The Kansas City Monarchs on a Canadian tour in the '30s.
"Bullet" Rogan is left rear, Newt Allen right rear. Chet Brewer, owner J.L. Wilkinson, and George Giles stand on left. Andy Cooper stands at right. Two House of David players kneel in front. "Bullet" Rogan Collection
(Headline - Winnipeg Tribune, June 27, 1933 Photo -- Monarchs on the Canadian prairies 1930's.; Black Archives of Mid-America, www.blackarchives.org )
George "Junior" Walton (left) first baseman with the San Francisco Sea Lions, one of the touring clubs in the late 40s.
In this photo, in 1948, Walton is preparing to face the Birmingham Stars in an exhibition tilt in Brandon.
The advertisement for the match has a few typos (including the name of one of the clubs). (Brandon Daily Sun, June 24, 1948)
In 1949, Walton played in Canada with the Buchanan (Saskatchewan) All-Stars and in 1950 and 1951, with Estevan.
The 1933 House of David tour which came to the prairies featured one of the best pitchers in baseball history, Grover Cleveland Alexander (left). In his major league career, Alexander had three seasons in which he won 30 or more games and nine seasons of "just" 20 or more. In his rookie season, "Old Pete" as he was known, won 28 games and tossed 31 complete games among his 367 innings pitched.
(Winnipeg Tribune ad, above, June 13, 1933)
For the House of David, Doc Talley (above right), of the famous "pepper game", was a fixture on the team for nearly 40 years. Talley, who joined the team in 1914, played until the year of his death, 1950. (Photo, www.maryscityofdavid.org/html/baseball.html)
Alexander headed up his own traveling team in 1938 in a tour of the prairies.
First barnstorming ball teams of the season hit Regina today as Grover Cleveland Alexander leads his House of Alex into action and brings along the colored San Antonio Missions for company. The 2 clubs get together at Park de Young at 8:45. Only recently placed in baseball's Hall of Fame, Alexander is "cashing in" and leads a whiskered team under his own name. The Alexanders have been doing right well since "Old Pete" took them on the road and feature some outstanding men like "Hambone" Olive. They have a pepper-ball act. Missions, like the Alexanders, are making their first trip to Saskatchewan and advance notices indicate that they have the goods. Regina park officials refused to bring any tourists until these top-notch teams came on the scene. Casey Moroschan will be calling the balls and strikes. (Regina Leader-Post Wed. July 6, 1938)
The Leader-Post also carried a summary of the previous day's Alexanders' game which they played in transit from Winnipeg to Regina at Broadview, Saskatchewan. To their surprise, the powerful 1938 Broadview Buffaloes, run-away leaders of the Southern League, had up-ended them. Shortly after that, on July 13, 1938, the Buffaloes prevailed over another touring, unshaven team, the House of David.
Before packed houses at Park de Young, the Alexanders played twice on Saturday, July 9 and again on Monday July 11, the latter being a 6 - 3 win against the San Antonio Missions. The Missions' pitcher in that contest was one of the Ligon brothers who would go on to form the Ligon Colored All-Stars who became a fixture on the prairies in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Top minor league and major league clubs also made their way to the prairies, usually in October (you know that old saying about prairies -- eleven months of winter and one month of bad skating) but still drew the fans.
In one game, played in Lethbridge in 1932, The Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Royals combined for 40 hits, including 11 homers as the Royals won 15-12 in 10 innings. That fall, the Earl Mack Major League All-Stars also hit the trail on the prairies. In Edmonton there was a particularly warm welcome as two of the major leaguers -- Heinie Manush and Babe Herman -- were former Edmonton stars. The all-stars also featured Lefty Grove, Charlie Gehringer and Bill Dickey. Grove had just wrapped up his seventh straight 20-win season.
