Welcome to Borchert Field: Get Yer Tickets Here!

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Welcome to Borchert Field: Get Yer Tickets Here!

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100th Anniversary of Swayne Field in Toledo, Ohio

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This past weekend was the 100th anniversary of the opening of the first double-decked stadium in the American Association, Swayne Field in Toledo, Ohio. Built to replace Armory Park which served as the home of the Toledo Mud Hens for seven-plus seasons since 1902, Swayne Field opened in historic fashion when it hosted the Columbus Senators on July 3, 1909. With umpires Clarence “Brick” Owens and Ed Eckman officiating, the Mud Hens were first to score, thrilling the Toledo throng of 9,350 in a game which lasted three hours, thirty-five minutes. It was a battle for the ages between two closely matched teams. In the first inning, Toledo posted three runs off Columbus starter Jacob “Lefty” Geyer . Center-fielder Homer Smoot , hitting third, scored on a two-run single by second-baseman Harry Hinchman , first-baseman Jeremiah Freeman following. Hinchman had five hits in seven at-bats on the day. The third run of the frame was scored by Charlie “Piano Legs” Hickman who crossed the plat...
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The First All-Star Game

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Eighty years ago this week the American Association put its first cadre of All-Stars on display. The event took place July 19, 1934 at hitter-friendly Nicollet Park in Minneapolis. Interesting how this anniversary corresponds with MLB's 2014 All-Star game to be played tomorrow night at Target Field in Minneapolis, just a few miles due north of where Nicollet Park once stood. The Millers defeated the All-Stars, 13-6. The 1934 American Association All-Star Team The contest pitted the American Association All-Stars against the Minneapolis Millers, the club which was in first-place on the pre-selected date. In the photo above are (with position played during game): BACK ROW:   GEORGE HOCKETTE (lhp), ALLAN SOTHORON (mgr), EARL WEBB (rf), MEL ALMADA (lf-cf), LIN STORTI (2b), ERNIE WINGARD (1b), FRED BEDORE (3b), and JACK KLOZA (lf). FRONT ROW:   TONY RENSA (c), GENE TROW (rhp), MILT GALATZER (cf), BILL BRENZEL (c), JOSE OLIVARES (ss), GARLAND BRAXTON (lhp), and AL NIEMIC (ss)...
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Ed Kenna, the Poet Pitcher

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In 1905, the Louisville Colonels signed 27-year old Edward Benninghaus Kenna , a pitcher who started his professional career with the Toledo Mud Hens of the Interstate League in 1900. Kenna was an interesting figure in baseball's early days. He grew up in Charleston, West Virginia, the son of John Edward Kenna , a U.S. Congressional Representative and Senator (a sizable collection of his personal photographs may be viewed at the website for the West Virginia Historical Society through www.wvculture.org/history/wvmemory/photointro.html). A most intriguing aspect of Kenna's life was his ability as a writer. He was known in baseball circles as the "poet pitcher," something I've known for some time. Not until I was researching my latest issue of the Almanac did I discover that he was actually a published poet. After his baseball career ended in 1907 he became an editor at the Charleston Gazette . He would succumb to a heart condition at the age of 34. Kenna's bas...
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