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written and published in Nebraska History Magazine.
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As another baseball season begins, we look back at the
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nearly forgotten story of a professional Lincoln baseball
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team today. We learn more about the racial
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barriers and the financial turmoil that the team and
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players face through the 2015 Nebraska History Magazine
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article The 1890 Lincoln Giants. Professional Baseball's Unlikely
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Return to Nebraska's Capital City Written by Kent Morgan By
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any reasonable standard of their place and time, William Lewis
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and William Pope were top notch waiters.
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The duo practiced their trade in the well appointed dining room
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of the strictly first class Millard Hotel, which graced the
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northeast corner of Douglas and 13th Street in downtown Omaha.
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Their evolving friendship soon included a shared residence at
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1612 Jackson St., just a half mile from the hotel.
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The unassuming boarding house offered convenient and
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affordable lodging, as well as time together to ponder
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opportunities beyond their otherwise prosaic vocation.
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The pair shared a vision endured independent of their daily
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routine. Simply put, they longed to be
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proprietors of a professional baseball team.
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From a distance, their vision seemed credible.
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William Lewis knew and enjoyed the game of baseball.
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Over the prior two years, he performed admirably for the
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Lafayettes, A respected Omaha area amateur baseball team.
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During the 1889 season, Lewis's Lafayettes competed forcefully
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against town squads from across Nebraska, leading the Omaha
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Daily Bee to proclaim quote they now stand at the head of the
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amateur club of the state. End Quote.
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William Pope complimented Lewis's athletic abilities with
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his business acumen. Pope took well to commerce,
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owning a healthy aptitude for business creation and
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management. His people skills served him
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well in his present occupation as a waiter, but he harbored
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thoughts of other realities. Fulfilling their vision would
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not be easy. It demanded assembling a squad
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of talented baseball players along with the requisite
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financial backing. They did not want a barnstorming
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squad of vagabonds, but rather a bonafide company of athletes who
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would compete within a league against the foremost teams in
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the region. When all was said and done,
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Lewis expressed their mutual intent to do all within the
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duo's quote power to make the club a success both financially
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and artistically. End Quote.
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Should this yearning not present enough challenges, William Lewis
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and William Pope were beset with potentially an even greater
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trial. As Providence would have it,
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both men were African Americans, being African American.
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As the 19th century drew to a close, the pair found themselves
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saddled with centuries of inherited racial enmity. 25
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years removed from a tumultuous Civil War, America still faced a
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host of pernicious forces. Bigotry and intolerance already
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divided the nation, ushering in the area of the discriminatory
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Jim Crow laws. Within six years, the US Supreme
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Court's landmark ruling in Plessy versus Ferguson would
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affirm the constitutionality of separate but equal facilities.
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Baseball was not immune to this national trajectory.
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Black baseball players were systematically marginalized from
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the game's mainstream. Baseball's formal racial divide
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first emerged in 1867 when an amateur African American
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baseball club's application to the National Association of
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Baseball Players was unanimously rejected.
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The association subsequently established a rule excluding
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quote the admission of any club which may be composed of one or
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more colored persons. End Quote.
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Other discriminatory maneuvers followed, including outright
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bans on black players and on field incidents meant to force
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African American players from the dawning professional game.
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If prejudicial racial attitudes were not disadvantageous enough,
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Nebraska's demographics presented additional hurdles for
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the two energetic waiters. The 1890 US Census identified
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little more than 1,000,000 inhabitants in the Cornusker
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State. Of these, less than 1% was quote
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persons of Negro descent. End Quote.
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Only 8913 African Americans of a nationwide aggregate of almost
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7.5 million claimed Nebraska as their home, and with few
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exceptions, the preponderance of Black Nebraskans worked as
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domestic servants, barbers, hairdressers, and hotel workers.
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Were William Lewis and William Pope embarking upon a foolhardy
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undertaking or a compelling quest?
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Consider for a moment the prospects of late 19th century
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professional baseball team located in eastern Nebraska that
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would be composed entirely of African American players
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performing under an African American field captain overseen
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by an African American business manager.
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Owned largely by a consortium of African American entrepreneurs.
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With two young African American waiters leading the effort to
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form a previously non existent Baseball League to be made-up
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with the exception of their squad of nothing but quote white
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teams. End Quote.
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This improbable storyline forms the remarkable narrative of what
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would ultimately become the 1890 Lincoln Giants and the return of
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professional baseball to the capital city.
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Although Nebraska enjoyed a time honored interest in the sport,
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professional baseball did not come quickly or easily to
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Lincoln. The city's first professional
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team played its inaugural game on May 5th, 1886, A6 to nothing
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loss to the Reds of St. Joseph, MO.
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The team's sponsor was Harry Durfee, who had launched A
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streetcar service in the capital city on November of 1883.
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Within a few years, Durfee decided to pursue the national
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trend of marrying streetcar operations with baseball.
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In late 1885, he leased 40 acres South of 17th and South streets
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from the president of the Burlington and Missouri Railway.
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Within days of the leases signing, the Daily State Journal
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reported Durfee's company was quote bidding up a baseball
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ground in connection with their park and skating rink enterprise
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in S Lincoln. End Quote.
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With construction of the playing field on the horizon, it was
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time to form a baseball club. In early 1886 the Lincoln
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Baseball Association was established with Harry Durfee
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named as the manager and co-owner.
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The team found a home for the 1886 season in a six team
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Western League internal team. Dissension, second rate
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management and deplorable playing field along with a want
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of publicity plagued its performance.
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The squad finished the season dead last in the Western League,
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some 23 games behind league leading Denver.
