Quakers top Hatters 'n Hoods for WCBL Crown
Saskatoon Quakers topped a six-team field to take the 1914 Western Canada championship. The war years forced a postponement of baseball activities with the Western Canada League taking a break until the summer of 1919.
17-year-old Medicine Hat catcher Elwyn "Peggy" Barth (left) copped the batting crown with a .367 average.
(Hap Morse, of Regina, had been credited with the title, but a review of his final numbers showed an error in basic math and he finished way down at .300).
Barth, picked up by the Brooklyn Dodgers after a successful 1915 season with Seattle, died of pneumonia late in 1915 while playing winter ball.
Jess Buckles of Medicine Hat was the leading moundsman with 25 victories. Sam Beer (right) of the Quakers had the best winning percentage, .767, with a 23-7 record.
At least eight of the 1914 Western Canada players went on to put on major league uniforms.
20-year-old right-hander Elwood "Speed" Martin (left) won 18 games for Medicine Hat in 1914 and by 1917 had won a spot in the major leagues with the St. Louis Browns.
He played for six seasons, mainly with the Cubs. In 1918 he finished 5-2 for the Cubs with an ERA of 1.84 Martin won 11 in 1921 when he appeared in 37 games, 28 as a starter.
Over nine minor league seasons, Martin compiled a record of 99-99 !
His teammate, also a right-hander, George Mohart (right), who pitched in just 11 games (4-6) reached the majors with Brooklyn in 1920. He had an ERA of 1.77 in 13 games with the 1920 Brooklyn Robins.
In 1922, Mohart registered 17 wins in the International League with Buffalo.
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| Jess Buckles | Suds Sutherland | Rudy Kallio | Milo Netzel |
A third member of the Medicine Hat mound staff, lefty Jess Buckles, who was the league's top hurler in 1914, advanced to the big leagues for a couple of games with the New York Yankees in 1926.
The Edmonton Eskimos graduated a pair pitcher Harvey "Suds" Sutherland and outfielder Ken Williams (who played with Regina in 1913). Edmonton manager Lou Nordyke had had a brief stint with the St. Louis Browns in a 14 year pro career.
A trio from Saskatoon advanced - 5'8" catcher Al "Roxy" Walters (left) (New York Yankees) right-hander Rudy Kallio (Detroit Tigers) and infielder Roy Grover (Philadelphia Athletics).
Pitcher William "Chief" Cadreau had appeared in one game in the majors (under the name Chouneau) in 1910. Outfielder Jack Smith of Regina was in the majors the following season.
Bill Yohe of Moose Jaw, Dave Gregg of Edmonton, Ray Brown, who pitched for Moose Jaw, Regina and Saskatoon, Les "Tug" Wilson, in the Saskatoon outfield, catcher Milo Netzel of Regina and outfielder Ody Abbott also of Regina, all had previous big league experience.
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| Bill Yohe | Chief Cadreau (aka Chouneau) |
Lou Nordyke | Roy Grover |
James Fleming, the President of the Western Canada League, noted the acquisition of three regular umpires for the 1914 season - Jos. J. Becker of Chicago, Thos. G. Nelson of Minneapolis and Guy N. Colgate of Chicago. Wallace Wheeler of Lethbridge is to fill in as a spare arbiter.