A 1935 exhibition produced a classic pitching duel between two of the Negro Leagues greatest stars -- Satchel Paige and Chet Brewer (right). Neither gave up a run in the 0-0 tie. Paige fanned 17, Brewer struck out 13. (Winnipeg Evening Tribune, June 7, 1935)
Ten years earlier, noted Negro League pitcher John Donaldson tossed a perfect game (with 19 Ks) in the semi-finals of the Moose Jaw Kiwanis tournament. Donaldson suited up with a team from Radville, Saskatchewan. In the finals, Radville was trounced 14-0 by Scobey, Montana which featured two members of the infamous Black Sox scandal of 1919. Swede Risberg and Oscar Happy Felsch were among the players given lifetime suspensions.
Race seemed to be important, as the headline attests. (Regina Leader-Post, June 23, 1948) In a preview of the Dai Nippon Tokyo Giants visit to Winnipeg, the Tribune article noted:
" ... Advance notices of the visitors, indicated that they will be a hard team to beat. That they are a colorful aggregation goes without saying. They are all high school of university graduates, and like the rest of their race, they become efficient at whatever they set out to accomplish." (Winnipeg Evening Tribune, June 12, 1935)
In their first three games in Winnipeg, the Giants won 15-0, 4-3 and 9-5. In the opener, the pitcher, Victor Starffin (also spelled Starfin) was identified as "Russo-Japanese hurler, ace moundsman". His parents had fled Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution. (He is credited with a 303-176, 2.09 lifetime record and is tied for the all-time Japanese lead with 42 wins in a single season. Starffin was the first non-Japanese to be selected for the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame).
(Ad far left) In 1963, Satchel Paige and his All-Stars made a stop in Stenen, Sask. to play the local All-Stars. Paige's group won 7-0.
(Ad bottom right) This one is from a 1933 newspaper, The Canora Courier, for the game between the Detroit Colored Giants and the Northeastern Saskatchewan League All-Stars.
(Top right) And there were some pretenders on the barnstorming trail using variations on the names of some of the more popular touring squads to draw in customers. In 1939 a team called the House of Davidites made a western swing featuring 1936 Olympic sprint star Helen Stephens. Terry Bertolino, co-author of the definitive book on the House of David teams, says none of those in the Davidites lineup were players for the real HOD squads.
Not all of the touring clubs met success. The San Francisco Sea Lions decided to so some exploring on their own. This item, from Regina, was carried in the New York Times :
"Harold Morris, owner of the San Francisco Sea Lions, touring Negro baseball team, was a troubled man when he arrived here today -- minus his ball team. He said his played jumped the club and signed to play with the Buchanan, Sask., All-Stars for the remainder of the season. The only "player" Morris has left is Sammy Workman, an armless and legless performer who has been traveling with the team. The Sea Lions have permission from the United States Immigration Department to stay in Canada until the end of August, Morris said. A move, however, now is under way to have the players deported to the United States for jumping their bond, he added." (New York Times, June 30, 1949)
Four members of the 1948 San Francisco Sea Lions -- left to right -- first baseman George Walton, second baseman Luther Branham, shortstop Milton Poole and third sacker Louis Cannamore.
During their 1949 tour of the prairies, the team ran into financial troubles, as noted above, and seven of the players stayed behind in tiny community of Buchanan, Saskatchewan, with the local club and played in exhibitions and tournaments as the Buchanan All-Stars.
Walton and catcher Lee Landrum were among those to stay behind in Saskatchewan. (The Holland, Michigan, Evening Sentinel, May 27, 1948)
Catcher Paul Hardy was a main attraction in promoting the 1949 edition of the barnstorming Harlem Globetrotters baseball team.
Hardy managed the team which also featured Ted Strong, Parnell Woods, Herb Simpson, Leon Wheeler, Joe Bankhead, Zell Miles, and Dick Kitamura. Kitamura was picked up from the Hawaiian squad which provided the opposition for a Globetrotters tour in 1948.
Hardy was a veteran of Negro League ball having begun his career in the early 1930s with the Detroit Stars and played with Nashville, Columbus, Washington, Chicago-American Giants, Satchel Paige All-Stars, Kansas City Monarchs, Birmingham Black Barons and Memphis Red Sox before joining the Globetrotters.