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Attendance at home games never met expectations, even though
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Durfee eschewed Sunday games, offered fans in carriages free
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admission along the right field line and provided a smoke free
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section for women patrons. While the baseball venture may
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have stumbled, Durfee looked to cash in on his successor
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streetcar franchise. In early November of 1886, he
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sold the entire streetcar operation, including the
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baseball team, to a local syndicate for the handsome sum
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of $65,000. The new owners reorganized the
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Lincoln Baseball organization in the spring of 1887 to enhance
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its financial viability. A refurbished squad, led by the
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team's new manager, Dave Rowe, brought a renewed enthusiasm to
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the city's baseball followers. The team rebounded by finishing
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second in the reconstructed Western League, posting a 62 and
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34 record. The success of Roe's 1887 team
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spawned a local baseball epidemic of unprecedented
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proportions. Optimism ruled the start of
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Lincoln's 1888 baseball season. Although this optimism proved
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fleeting, shifts by various franchises resulted in the
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creation of two separate baseball confederations, the
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five team Western League with Lincoln as a member, and the
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stronger eight team Western Association.
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Following the city's taste of first class baseball the prior
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season, Lincoln's entry into the Western League paled in
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comparison and was panned by locals as the quote low priced
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team, which represents the city in the low priced Western
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League. End Quote.
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The Western League folded on June 6th, and Lincoln's initial
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taste of professional baseball came to an abrupt end.
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Despite efforts to field A-Team for the 1889 season,
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professional baseball in Lincoln was not to be enjoyed.
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Participation in a possible state league was pursued, but
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was, quote, abandoned by the cranks in this city.
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And, quote, In April, local businessmen and city officials
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concluded that the absence of a suitable venue was a major
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hurdle toward fielding a team. In the April 21st edition, the
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daily Nebraska State Journal remarked, quote, until good
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grounds are secured, it is not likely that many good games of
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ball will be seen in the city. End Quote.
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Efforts to remedy the situation began in mid-May as work
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progressed on a new baseball field along the Capitol Heights
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Street Railway in the vicinity of 22nd and Randolph Streets.
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Endeavors to salvage the 1889 season proved of little avail
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one newspaper headline pronounced quote.
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Deprived of baseball, they turn their attention to lacrosse,
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tennis and bicycling. End Quote As 1890 began,
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prospects for professional baseball in Lincoln were
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lackluster. Even though the city once again
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had the baseball fever, bad rumors surfaced regarding a
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possible Nebraska State Baseball Association comprised of teams
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from Lincoln, Fremont, Beatrice, Grand Island, Kearney, Platt,
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Smith, and Hastings. Columbus, Seward and York would
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also later be considered as potential leaks sites.
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A similar scheme had surfaced in advance of the 1889 season
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quote, With the exception that Lincoln was not included in the
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list, End Quote. Missouri's The Sporting News
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observed how Kearney, Grand Island and Hastings each fielded
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viable clubs in 1889 and had ready to use ballparks, While
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quote, Lincoln had a good park that would be great deal better
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if enlarged a little, which no doubt will be done if this city
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enters a league. End Quote Serious discussions
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about a new Nebraska State Baseball Association gained
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momentum, Nebraska's newspapers reported Quote exceedingly good
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prospects. End Quote for the league's
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creation, Although a wrinkle had cropped up.
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A separate group led by Hastings businessman OH Gordon began
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championing the creation of a tri-state League.
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The league would include AN division representing the
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Nebraska cities of Lincoln, Kearney, Grand Island, Beatrice
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and Hastings, and AS division with Atchison, Topeka,
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Leavenworth and Wichita, KS and St.
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Joseph, MO. Gordon's tri-state
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Confederation, however, excluded the Nebraska cities of Fremont
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and Columbus to stalwarts backing the state only league.
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As discussions progress, this proviso would prove fatal to the
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three state league concept. Fremont appeared ready for
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professional baseball. The city's newspaper, the
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Tribune, energetically promoted the town's entry into the
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proposed Nebraska State League. Local support came principally
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from WH Harrison, a Fremont business executive whose
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participation lent credibility and financing.
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To spearhead Fremont's baseball interests, the town retained
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William Lewis and William Pope, the two young African American
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waiters from Omaha's Millard Hotel, with baseball ambitions.
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This arrangement meant the Fremont club would be an all
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black team playing in an otherwise white league.
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Both sides signed on to this accord.
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Lewis, the team's presumptive field manager, wrestled with how
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best to assemble a talented squad.
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His logical starting point was the Lafayette's Omaha's champion
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colored team, for whom he had played.
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However, the Lafayette's roster drew entirely from employees of
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the Millard Hotel, mostly waiters, porters and cooks.
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To be competitive in a professional baseball
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environment meant Lewis's talent search unavoidably extended
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beyond the Lafayette's and Omaha.
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Complementing Lewis's role, Pope's task required working
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closely with representatives from the other towns of the
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proposed league. From the start of the year, Pope
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crisscrossed the entire eastern half of the state by train,
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meeting with business and community interests to instill
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confidence in the league's viability.
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Hailed as an efficient agent, Pope's hard work and
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organizational acumen helped him gain the respect and trust of
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Fremont's hoped for baseball partners.
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Meanwhile, in Lincoln, enthusiasm for a proposed state
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league trumped results. The first formal meeting about
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reviving baseball in the city was held on February 17th.
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On that cold Monday evening, the local real estate exchange set
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aside space for the expressed purpose of, quote, securing good
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baseball for Lincoln this coming season.
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End Quote. The meeting organizers sought to
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form an association which will back a Lincoln club along with
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taking the steps necessary to organize the state league.
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Leading the city's baseball offensive was Frank H Woods, a
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University of Nebraska law student who was, quote, doing a
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great deal to bring this matter before the people.
