Martin Glendon

Martin Glendon pitched one game for the 1902 Cincinnati Reds and three for the 1903 Cleveland Naps.

Martin was born in Milwaukee, in either 1877 or 1878. Baseball Reference gives his birth date as 11-20-1878, while Find a Grave and Wikipedia both have 2-8-1877; I’m not sure where either date came from originally. His gravestone says simply 1877. His age is given as two in the 1880 census, taken in June, but he would have been either three or one based on those two birthdates. When he applied for Social Security in 1940 he gave his birthdate as 11-20-81, which is clearly not true.

The 1880 census shows us the Glendon family living at 399 14^th Street in Milwaukee. Father John is 35, a blacksmith, and is shown as being born in Illinois to parents born in Ireland (later censuses show him as having been born in Ireland himself). Mother Catherina is 36 and was born in Scotland; Anna (10) and John Jr. (8) were born in Illinois while Richard (5) and Martin were born in Wisconsin.

The next I know of Martin is that in 1898 he played in eight games for the Galveston Sandcrabs of the Class C Texas League, mostly as a pitcher but also in right field. The April 24, 1899, issue of the Rockford Daily Register-Gazette lists him as one of four pitchers on the roster of the Rockford Rough Riders of the Class B Western Association, shows him playing right field and batting sixth in two exhibition box scores, and says “Pitcher Glendon is nervous yet, but it is believed he will do.” Baseball Reference, though, just shows him as playing one game for Rockford, and no other teams for that year. I don’t know where Martin was the rest of the summer, but the September 9 issue of Sporting Life reported “In addition to third baseman Frank Martin Manager Hoey, of the New Yorks [the Giants], picked up a young pitcher in Chicago named Glendon. He pitched last spring in the Texas League.”

Martin never played for the Giants, and there is no record of him playing anywhere in 1900. That year’s census showed the Glendon family living at 912 Fulton Street in Chicago: John (50), Catherine (50), John Jr. (28), Richard (22), Martin (20), and little sister Mary (17) replacing big sister Annie, who has moved out. The family seems to have been very casual about their ages, as only John Jr. has aged 20 years since the 1880 census, with the others ranging from 14 to 18; these inconsistencies continue in future censuses. John and John Jr. are now plumbers; Richard and Martin (who is shown as having been born in October 1879) are listed as ballplayers. The Chicago City Directory of the same year shows Martin as a brakeman and Richard as an elevator operator.

The April 13, 1901 Sporting Life contained the following:

GLENDON GOOD. 

Some Facts About the Chicago Club’s Young Find. 

Chicago, Ill. April 10.—Burns Glendon, the black-haired youngster whose name has appeared in the scores from Champaign, was given his trial with the Chicago Club through the good offices of Umpire Hank O’Day. The fat umpire brought Glendon to Jim Hart’s office and, introducing him, explained that he had pitched many games against Roy Patterson, and had always bested the South Side wonder. “Anybody can have a trial,” answered Hart. “Send him to Champaign.” Glendon went, and the players took quite a fancy to him. His scrappy ways and his general likeness to Mattie Kilroy made him a favorite, and Jack Doyle swears by him. Glendon is a prize fighter in winter, and has a temper of his own. Between him and Doyle the umpires will have a dog’s life this summer.

I can’t assume that this is Martin, but it seems likely, since I don’t find a player named Burns Glendon, and the description matches up, as does the connection to Chicago, plus an article from December 1901 says that Martin was on the Chicago roster in the spring but was dropped. Although neither article specifies which Chicago is being referred to, it would be the NL team, since that’s where Jack Doyle played in 1901.

At any rate Martin ended up starting the 1901 season with the Spokane Blue Stockings of the Class D Pacific Northwest League. He didn’t do well, though, and was released after about six weeks, then was picked up by league rivals the Portland Webfoots. The Webfoots went on to win the league championship, with Martin and two other pitchers doing the bulk of the work; stats are sketchy, but he had a 21-15 record for the year, between the two teams. The pennant was a very big deal in Portland, and for years whenever the Portland newspapers mentioned Martin there was a good chance they would mention his having been part of this team.

On December 7, 1901, the Cincinnati Post ran the following:

MARTIN GLENDON A RED SLABMAN 

Charley Dooin’s Mistaken Roast Smoked Out a Declaration and Denial From Glendon. 

News of the capture of another embryo Red has filtered through the war cloud of secrecy. Martin Glendon, the star boxman of the Portland flag winners, is the new Red elect. Jack Grim, who led the Portlanders to the top of the Pacific Northwest heap, said some time ago that Glendon and Joe Tinker, the third sacker, would report to Manager McPhee in the spring, and one-half of his prophecy seems ready of fulfilment. 

Glendon is chock full of confidence, and felt the compliment paid him by Charley Dooin, the local backstop under contract to the Quakers, who expressed the hope that he would never have to face any slab artist harder than Glendon, which called for a reply. Glendon said: “I am under contract to Mr. Brush, and I am good enough for the National League.” 

From Dooin’s statement it is evident that the boy with the hair of scarlet tint was commenting upon Glendon’s brother Dick, for Martin was not a member of the Des Moines crew. 

Glendon was on the Chicago roster last spring, but was dropped because of the 16 limit, and Mal Eason retained.

Martin did start the 1902 season with Cincinnati, and on April 18 he made his major league debut as the starting pitcher in the second game of the season. I’ll let Fred J. Hewitt of the Cincinnati Post tell the story:

MARTIN GLENDON THREW IT AWAY 

TWIRLER WAS ERRATIC AT THE BEGINNING AND NEVER RECOVERED HIMSELF—WENT CLEAN TO PIECES IN THE THIRD AND REDS LOST THE GAME—HEISMAN’S WORK CLEVER 

Confidence is one thing and ability is another. A barrel of the former, with only a pinch of the latter, does not amount to a row of pins. It was just that overconfidence and lack of ability that cost the Reds the game at League Park Friday afternoon. 

“I can outpitch any man on the team,” is a credited saying of Martin Glendon, and so he was given an opportunity to demonstrate his superiority. The result was that, instead of outpitching anybody, he was “pitched out” himself. 

Smiling Martin strode out when the bell rang to the eminence that marks the place of delivery. He curled himself up into a sailor’s knot and then shot the sphere toward Herr Bergen. He was surprised when Bob Emslie characterized his effort as a ball, and he looked askance at the director of affairs. With the smile still well adjusted, he gathered himself once more into a tangled mass, and then straightened out as if by magic. ‘Twas still a ball, and Martin wondered if his right hand had forgotten its cunning. Another effort and another ball, and a look of anxiousness spread o’er his features, blotting out for a moment the Glendon smile. Seriously he essayed the fourth, and Slagle, the first Chicago player, wandered down to keep [first baseman] Beckley company. Martin dropped a tear and cast a suspicious glance at the next gray-suited orphan, who, armed with his flail, stood in a menacing position at the plate. 

Pop flies retired Miller and Dexter, and then, with Congalton up, Slagle attempted to go down to the second bag, where he was nailed. Martin strutted over to the bench and assured Manager McPhee that the first base on balls was all a mistake. 

Confidence Still Apparent. 

Armed with confidence, and decorated with the smile, Glendon began the second inning. The plate might as well have been in Covington, for two men walked. Had it not been for a pop fly, a timely foul and a dumb exhibition of baserunning by Congalton, a tally would have surely besmirched the score board. Glendon was playing in luck. The Goddess of Fortune evidently had him beneath her protecting wing. She tired of him later. 

Then came the blow. During the interval when the Reds were in, Bergen got Glendon to himself and impressed upon him the advisability of getting them over. Martin slapped his bad arm, schoolboylike, and assured his side that “it would be good.” But it was not to be, for the next moment Menefee drew a pass, as an opener to the third. Then it was that Glendon found the plate. He put every pitch square in the middle, but somehow or other they never got the entire way through. Something met them always, and the next minute the sphere was sailing out toward the fence, instead of lodging safe in Bergen’s hands. It was woeful. Hit followed hit, and run followed run. The faithful groaned, while the whitesuited players let forth cries of anguish. Away over in left field the stately steam roller threw off its tarpaulin and added its wails to the cries of despair. Even inanimate things were moved at the terrible slaughter of Glendon’s “over-the-plate” benders. 