Also featured in the promotions for the Globetrotters' 1949 tour was baseball clown Ed Hamman (see further below).
Left - we thought this was a photo of the 1952 Harlem Globetrotters' outfield, John Keen right fielder, Larry Cunningham centre, and Ted Dixon in left (The Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, Montana, August 20, 1952). But, subsequently we discovered a similar photo (the same with an additional OF shown) from a 1950 newspaper. See the previous Barnstorming page. Subsequently we dug out a good quality version of the photo. Given the original photo (with four outfielders) is dated 1949, it is highly doubtful it is Keen, Cunningham and Dixon in the photo (as they were with the team in 1952 but with no record of playing with the Globetrotters in 1949).
Right - Among the 1950 travelers were the Brooklyn Cuban Giants. Manager Brady Johnson (left) conferring with three of his infield stars - first baseman Coney Williams (with bat), second baseman Henry Smith and third baseman Joe Mitchell (standing). (The Herald-Press, St. Joseph, Michigan, June 1, 1950)
Among the Giants who stayed awhile to play in Western Canada were Williams, Mitchell, shortstop Clemente Varona, catcher Thad Christopher, pitcher Bill Wilder and pitcher Russell Valentine.
In the late 1940s, a number of teams from the West Coast had made forays into Canada. The Lethbridge Herald noted one of them, the San Francisco Tigers.
The old stands at Adams Park are going to take an awful beating on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week when the top Negro baseball club on the West Coast, the San Francisco California Tigers are guests of the local Miners in a two-game exhibition series.
The Tigers are easily the best baseball attraction that local fans will get the privilege of witnessing this year. Players from such clubs as the Kansas City Monarchs, New York Black Yankees, Memphis Red Sox and Chicago American Giants comprise the roster of the visitors. Bill Flowers, Baldy Benson, Jake Page, Lightning Williams and Chappy Gray are outstanding figures in Negro baseball circles and all these players are stalwarts with the Tiger organization ... The Californians were winners of the Negro Winter League and from every city where they have displayed their wares, have come raving press reports of how good the Tigers are. John Litzey is the ace speed ball hurler of the staff with Lefty Reed equally as remarkable when it comes to the art of throwing a baseball." (Lethbridge Herald, July 12, 1947)
Marshall Boney (left) came to Manitoba with the barnstorming Brooklyn Cuban Giants in 1949 and decided to stick around. He joined the Elmwood Giants and came back in 1950 for a second season in Canada.
Zell Miles (right, The News Palladium, Benton Harbor, May 29, 1947) toured with the Harlem Globetrotters 1947 to 1949 before spending time in the ManDak League with Minot and Winnipeg. (However, the same photo was used in 1941 to identify, among others, Lyman Bostock - Chester Times, August 6, 1941) Below right - a 1949 newspaper advertisement for a game in Grand Rapids, Iowa. (The Cedar Rapids Gazette, August 31, 1949)
Pitcher Mel Duncan (right) of the Kansas City Monarchs in 1950, another of the touring stars who decided to stick around for while (Minot 1955-1956, Lethbridge 1958).
Below, two sport star Ted Strong who barnstormed in both baseball and basketball. He was a key member of the famed Harlem Globetrotters for 15 season, 1936 to 1950. He also started his baseball career in 1936 (with the Chicago American Giants) and spent most of his diamond career with the Kansas City Monarchs. (Sources, left to right : Arlington Heights Herald, November 22, 1946, The Wisconsin State Journal, December 2, 1936, The Helena Daily Independent, February 15, 1937)
Baseball, especially with the barnstorming teams in town, wouldn't be complete without a little entertainment.
Ed Hamman (left) was among the best at his craft. A player for travelling teams, going back to 1925, Hamman became a manger and owner along the way as he performed his routines with teams such as the House of David, Harlem Globetrotters and Indianapolis Clowns. As part of his show, Ed would mingle with fans offering copies of his book of humour and wisecracks. Hamman was as much a part of barnstorming baseball as the players, some of whom had their own comedic routines.
