NORTHWEST TERRITORIES, ALBERTA
The awarding of trophies, or cups as they were more commonly known, to winners of a short series or a single challenge game, was a common occurrence within Alberta district baseball circles during 1905. Another peculiarity of the time, at least within the newspapers, was the reference to the arbiters of the diamond activities as referees rather than umpires.
With the lack of a district wide baseball administration, loyalty to one team wasn’t a lock and player movement from one club to another for temporary engagements happened with regularity.
The Calgary City League appears to have had teams play a ten-game schedule. No evidence was found in issues of the Calgary Daily Herald that teams within the league played beyond August 25th.
W L Pct.
Hotel Stars 6 4 .600
Fire Brigade 5 5 .500
Young Men’s Club 4 4 .500
Victorias 4 4 .500
Wholesalers 4 6 .400
(May 24) Wetaskiwin edged Innisfail 3 to 2 in a Victoria Day match played in Calgary.
(May 24) Calgary clobbered visiting Nanton 15 to 8. Outfielder Fred Tarrant stroked four hits for the Calgarians, one of which was a double. Teammate Lucy contributed a brace of two-baggers.
Bernard/Brainard, McFarland/McFarlane and Windsor
Miller (W) and Thompson, Burnett
(May 25) A snappy Wetaskiwin nine outclassed Calgary to the tune of 5 to 2. Winning pitcher Pitman/Pittman held the Cow Towners to five safeties with two being stroked by both Tom Tarrant and third baseman McLean. Catcher Gouche of the victors clipped the orb for three safeties, including a pair of doubles.
Pitman/Pittman (W) and Gouche
Roberts (L) and Burnett
(June 3) Red Deer trimmed visiting Wetaskiwin 6 to 3 in a game limited to six innings. Andy McCartney struck out six in besting Pitman on the knoll. First baseman Slinger belted a double and triple for the victors.
Pitman (L) and Gouche
McCartney (W) and Losse
(June 20) Innisfail bumped up against hosting Red Deer and met their Waterloo to the tune of 12 to 1. Red Deer plated six counters in the opening stanza and breezed to victory from there. Winning hurler Andy McCartney whiffed nineteen and limited Innisfail to just one hit, a single by losing chucker Samis. Shortstop Edgington laced four base swats for the winners including a pair of two-baggers. Outfielder Platzka nailed the apple for a triple, double and single while McCartney ripped a brace of doubles and a one-bagger.
Samis (L) and H. Smith
McCartney (W) and Losse
(June 29) Blowing a 6 to 0 first-inning lead, the redoubtable Red Deer diamondeers fell 10 to 9 to Innisfail. Both teams chalked up six safeties. Winning chucker White fanned seven in going the route. Losing flinger Andy McCartney was somewhat off form, apparently pitching with a sore arm, but still managed to whiff 15. Red Deer played a horrible game defensively and continually kept McCartney in the hole.
Platzka, McCartney (L) (2) and Losse
White (W) and H. Smith
(June 30) The Calgary diamond pastimers travelled to Edmonton and dumped their hosts 6 to 1 behind the two-hit pitching of George Miller.
Miller (W) and Burnett
Johnson (L) and Castor
(July 1) Red Deer won top money in their own tournament, defeating Calgary 20 to 10 in a marathon opener and then blanking Innisfail 19 to 0 in a one-sided final. Red Deer pitcher Andy “Big Indian” McCartney went the distance in both encounters.
Miller (L), Irving (7) and Burnett
McCartney (W) and Losse
White (L) and xxx
McCartney (W) and xxx
In the third-place contest, Calgary prevailed 3 to 0 over Innisfail. Calgary chucker George Miller struck out 19 while tossing a two-hitter for the win.
Miller (W) and Burnett
Samis (L) and H. Smith
(July 1) The homestanding Edmonton Capitals crushed Wetaskiwin 8 to 1.
Pitman (L) and Gouche
Vining (W) and Castor
(July 6) Calgary baseballers manhandled the Edmonton Capitals 8 to 3 in the Cow Town in the opener of a series for the Doll trophy. Both squads stroked eight base hits as Tom Tarrant and fly chaser Stokes of Calgary as well as Capitals’ backstop Castor and initial sacker Hunt all laced a brace of safeties.
Vining (L), Pitman and Castor
Miller (W) and Burnett
(July 7) Scoring seven runs in the first inning, Innisfail went on to hammer Red Deer 13 to 9. The victors ripped a dozen base blows, including six doubles and a triple, in a game that was replete with errors. Keystone sacker White and first baseman Clemes led Innisfail with the baton, each clipping the apple for three safeties.
McCartney (L) and Losse
Samis (W) and H. Smith
(July 7) The Edmonton Capitals blanked Calgary 2 to 0 in a follow-up encounter for the Doll Cup. The pitcher’s duel featured a three-hitter by Edmonton’s Pitman who rang up nine strikeouts along the way. Loser George Miller was nicked for six bingles while whiffing six.