And Then It Cleared. 

When the smoke of the fusillade had cleared away and the records closely scrutinized, it was found that five runs had been scored. The game was lost irretrievably, although the Reds battled on bravely until the end. 

Martin Glendon, the twirler with confidence, who declared that he could outpitch any man on the team, had gone even farther than that. He had outpitched himself, and, as a result, he warmed the bench for the balance of the afternoon, while Heisman took his place on the rubber…

That was on April 18; on April 19^th Martin agreed to terms with the San Francisco team in the California League (known as the Ponies and the Wasps, among other things) and took off for the coast. An unnamed Cincinnati correspondent to Sporting Life gave his view of the situation in their May 3 issue:

THE BOLTING OF GLENDON. 

As a reader of character, I could never get a job in a Dime Museum. Martin Glendon fooled me. Wasn’t it Horatio who said that words were not worth thirty cents a gross? That Glendon had seemed full of sassafras, tea and ginger. All he wanted was a chance to show that as a pitcher he would make Frank Hahn look like counterfeit money. Only a few days ago he said to me: “If I couldn’t beat that Currie boy, I’d eat my hat!” Possibly on his way to the Pacific Coast Glendon lunched on his bonnet, for he has jumped his Red contract, and gone to San Francisco whither Manager Fisher had invited him by wire. Glendon must have been seized with a sudden attack of heart failure, for he bolted the Red camp last Monday without saying farewell to Irene, King Bid or anybody else. Undoubtedly, John J. Grim will be paralyzed at the freak of his protégé. Faint heart never won fair lady, nor helped a pitcher win many games, and if Martin Glendon’s backbone is tinted with ochre then Cincinnati is fortunate in his going. He had no grievance other than a wallop one afternoon critic had tossed at him, but wallops are the stink weeds that grow in the garden of descriptive next to the bed of American Beauties. There are some folks who prefer to chip the weeds to the roses, but all the year round the bouquets are more numerous than the roasts.

The California League was an “outlaw” league, meaning that it was not part of organized baseball and did not honor its contracts. Martin arrived in the Bay Area on April 26, the San Francisco Chronicle describing him as “a young man of medium height and stocky build, who looks every inch a ballplayer.” (He is these days listed as having been 5-8, 165.) He made his debut for San Francisco on May 3 and beat Los Angeles, the San Francisco Call Bulletin reporting “He had a good stock of curves and a bewildering change of speed, and though hit safely nine times, he succeeded in keeping them well mixed through the nine innings.” Soon after this he got in touch with his old Portland team about coming back to them; this got as far as Portland sending him travel money before he decided to stay where he was (eventually they got their money back). On June 25 Martin was officially blacklisted by the National Association of Baseball Leagues for having run out on his contract with Cincinnati. He had an up and down season, and on September 24 it was announced that he had been released, the Portland Oregonian quoting a report that said in part:

Martin Glendon was given notice of his release yesterday, and there is a possibility of him finishing the season with Los Angeles. He had a talk with Manager Morley yesterday, but the latter would not hold out any encouragement as long as there was any danger of Manager Harris offering an objection. The local magnate feels that Glendon has treated him anything but right, and is not inclined to give him a chance to earn any money in this league. Glendon signed a contract to play for a certain salary, and after he had been here a length of time he asked for an increase in salary, which was granted. Notwithstanding this the pitcher gave the baseball public far from what he was capable of doing in the box. Glendon is a first-class ballplayer, but if he does not change his habits he will never make a great reputation in the box.

This was the first mention, but not the last, I found of Martin’s “habits.” The next day’s Seattle Times relayed the following story as coming from the San Francisco Call Bulletin, though I did not come across it there:

Martin Glendon may be all right on the diamond, but when it comes to judging prize dances he is a failure, according to some North Beach “flusies.” Martin went to that section of the city last night to attend a social and was chosen as one of the judges for the “main event.” While seated on the platform he spotted a swell “rock cod” floating around the hall with a fellow, and it was “all over.” The red-headed fairy had Glendon’s attention at all times, and the only one he saw was her. When it came to the prize dance she seemed to be all over the hall and “putting it on” every one else. She was a wonder and looked good to the baseball man. When the dance was over and the other judges had voted for another person, Glendon started an awful holler and told them a whole lot they didn’t know about swell twirlers. After a heated discussion, in which Glendon was judge, jury and witnesses, he won out and the “rock cod” was declared an easy winner. He made good. They were seen chirping in a lonely corner of the hall later on.

This is my favorite story about any of the players I’ve written about so far. Apparently a “rock cod” meant someone with red hair and freckles.

The October 4 issue of Sporting Life included the announcement “The San Francisco Club has released pitcher Martin Glendon, he not keeping himself in condition.” That same day, though, the Call Bulletin reported that he had been pardoned by the team and taken back: “Glendon was one of Harris’ best twirlers and he promises to forsake the evil path and be good again, so the Ponies will be much stronger in the pitching department.” On October 13 the National Association announced its teams’ reserve lists, and Martin appeared on Portland’s—apparently Cincinnati had renounced any claim to him. On November 23, the California League still playing, the San Francisco Chronicle reported a rumor that Martin (whom they referred to as “Aguinaldo”) had signed a 1903 contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. In the final days of the season Martin made some fill-in starts in the outfield, and when things finally wrapped up in December he had a 23-20 record, not bad on a sub-.500 team. They must have been desperate to play him in the outfield, though, as his batting average was .147.

The December 6 Sporting Life included the following item, under the heading of “Odds and Ends”:

Buns Glendon, on Cincinnati’s pay roll for awhile, fights in winter time. Ball players make corking good boxers. They hit vigorously, and are always in fair shape to take or give a blow.

This would seem to be Martin, who was on Cincinnati’s pay roll for a while, and solidifies my belief that the “Burns” Glendon referred to in April 1901 was also him.

The outlaw California League added teams in Seattle and Portland and changed its name to the Pacific Coast League for 1903, while the Pacific Northwest League added teams in San Francisco and Los Angeles and changed its name to the Pacific National League; this meant the two leagues would be in direct conflict in four cities. On January 1 the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Martin would probably be playing for the new Seattle team:

It is understood that Martin Glendon will be with Seattle, Harris having given consent to the transfer if Wilson can come to terms with the pitcher. In any event, Glendon is not likely to wear a San Francisco uniform, as he feels that he can do better work away from the influences he met with in this city. There was no more capable pitcher in the league than Martin when he was “at himself,” but, unfortunately, that was only a small part of the time last season.

He did not come to terms with Seattle, and rejected offers from two other PCL teams; it was reported in mid-January that he was considering going back to the Portland Webfoots, now in the PNL, who held his organized baseball rights, which caused some excitement in Portland. In mid-February it was reported that he had signed with Monroe, Louisiana, of the Cotton States League, but this turned out to be brother Dick. In late February there were conflicting reports that Martin had signed with Portland of the PNL and Sacramento of the PCL; the latter turned out to be true, though only temporarily. From the San Francisco Call Bulletin of March 25:

FISHER LOSES ANOTHER STAR 

Pitcher Martin Glendon Leaves Sacramento Hurriedly. 

SACRAMENTO, March 24.—It seems Manager Fisher will have to put ball and chain on his stars to hold them in his firmament. This afternoon one of his pitchers, Martin Glendon, who pitched for the San Francisco team last year, stole out of town in total disregard of the contract which binds him to play in Fisher’s team in the opening game here Thursday next. 

Fisher discovered that James L. Flanagan, manager of the State House, held a $22 board bill against Glendon and he secured Flanagan’s signature to a complaint charging Glendon with defrauding an innkeeper. When the train reached Benicia Glendon was placed under arrest. From the bastille there came the plaintive message to Fisher to-night: “Mike have this fellow let me out. I’ll come back if you want me.” But Fisher will have none of it. Instead, he has caused a deputy sheriff to go after Glendon, and he declares he will prosecute him to the limit. He asserts Charles Reilly attempted to steal Glendon away to play in the rival Pacific Northwest League.

The Sacramento Bee, March 27:

GLENDON GUILTY OF ATTEMPTED FRAUD. 

HE LEFT TOWN OWING A BOARD BILL OF $22. 

