the Tennessee Rats Baseball Team
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The article reads: Colored Player Struck Out Nineteen Men in Bad Game Yesterday Afternoon-Score Was Four to One The members of the Fire Department team were defeated in the ball game with Brown's Tennessee Rats yesterday afternoon, the score being 4 to 1. In spite of the fact that the errors were numberous, the contest was close enough to be interesting, and was thoroughly enjoyed by the crowd. Donaldson and Millette engaged in a pitcher's battle and both men did fine work. The Perry man's support was not of the best, and the scores made off him were the result of errors. Donaldson, the left handed colored man, had the firemen at his mercy nearly all of the time and registered the phenominal recored of nineteen strikeouts. The colored players made two runs in the fourth inning, when with two out and two on bases, Reynolds missed a hard hit ball by Little. They made another in the seventh on an error: two stolen bases and another tumble. In the eighth Butler hit for three bases and came home on a single by Wilson. The Firemen looked dangerous in their half of the ninth, when three men were on bases but Donaldson struck out three men and retired the side. This afternoon the colored men are playing a team called the All Stars, composed of the best players in the city. The score yesterday was as follows: Fire Department - R. H.PO. A. E. Reynolds, cf . . . . 0 0 1 0 1 Pattee, 3d . . . . . .0 0 0 3 1 Sandquist, lf . . . . 0 1 1 0 0 Snyder, 2d . . . . . 0 1 2 2 0 Osmundson, ss . . 1 0 1 3 4 Burns, c . . . . . . . 0 1 11 1 0 Flannigan . . . . . . 0 0 11 0 0 Hagar, 1st . . . . . .0 0 11 0 0 *Millette, p . . . . . 0 0 0 4 0 1 3 27 13 6 *McGoeye batted for Millette in ninth. Tennessee Rats - R. H.PO. A. E. Purtell, 2d . . . . . 0 0 2 2 0 Butler, ss . . . . . . 2 1 0 1 1 Little, 1st . . . . . . 1 0 5 0 1 Wilson, c . . . . . . 0 2 19 3 0 Donaldson, p . . . 0 1 0 3 0 Goodall, 3d . . . . 0 0 1 0 0 Clay, rf . . . . . . . 1 0 0 0 0 Lee, lf . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 1 Anderson, cf . . . 0 1 0 0 0 4 5 27 9 3 Score by Innings: Rats . . . . . 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 - 4 Fire Dep't . 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 - 1 Three base hits, Butler: struck out, by Donaldson, 19: by Millette, 9: bases on balls, off Donaldson, 4: Double play, Osmundson to Hager: Umpires, Brown and Backoff. |
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A couple days later, the local weekly paper wrote of the same games: PERRY TOOK TWO DEFEATS FROM RATS Brown's Tennessee Rats, one of the speediest baseball organizations which have visited Perry for months, played Friday and Saturday afternoon at the driving park diamond, In the first game, with the Fire Department nine, they didn't have a walk away. In the second game they didn't have opposition worth mentioning. In the Friday game, while two costly errors let in three runs, and a howl went up from the fans, yet it can be classed as one of the best played local games, against strong opposition, which has been witnessed in many contests. John Millette, the Department pitcher, was up in form, and he held the visitors to five hits, without passing a single man. Had the support been of the same high quality the result would have been a 1 to 0 game, in the Rats favor. In the fourth inning, with two bases Little drove a long hit to deep center. It was Reynolds' first chance in the game, and while he touched the ball after a hard run, he didn't hold it, and the baloon went up. In the seventh a costly fumble by Osmundson at short let in the other unearned run. Yet for all that, with no practice no team work, with men not hardened down to the game, there could be no kick on the result. Perry's only score came in the seventh. One of the features of the game, aside from the pitching of Millette, was Ed Burns at backstop. He was in the game every minute and did good work. The last half