King Tut (right) was known as the "Clown Prince of Baseball". He performed skis before the during the games and made his way into the stands to meet fans personally. One of his props was a three-foot high first baseman's glove.
And, there's the curious case of the Calgary Black Sox, a barnstorming team of black players in the early 1920s.
It appears the team may have little to do with the Alberta city in spite of the "Calgary" emblazoned across their uniforms.
The team appears to have been based in Chicago. One clipping does refer to the Calgary Black Sox of Chicago. The team photo, left, carries a notation that it was from a Chicago photo studio.
In the late summer of 1921, Alberta amateur baseball officials took action against the Black Sox.
Alberta amateur baseball officials took action against the Sox.
A.A.A.U. Reflects on Wycliffe Nine
Puts Ban on Colored Aggregation Now Touring the WestCALGARY, Aug. 25 - Any further playing against the team now touring Western Canada under the title of Calgary Black Sox will automatically suspend themselves from the amateur baseball association and their amateur cards will be cancelled, said E. E. Battrum, of the Alberta Amateur Athletic Union today. The Black Sox are a team of colored ball players hailing from the U.S. and are ineligible to participate in any kind of organized baseball, added Mr. Battrum. There is also another aggregation touring Southern Alberta under the name of Wycliffe, champions of B.C., and so far as the secretary can ascertain these players are also unregistered and on a barnstorming trip. (Lethbridge Herald, August 25, 1921)
A note in the Albertan (August 1, 1921) provided an explanation for the Calgary affiliation.
"... derive their name from the fact that the club is owned and controlled by Charlie Ross of this city. The players hail from various cities in the United States, although when playing across the border they had quite a laugh on the fans by telling them they they hailed from Calgary."
Toronto Oslers
The Toronto Oslers were a powerful amateur (and later professional) team from Toronto in the period after the First World War to the mid 1930s..
Back when travel was quite the adventure the Oslers made barnstorming tours of Canada. Above, they stopped off for six games in five days in Winnipeg, in 1925, en route to Vancouver to meet the famous Asahis.
Kevin Plummer, at the web site Torontoist, has a marvelous story on the history of the Oslers.
Left -Oslers' catcher Clare Hoose one stars of the Toronto club.
Right - Oslers' star hurler Joe Spring. The right-hander was cited as the "king of curve ball and cross-fire pitchers in Eastern Canada". The hard thrower started his mound career at age 15 and for the past eleven years has been the best right-hander in Eastern Canada.
Below, edited versions of photos from the City of Toronto Archives. Left to right - outfielder/pitcher Tommy Burt, third baseman Jack Egan, pitcher Billy Greer, pitcher Joe Spring and manager Fred Hamilton.
The 1926 tour included fourteen games in late June and early July, beginning in Sudbury, Ontario and was the subject of great interest.
The coverage (right) in the Vancouver Sun with the big headline and player photos splashed across the top of the sports pages was an indication of the excitement the Oslers engendered.
(June 28) Oslers opened their 1926 tour in Sudbury, Ontario, with an impressive 8-2 triumph over Copper Cliff, the 1925 Ontario Senior Amateur champions. Left-hander Charlie McCay tossed a five-hitter for the win while his mates pounded 11 hits off Cloutier, in the box for Copper Cliff. The exhibition drew a crowd of 1,500. After a luncheon, the Toronto club left for Winnipeg where they're scheduled for a slate of seven games. Star shortstop Joe Breen was unable to make the trip.
McCay (W) and xxx
Cloutier (L) and xxx
(June 29) Vancouver Baseball officials announced the selection of the Vancouver Young Liberals, the league champions of 1925, as the first team to meet the Toronto Oslers next week at Athletic Park. Owing to the cost of bringing the Oslers out West, it was decided to charge 50-cents for the entire stands, which will be reserved.