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End Quote. Regrettably, attendance at
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Monday's meeting fell short of expectations.
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A3 member committee was established to solicit
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subscriptions for a new team, with another meeting slated for
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Friday, February 21st in hopes of larger attendance.
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Friday evening's gathering brought a surprising twist.
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Charlie Hoover, a well known member of Lincoln's 1886 and
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1887 squads, presented an unforeseen and some might say
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perplexing proposal. Hoover offered to secure the
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services of 10 players who would become Lincoln's 1890 entry into
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the proposed state league. Citing specific players, Hoover
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projected their salaries would range from $65 to $125 per month
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with an aggregate player salary obligation of $4575 for a 5
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month season. Hoover promoted the concept by
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stating this amount ran well under the $14,550 salary paid to
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the 1887 Lincoln team over their six month season.
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The meeting participants referred Hoover's proposal to
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its soliciting committee with a request for a future report.
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While Lincoln's baseball proponents continued their work,
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William Pope continued his odyssey across the state.
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He scheduled a return trip to Lincoln on March 6th with hopes
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of furthering the capital city's struggling efforts.
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The March 6th discussions went well, and faith in the coming
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season remained high among Lincoln's baseball zealots.
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Optimism also reigned in Fremont, where Pope's laborers
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resulted in articles of incorporation for a Fremont
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baseball club which were forwarded to Lincoln in mid
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March. The articles provided for a
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capital stock of $3000 divided into $10 shares, with the
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subscriptions contingent on the formulation of the state league.
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Belief in the prospects for a new state league sort of new as
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Pope extended an invitation to 9 Nebraska communities to attend a
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baseball convention to be held in Fremont on Tuesday, March
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25th, The town's spacious Eno Hotel would serve as the venue.
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The agenda called for electing officers, adopting league rules
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and regulations, setting salary limits and club guarantees, and
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laying out ways for controlling team movements and actions.
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The March 25th organizing session seemingly went off
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without a hitch as the Nebraska Baseball League came into
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existence. The city's represented included
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Kearney, Grand Island, Fremont, Plattsmouth, Seward, York and
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Lincoln, with Hastings and Beatrice subsequently expressing
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interest. Fremont's WH Harrison was
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elected the president, Colonel AJ Shepherd from Carney was made
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secretary and Doctor HC Miller of Grand Island would serve as
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the treasurer. Each team's salary cap was set
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at $700.00 per month, with a visiting club receiving $40 per
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game and the balance of the gate receipts going to the home club.
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Play was slated to begin the first week of May and last for
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five months. The members agreed to a $500
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bond from each club to demonstrate good faith with
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capitalization set at $3000 per team.
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A follow up meeting was set for April 10th in Grand Island when
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the bonds would be due, the teams qualified and a game
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schedule adopted. With the success of the March
18:17
25th meeting known, the prospects for a tri-state League
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faded away. This development allowed the
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Nebraska communities, including Fremont, to focus on securing
18:27
financing and assembling a team roster.
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Grand Island quickly mobilized with the aid of the town's
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streetcar company, which agreed to build the club a playing
18:37
grounds for use rent free. Farther, W Carney called a
18:41
stockholders meeting for the evening of March 31st.
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Within days of the meeting, the club released a preliminary
18:47
roster comprising players drawn from Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and
18:52
Michigan. Financing remained an issue, as
18:56
Kearney was already $500 in the hole from improvements made to
19:00
the playing field the prior year.
19:02
Even with this hurdle, the organizers remained upbeat.
19:06
With the April 10th meeting looming, Lincoln's baseball
19:09
enthusiasts scrambled to keep pace.
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Their dialogues with William Pope in February and March had
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gone well, well enough that Pope expressed an interest in
19:18
bringing the Fremont team to Lincoln if the Fremont option
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fell through. In truth, Fremont's baseball
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ambitions dimmed with each passing day.
19:28
Even though Fremont's WH Harrison had been elected league
19:31
president at the March 25th meeting, the city's prospects
19:35
appeared muted from the start. It's population of 6715 rendered
19:41
it the smallest of any city proposed for the new state
19:44
league. Attempts to finance the club
19:47
were stymed, with pledges reaching only $1600 and
19:50
fundraising subsequently abandoned.
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Fremont's woes soon became Lincoln's salvation.
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Pope had emerged as the League's de facto torchbearer following
20:01
his multi month odyssey visiting each prospective State League
20:05
community. The communities he touched were,
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however, not only geographic in character.
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As African Americans, Pope and Louis took pride in their
20:15
heritage and showed it by actively participating in
20:18
Omaha's expanding Black community, a community that over
20:22
the prior decade had grown 6 fold to nearly 4700 people.
20:27
Like so many similar enclaves across the nation, African
20:31
Americans in Omaha were joining together in advancing the cause
20:34
for broader economic, political, and social justice.
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Omaha's first African American newspaper, the progress proved
20:42
central to Pope and Lewis's community commitment.
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Founded in 1889 by Ferdinand L Barnett, this weekly publication
20:50
declared itself, quote, a bold and fearless champion of the
20:54
Negro race. End Quote.
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Barnett and his paper gave a voice to Omaha's black
20:59
residents. The Progress sought to cultivate
21:02
Black fraternal organizations, call attention to local black
21:05
businesses, encourage church membership, advance literary
21:09
clubs, and endorse black sponsored financing.