of the game was played at a disadvantage. In attempting to take a high fowl between home and third he ran into the seats on that side of the diamond and was thrown across the edge of a plank, striking on his elbow and back. At the time he thought little of it and at the end of the inning Dr. Wilkinson wrapped up the bleeding arm. But late in the game his back gave trouble and the following morning, it being no better, consulted a doctor, only to find that he had broken a rib. It kept him out of the game Saturday, and materially weakened the team thereby. The worst feature of it is that it may keep him from work for a week or two. In Perry's half of the ninth there looked for a time to be a chance. With two out and three men on bases the moment was intense. Millette had worked hard throughout the game and asked for another batter to take his place. McGoey was put up. It was his first appearance in the game. No one can say he didn't try, but he was facing a pitcher who was a whirlwind, a puzzle, and who had already struck out eighteen men. McGoeve was the nineteenth. The game was over. The score by innings was as follows: Perry . . . . . . . .0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0-1 Brown's Rats . .0 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 0-4 The least said about the All Star Game Saturday the better. When it was all over and the callas in addition had reported the score 17 to 2. It started out like a ball game, but didn't last long ont those lines. The pep wasn't there when at the end of the fifth the score stood 8 to 1. The Stars took their place in the ether and the Rats played on the ground. Played is the correct word. It cannot be truthfully said that any of those Stars impersonated any of the bright heavenly bodies which stand out prominent in the summer sky. it was a sort of milky way, perhaps, and if the sunlight was not discernible to the naked eye. Some of the fans bravely stayed for the finish, while others hit the road for town and let on they didnt' care. |
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Coming out the same day as the weekly paper, the daily paper had one more article describing
the Saturday game: BLACKS SLAUGHTER THE WHITES Tennessee Rats Won by Fierce Game from Perry Saturday by the Score of Seventeen to Two. In one of the wildest, wierdest exhibitions of the great national game ever was seen in Perry, the Tennessee Rats defeated Perry Saturday, by the score of 17 to 2. The crowd expected a good contest, but at the last moment several players were unable to be present, and although the team was billed under the name "All Stars" they failed to live up to the name. Haller was in the box for Perry, and until he saw it was no use, he pitched fine ball. His support was rotten, and the writer was the most liberal contributor to the error column. Tomer's playing was the one redeeming feature, the center fielder getting two nice hits and making a running catch of a line drive that won him applause. The scorekeeper's account of the mess was as follows: Perry-- R. H.PO. A. E. Pattee, 3d . . . . . . . 0 0 2 0 2 Tomer, cf . . . . . . . .1 2 2 9 0 Fahey, Reynolds lf . 0 0 0 0 1 Snyder, 2d . . . . . . .1 1 6 0 6 Haller, p . . . . . . . . .0 1 0 5 1 Wagner, rf . . . . . . . 0 0 0 1 0 McGoeye, ss . . . . . 0 0 0 2 1 Hager, 1st . . . . . . . 0 0 8 1 1 Hines, c . . . . . . . . . 0 0 9 1 0 2 4 27 10 12 Rats-- R. H. PO. A. E. Pertell, 2d . . . 1 1 3 3 0 Butler, ss . . . . 4 3 1 3 1 Little, 1st . . . . 3 2 7 0 0 Bell, c . . . . . . 3 3 13 2 0 Morton, p . . . 2 3 0 1 0 Goodall, lf . . . 2 1 0 0 0 Clay, rf . . . . . 1 0 0 0 0 Lee, 3d . . . . . 0 3 1 1 0 Anderson, cf . 1 2 2 0 0 17 18 27 10 1 Score by Innings: Rats . .1 1 3 2 1 6 0 0 3-17 Perry . 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1-2 Home run, Butler: three base hits, Butler, Morton, Haller, Tomer: two base hits, Belle, Little, Tomer: Struck out by Haller, 7, by Morton, 12: Umpires Burns and Brown. Back to the John Donaldson Homepage |