(June 30) The Oslers' Billy Greer allowed two runs in the first inning to Winnipeg's Tammany Tigers but settled down to pitch shutout ball the rest of the way as the Toronto club downed the Tigers 5-2 in the opening game of the Oslers seven-game Winnipeg series. The right-hander held the home squad to five hits and rang up 11 strikeouts. Jim Fleming, "Buck" Hughes and Bill McElroy each had two hits for the winners. The Tigers had the two big hits, a home run by Art Frick and a triple by Bill "Snake" Siddle. Bill Crowe hurled a strong game for the Tigers put a pair of errors and a couple of infield hits led to defeat.
Greer (W) and Hoose
Crowe (L) and Singbush
(July 1) In a Dominion Day triple-header in Winnipeg, which drew close to 6,000 spectators, the barnstorming Toronto Oslers came back to win a pair after dropping the morning game to the Winnipeg Arenas. The Oslers lost their star hurler, Joe Spring, after the first inning of the first game when he was forced out of the contest with an injury to his pitching hand. Reliever Charlie McCay survived the second inning but then was hit hard as the Arenas broke loose for three runs in the third, four in the fourth and another pair in the fifth en route to an 11-5 victory. Art Frick led the winners with a home run, two doubles, a single and three runs scored. He also starred in the field with several outstanding plays. He made a pair of sensational catches and participated in two double plays with strong throws to first and the plate after pulling down hard-hit drives. "Snake" Siddle clouted a triple and single and scored twice. Greig Warren and winning pitcher Bob Bedome each added two safeties. Oslers suffered a major blow when centre fielder Harvey Dodds injured index finger on his right hand in trying to field a ball in the fifth inning. At first the club thought he had broken the finger, but later reported just a sprain.
Spring, McCay (L) (2), Burt (6) and Hoose
Bedome (W) and Sinclair
The Oslers roared back in the afternoon to trounce the Elks 11-2 behind the combined six-hit pitching of Herbie Morris and "Hap" Watson. Morris, the little southpaw, went eight innings with Watson handling the final frame and drew rounds of rounds of laugher and applause from fans with his comedy stunts. Bert Hughes powered a 12-hit attack with three hits and three runs. Jim Fleming, Tommy Burt and Bill McIlroy each cracked a pair of safeties. The visitors also capitzlized on seven free passes and three Winnipeg errors.
Morris (W), Watson (9) and Walker
Wilson (L), Daily (2), Hind (3) and McCorquodale
In the third game of the day, Oslers scored three times in the first inning and held on to defeat Columbus Club 4-2 as Tom Burt held the Winnipeg nine to seven hits and fanned eight. Catcher Clare Hoose and shortstop Bill McIlroy led the winners each with a homer and single. Sid May, the Columbus Club chucker, settled into a groove after the Oslers' big first inning and blanked the Torontonians for seven innings before allowing another run in the ninth. Manager Freddie Hamilton was tickled with Burt's work, especially since Burt is the only member of the original Oslers team still playing with the club since it began play 15 years ago.
Burt (W) and Hoose
May (L) and McCorquodale
(July 2) Winnipeg Norwood handed the Toronto Oslers a three-run lead in the first inning then blanked the visitors the rest of the way while their offense came to life scoring nine times in a 9-3 victory behind Bill Stobie's fast breaking, underhand spitter. He allowed just five hits and rang up nine strikeouts. The Oslers, hard up for pitching after four games in two days, started Charlie McCay, even though the lefty had a sore arm. The visitors took the lead scoring all three of their runs in the first inning. Norwood rebounded to tie with three in the second inning and took the lead with singletons in the fourth and fifth innings. Norwood added four runs in the seventh when reliever Bill McIlroy gave up three free passes. Two errors and Stobie's single accounted for the runs. Shortstop Cochrane led the winners with three hits, one a two-bagger.