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In short, there seemed a few things the Progress would not
21:16
try in order to advance Omaha as well as Nebraska's burgeoning
21:21
African American citizenry. The link between black baseball
21:25
clubs and the nation's swelling African American urban
21:28
population was not accidental. Discriminatory practices
21:32
notwithstanding, baseball as a business enterprise offered
21:36
African American entrepreneurs an entree to America's
21:40
mainstream. The proprietors of the Progress
21:43
realized this opportunity and welcomed Pope and Lewis into
21:47
their fold. The paper began reporting on the
21:49
duo's baseball exploits and in the process lent encouragement
21:54
and media exposure. As early as March 22nd, the
21:58
Progress reported on Pope's departure to Beatrice in
22:02
advancing the State league on the success of manager Lewis in
22:06
having signed all of his baseball players with
22:09
expectations for practice beginning in mid-april.
22:13
The role assumed by the Progress became even more pronounced as
22:17
the April 10th date approached for the league's second
22:20
organizing meeting in Grand Island.
22:23
While the meeting took place as scheduled, it failed to produce
22:26
the desired results. Poor attendance marred the
22:29
gathering with only Lincoln, Kearney and Grand Island being
22:33
represented. Hastings sent a letter stating
22:36
quote they were fully organized and secured a club.
22:39
End Quote. The delegates attending the
22:42
session expressed a warm determination to continue the
22:45
task and asserted that a four team league remained feasible,
22:50
although 6 would make a much stronger and desirable
22:53
organization. The delegations from Lincoln,
22:56
Kearney and Grand Island each submitted the requisite $500
22:59
bond and expressed confidence in the sale of their team's stock.
23:05
William Pope and AJ Shepherd were asked to continue
23:08
discussions with Fremont, Hastings, Beatrice, NE City, and
23:12
Plattsmouth about their participation in the league.
23:16
Lincoln's baseball prospects appeared heightened when Pope
23:19
reportedly represented their interests in the April 10th
23:22
Grand Island meeting. By this point, Fremont's
23:25
struggles in organizing A viable team were being widely reported,
23:29
as was the maturing bond between Lincoln's baseball enthusiasts
23:33
and the Pope Lewis tandem. Speculation became reality on
23:37
April 12th when incorporation of the Lincoln Baseball Club was
23:41
formally announced. Capitalized with $3000 in stock,
23:45
the club's incorporation took place under the names of William
23:48
Pope, James S Bryant, and AS Barnett.
23:52
This trio reasonably completed the circle between Pope, the
23:56
Progress, and the Lincoln's team financing.
24:00
Bryant was the manager editor of the Progress, and Barnett was
24:04
the brother of the newspaper owner FL Barnett.
24:07
As referenced in the Progress, AS Barnett and James S Bryant
24:11
were Omaha board members of the National Building Loan and
24:14
Protective Union, with Barnett as secretary treasurer and
24:18
Bryant as the group's attorney. The NBL and PU offered Omaha
24:24
residents locally available financing, with AS Barnett
24:28
serving as one of the two local agents.
24:31
Additional financing for Lincoln's team came from
24:34
Lieutenant Dick H Townley and Police Judge Houston, two
24:38
Capital City baseball backers who signed a bond for $500.
24:45
In its Sunday, May 4th edition, the daily Nebraska State Journal
24:48
proclaimed Lincoln's newest professional baseball franchise
24:52
ready to play ball. As the players assembled in
24:55
Lincoln that day, they had a mere 2 days of practice before
24:59
their first game. Stylish brown uniforms had been
25:02
ordered from the AG Spalding Company, the nation's embryonic
25:06
sports equipment purveyor. Association Park, the
25:09
community's ball field at 22nd and Randolph streets, appeared
25:13
in quote, excellent condition with the exception of a few
25:16
minor defects which will be remedied.
25:18
End Quote. The club even had engaged rooms
25:21
and a cook to keep their players at a moderate cost.
25:25
While in Lincoln, manager William Lewis deserved credit
25:28
for assembling a quality squad comprised solely of African
25:32
American players. The roster score came from his
25:35
prior team, the Lafayette's. In addition to himself, the
25:38
Lafayette's contributed Joseph, Kid Miller, Ed Carr and the
25:42
brother combination of Hugh and George Hubanks.
25:45
Lewis also tapped 18 year old Omaha born John W Patterson to
25:50
play third base. Soliciting black players in
25:53
nearby states, the Lincoln manager found Frank Malpin and
25:57
James Hightower in Missouri, William Castone and George
26:00
Taylor in Colorado, and William Newman in Kansas.
26:05
The team's reach even went as far as Washington, DC, with the
26:09
signing of the outstanding infielder Jesse Brown.
26:13
All in all, Lewis had a strong and talented collection of
26:16
baseball men Lincoln's team stood ready to play.
26:21
Regrettably, prospects for the state Baseball Association
26:24
remained less sanguine. Among the City's seeking
26:28
participation in the new circuit, only Carney had found
26:31
success. By the start of May that City's
26:34
baseball enthusiasts had committed the necessary
26:36
financing and assembled A10 player roster.
26:40
But try as they might, A2 team league simply would not be
26:44
viable. William Pope, however, persisted
26:47
in his optimism, declaring quote that by the 1st of June the
26:50
state league will be in shape to begin playing ball.
26:53
End Quote. Grand Island seemed near to
26:56
having the pieces in place to start play.
26:59
Pope planned to continue working with Beatrice, NE City and York
27:03
to get their clubs in shape. He admitted that Fremont had
27:06
fallen out of consideration because the city's baseball
27:09
boosters had set their mark too high and shot too low.
27:13
With the team in hand but no league, Pope and Lewis needed to
27:17
find another team to play. The duo arranged for a
27:20
three-game series in Lincoln against the All White Semi Pro
27:23
Omaha Reserves with the start time set for 3:00 in the
27:27
afternoon. On Wednesday, May 7th,
27:29
professional baseball marked its return to the capital city.