In the City Justice’s Court this morning Martin Glendon, charged with defrauding an innkeeper, was found guilty and fined $40. The prosecution claimed that the defendant had left town in order to defraud the State House Hotel of $22, due for board and lodging. They showed that he had gone to the north side of the depot and jumped on the train while it was in motion. 

Glendon, in his own behalf, said that he was going to San Francisco to visit a friend and that he intended returning the next day. He admitted having received advance money from a team other than that of Fisher’s but denied having signed any other contract. In explaining his actions in getting on the train on the north side, contrary to the usual custom, the defendant stated he was a switchman when not playing ball, and merely wished to see if he knew any of the men about the yards.

After presumably paying his $40 fine Martin went to Stockton, and reported on March 28 to the training camp of the San Francisco PNL team, usually referred to as the Nationals. On April 2 Sacramento PCL manager Fisher went to court and got an injunction against Martin playing baseball in the state; this raised a lot of eyebrows since if the injunction held up the same tactic could be used against all the PCL players who had jumped from National Association league teams. On April 11 the injunction was upheld and made permanent. On April 14 the PNL leaders determined to have Martin play in a game, get arrested for contempt, and thereby bring things to a head. On April 18 a change of venue from Sacramento to San Francisco was granted for the appeal of the injunction. On April 28 an attempted modification of the injunction to allow Martin to play for the Nationals was denied. Then on May 1 Superior Court Judge Murasky dissolved the injunction on the grounds “that a court could not compel a man to keep a contract, although a breach of such contract might be punished in a suit for damages.”

On May 2 Martin made his PNL San Francisco Nationals debut, and the San Francisco Chronicle reported:

Martin Glendon was in the box for McCloskey’s men, and, while pitching good ball, was not up to form. Glendon attempted to slug Umpire Warner at the plate. With a 0-to-0 score in the sixth inning and one out, the bases were full on a fielder’s choice hit and two singles. Hall for the Los Angeles team went to the bat and sent a two-bagger to center field, scoring three runs. Glendon became incensed at Umpire Warner’s ruling on balls and strikes to Hall and after Hall’s hit walked to the plate and attempted to punch Warner, but was prevented by [catcher] Zearfoss. Glendon was ordered out of the game and finally sent off the grounds and fined $5 for back talk. Shortstop Stovall and Leftfielder Houtz of the visiting team [San Francisco], who butted into the trouble, were also fined $5. Attendance, 1200.

On May 20 the Chronicle reported “The suspension of Martin Glendon for bad conduct on the field at Los Angeles expired last night, and he will pitch against Portland this afternoon.” He had played shortstop on the 9^th and pitched on the 10^th, so the suspension couldn’t have been too long, even though Sporting Life said that he had been fined $50 and suspended for 30 days. On June 10 the Chronicle reported that Martin had jumped the team to go play for Portland in the PCL; this turned out to be false. He continued to pitch for the Nationals, often filling in at other positions and, in one game, as umpire, until mid-August, when the San Francisco, Los Angeles, Tacoma and Helena teams all folded, signaling the victory of the PCL over the PNL. Many of the players from the defunct teams signed with the PCL, but the league was adamant that no one who had jumped from the PCL to the PNL would ever be allowed back.

(Meanwhile, the July 18 issue of Sporting Life had listed, under the heading RELEASED, “By Grand Forks—Dick Glendon” and under the heading SUSPENDED, “By Cairo—Dick Glendon.” I wish I knew more about him being released by one team and suspended by another in the same week, but I don’t.)

On August 26 it was reported that Martin had signed with Milwaukee of the American Association, but that was not the case, and on September 4 he returned to the majors, signing with the Cleveland Naps, who were beset by injuries to their pitchers. On September 6 he lost to the White Sox, 1-0, in ten innings. On September 11 he lost to the Tigers, 3-0. And on September 25, the final home game of the season, he beat the Senators, 14-5. On September 24 the Cincinnati Post ran the following:

GLENDON MAY BE A STAR 

Wouldn’t it surprise Cincinnati fans were Martin Glendon, the Pacific Coast twirler, to develop into a star? Glendon was a dismal failure in the Queen City the spring of 1902. He didn’t seem to have any nerve on the diamond, but barrels of it off the diamond. Glendon came touted as a wonder, and almost before he threw a ball over the plate his praises were being sung. Just after a talk with some fans on how certain he was of making good in Cincinnati, Glendon stepped on a train and made a bee line for California without even collecting all the money due him from the Reds. But there is no mistake. Glendon twirled first-class ball on the Pacific Coast the past season, and in a recent game for Cleveland held the Chicago White Sox down to three hits.

In Martin’s three appearances for Cleveland, all complete games, he had a 1-2 record and a 0.98 ERA. After the season he appeared on Cleveland’s reserve list for 1904, but soon rumors began that he missed the west coast and might be going to Portland in the PCL (which would be accepted into organized baseball as a Class A league while the PNL, down to Boise, Butte, Salt Lake City and Spokane, was being demoted to Class B). On November 21 Sporting Life reported “Pitcher Martin Glendon, of the Clevelands, is taking part in sparring matches in and around Chicago.” On November 29 the Tacoma Daily Ledger ran the following:

GOOD FOR PITCHERS. 

Glendon Says Coast Climate Helps the Arm. 

“The climate of the Pacific Coast,” says Martin Glendon, the pitcher, in an Eastern interview, “is a curious proposition, viewed from a player’s point of view. It seems to be great for the throwing arm, and bad for the batsman’s eye. High batting averages are unusual out there, and .300 point batters are scarce as rabbits in a bear cage. Yet a pitcher can regain lost strength of arm, can whiz them over in great style, and can become better than he ever was before…As to myself—well, I admit that I owe any improvement I have shown to the Pacific country and its clime. 

“Everybody seems to throw fast and well out there. The air seems to put vigor into you, so that you can sail the ball a mile, and yet this added vigor doesn’t make you bat. They come winging over, and you can’t hit ‘em. Now, will some scientist please tell me, why should a man feel like a young colt and able to shy the ball like a bullet, and yet be weaker with the willow than he used to be?”

On December 5 the Oregon Journal reported that Martin “writes that he may play with the St. Louis American league team next season,” and on January 3 the Dallas Morning News reported that Cleveland had offered him to the Browns as part of a package for Emmett Heidrick, but the deal had been rejected.

Martin went to spring training 1904 with Cleveland, but the Naps had plenty of pitching and released him to the Columbus Senators of the Class A American Association. On March 30 the Salt Lake Herald opined that “Martin has the goods, O.K., and he is able to deliver them on the lightning express if that right whip is in condition. He should make good with Columbus, as the league that city trots in is pronounced not so fast as the circuits on the Pacific slope.” It was an uneventful season for Martin, as he stayed with Columbus the whole year and got good reviews in the newspapers. The one blip was a report in the Seattle Times on August 23 that Sacramento owner/manager Mike Fisher had sent Martin a bill for $142.50 he allegedly owed him. Martin finished the year with a 12-14 record, pitching 236 innings, and a .223 batting average, as far as I have found the highest of his career.

On December 26 the Cincinnati Post reported that “Martin Glendon, who bolted from the Red Camp during the McPhee regime, will start a mountain-dew depository in Chicago,” and on January 7, 1905, the Minnesota Journal put it more directly: “Pitcher Martin Glendon is going to open a saloon in Chicago.”

In late January Columbus sold Martin to the New Orleans Pelicans of the Class A Southern Association. He began the season with them, but the only reference I found to him while he was there was that on June 3 he lost a game to Jack Lee, another former west coast pitcher, of Montgomery. Martin didn’t pitch enough for New Orleans to show up in the final Southern Association stats; on June 26 the Seattle Times reported that after being “released by New Orleans for indifferent work” he was pitching for York of the outlaw Tri-State League and added “If Glendon would take care of himself he would be fast enough for any league.” That was not the only paper that reported he had signed with York, but in fact he turned up with Johnstown of the same league—despite the name all the league’s teams were in Pennsylvania. I found no Tri-State League stats for 1905 but apparently Martin did quite well there, as a 1-24-06 article in the Harrisburg Patriot called him “the star twirler for the Johnnies last season and one of the best in the Tri-State League.”