McCay (L), Morris (3), McIlroy (7) and Hoose
Stobie (W) and Olien
(July 3) With ace hurler Joe Spring back on the mound, the Toronto Oslers wound up their Winnipeg series with a 9-1 triumph over the Arenas Saturday evening. A scheduled afternoon game was called off because of rain. Spring tossed a five-hitter and whiffed eight in returning to the hill after suffering a hand injury. Jackie Egan belted a homer to power a 12-hit attack for the winners. Catcher Clare Hoose added a double and a single. Tom Burt punched out three singles. "Snake" Siddle and Knight each contributed a pair of one-baggers for Winnipeg. Oddie Lowe took the loss.
Spring (W) and Hoose
Lowe (L) and
Sinclair
(July 6) Playing in Vancouver, Toronto Oslers kicked off their BC section of their tour with a convincing 11-3 trouncing of the Young Liberals. Oslers pasted three Vancouver hurlers for 18 hits, four by shortstop Bill McIlroy. Harvey Dodds had three. The Liberals punched out 15 hits against winning pitcher Joe Spring, three by Nick Craig. It was a close contest until the final two frames when the Oslers pushed across three runs in each of the eighth and ninth innings.
In an infield warmup prior to the game, the Oslers provided a lot of amusement bya clever display of "shadow ball" including some slow motion action. "Hap" Watson kept the spectators in roars of laughter by his antics on the coaching line. In the final stanza, he came out dressed in football togs and went down as a pinch-hitter.
Spring (W) and Hoose
Simons (L), Kaye (5), Puder (8) and Brown
(July 7) Freddie Hamilton and his barnstorming Toronto Oslers displayed their superiority in pair of games on Wednesday in Vancouver. They crushed an All-Star aggregation 20-2 in the afternoon affair before posting a come-back 8-6 victory over the Young Conservatives in the evening encounter. The Toronto nine had an easy time in the afternoon putting the game on ice early with a six-run explosion in the first inning. Tommy Burt's three-run homer was the key blow. They added seven more runs in the second frame and cruised to the seven-inning victory behind a 20-hit attack. Billy Greer held the All-Stars to just six hits, pitching shutout ball until allowing the two runs in the final inning.
Greer (W) and xxx
Simons (L), Kimberley (1) and xxx
In the second game, the Vancouver club took a 3-1 lead in the first inning and held a 6-4 advantage after three, but that was the end of the scoring for the locals as Herbie "Shrimp" Morris took over mound duties and held Vancouver scoreless on just one hit over the final six innings. Morris also led the Oslers' offense with three hits, a run scored and a run batted in. He walked one and fanned seven. Jim Fleming had a pair of safeties and three runs. Butler led the home nine with a pair of two-baggers, one which drove in three runs in the first inning. Coleman Hall added a double and single.
Morris has unusual control for a portsider and, if he doesn't use anything on the ball, gives a hypnotic illustration of tom-foolery for he removes his glove after each chuck, hitches his pants and then rubs the ball in both hands before settling into the glove again and hurling the pill. Yet he works fast. He is just twenty and he went great guns to the openly expressed admiration of his colleagues. (Vancouver Sun, July 8, 1926)
McCay, Morris (W) (4) and Hoose
Brand (L) and Ferguson
(July 8) Billy Greer, who had a complete-game victory on Wednesday, fired a four-hit shutout Thursday to pace Toronto Oslers to an 8-0 win over the Vancouver Asahis. Greer rang up eight strikeouts and walked just one while collecting two of the Oslers' 14 hits. Jim Fleming led the winners with a pair of two-baggers and a single. Clare Hoose also had three hits for Toronto. Eddie Kitagawa poked a double and single for the Asahis. Roy Nishidera held the powerful Ontario club to just one run through five innings but the Oslers broke loose for three in the sixth, one in each of the following two frames and a pair in the ninth. "Hap" Watson kept the crowd in good humour with his comedy touches.
