Detroit Aces: The First 75 Years (MI) (Images of Baseball) by Mark Rucker (May 1, 2006)
Detroit Aces: The First 75 Years (MI) (Images of Baseball) by Mark Rucker (May 1, 2006)
Detroit Aces: The First 75 Years (MI) (Images of Baseball) by Mark Rucker (May 1, 2006)
NOTE: Name is spelled Elberfield in this book.
As the 1880s rolled by, the city kept growing and the ball club kept improving. The first manager, Frank Bancroft, gave way to John Chapman in 1883, who then handed over the reins to Henry Watkins in 1885. In 1887, we won the pennant with a fabulous starting lineup including Charlie Getzein, Larry Twitchell, and Lady Baldwin on the mound. But with financial problems mounting, and tan attendance falling in 1888, at the end of the season the team fled town. Some fans paid particular attention to the parade of pitchers onto and off of the Detroit roster in those early years.
Two Georges were the early workhorses and stars, George Derby, who won 29 games in 1881 and 16 in 1882, and George "Stump" Weidman, who stayed in Detroit for six years, won 34 games over the team's first two campaigns. By 1884, none of Detroit's seven pitchers could win more than nine games. And three years later when we won the title, it was hitting, not pitching, that got us over, as there was but one 20-game winner, Charlie Getzein with 29, while Philadelphia, who finished four games behind, had three pitchers with 20. But any smug feelings soon disappeared, as virtually the same team struggled to a fifth-place finish the next year, with results so frustrating that no one had any idea what went wrong. The team changed hands, and before anyone knew it, the club was broken up, and the stars were shipped off to Boston, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh. After that, southern Michigan was in the baseball dumps with little professional action around. Finally, in 1894, Ban Johnson launched the Western League, and Detroit had a real team once more.
By 1895, George Stallings was hired as manager, and things became much more lively. He was let go in 1896, but was back again in 1899, bringing the "Tabasco Kid" Elberfield with him. He was the managerial continuity from minor- to major-league baseball, as the Western League was reborn as the new American League in 1901. We were particularly excited because the team had been successful in its league before, and almost all Western League opponents were now major-league teams. In addition, the city had grown to 286,000 people, and baseball was still growing in popularity along the Detroit River. In 1901, we fielded a team of players no one would ever have heard of. Elberfield is probably the most recognizable; the "Tabasco Kid" hit .308 as the Tigers finished in third place, 13 games over .500.
We played well and drew good crowds to the ballpark, built on the old hay market. We called it Bennett Park after the star catcher and civic activist Charlie Bennett, who lost his legs in a railroad accident. The park was located at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Trumbull. And fans always loaded up on food and drink along Michigan before they got there. Then Frank Dwyer took over in 1902, and the team sunk to seventh place. Ed Barrow did little better in 1903. We could not get any traction as a franchise until Tyrus Raymond Cobb showed up in 1907. His ferocity and staggering talent lifted the club to another level. Cobb brought out a competitiveness that the Tigers were missing. Cobb led the league in hitting with .350 as a rookie while he led the Tigers to the pennant in 1907, 1908, and then again in 1909. We had great pitching, which secured the championship in 1907, with three 20-game winners: George Mullin with 20, Ed Killian with 25, and "Wild Bill" Donovan with 25. When we won again a year later, only Ed Summers topped the 20 mark with 24, and in 1909, Mullin won 29 and Ed Willer racked up 21. It was the most reliable staff Detroit had ever seen and was the envy of the American League.
NOTE: Name is spelled Elberfield in this book.
As the 1880s rolled by, the city kept growing and the ball club kept improving. The first manager, Frank Bancroft, gave way to John Chapman in 1883, who then handed over the reins to Henry Watkins in 1885. In 1887, we won the pennant with a fabulous starting lineup including Charlie Getzein, Larry Twitchell, and Lady Baldwin on the mound. But with financial problems mounting, and tan attendance falling in 1888, at the end of the season the team fled town. Some fans paid particular attention to the parade of pitchers onto and off of the Detroit roster in those early years.
Two Georges were the early workhorses and stars, George Derby, who won 29 games in 1881 and 16 in 1882, and George "Stump" Weidman, who stayed in Detroit for six years, won 34 games over the team's first two campaigns. By 1884, none of Detroit's seven pitchers could win more than nine games. And three years later when we won the title, it was hitting, not pitching, that got us over, as there was but one 20-game winner, Charlie Getzein with 29, while Philadelphia, who finished four games behind, had three pitchers with 20. But any smug feelings soon disappeared, as virtually the same team struggled to a fifth-place finish the next year, with results so frustrating that no one had any idea what went wrong. The team changed hands, and before anyone knew it, the club was broken up, and the stars were shipped off to Boston, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh. After that, southern Michigan was in the baseball dumps with little professional action around. Finally, in 1894, Ban Johnson launched the Western League, and Detroit had a real team once more.
By 1895, George Stallings was hired as manager, and things became much more lively. He was let go in 1896, but was back again in 1899, bringing the "Tabasco Kid" Elberfield with him. He was the managerial continuity from minor- to major-league baseball, as the Western League was reborn as the new American League in 1901. We were particularly excited because the team had been successful in its league before, and almost all Western League opponents were now major-league teams. In addition, the city had grown to 286,000 people, and baseball was still growing in popularity along the Detroit River. In 1901, we fielded a team of players no one would ever have heard of. Elberfield is probably the most recognizable; the "Tabasco Kid" hit .308 as the Tigers finished in third place, 13 games over .500.
We played well and drew good crowds to the ballpark, built on the old hay market. We called it Bennett Park after the star catcher and civic activist Charlie Bennett, who lost his legs in a railroad accident. The park was located at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Trumbull. And fans always loaded up on food and drink along Michigan before they got there. Then Frank Dwyer took over in 1902, and the team sunk to seventh place. Ed Barrow did little better in 1903. We could not get any traction as a franchise until Tyrus Raymond Cobb showed up in 1907. His ferocity and staggering talent lifted the club to another level. Cobb brought out a competitiveness that the Tigers were missing. Cobb led the league in hitting with .350 as a rookie while he led the Tigers to the pennant in 1907, 1908, and then again in 1909. We had great pitching, which secured the championship in 1907, with three 20-game winners: George Mullin with 20, Ed Killian with 25, and "Wild Bill" Donovan with 25. When we won again a year later, only Ed Summers topped the 20 mark with 24, and in 1909, Mullin won 29 and Ed Willer racked up 21. It was the most reliable staff Detroit had ever seen and was the envy of the American League.