On May 3 the Oregonian invoked Martin’s name in an item about the mayor throwing out the first pitch: “…the Mayor twisted himself up into a knot ala Martin Glendon of former days.”

Martin returned to Johnstown in 1906 but without the same success. The Harrisburg Patriot stated on May 16 that “Martin Glendon was the premier twirler of the Tri-State last year but seems to have lost his cunning this season” and on May 24 that “It seems as if Martin Glendon’s days are over.” He did pitch a no-hitter against Altoona on July 12, but after being knocked out in the third inning on August 14 he was released. He was immediately picked up by rivals the York Penn Parks and pitched for them on the 17^th, the Patriot reporting that he “was hit hard by the visitors, but managed to keep the hits well scattered. Twelve hits were registered against the dark-skinned twirler, and the Senators gave the locals a scare in nearly every inning of the game.” He didn’t last long with York, though, and by September 1 was pitching for the Altoona Mountaineers, his third team in the league that season. He finished with a 13-15 total record for the year.

Martin signed with Altoona for 1907, after some speculation that he wouldn’t. On July 15 he set a record of some sort by fielding twelve chances without an error, and on August 8 he lost a one-hitter, 3-0, due to errors. On August 21 the Oregon Journal mentioned him as one of “four well-known Pacific Coast league pitchers” who are “now doing good work in the Tri-State league” and said he was seventh in the league in winning percentage at .692 (9-4). On August 28 the Harrisburg Patriot described him as “the Molasses Candy boy from New Orleans,” on September 14 he filled in as umpire, and on September 17 the Seattle Times reported: “Pitcher Martin Glendon, who was in the old Northwest League, has been indefinitely suspended by the Altoona Club because he persisted in being absent from duty when he was wanted.” He finished with a 15-10 record.

On November 13 the Trenton Evening Times printed the following item, crediting it to the Johnstown Democrat:

Martin Glendon, a well-known Tri-State pitcher, who was with Johnstown and Altoona during the last three seasons and is wintering in Altoona, where he holds a position at the Hotel Royal, was in the city last evening as the guest of friends. He will return home this morning. “Marty” is looking as though the air of the Mountain City agreed with him perfectly. He does not know about his plans for next year, but expects to pitch for Baltimore in the Eastern League.

On November 28 Martin’s mother passed away in Chicago. On January 20, 1908, Altoona traded him to the Lancaster Red Roses of the same league, but on March 7 it was reported that he still had not signed a contract. On March 24 the Trenton Evening Times reported that “Marty Glendon, the former Johnstown twirler recently traded to Lancaster by Altoona, is operating a moving picture show in Chicago park which pays him well, and he says he will not leave there this summer to play baseball.” On April 30 it was reported that Lancaster manager Foster was negotiating with him and he was expected to report soon. But it didn’t happen until June, and Martin made his Lancaster debut on June 11; he was released in early September, a week or so before the end of the season. His won-lost record was just 3-4, so he doesn’t seem to have pitched much, but he played in 24 games total, hitting .111.

After this Martin vanishes from professional baseball records. In the 1910 census he is living at 2342 Fulton Street in Chicago, with his widowed father and his brother John, both still plumbers, his widowed sister Annie, brother Richard, a lineman for a street car company, and sister Mary, a fitter for a picture frame company. Martin is listed as a bartender at a saloon.

The January 5, 1911, issue of the Oregonian included a story about Joe Tinker, who was in Portland visiting, that included the following:

The discussion brought up the name of Martin Glendon, the black-haired twirler Portland secured from Spokane that year, and in answer to queries about that worthy, Tinker replied that Glendon had been pitching independent ball around Chicago and was doing well. 

“If ‘Nig’ had any ambition and could have left booze alone, he would have been one of the biggest stars in the big league,” said Tinker.

Later that year, on November 4, the Oregonian devoted an article to Martin:

LEST WE FORGET 

What Former Portland Diamond Favorites Are Now Doing. 

No. 4—Martin Glendon. 

If any particular member of the 1901 champions has been forgotten, “Nig” Glendon, the star pitcher, is the man. He was a twirler of considerable ability in those days. Glendon went to Spokane in the Spring of 1901, and twirled for the Indians for the first six weeks of the season. He seemed unable to get going good, and Bill Bottemus, who was managing the Spokane team that year, turned Glendon loose after the Portland club had beaten him decisively in a game which Spokane started by making nine runs in the first inning off George Engle, at that time Portland’s premier pitcher. 

Jack Grim and Jack Marshall, then the heads of the Portland team, lost no time in annexing Glendon to the Portland club, and he made good right off the reel by winning the first three games he pitched for the team, which eventually won the championship. 

Louis Mahaffey had been signed as a pitcher that season, but his arm went back on him, and Jack Grim stationed him at first base, which made it imperative that the team secure another pitcher to help out Engle and Salisbury, the only two regular twirlers left on the team. 

Glendon helped win the 1901 pennant, but in 1902 he elected to cast his fortunes with the San Francisco club of the California State League, then an outlaw organization, and he twirled such good ball for Hank Harris that he attracted the attention of the Chicago National League team, to which he went in 1903. Then it was possible for big leagues to accept outlaws. Failure to take proper care of himself lost him his big league position and he drifted into the Southern League, where he lasted but a short time and finally he went back to his home in Chicago, and after a few years in the Chicago semi-professional city leagues, he dropped out of baseball entirely. 

Martin Glendon had a bright future in baseball but he liked the bright lights too well and his inclination to keep late hours caused his retirement from baseball. Today he is out when he should be at the zenith of his career. The fate of Glendon is an object-lesson to younger players, and most of them are paying heed to the rapid decline of players who fail to take care of themselves.

On August 27, 1915, the Chicago Day Book included the item “Martin Glendon sentenced to 15 days for selling intoxicants to minor girl in Lynch’s saloon, 236 S. Halsted.”

In the 1920 census, John Sr. has apparently passed away, and John Jr. is now the head of household, still at 2342 Fulton St. Richard has moved out, leaving Annie, Martin, an electrician at the electric company, and Mary, working in a calendar factory, plus 14-year-old cousin Glendon McArdle.

The April 20, 1922, issue of the Oregonian featured a photo of the 1901 championship team. The March 15, 1924, issue had an article comparing the 1923 Beavers, who had finished in third place in the PCL, to the 1901 team, referred to as the Blues, which read in part:

The Blues of 1901 played five games a week, but had exactly three pitchers, and one of them, Martin Glendon by name, was not signed until almost mid-season. Prior to that, Mahaffey, the first baseman, took his turn in the box with the two regular hurlers, brainy Bill Salisbury and the cunning George Engel. 

Glendon, the third man, had once pitched for Chicago, which made him an object of veneration to small boys. Further setting him on a pedestal was the fact that Spokane, with which he started the season, was reputed to be paying him the princely salary of $350 per month. 

Spokane released him to cut down expenses and Portland took him on.

By the 1930 census Martin was married, to Nina, listed as age 38 (Martin was listed as 48 but was in his early 50s) and born in Scotland. They are living at 2524 Wilcox Street in Chicago, and brother Richard, now a painter, is living with them. Martin is still an electrician, and he and Nina are said to have been 38 and 28 at their marriage, which suggests it must have happened soon after the 1920 census.

In the 1940 census Martin is a widower, listed as age 62 which is likely correct, an electrician for the city who worked 42 hours the most recent week, 35 weeks during 1939, with an income of $2400. He is living with younger sister Mary and her husband Stephen Duddleston at 627 Sawyer Avenue in Chicago. Stephen is 57, a laborer at a railroad terminal, also worked 42 hours, worked 52 weeks, and had an income of $1000.

Martin died in Chicago on November 6, 1950, in his early 70s. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel mentioned him in 1998, in a list of Wisconsin natives who played in the majors, and in 2008, naming him to an all-star team of players who were born in Milwaukee.

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/G/Pglenm101.htm
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/glendma01.shtml

Karl Swanson

Karl Swanson was a second baseman for the Chicago White Sox in 1928 and 1929, and was the sixth-longest-living major league player.