27:34
The game began on time with a fair crowd of well pleased
27:37
spectators witnessing an exciting struggle between the
27:40
two clubs. Lincoln struck first with three
27:43
runs in the second thanks to a hit batter, a base on balls and
27:47
A2 run, scoring double by Castone, who would later score
27:50
ahead of Hubanks as the latter was thrown out at the plate on
27:54
an attempted inside the park home run.
27:57
The Lincoln squad did not let up, scoring a dozen more runs
28:00
over the remaining innings to outpace the reserves 15 to 2.
28:06
Castone pitched the entire game, allowing the Omaha squad a
28:09
miserable two hits. Lincoln's opening day
28:13
performance so impressed the editor of the Kearney Daily Hub
28:16
that he asserted, quote, no team in Nebraska ever played a better
28:20
game than Lincoln played last Wednesday.
28:22
End Quote. Braving A stiff Nebraska zephyr,
28:27
Thursday's game witnessed a marked increase in attendance,
28:31
with the Omaha reserves bent on redemption.
28:34
Former Lafayette's pitcher Kid Miller started on the mound for
28:38
Lincoln, but after surrendering 10 runs, he was pulled in the
28:41
4th inning. The Lincoln 9 fought back,
28:44
managing a 12 to 11 win in 10 innings.
28:49
Intermittent rain postponed the series's third contest from
28:52
Friday to Saturday, a game in which John Reeves, a newly
28:55
signed pitcher from Kansas City, LED Lincoln to A5 to three win.
29:01
Lincoln's baseball cranks judged the professional game back on
29:04
track, while the Lincoln Daily Call asserted the team quote is
29:08
far superior to the team which represented the city in 1888.
29:12
End Quote. And in its May 11th edition, the
29:16
daily Nebraska State Journal christened Lincoln's new team,
29:19
the Giants. The name stuck.
29:23
Without a ready slate of teams to schedule, Pope and Lewis
29:26
turned again toward the Missouri River for a team the Giants
29:29
could play on Monday, May 12th. Council Bluffs willingly put
29:33
forward it's aspiring squad, nicknamed the Non Parels, for an
29:37
afternoon matchup in Lincoln. But fate once more dealt the
29:41
Giants in inauspicious hand. Persistent rains canceled the
29:45
Non Parels trip to Lincoln. Pope hastily scheduled a Tuesday
29:49
afternoon game against the University of Nebraska's
29:51
baseball club. Added interest in the game
29:54
centered around the university's starting pitcher, Frank Woods,
29:58
who had been instrumental in bringing professional baseball
30:01
back to Lincoln. While the Collegians made every
30:04
effort to keep pace, the university squad fell to the
30:07
Giants by a final score of seven to three.
30:11
The game's unquestioned highlight was a triple play
30:14
started by Giants shortstop Jesse Brown, who paired with
30:17
George Hubanks to complete the maneuver.
30:20
Afterwards, the Giants hopped on a train to make the 130 mile
30:24
trek to Kearney. A pair of games had been slated
30:28
between the only other team that had managed to fulfill the
30:30
ambition of forming the state league.
30:33
The Kearney Daily Hub did its best to whip up interest,
30:36
declaring Quote. Nearly every person you meet
30:38
says he's going to witness the game.
30:41
End Quote The next two days validated the Giants on field
30:45
prowess. Lincoln's squad outlasted Carney
30:48
in Wednesday's match by a score of 10 to 9.
30:51
The game's highlight was a towering home run by the Giants
30:54
left fielder George Taylor. The blast so impressed the
30:57
locals that it quote was greeted with applause in a shower of
31:01
silver dollars. End Quote On Thursday, Lincoln's
31:05
crew fell behind early, but home runs by Taylor and Patterson
31:08
brought the Giants back as they captured the 21 to 15 victory.
31:14
Before heading back to Lincoln, the Giants detoured to a
31:17
diminutive Nebraska town of Ulysses, 40 miles northwest of
31:21
the capital city. With the population touching 600
31:25
residents, the people of Ulysses had organized a baseball
31:29
association in hopes of attracting quality amateur
31:32
baseball to their community. In grave need of opponents, Hope
31:36
scheduled A2 game series against the novice Ulysses squad.
31:40
Friday's game went 11 innings with the Giants pulling out an 8
31:44
to 7 win as Lincoln's John Patterson demonstrated his
31:48
offensive abilities. The Giants posted a complete
31:51
walk away on Saturday with a 20 to 3 victory over the out man
31:56
Ulysses team. Unbeaten and riding A6
31:59
game-winning streak, the Giants departed Ulysses at 7:25 PM on
32:04
the last train to Lincoln, having four days off before
32:07
beginning a three-game rematch against Carney at Association
32:10
Park. With the season just beginning,
32:14
finances and scheduling issues already plagued William Pope and
32:18
the Giants. The fledging state League's
32:20
success, and perhaps ultimately that of the Giants, hung on
32:24
Beatrice, NE City, York and Grand Island fielding teams.
32:29
The deadline for entry into the league slid to July 1st.
32:33
Pope admitted. Quote.
32:34
The trouble from the start was that too much money was asked as
32:38
a guarantee. End Quote His statement came on
32:41
the heels of a published allegation that the high team
32:44
entry price resulted because Fremont's WH Harrison wanted to
32:48
keep Lincoln out of the proposed league.
32:51
Pope's solution called for each team to submit a $500 bond
32:55
guaranteeing they would play through the season, a lower
32:58
monthly salary cap set at $650 and a revised formula for
33:03
allocation of game receipts. With these amended guidelines on
33:07
the table, Poked kept his optimism alive for survival of
33:10
the team and the league. About all he could do now was
33:13
wait. Lincoln's baseball patrons
33:16
remained hopeful as well, Thursday's upcoming rematch with
33:19
Carney foretold of a large crowd.
