WINNIPEG SENIOR BASEBALL
Winnipeg Senior Amateur Baseball League
With the professional class B Maroons in constant contention for the 1914 Northern Baseball League pennant, a struggle in which they were ultimately nosed out, newspaper coverage in the Manitoba Capital was focused on the events within that circuit leaving reporting of events in the tandem of senior amateur baseball circuits within Winnipeg and environs very spotty at best. The Winnipeg Senior Amateur Baseball League received a bit of attention in the press while the Winnipeg Mercantile Baseball league was a distant second-fiddle and garnered virtually no content.
Interestingly, in keeping with the times, the Winnipeg Amateur Baseball Association issued a Jim Crow edict in mid-season, declaring that persons of color were ineligible to participate in any of their sanctioned leagues. (Headline and story from the Winnipeg Tribune, July 17, 1914)
A few days later, the Tribune ran a letter questioning the decision :
In a recent issue of The Tribune there appeared a notice evidently inserted by the Winnipeg Amateur Baseball Association, that hereafter no colored players would be allowed to take part in any of their league games. Now this is a downright shame. There was no reason given for debarring those players, so it will be taken for granted that it is color alone that prompted "our promoters of clean sport" to give out this decision. Now, I am a playing member of the above association, and I have seen games in which colored players participated, and can assure you that they were far ahead of some of our so-called white players in every part of the game, and much whiter than most of them in their attitude towards their opponents. It is quite evident that it was their love of sport that induced them to take part in our games, and not the reception received at the hands of our players, for some of the epithets hurled at those boys from the side lines by both players and fans could not be appreciated by any human being. Is this fait play?
Another incident of the same nature took place at the exhibition athletic meet, where some of our crack athletes representing the W.N.E.A.A. and the Y.M.C.A. refused to compete with Army Howard in one of the events. If Army Howard was good enough to represent Canada at the Olympic games at Sweden he is good enough to compete with any Canadian. And still we hear promoters talking of "clean sport!" "Fair Play!" Fudge.
"RIGHT FIELDER."
(Winnipeg Tribune, July 21, 1914)
A month later, it was "professionalism" which the baseball association felt needed addressing.
McCorquodale, Hinds and Smith, of the Arenas, and Burke and Gohike, or the Norwood-St. Boniface nine in the Winnipeg senior league have been professionalized by the executive of the W.A.B.A. This action was taken following the recent tour of the Transcona team with which the five above-mentioned players played. During this trip they stacked up against some professional players. To protect his players, Manager McPhail of the Giants protested a recent game with the Arenas which led up to this action being taken by the league. The protest was deferred. (Winnipeg Tribune, August 25, 1914)
Last published standings
Standings as of July 29 W L Pct.
Law 11 3 .786
Arenas 9 7 .563
Norwood-St. Boniface 6 7 .462
Knights of Pythias 6 7 .462
Catholic Club 5 7 .417
Elmwood Giants 3 9 .250
A new entry to the Winnipeg Senior Amateur Baseball circuit, the Law nine, played consistently well throughout the season and captured the championship of the 1914 loop with an impressive record.
Winnipeg Mercantile Baseball League
Last published standings
Standings as of June 27 W L Pct.
Crescent Creamery 5 2 .714
Marshall Wells 5 3 .625
Ashdowns 4 3 .571
Swift Canadian 4 3 .571
Stobbarts 3 3 .500
Eatons 3 4 .429
Willson Stationery 2 3 .400
Winnipeg C & R 0 6 .000
It is not known which club captured the championship pennant in the 1914 Winnipeg Mercantile Baseball League. Newspaper coverage of any sort was rare and the last report in print within an August edition of the Winnipeg Tribune indicated that the Swifts and Marshall-Wells aggregations were deadlocked atop the circuit.
Brandon City League
Brandon had a competitive four-team City League in 1914 as well as a group of select baseballers, playing under the banner of the Maroons, as an entrant in the Western Manitoba Baseball circuit.
Western Manitoba Baseball League
(May 26) An abundance of hitting, much of it timely, defined the Western Manitoba League opening game in which the Brandon Maroons outslugged invading Virden 11 to 8. The two teams combined for 24 base hits with the winning Maroons collecting 14. The defensive play of both squads left much to be desired.
Laughton (L) and Becker
Crawford (W) and Trumbell
(June 12) The Brandon Maroons travelled to Moosomin and prevailed 3 to 0 over their hosts. Winning pitcher “Kruger” Crawford struck out nine and allowed only one hit.
Crawford (W) and xxx
Emery (L) and xxx
(June 22) Out hit by a 7 to 6 margin, the visiting Moosomin nine made their hits count in doubling the homestanding Brandon Maroons 6 to 3. Registering a pair of hits were outfielder McDonald of the victors as well as shortstop Gurry, fly chaser Smith and initial sacker Lewis of the Maroons.
Emery (W) and Gorrell, Holmes
Crawford (L) and Trumbell
(July 16) Virden walloped the Brandon Maroons in Virden. Final score and game details not available.
(July 24) Hosting Whitewood and the Brandon Maroons fought to a 3 – 3 stalemate in Western Manitoba League action. Darkness prevented extra innings. The Maroons out hit Whitewood 6 to 2 but a poor sixth inning in which Brandon imploded allowed the homesters to score all their runs. Pitchers Powell and “Happy” Cornell struck out 13 and 9 respectively. Outfielder McGuinness/McInnis drilled two doubles for the Maroons while teammate Williams stroked a double and single.
Cornell and Trumbell
Powell and Latimer