Karl was born December 17, 1900 (two weeks before the end of the 19^th Century—keep that in mind for later), in North Henderson, Illinois, a small farming town west of Chicago, near the Iowa border. He was the second of three children of Frank and Mary; the family lived in town and Frank worked for other farmers. Karl played baseball from a young age, and as a teenager was on a team that played informally against boys from other towns in the area. He graduated from the two-year high school at 16, then attended Augustana College in Rock Island for a year, playing shortstop and majoring in accounting. Then he worked at various jobs in Rock Island and Moline and played semi-pro ball; at one of those jobs he met his future wife, Lucille Stein.

According to Karl’s chapter in the book Voices From the Pastime: Oral Histories of Surviving Major Leaguers, Negro Leaguers, Cuban Leaguers and Writers, 1920-1934 by Nick Wilson (2000), which was helpful for this post, he first played professionally at age 20 in 1921 for the Moline Plowboys of the Class B Three-I League and the next year moved to the Class D Cedar Rapids Bunnies of the Mississippi Valley League, though his stats do not show him starting until 1923, with Cedar Rapids. An article in the Evansville Courier & Press from February 26, 1923, names Karl “Peanuts” Swanson as a promising candidate for an infield spot with Moline, adding:

“Peanuts” played for Cairo in the Kitty league last season until his health became affected by the torrid temperature and he, along with a few other northern players in that circuit, were forced to head toward more temperate regions. 

Swanson made good with the stick. Several times he hit extra baggers with men on the sacks. His fielding was also good.

I don’t know whether he started the 1923 season with Moline, but the stats only show 75 games with Cedar Rapids, where he played shortstop and hit .291, without much power, and made 39 errors. In 1924 he was back with the Bunnies, now at second base, and hit just .259 but was third in the league with 18 triples.

In 1925 Karl was again playing second base for Cedar Rapids, raising his average to .292 but falling off again in the power department. Still, after the Bunnies’ season ended he was purchased by the Lincoln Links of the Class A Western League, where he got into 12 games, playing well at second but hitting just .194 with no extra-base hits.

Karl was on Lincoln’s reserve list during the off-season, but in the spring of 1926 they sold him to Moline, which was no longer in the Class B Three-I League but instead down in the Mississippi Valley League alongside Cedar Rapids. This year he played more shortstop than second base, and hit .291 with career highs, so far, in slugging at .422 and with six home runs, and also hit ten triples. In 1927 he was again with the Plowboys, back playing second base full time, and hit .275 with ten triples and eight homers, scoring 96 runs. After the season he applied for the Moline manager job but didn’t get it.

The January 19, 1928, issue of the Sporting News included the following:

MOLINE MAKES BIG TRADE 

Fans View Transfer of Karl Swanson as a Miniature Rogers Hornsby Shock. 

MOLINE, ILL., Jan. 16—There’s weeping and wailing and pounding of anvils and the howl of the wolf resounds through the long winter nights at the door of headquarters of the Moline Plow Boys. 

They’ve gone and done it. They’ve traded Karl (Peanuts) Swanson, keystone king of the Mississippi Valley loop, to Rock Island for Frank Walczak, also a second sacker, and Sammy Schwartz, first baseman. Fans who live in towns separated by miles of rolling prairie can not appreciate the antipathy which exists in Moline for anything that hints of Rock Island and vice versa. Most of them believe a player who has appeared in the lineup of their neighbors is hopeless for future use in their own dooryard. 

The whole idea is ridiculous, of course, but that’s their story and they’ll stick to it—at least until the season opens. 

Realizing that there would be a “holler” from friends of Swanson in Moline and Schwartz and Walczak in Rock Island, Managers Dick Manchester of the Plow Boys and Pat Patterson of the Islanders, nevertheless, assembled the other night and signed the papers. 

Swanson had applied for the managership in Moline and Walczak had done the same in Rock Island and the transfer was, the managers believe, the proper move for both…

The February 16 TSN included the assertion “…no one can deny that Karl is the finest keystone man in this league and perhaps in any Class D organization. Just class, that’s all.” So, Karl continued his tour of the Mississippi Valley League with Rock Island in 1928 and had his best year, making a big leap offensively. In late July he was purchased by the Chicago White Sox, for “only $3,000,” for delivery later in the season; major league scouts had been watching him all year, despite this being just Class D. Later in the season came quickly, and Karl left Rock Island as the league’s leading hitter at .384, with 101 runs scored, 23 doubles, ten triples and ten homers in just 97 games, and his 58 stolen bases held up as tops in the league to the end of the season.

Karl made his major league debut on August 12, a 27-year-old rookie whom the Sox believed to be 24, as at some point he had changed his birth year to 1903. He played second base and batted second in the order at home against the Browns, going 0-for-4 but turning two double plays. He was the regular second baseman for the next four weeks, eventually moving from second to sixth in the order, then lost the job and barely played in the final 16 games; he ended up with a .141 batting average in 64 at-bats.

Meanwhile, on June 16 Karl and Lucille had gotten married in Moline, and in December they finally had a chance to go on a honeymoon. From the December 15 Seattle Times:

Karl Swanson, New White Sox Keystoner, Now in Longview

Special to the Times. 

LONGVIEW, Saturday, Dec. 15—Karl Swanson, second sacker who was sold by the Rock Island club of the Mississippi Valley League to the Chicago White Sox late last summer, and his young bride arrived in Longview on a honeymoon trip through the western states. They will remain here over the holidays, visiting at the home of R.M. Anderson, local newspaper man, who came from Swanson’s home town, Moline, Illinois.

Apparently 22 games in the big leagues made Karl a celebrity, and an article in the December 27 Tacoma Daily Ledger featured his thoughts on several players and an umpire who had moved up from the timber and lumber leagues of western Washington to the Mississippi Valley League.

Karl went to spring training 1929 with the White Sox, and was involved in a four-way battle for the second base job, which was won by John Kerr. He made two pinch-hitting appearances, walking on April 25 and making an out on May 5, and then on May 10 he was optioned to the Indianapolis Indians of the Class AA American Association. After playing in only nine games, though, he moved on again, to the Class A Texas League. From the May 28 Beaumont Enterprise:

Young Chisox Infielder Is Coming Here 

Karl Swanson Obtained on Option Is Speed Merchant 

Karl Swanson, White Sox rookie infielder, has been signed by the Exporters and will report today or tomorrow. This was announced yesterday by Exporter executives who said that Swanson will come here under option for the remainder of the season—if we can use him. 

“He has the earmarks of a great infielder,” said Manager Robertson last night. “I don’t expect to use him as long as the present combination is winning but it is good to have him available in case anything should go wrong.” 

Swanson is essentially a second baseman…Swanson is not expected to replace Philbin, who has been playing a whale of a game himself since rejoining the Exporters. His presence will not involve the departure of any other member of the team since the roster now stands at only 17.

And two days later:

…The team was joined yesterday, which was a rainout, incidentally, by Karl Swanson, the rookie second baseman obtained from the White Sox. Swanson accompanied the club to Waco while his wife went with him as far as Houston, where she will visit friends. The young couple plan to make their summer home in Beaumont. 

Swanson is short and slightly built but looks fully capable of the speed which enabled him to steal 58 bases last season in 97 games in the Mississippi Valley league. He has spent the season thus far on the White Sox bench and the fact that they retained him this long shows that they believed him, for a spell at least, to be of major league calibre…

Before long Karl had beaten Frank Philbin out for the second base job, hitting first or second, and in early July it was announced that Philbin would be released even though hitting .329. In mid-August Karl's susceptibility to hot weather resurfaced, and he missed some games; his replacement received some criticism for not fielding up to Karl’s standard. He played 113 games for the Exporters, hitting .261 with very little power, but with 87 walks, and set a league record by turning five double plays in a game.

On October 28 it was announced that the Dallas Steers, also of the Texas League, had bought Karl from the White Sox. Two days later, the Dallas Morning News reported:

Contrary to reports in circulation, the Dallas baseball club has not yet definitely acquired the services of Karl Swanson, young second-sacker who performed with the Beaumont Exporters during the last season. Business Manager Bob Tarleton hopes to get this fellow but he isn’t taking anything for granted. In short, he has the inside track on Swanson but he hasn’t got him yet. It was Bob who last season persuaded the White Sox to loan the young Keystone bag guardian to the Exporters. The latter want him back but Dallas has been promised first call if the Sox decide to put him out for another year. Tarleton recently expressed to Chicago officials his desire to get Karl. Jakie Atz [manager] likes him. 