33:22
The ball field sported a new well that had been dug to
33:25
furnish water for sprinkling the diamond.
33:28
New team uniforms, blue with maroon stockings, belts and
33:31
caps, had just arrived, along with a new supply of bats.
33:36
Even a band was to be on hand. Everything was in place, or so
33:41
it seemed. Thursday's misfortune started
33:44
with the ballpark streetcar service breaking down, followed
33:48
by an hour's delay owing to the absence of a scorebook and
33:53
concluding with an umpire dispute.
33:56
When all was said and done, the Giants suffered their first loss
33:59
of the season, falling to Carney 12 to 10.
34:03
The Giants rebounded the next day on a 4:50 win.
34:06
Jesse Brown's fielding highlighted the affair, along
34:09
with a home run by George Taylor.
34:12
Saturday's series finale went to Carney by a six to five score,
34:16
thanks in large part to a partisan umpiring, a chronic
34:20
headache in baseball of this period.
34:22
The situation was so egregious that after the game Kearney
34:25
manager Beardsley and Lincoln manager Lewis agreed to retain
34:29
the presumed impartial Joseph McCullough to umpire future
34:33
series between the teams. Because Omaha permitted Sunday
34:37
baseball games, Pope again engaged that city's reserves for
34:41
a game on Sunday, May 25th, held at Omaha Park.
34:45
Lincoln suffered from poor hitting and came away losers by
34:48
a 2 to 1 score. During the final week of May,
34:51
the Giants managed to play just two games, the first a brisk
34:54
contest against the University of Nebraska's team, which the
34:58
Giants took six to five in five innings, and the second a
35:02
shutout of the Omaha Reserves on Friday afternoon before an
35:05
affable crowd of 1800 at Association Park.
35:09
The Giants thing closed the month with hard practice work on
35:13
Saturday. Following a disappointing week,
35:16
Pope sought reassurance for his team by signing a talented young
35:20
infielder from Missouri named William Lincoln, announcing a
35:24
potential series against the Golden Eagles of Kansas City and
35:27
hinting at possible Sunday games to be played at Cushman Park.
35:32
As the venue was located outside the Lincoln City limits, Pope's
35:36
optimism again proved short lived.
35:39
The Giants troubles began on June 2nd when the unexplained
35:43
resignation of the team's originating manager, William
35:46
Lewis. George Castone took over from
35:49
Lewis who agreed to stay with the team to play the outfield.
35:53
The early June reorganization also included releasing 3
35:56
players, Hugh Hewbanks, Kid Miller and William Newman.
36:02
Newspaper reports suggested the reshuffled roster made the
36:05
Giants quote one of the strongest clubs in the West.
36:08
End Quote. But the changes hinted at
36:10
another underlying issue. Then, on the heels of these
36:14
moves, the Giants 4 scheduled games for the week quickly
36:17
became 2. The Giants won both against the
36:20
non Perels. Though they knew playing just
36:23
two games per week spelled doom in the long haul, these squads
36:28
ultimately would pale in comparison to the week's greater
36:31
storm. On June 7th, the proposed
36:34
Nebraska State League was pronounced dead.
36:38
The Carney team disbanded, citing the high cost of travel
36:41
in hotel rooms. Beatrice, NE City and Grand
36:44
Island called it quits as well, having failed to raise the
36:47
necessary funds. Taken together, these
36:50
developments were devastating for the Giants prospects.
36:54
News of the state league's demise was followed by a report
36:57
in the Lincoln Daily Call concerning the financial
37:00
difficulties of the Western Association's St.
37:02
Paul, MN club. Buried in the story lay the
37:06
statement. Quote Lincoln NE is anxious to
37:09
purchase the Saint Paul franchise and has money
37:12
deposited. End Quote.
37:14
Omaha's professional team played in the higher profile Western
37:18
Association and Lincoln's baseball enthusiasts coveted a
37:21
place in that eight team league. Might the Giants be Saint Paul's
37:26
replacement team? Or were the Giants days merely
37:29
numbered? Pope recognized the situation
37:33
and knew not to stand idle. He said quote the Giants are
37:37
anxious to get a date with any of the Western Association teams
37:41
and he offered extra inducements in the way of financial support.
37:46
While awaiting an answer. The Giants held a benefit game
37:49
on June 9th against a strong picked club composed of the best
37:53
material in the city. That same day, Pope received
37:57
welcome news as the Omaha Western Association team agreed
38:01
to engage the Giants in Lincoln on Wednesday, June 11th.
38:05
Local media dubbed the match the game of the season with extra
38:09
ticket booths to be set up to accommodate the rush.
38:12
An assemblage of 1200 fans swarmed Association Park when
38:16
the two teams met. The Giants fell to Omaha by a
38:20
score of 11 to 5, even though the home team played well and
38:23
demonstrated they were competitive equals.
38:26
Riding this encouragement Crest, Hope calendared 8 games over the
38:30
next 10 days, five with the Ulysses team, 2 with the Genoa
38:34
Indians, and a Sunday game in Fremont against the recently
38:38
assembled Town team. While the games were not with
38:41
renowned squads, the contest produced revenue and kept the
38:45
Giants on the field. Pope, however, eyed an even
38:48
greater prize among the Western Association's teams.
38:52
None offered greater attraction to Lincoln fans than Denver's
38:57
Dave Roe. The Denver manager had served as
39:00
the player manager for Lincoln's successful 1887 entry into the
39:04
Western League. He remained hugely popular
39:07
within Lincoln's baseball community.