Pitman (W) and Castor
Miller (L) and Burnett
(July 14) The Hotel Stars team of the Calgary Baseball League invaded Nanton for an exhibition game and doubled the homesters by a 10 to 5 score. The Calgarians took control of the game early, scoring a trio of markers in the opening canto and adding four more in the second.
Lewis (W) and Thompson, Davie
Brainard (L), McFarland (3) and Hawk
(July 20) The hosting Edmonton band of baseballers knocked off invading Innisfail 7 to 3 in an eight-inning exhibition encounter.
(July 28) Playing wretchedly afield, the hosting Red Deer squad dropped a 7 to 2 decision to Innisfail. The vanquished nine committed no less than ten errors but also showed an anemic offense, acquiring only a few scratchy safeties off winning tosser Johnson who struck out 12. First sacker Clemes slammed a home run for the winners.
Johnson (W) and xxx
McCartney (L) and xxx
(August 2) The Masonic Cup stayed in Banff where the homesters blanked Calgary 5 to 0 behind the three-hit twirling of Byram who also led his team with the lumber, stroking a triad of safeties..
Miller (L) and Duggan
Byram (W) and Reid
(August 3-4-5) The Wetaskiwin team won the Calgary Brewing & Malting Company Cup and championship of the Territories, shutting out Calgary 4 to 0 in the first game behind the pitching of Pitman/Pittman. Calgary took the second encounter 7 to 4 with George Miller besting McCartney on the bump. Pitman triumphed again in the rubber match for the Northerners, ringing up 14 strikeouts in a 3 to 0 blanking the Cow Towners.
Pitman (W) and Gouche
Boyle (L) and Duggan
(August 10-11-12) With $500 in prize money up for grabs at the Calgary tournament, Fernie took first place and $300, edging the hosting team 9 to 8. Calgary finished second and took away $125 while Wetaskiwin earned third-place money of $75.
Roosevelt (W) and Whelan, Ballantine
Boyle, Lewis (L) (3) and Duggan
(August 29) The Banff aggregation laid a 7 to 1 licking on Wetaskiwin in a Brewery Cup match. Winning hurler Byram fired a two-hitter and rang up 11 strikeouts.
Stultz (L) and Gouche
Byram (W) and Whitney
(August 30) Banff has the possession of the Brewery Cup after taking a 1 to 0 thriller from Wetaskiwin. First baseman “Moose” Baxter of the Mountainmen scored the game’s lone run in the seventh frame when, after stroking a single, his second hit of the game, he stole second base, advanced to third on a passed ball and trotted home on a sacrifice by shortstop Radis. Winning chucker Byram whiffed 15 Wetaskiwin batters.
Pitman/Pittman (L) and Gouche
Byram (W) and Whitney
Interprovincial Challenge Series Winnipeg Maroons (class D Northern Baseball League) vs Calgary
(September 18) The professional Winnipeg Maroons downed Calgary 8 to 2 on a dusty, windy diamond in the Cow Town. Calgary garnered three hits and both their runs in the first inning but, after that, were held scoreless while nicking winning pitcher Frank Green for just a lone single. The Maroons picked up eight hits with shortstop Jim Leighty and outfielder Joe Sporer accounting for two each. Catcher Whitney had a brace of swats for the Calgarians.
Green (W) and Harkness
Steltz (L) and Whitney
(September 19) The Maroons of Winnipeg withstood a late Calgary offensive outburst to defeat their hosts 9 to 7 in the second game of their series. The visitors had an 8 to 7 edge in base hits. Fly chaser Olson and third baseman Harris of the Manitobans as well as Gouche, Davey and Steltz of the homesters all ripped the apple for two safeties.
Sporer (W) and Harkness
Miller (L) and Whitney
(September 20) A bolstered Calgary squad doubled the pro Winnipeg Maroons 6 to 3 to hand the invaders their first defeat on their western tour. The Cow Towners racked up 13 base blows with shortstop Baxter and outfielder Steltz picking up a trio apiece.
Dalquist (L), Green (7) and Harkness
Lewis (W) and Gouche
(September 25) Pummeling the sphere with regularity, the Calgary baseball nine thumped Canmore 8 to 2 in a Brewery Cup tussle played in Banff. Shortpatcher Baxter clipped the orb for four base hits in leading a 12-hit Calgary offensive.
Lewis (W) and Whitney
Thompson and Gouche
(September 26) Canmore deadlocked their Brewery Cup series with Calgary, downing the visitors 4 to 2.
Crist (L) and Whitney
Pitman (W) and Gouche
(September 27) A 6 to 2 victory for Canmore over Calgary merits the Coal Miners the Brewery Cup. A protest lodged by Calgary for Canmore using an player deemed ineligible, shortstop Olson, could affect the final outcome.
Miller (L) and Whitney
Pitman (W) and Gouche