…Bob Tarleton is “sweet” on young Swanson. Given a chance to start the season in this climate, he believes the fellow will prove a sensation. He’s fast and a nice handler of double plays…

On November 9 the Beaumont Enterprise quoted the Dallas Times-Herald as saying “Swanson is a youngster, and is a hustler from start to finish. He didn’t tear any fences down in the league last season—his first in Class A baseball—but he hit at a fair clip and was one of the most peppery lads in the loop.” On November 21 Karl’s purchase by the Steers was officially announced, after which the Beaumont Journal had a much less positive assessment of him:

Swanson’s loss will not be felt much, for there are lots better second sackers than the youngster. Karl just didn’t have the stamina, and several times last year, he had to be benched just to pick up strength. He’s only a fair hitter, and once during a seven game stretch, he failed to hit and only once or twice knocked a ball to the outfield.

The 1930 census shows Karl and Lucille at 435B 8^th W in Dallas, rented, no radio. A February 26 AP report on the Steers , written by the sports editor of the Dallas Morning News, said that Karl would be the second baseman, describing him as “another flashy fielder but only fair batter.” A week later the Beaumont Journal said “Hap Morse, a veteran, is slated to be back at second for the Steers this year. Karl Swanson, who played with Beaumont last season, probably will make Morse play heads-up ball to hold his position.”

Karl did beat out Morse, with much being written about the outstanding double play combination of him and Wayne Windle, but after hitting .242 in 23 games he was sent to the Toledo Mud Hens of the American Association—either directly or by way of the White Sox, depending on the story. The Houston Chronicle reported it on May 9:

Little Karl Swanson, second sacker, who played with Beaumont last year, and was secured by Dallas this year, has been sent to Toledo by Atz. Swanson wasn’t big enough nor strong enough to stand up under the Texas heat. Swanson passed out during a double header here between Beaumont and Houston. The heat was too much for him. 

So Jake has sent the boy back to the Midwest largely for his own good…

Karl got off to a hot start in Toledo, where he enjoyed playing for Casey Stengel. On June 28 it was reported that the White Sox had waived their right to recall him as part of a deal for another player. On July 7 he was hitting .377; on August 9, now hitting .315 over 57 games, he was released to the Class B Quincy Indians of the Three-I League, but I don’t know why. For Quincy he hit .350 in 38 games, with 15 doubles, then he supposedly finished the season for his fourth team, the Buffalo Bisons of the Class AA International League, though no statistics are available. He did appear on the Buffalo reserve list after the season.

By the time the 1931 season began Karl was with the Des Moines Demons of the Class A Western League (and had a son, Thomas, born February 28). He had an excellent season, hitting .312 with 138 runs scored, third in the league, 20 doubles, 9 triples, 7 homers, and 88 RBI, and led the league’s second basemen in every fielding category. That same year Karl and Lucille show up in the Moline city directory at 2509-1/2 5^th Ave.

Karl was retained by Des Moines for 1932 and had another good season; his batting average slipped to .298 but his slugging went up from .413 to .425, thanks to 24 doubles, 15 triples, and six homers. On May 4, 1933, the Sporting News reported that he had been signed by the Oklahoma City Indians of the Class A Texas League, which would be a lateral move, but he must not have stayed there long, as he played 126 games that season for the Dayton Ducks of the Class C Mid-Atlantic League. He hit .306, with 24 doubles, nine triples, and four homers.

In 1934 Karl played 102 games for Dayton, now a Brooklyn Dodgers farm club, but also 14 games for Davenport in the Western League; I’m not sure what part of the season he was with Davenport. He hit .308 and slugged .404 with Davenport, .274 and .351 with Dayton. The Sporting News of November 1 reported that Dayton manager and club president Ducky Holmes had been suspended, in his role as manager, for the first 90 days of the 1935 season but was appealing: “He intimated that if he was not successful in changing the official ruling, the Ducks probably will be managed next season by Karl Swanson, for two seasons the team’s star second baseman.”

Holmes lost his appeal, but by the beginning of the next season Karl was gone from Dayton and playing in Cedar Rapids, where he had last played in 1925, though the team was now the Raiders rather than the Bunnies and was no longer Class D but Class A, as a member of the Western League. He had played in 17 games for Cedar Rapids when on June 13 it was announced that he had been named manager of the Rock Island Islanders, also now in the Western League; the Islanders sent their second baseman to Cedar Rapids in exchange. Karl couldn’t take over immediately due to illness, and once he did he resigned after a few games. I did not find a reason reported on at the time, but Karl recalled in 2000 that he had quit when they tried to reduce his salary. At any rate he went home to Moline.

In the 1936 Moline directory Karl and Lucille are still living on 5^th Avenue, and Karl is listed as an inspector for International Harvester. Starting in 1937, though, they’re in the Rock Island directory, living at 914 18^th Avenue, which is apparently also the address of their store—Karl’s occupation is now “grocery & meats.” In the 1940 census Karl is listed as a grocer who worked 98 hours the previous week and Lucille as a grocery clerk, an unpaid family worker, who worked 48 hours. Thomas is now nine years old, and there’s a one-year-old daughter, June.

Karl’s draft registration, dated 2-16-42, says that he is the only person in his household, and his next of kin is given as W.O. Stein, who was Lucille’s father; I’m not sure what to make of that. His description is 5-9, 160, light complexion, gray eyes, and brown hair. In the 1945 Rock Island directory Karl still has the grocery on 18^th Avenue, but he and Lucille are now living at 1903 27^th, while in 1947 they’re at 3004 17^th. The 2-28-51 issue of the Sporting News reported on the annual dinner of the Baseball Old-Timers of Rock Island, where Karl was elected one of two assistant secretaries. The city directory listings remain the same as in 1947 through 1953, then in 1954 Karl’s occupation changes to salesman. From 1955 through 1957 he’s listed as salesman for Ray Anderson Radio & TV, in 1959 as salesman for Ellis Co., and in 1960, still living on 17^th Street, as salesman for Elle’s Realty.

Then comes a gap until January 22, 1992, when Lucille died in Rock Island at age 86, after 63 years of marriage. By the time Karl was interviewed for the 2000 book he was living in Florida, where son Thomas died in January 1999 at the age of 67. He was by then the oldest living major league player, and was playing a lot of golf, watching baseball on television, and still driving. He passed away on April 3, 2002, back in Rock Island, at the age of 101, the only major league player to live in three centuries.

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/S/Pswank101.htm

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/swanska01.shtml

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/profile.asp?ID=18651

Earl Reid

Earl Reid pitched in two games for the Boston Braves in May 1946.

Earl was born June 8, 1913, in Bangor, Alabama, the eighth of nine children of farmer Andrew Reid and his wife Sarah, also known as Sallie. By 1930 the family had moved slightly northeast to Holly Pond, where Earl finished high school while working on the farm. I didn’t find any information about his early days playing baseball, but seemingly his first professional experience was at age 23 in 1936, with the Enterprise Browns of the Class D Alabama-Florida League. He had a 9-8 record and 3.92 ERA in 163 innings in 27 games, walking only 28.

The Enterprise team folded after the season, and in 1937 Earl played for the Augusta Tigers, the Yankees affiliate in the Class B South Atlantic League. The Augusta Chronicle reported on April 18, opening day, “In the second game, slated for tomorrow, Manager Mealey plans to rely on the right arm of the round-shouldered Earl Reid, generally regarded by Tiger supporters as one of the 1-2-3 pitchers our nine will feature this year.” This was the only instance I found of Earl, who was 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, being referred to as “round-shouldered;” usually it was “lanky Earl Reid,” but just in 1937 he was also “towering righthander,” “hefty Earl Reid,” “gangling righthander,” “portly righthander,” “elongated Earl Reid,” and “the youthful Reid.” I’m not sure how someone can be both portly and gangling.

Earl got off to a poor start due to health problems, but in mid-May he went home to Alabama to have his tonsils taken out, not returning to action until early July. He pitched much better after that, and got his first Sporting News mention in the August 26 issue:

Although he did not yield a hit during the five innings he pitched in a relief role against Savannah, August 15, Earl Reid, Augusta right-hander, was charged with a 6 to 5 defeat. Two errors, a stolen base and a close play at the plate in the sixth inning enabled the Indians to put over the run which gave the decision to Jake Levy, who went the distance for Savannah.