39:09
Roe fulfilled Pope's wishes by agreeing to a game in Lincoln on
39:13
Monday, June 23rd. A large and enthusiastic crowd
39:17
turned out for the late afternoon match.
39:20
Lincoln's play was brilliant at times, while at other critical
39:24
times it was not so brilliant. Illness prevented John
39:28
Patterson, Lincoln's best player, from taking the field,
39:30
resulting in three Giants playing out of position.
39:34
Patterson's absence and untimely errors culminated in a 12 to 3
39:39
Lincoln loss. While in town, Rowe quote,
39:42
expressed himself emphatically in favor of Lincoln trying to
39:45
secure a place in the Western Association.
39:48
End Quote. The die seemed cast, but in
39:51
whose favor? During the last week of June,
39:54
the Giants scheduled just three games, all in Lincoln against
39:58
the Omaha Reserves. After winning the first game in
40:01
the series on Thursday, June 26th, Manager Castone implored
40:05
more fans to attend. The public quote needed to
40:09
understand that if they wish the club to exist, better support
40:12
must be given. End Quote.
40:14
Attendance at the next two games remain disappointing, even as
40:18
the Giants took both contests easily.
40:20
But on field performance and lack of fan support were not the
40:24
Giants main focus on those days, the Lincoln Evening News warned.
40:28
Quote the Lincoln Giants, our crack baseball team is trembling
40:32
on the verge of the soup terrine.
40:34
End Quote. Financial adversity consumed the
40:37
team as Pope became increasingly unable to meet the payroll.
40:42
James Hightower, the Giants first baseman who last played a
40:45
game on June 11th, obtain an attachment from Judge Cochran
40:50
for Constable Hunger to confiscate the gate receipts,
40:53
some $40. At the June 27th game.
40:57
Ex Giant Hightower denounced Pope and manager Castone for
41:00
quote, feathering their nests at the expense of the players.
41:03
End Quote. Castone denied this was true,
41:07
with the remaining players generally siding with their
41:09
field manager. Hope responded by revealing that
41:12
he had arranged a 30 day tour through Iowa for the team, but
41:15
the players quote announced their intention of staying home
41:19
until their claims were liquidated.
41:20
End Quote. After the June 28th game,
41:23
Castone unilaterally disbanded the team, although he let it be
41:27
known that his decision quote does not necessarily mean there
41:30
will be no more ball playing in Lincoln.
41:32
End Quote. Rather, he was working toward a
41:35
new club that would be immediately organized, composed
41:39
of the same material. Lincoln newspapers expressed
41:42
hope the team could survive, saying, quote, the Giants are
41:45
too good to be dropped. End Quote.
41:49
Lincoln's baseball proponents met on the evening of July 1st
41:52
to bolster the chances for the team's survival.
41:56
The next day brought news of Pope's complete divestment from
41:59
the club, with the Giants being restructured under the
42:02
cooperative plan placing the club ownership in common by the
42:06
players. Castone became quote both
42:09
pitcher and business manager. End Quote now having more than
42:13
enough to do, he invited quote some enthusiastic capitalists
42:17
who want to make a mint of money and quote to take over
42:19
management of the team. Hopes emerged for an extended
42:23
eastern tour through Iowa, Illinois, Michigan and possibly
42:27
New York, with such trips serving to advertise the city of
42:30
Lincoln far and near. Before the reformed Giants might
42:34
head east, arrangements were made for the team to take on the
42:37
Kansas City Haverly's, the acknowledged amateur champions
42:41
of Kansas City. The three-game series in Lincoln
42:44
consisted of a July 4th doubleheader and a single game.
42:48
The next day the team split the Independence Day twosome as the
42:52
Giants squandered a 9th inning lead to lose 2:50, but then came
42:56
back in the second game with a strong performance and A10 to
42:58
2V. The Giants claimed the July 5th
43:01
game with a score of 9 to 8. The team sought to dispel
43:05
persistent rumors of player disharmony and of the club's
43:08
demise. Discounting the rumors proved
43:11
difficult as no games were scheduled and the prospects were
43:14
few. Reports surfaced that several
43:17
prominent lovers of the game had rendered substantial aid and
43:21
that a subscription list was being circulated.
43:24
After a week without games, the Giants headed to Kansas City to
43:28
play the Haverly's on Sunday, July 13th before quote the
43:32
largest crowd ever to witness an amateur game in the city.
43:35
End Quote. The Giants fell 7 to 4 as 4
43:39
ninth inning runs sealed Lincoln's fate.
43:42
Solemnly, the team stayed in Missouri looking for other clubs
43:45
to play. Lincoln's baseball future soon
43:49
resided not in Missouri, but in Iowa.
43:53
On July 15th, the Western Association's Des Moines
43:56
franchise folded as financial difficulties left the team
44:00
unable to pay player salaries. Nebraska's capital city seemed
44:05
destined to be the club's new home, although not without a
44:08
fight. Skirmishes over the Des Moines
44:10
team's carcass came not from Lincoln, but from the
44:14
association's Kansas City franchise, which wanted to raid
44:18
the Des Moines club's roster. Kansas City manager Jimmy
44:21
Manning blamed long time Lincoln crusader Dave Roe for the
44:26
imbroglio. The battle was engaged.
44:29
During the next two weeks, the Giants played just five games
44:33
before leaving Missouri. The team won two games from the
44:36
Kansas City Maroons and lost two games, one from the Haverleys
44:40
and one to a team from Missouri Valley. 2.
44:43
Discouraged loyalists George Taylor and Frank Malkin left the
44:47
team. The Giants limped back to
44:49
Lincoln with more hopes than prospects.