Oslers turned in their fourth straight win of the series ... when with Billy Greer hurling sparkling ball, they shut out a snappy famous all-Japanese baseball aggregation called Asahi ... The Asahi are all Japanese born and educated in Vancouver. Their average age is eighteen. Half of them are school students. They were secured by the Vancouver baseball league in an effort to give Oslers a real battle ... "Hap" Watson again was the big attraction with his chatter and stuff. The [Japanese] went wild over his antics ... gave Watson an Oriental costume which he wore on the baseline.
[Nishidera], an 18-year-old pitcher, hurled nice ball for five innings and held Oslers in check, Oslers leading 1-0. In the sixth he weakened and Oslers hammered out a victory, collecting fourteen hits ... The little brown men were very fast, flashy and spectacular fielders, but woefully weak with the bat ... the best balanced team Oslers have met on the coast. Yamamura, 17-year-old shortstop, caught the eye with his speedy fielding and throwing. Before the game the two teams lined up and were photographed, and after the game Oslers gave the [Japanese] three cheers which were reciprocated. Three thousand took in the game and half were [Japanese], including the consulate staff. The [Japanese] manager wants Oslers to go to Japan next year. He says Oslers will be a big attraction in the Orient ... Oslers visited the Japanese colony this morning and were warmly received by the populace. (Toronto Star, July 9, 1926)
Greer (W) and Hoose
Nishidera (L) and Hori
(July 9) The Vancouver All-Stars erased an early 3-0 Oslers' lead with four runs in the third inning and went on to hand the Toronto club its first loss in five Vancouver contests, 6-5. Right-hander Larry Holden held the Oslers to eight hits and was a key man at the plate with a pair of doubles knocking in the tying and winning runs. The Stars collected 13 hits, including a homer by left fielder Seymour. Tommy Burt smacked a four-bagger for Toronto. Catcher Clare Hoose of the Oslers had three hits.
Spring (L), Morris (4) and Hoose
Holden (W) and Wayte
(July 10) Vancouver's Young Conservatives rallied for two late runs to come away with a 4-4 draw against the Toronto Oslers Saturday afternoon at Athletic Park. Lefty Dave Scott held the Oslers to seven hits in going the distance for Vancouver. Oslers had taken a 4-2 lead in the top of the sixth inning on singles by Tommy Burt and Harvey Dodds and an error on Ed Ashtons blow to left. In the bottom of the sixth, Miller's triple brought in Mills to cut the lead to 4-3 and in the seventh Ab Cross singled through third and advanced on a passed ball. He stole third and came home with the tying marker on an infield error. Oslers were down two more players when Buck Hughes left for the East and Jim Fleming was sidelined with a charley horse.
Burt and Hoose
Scott and Whyte
(July 13) Wrapping up their Western swing, the Toronto Oslers clipped the Regina All-Stars 13-6 to finish their tour with 10 wins and a tie in 14 games. Joe Spring and "Teedle" Walker combined to hold the local All-Stars to nine hits in a sloppily played affair as the teams combined to make nine errors, six by the visitors. Oslers cracked out 12 hits and took a big lead with six runs in the third and another three in the fourth. The team is to leave for Winnipeg in a special rail car arriving Tuesday. They'll leave Tuesday night for Port Arthur where they will board the S.S. Noronic sailing for Sarnia and arriving in Toronto Friday afternoon.
Spring, Walker and Hoose
Ramsey, Hogg and Dreschler
The Oslers returned to Toronto to capture the Ossington Park Senior League title, then the Toronto championship and went on to defeat Kingston Ponies, Walkerville Chicks and Copper Cliff Miners to win the provincial crown.
From left to right, back row - Batboy, Eddie Ashton, "Hap" Watson, Tommy Burt (Captain), Bob Espie (Vice-President), Jimmie Fleming, Bert "Buck" Hughes, "Army" Howard (Trainer), Gordon Cameron (Secretary).
Front row (left to right) - Charlie "Lefty" McCay, Harvey Dodds, Joe Spring, Clare Hoose, Freddie Hamilton (Manager), Joe Breen, Billy Greer, Percy "Pucker" Reid, Jack "Doc" Egan and John Clarence/Cecil "Teedle" Walker.