Earl wound up with an 11-10 record and 3.55 ERA, splitting his time between starting and relieving, making 34 appearances for a total of 175 innings. At the end of the season it was announced that the Yankees would be moving him up to Class A for 1938, with the Binghamton Triplets of the Eastern League. Then, two days after the season ended, he married Lyndall Bailey in Birmingham.

On February 6, though, it was announced that Earl would be returned to Augusta for 1938.

He missed most of the first month of the season with a sore arm, and when he returned he relieved more than he started. On July 17 he came into the game in the third inning and finished it up; the Chronicle reported:

Reid, who was scheduled to start the game but who was held aside for a while after slitting his finger on a piece of tin, bandaged the injury and went to Cauble’s rescue. Also worrying Reid was his 26^th boil of the year, an ailment which found him sporting adhesive tape on his face as well as on his finger.

I’m guessing 26 boils led the league.

On September 6 Earl started and lost a tiebreaker game with Columbia for third place; the top four teams made the playoffs so this determined the seeding. He made two relief appearances in the first-round series with Macon, which Augusta lost. For the season, he pitched a few more games and a few more innings than the year before, lowering his ERA to 3.35 but achieving only a 10-14 won-lost record. At the plate, he hit .341 and slugged .523 with five triples in 88 at-bats, and made several appearances as a pinch-hitter.

During the off-season, Earl was placed on the roster of the Yankees’ top farm team, the Class AA Newark Bears, but before spring training he was transferred to Binghamton. He was used mostly as a starter there and topped 200 innings for the only time in his professional career, and went 13-11 with a 3.73 ERA. In 1940 he went to spring training with the Kansas City Blues of the American Association, the Yankees’ other Class AA team, but was sent back to Binghamton. Again used mostly as a starter, he pitched 199 innings with a 2.89 ERA, went 13-9 and led the league with five shutouts. Unfortunately I didn’t find any newspaper coverage of Earl’s time in Binghamton, except for this mention in the Sporting News of September 12:

Games of Friday Sept 6: AT ALBANY—Pitcher Earl Reid of the Trips staged a one-man show to enable Binghamton to square the preliminary playoff with a 6 to 3 triumph over Albany in the second game. In addition to holding the Lawmakers runless, except in the sixth stanza, and spacing seven hits, Reid knocked in five of his team’s tallies with a double and a pair of singles, cleaning the sacks on his two-bagger in the sixth.

On October 16 Earl filled out his draft registration, giving his residence as Cullman, Alabama, his employer as George M. Weiss (the director of the Yankees’ farm system), his next of kin as Lyndall (with no others in the household), and his description as 6-3 200, ruddy complexion, blue eyes, and black hair.

On January 26, 1941, an Associated Press story announced that Earl had been moved to the Newark Bears, calling him a “big hurler” and “gangling moundsman.” Three days later the Daily Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut, ran a filler item that read “Earl Reid, who’ll graduate from Binghamton to Newark this Spring, has issued only 252 passes in 931 innings.” But in mid-April he was sent on option to the independent Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League, also Class AA, whose season had already begun. He made his debut on April 26, and on May 2 Portland Oregonian sports editor L.H. Gregory wrote in his column “Greg’s Gossip”:

The fellow who said he could identify a New York Yankee chain baseballist at a glance because “they’re always big and rangy, and throw like a bullet,” called the turn exactly on Earl Reid, the Beavers’ new right-handed pitcher on option from Binghamton via Newark. He stands 6 feet 2, weighs 190 and pitches a fast one with plenty on it…This is the sixth baseball season for Reid, whose home town is Cullman, Ala., a short distance out of Birmingham, and who will be 25 on his next birthday, June 8 (that’s his real as well as his baseball age, he says)...

(The ellipses are part of the original and not an indication of omission.) This is the first time I have seen Earl described as a hard thrower, and his perennially-low strikeout totals seem to contradict it. And despite what he says, 25 is actually only his “baseball age,” as he was in fact about to turn 28.

Earl made his first start for the Beavers on May 4, and was a regular in the rotation for several turns. On May 17 the San Francisco Chronicle described him as “husky Earl Reid,” “a man with a sweeping curve ball and a variety of deliveries.” He spent June in the bullpen, then was mostly a starter for the rest of the season; late in the year the Oregonian started calling him “Farmer Earl Reid.” 

He ended up completing 17 of 22 starts and adding 15 relief appearances, pitching 184 innings with a 13-10 record and a 3.96 ERA.

After the season he appeared on Newark’s reserve list, but again was transferred to an independent team, this time the Indianapolis Indians of the American Association for 1942. He had another year of bouncing back and forth between starting and relieving, pitching just 116 innings in 30 games, 13 starts, going 10-7 with a 4.11 ERA. At the end of the season Indianapolis traded him to the Brooklyn Dodgers (so apparently they owned him, though it had not seemed that way when they obtained him) along with Joe Bestudik, but when Bestudik joined the military Commissioner Landis voided the deal.

So Earl started 1943 back with Indianapolis. In May the newspapers started mentioning that he would be entering the army soon; the May 20 Sporting News reported:

Earl Reid, Indianapolis pitcher, has one foot in the armed service. He took his blood test in Indianapolis, last week, after a transfer from Birmingham, Ala. Although married, Reid is in 1-A.

On June 30 he made what was reported to be his last start before reporting for induction, on July 3 he took his physical, then he went back into the rotation before making another last start on July 13. The Sporting News of July 22 reported “He was given $100 by his teammates and the club on his last night here. Reid Night also brought him a number of gifts from the fans.” On July 24 he entered the army; in his partial season with Indianapolis he had made 15 appearances, all starts, going 5-6 with a 3.31 ERA. (Never much of a strikeout pitcher, he had only 24 in 98 innings, almost freakishly low.) On August 14 the AP reported that Earl had pitched a five-hitter for Fort Benjamin Harrison, giving him three wins in three starts for the Fort team.

The next news of Earl wasn’t until November 1945, when he was drafted from Indianapolis by the Boston Braves while still in the Philippines. He was discharged on January 29, 1946, and promptly signed his Braves contract; the news report stated that he had had a 15-3 record in the army. The February 18 Boston Traveler said that “Reid was one of the best big league prospects Indianapolis had before he entered the service.” He pitched in an intrasquad game on February 21 and impressed manager Billy Southworth, and on March 7 the Traveler ran a long article by John Drohan:

Braves Give Pitcher Reid Test Against Phils Today 

It is extremely doubtful that Earl Reid, a good-looking young pitcher who is getting his first real test today against the Phillies, is as nervous as he was during the closing days of World War II between the United States and the [ethnic slur omitted] in the famous battle of the Watertower on the outskirts of Manila. For Earl was in the second wave of that famous charge that lasted for days. And whatever fear he ever might have had of one fellow with a bat in his hand as a weapon was thoroughly erased from his mind. 

BUSH RECOMMENDED REID TO BRAVES 

Reid has looked good in his workouts. Standing six feet two inches and weighing 185 pounds, this Alabaman has the physical equipment you look for in a big league pitcher. Although he never pitched in the big league, he came close in 1943 when the Brooklyn Dodgers bought him from Indianapolis. But before he reported to the Dodgers, he was inducted into the Army and the deal was subsequently called off by the late Commissioner Kenesaw Landis. [As we know, this was not how it happened.] 

He might have been sold to some other big league club following V-J Day, but in the interim the Braves and Indianapolis became interlocked in a deal whereby the Indianapolis owners, Col. Frank McKinney and Donie Bush, sold part of their stock to the Braves owners and the Braves in turn sold stock to McKinney and Bush. And it was on Bush’s recommendation that Reid was sold to the Braves. [Actually he was taken in the draft.] 

It’s a bit complicated, but it’s easily discernible Indianapolis wanted the Braves to have him, rather than some other big league club. 

Donie Bush, a gentleman of wide and varied experience in baseball, often referred to as “Mister Baseball” in Indianapolis, believes Reid can make it. However, he’s no more emphatic about it than Reid himself. And it looks like it’s going to take a powerful lot of convincing to make him think otherwise. 