44:53
The Castone LED 1890 Lincoln Giants played their last game
44:57
July 25th at Association Park against a contingent of 10
45:01
strapping young men from Nebraska City.
45:04
Only five of the initial Giants players, including William
45:07
Lewis, participated in the seven to five win.
45:12
Manager Castone placed the Giants overall 1890 record at 39
45:16
wins and just six losses, including two against Western
45:20
Association teams. The players soon left town, some
45:25
signing with other teams and others returning to civilian
45:28
lives. The University's baseball team
45:31
held a benefit game on August 1st to raise money for the
45:33
Giants talented infielder Jesse Brown so he might return to
45:37
Washington, DC to be home with his seriously ill mother.
45:42
Five former Giants players, including Brown and Castone,
45:44
played on the University squad to mark the occasion.
45:49
Lincoln's pursuit of the Western Association's Des Moines team
45:52
continued, thank largely to the efforts of Dave Rowe.
45:56
Following a meeting in early August, the Association selected
45:59
Lincoln over Grand Rapids, MI as the new home of the failed
46:02
franchise. Following a parade of both teams
46:06
headed by a band, the new, now all white Lincoln teams first
46:10
game took place at Association Park in front of 1500 fans on
46:14
the afternoon of August 12th against the Western
46:16
Association's Milwaukee Brewers. Lincoln's latest entry into the
46:21
world of professional baseball lost the game by a score of 15
46:25
to 6. Solomon White, the acknowledged
46:29
father of black baseball historians, crown Nebraska's
46:32
1890 Lincoln Giants quote the first colored professional team
46:36
in the West End quote, which in those days meant the windswept
46:40
plains well West of the Mississippi River riding In his
46:44
eighteen O 7 groundbreaking book, Solomon White's official
46:48
baseball guide, White declared this Cornhusker State team quote
46:53
strong in batteries, hard hitters and fast runners.
46:56
They were hard to beat unless a strong pitcher was against them,
47:00
End Quote. He believed their on field
47:02
performance deserved recognition in Black Baseballs emergence.
47:08
White used his official baseball guide to chronicle the exploits
47:12
of Black baseball's pathfinders, which were scattering of
47:15
professional teams during the late 19th and early 20th
47:18
centuries. Comprised entirely of African
47:20
Americans, these teams were the foundation for what later became
47:25
the business of black professional baseball.
47:28
To those conversant with this period, the teams have familiar
47:31
names and attendant legendary narratives.
47:35
They include the Cuban Giants from New York City, the
47:39
Philadelphia Orion's Page Fence Giants from Adrian, MI, the
47:43
Chicago Unions, Big Gothams from New York, the Boston Monarchs,
47:48
Philadelphia Giants, and the Brooklyn Royal Giants.
47:52
While these teams remain legendary, the 1890 Lincoln
47:56
Giants endure today as little more than a faint, if not
48:00
completely forgotten, footnote in the annals of baseball
48:04
history. Something about this team,
48:07
however, impressed the game's most revered early historian and
48:11
prompted him to include them in his pioneering work.
48:15
The 1890 Lincoln Giants deserving, though admittedly
48:19
modest, place in baseball lore speaks to the events and the
48:23
tenor of the times. The tenacity and graceful
48:26
performance of the team's players and founders contributed
48:29
positively to the ebb and flow of a still evolving professional
48:34
sport. The Lincoln Giants story
48:36
sketches a microcosm of the trials facing African American
48:40
baseball players and teams during the late 19th century.
48:44
At the same time, their story exposed a vein of communal
48:48
goodness in the Cornusker State that should not be lost in the
48:52
haze of history. During their buoyant but often
48:56
times tumultuous existence, the Lincoln Giants fell short of
49:00
their architects. Dream, money, facilities,
49:03
scheduling, and prejudice conspire to undermine their
49:07
ambitions. Even so, there was merit in what
49:10
they accomplished as a group of men and as individuals.
49:14
Several Giants players went on to enjoy careers in professional
49:17
baseball, playing for both integrated and segregated teams,
49:21
while others returned to their prior lives outside of the game.
49:25
Ferdinand L Barnett, the team's principal financier, was
49:29
instrumental in furthering the interests of Nebraskans African
49:33
American community. Also in 1890, he played a key
49:37
role in organizing a convention in Omaha to establish a
49:40
permanent state league to address the needs of the colored
49:43
citizens of Nebraska. Decades later, Barnett was
49:47
elected to the Nebraska Legislature where he was
49:50
instrumental in getting an anti lynching bill passed and signed
49:54
into law in 1927. The two most conspicuous actors
49:58
in this drama, William Pope and William Lewis, quietly removed
50:02
themselves from the game that had first drawn them together.
50:06
Pope, the team's entrepreneurial spirit, returned to Omaha to
50:10
open a restaurant and a catering business with his brothers at
50:13
315 S 13th St. They advertise their
50:16
establishment in the Progress newspaper, promoting their
50:19
specialty as oysters in every style.
50:23
Lewis Pope, stalwart associate, also reclaimed Omaha as his home
50:28
available, records show. He resumed working as a waiter
50:31
for various downtown hotels and the Union Pacific Railroad.
50:36
Thank you for listening to the Nebraska History Podcast.
50:39
To learn more about Nebraska History Magazine, to listen to
50:42
more podcast episodes, or to support our podcast by becoming
50:45
a member of the Nebraska State Historical Society, go to
50:48
history.nebraska.gov/podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to
50:53
the podcast and get notified when we release new episodes on
50:56
your favorite podcast platform. Until next time, I'm Chris
51:00
Goforth.