Earl started his baseball six [actually ten] years ago in the town of Enterprise, Fla. [Actually Alabama.] It must have been a misnomer because the team folded up making him a free agent. But that didn’t deter our young hero from shopping around a bit and finally selling his baseball wares to Augusta in the Sally League. 

Johnny Lee, who scoured the bush in this section while scouting for the Yankees, recommended his purchase by the Yankee organization. He did a little pitching for both Binghamton and Newark [actually not for Newark] without startling results when he was sold to the Portland [sic] of the Pacific Coast League [actually he was optioned to Portland by the Yankees], from which Indianapolis bought him. 

“We used him mainly in relief,” stated Bush [no they didn’t], who was here to see how his former hired hand went against the Phillies. “He did all right too, considering we didn’t have such a good ball club. But he was always saving the bacon for somebody else and that’s where he was valuable to us. But I think he can win up in the big show.” 

We have talked with many of the ex-service men in camp here, but none can tell more thrilling tales than Earl Reid. He was on Leyte, where the going was very rough, and then on Luzon, where it was scarcely a pink tea until the [ethnic slur omitted again] had been conquered. Following the [worse ethnic slur] evacuation, he pitched for the club that won the championship of Manila. He won 18 games himself while the club was winning forty. Twenty-six of these were in consecutive order against clubs composed of major league players. How can a guy like that miss?

Meanwhile, on February 28, the Sporting News had published a Braves roster, showing Earl’s year of birth as 1915, meaning he was now only cheating by two years. He made the team, and on May 8 he made his major league debut, pitching the sixth and seventh innings in a loss at Chicago. He allowed three runs on four hits and three walks, with two strikeouts. On the 13^th he pitched a perfect ninth at home against the Giants, in a game that the Braves came back and won in the bottom of the inning, giving Earl the victory.

For some reason Earl didn’t get into another game with the Braves, and on May 24 he was sent back to Indianapolis on option. He pitched 120 innings in 28 games, 16 of them starts, with a 3.30 ERA, and led the league in winning percentage, going 10-2. 

After the season the Braves switched their Class AAA affiliate to Milwaukee (so much for the close relationship between Boston and Indianapolis), also in the American Association, and the Milwaukee Sentinel named Earl as a “mound probability” for the Brewers in 1947. On December 2 the Braves traded him to the Brewers, which seems unusual given that they were their parent club. On December 4 the Sentinel offered the opinion that “Reid has to be pampered to be at his best,” then on March 9 they added “Earl Reid is good for one appearance a week.” On March 23 they ran the following:

Reid Eyes Good Year 

“Borchert Field is my lucky ball park and I am sure glad I will get a chance to pitch there regularly this year,” says Earl Reid, the 29 year old righthander [now he’s fudging by four years] the Brewers got from the Braves during the winter in the Walter Lanfranconi deal. 

“I never lost a decision in Milwaukee while with Indianapolis in 1942 and ’46,” he went on, “and I am going to try to preserve that record.” 

The best game he ever pitched? At Borchert Field, of course. 

“I realized every hurler’s dream there in ’42,” the soft spoken, drawling Alabaman relates. “I struck out three men on nine pitches with the bases filled. 

“The Indians were leading 4-2, when our starting pitcher lost his control in the fourth and filled the bases on walks. I was called in from the bull pen. I fanned Hal Peck, Bill Norman and Greek George. The last five frames not a Brewer reached first, giving me six innings of perfect ball, also my best to date.” 

Reid won 10 and lost 2 with Indianapolis last summer, the best record in the league, but pitched infrequently because of injuries sustained in the Army. 

“I want to work every third day, not once a week,” he insists, and will probably be accommodated. With such a schedule, and off past performances, he could total 20 victories, a goal no other man on the staff now has a chance to attain.

Earl had a poor spring training and began the season in the bullpen, getting the loss in relief on opening day and again a few days later. On May 20 manager Nick Cullop announced that he would get his first start the next night, the Sentinel adding “Reid has been under the weather a good part of the spring but says he is ready now.” He only lasted into the second inning, though the Brewers came back to win. After two more starts he had given up 14 runs in 10 innings, but then things started to turn for him as he won five straight starts in June, including a one-hitter (on June 8 he pitched a four-hitter, on what the Sporting News said was his 32^nd birthday). 

July was a different story, though, going winless for the month in a mixture of starts and relief appearances. On July 22 the Sentinel’s “Problem Clinic” column answered a question about the local addresses of three of the Brewers, saying that Earl was staying at 3175 N 15^th St. For the rest of the year he was mostly a starter, and he finished the season 7-9 with a 5.35 ERA, by far the worst of his career, as was the ratio of 154 hits allowed in 116 innings.

The Brewers were soured on Earl and spent the 1947-48 offseason trying to deal him away, though the Sentinel was skeptical that they could get much for him. On March 5 they reported:

Reid fell off a ladder while painting his house near Birmingham and sprained his pitching wrist. He is not counted on heavily, anyway, and Birmingham is eager to make a deal for him. The Barons can have him, we gather, if they come up with a decent offer.

He did not get traded to Birmingham, and on March 25 he made his first exhibition start. There were conflicting reports during the spring as to how he was doing; on April 15 the AP reported that he was the expected opening day starter, but that didn’t happen. After making one relief appearance, he and a teammate were sold to the Toledo Mud Hens, his third straight American Association team, for $7000 on April 29. 

On May 2 the Sentinel editorialized:

The sad state of the nation in the way of baseball players, and especially pitchers, was exemplified here the other day when the Mud Hens purchased two Brewer mound veterans, Buck Ross and Earl Reid. Ross, 35, and Reid, 30 [actually 34], have indicated they are definitely on the downgrade, yet the Browns’ system cannot come up with anything better.

Earl was mostly a starter for the Mud Hens, ending the season with a shutout that the Columbus Dispatch correctly reported was “by 35-year-old Earl Reid.” That gave him a 9-13 record for the year, with a 5.18 ERA in 153 innings; his nine wins led the team. When the season ended he went to Cuba to play for Marianao in the Cuban Winter League.

In January 1949 the Browns sent Earl down one rung, to the San Antonio Missions of the Texas League. He was their best pitcher in spring training and got the nod as the opening night starter. He had a 6-4 record in early June when he went down for a week with an elbow injury; in one of the losses he beat out a bunt for his team’s only hit. After he came back he was less effective and was soon sent to the bullpen, as his record sank to 6-10. On July 28 the Missions sold him to the independent Dallas Eagles two hours before a game between the two clubs. 

He finished the season with a career-high 45 appearances, 21 of them starts, an 8-15 record and 4.55 ERA in 186 innings, his most since 1940, and struck out a career-high 88. It was reported near the end of the season that he was one of eleven Dallas players who had asked permission to play in the Cuban Winter League, but I don’t know whether he did.

In October Dallas transferred his contract to the Gainesville Owls of the Class B Big State League, though in December the Dallas Morning News reported that “If all this trade talk with the major league clubs fails to produce enough mound help, Goff may bring Earl Reid, lanky right-hander who showed a world of stuff when given adequate rest between assignments, back from Gainesville.”

As it turned out Earl spent 1950 in the Big State League, though only pitching in eight games with Gainesville before moving to the Temple Eagles. He spent the season in the bullpen, pitching in 35 games total with a 4.62 ERA and a 7-6 record and striking out 62 in 78 innings, a much higher ratio than he had ever had before.

On April 25, 1951, the Sporting News ran the following obituary:

Mrs. Lyndall Reid, wife of Pitcher Earl Reid, died recently at their home in Cullman, Ala. Earl, who was drafted by the Braves from Indianapolis and is now with Temple (Big State), has been pitching in the minors since 1936 with various clubs and also with Marianao in the Cuban Winter League. A young son also survives.

I never found any other information about a son. Also, Earl was no longer with Temple but was out of professional ball and back home in Alabama, pitching for the semi-pro Huntsville Boosters, whose season started the same week the obituary appeared. An account of the game of July 26, in which Earl pitched in relief, in the Huntsville Times is the last mention of Earl I have found until his own Sporting News obituary ran June 11, 1984. He died on June 8 in Cullman, the Sporting News correctly reporting his age as 70. I know nothing about his life during those last 33 years.

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/R/Preide101.htm

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/reidea01.shtml

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/profile.asp?ID=17013