Fred Sims

Jamestown Sun, May 22, 1929

Fred Sims was a well-known African American baseball player in the Upper Midwest in the 1920's and early 30's.  Despite never getting the opportunity to play in the Negro Leagues, Sims was an excellent pitcher, throwing multiple no-hitters in his semi-professional career.  In addition, he could play almost any position on the field if needed and was a serious threat at the plate, especially in his early days.  Over the course of a ten year span, Sims played on a number of integrated teams in Iowa and North Dakota.  He also toured the region, on and off, for four seasons with Gilkerson's Union Giants.

In August 1925, sports columnist Harry J. Earle of the Fairmont (MN) Daily Sentinel wrote this about Sims:

Fred has been playing in this section for the past four years and there is no better known colored ball player than this same Freddie Sims.  He has stood all of Iowa's best clubs on their "ears" with his hopping fast ball and sharp breaking curves.  He has broken many a pitcher's heart with his terrific hitting.  But with all of this we have never seen Fred in an argument.  He is a ball player with a reputation and a welcome acquisition to any ball club, for we have seen Sims play every position but catch.  Ball players, colored and white, will do well to get in line with Fred's policy on the ball field.

Sims was born in Dubach, Louisiana but grew up in El Dorado, Arkansas (the same as future teammate Clarence Lee Moore).  Around 1920, Sims' family relocated to Manly, Iowa.  By 1922, he was pitching for the Manly Colored Giants.  The next year he played for an integrated team in Lone Rock, IA.  The only other African American on the squad was catcher Ray Casey.  On June 14, 1923, Sims pitched a no-hit game against the Bancroft (IA) team.  He also smacked a three-run homer in the game.

Sims pitched another no-hitter for Lone Rock the very next year; this time against the Ottosen (IA) team.  He struck out 16 in the contest.  His catcher for most of that season was "Chappie" Gray.  By 1925, Sims was pitching for Chip's All-Stars, an African American team based in Lone Rock that included Art and Charlie Hancock.  It is believed that Negro Leagues pitcher Dave Brown, on the lam for a crime he did not commit, was also on this squad.  Brown, using the alias Lefty Wilson, would pitch for Gilkerson the next year, as would Sims.

Lone Rock All Stars 1925   (Source:  Hunt Auctions)

In June 1925, while pitching for the All Stars, Sims went up against the Union Giants in Fairmont, MN.  Gilkerson's team won easily, 6-1.  Sims gave up eight hits, all singles, but was hurt by costly errors including one committed by Sims himself.  He got his revenge a month later however, when he and the All Stars beat the Union Giants, 9-6.  

Sims started the 1926 season pitching for the Lone Rock All Stars but had a falling out with the team's owner, Glenn "Chip" Sharp, early in the season.  It is unclear where Sims played the first half of that summer.  By late July however, he had joined up with Gilkerson's team in Iowa.

Columnist Harry J Earle saw Sims' move to the Union Giants as a potential big step in his career:  "With Gil, Sims should develop into a real baseball star for on that team baseball is a business, not just a pastime, and when the boys fail to play ball they are shipped home.  That is one reason why Gilkerson's Giants are the greatest drawing card in colored baseball, barring none.  We hope that Sims sticks."

Sims soon got a chance to show off his stuff.  In late August, while facing his old team and former boss, Sims threw another no-hitter, allowing just two men to reach first base.  The Union Giants walloped 14 hits in the contest, beating the Lone Rock All Stars, 10-0.

Sioux City Journal, August 28, 1926

Sims pitched for the Union Giants for the rest of the 1926 season.  The following spring, he was right back with the team as they started their annual tour.  For all of 1927 and for most of 1928, Sims was pitching and playing the outfield for the Union Giants.  The team played all over Iowa, Minnesota, the Dakotas and parts of Canada.  In both seasons, the Union Giants won over 100 games.

The photo below shows four of Gilkerson's "Dynamiters" from 1928.  The picture was used many times to promote the team and depending on the year, the caption would change, listing a variety of different players.  The earliest uses of the photo however correctly list the men as Pelayo Chacón, Earl Harrison, Rogelio Crespo and Fred Sims. 

Jamestown Sun, June 22, 1928

In 1929, Sims did not return to the Union Giants.  Instead, he joined the integrated team from Jamestown, ND.  His catcher on the team was his old teammate, Chappie Gray.  In August, just in time for tournament season, former big leaguer "Swede" Risberg joined the club.  Risberg, who was banned from the majors for his role in the Black Sox scandal, had been playing semi-professional ball in the Upper Midwest and Canada for years.

During a tournament held in Jamestown, Sims pitched four games in a week.  He lead his team to victory by pitching a shutout in the championship game.  According to the Jamestown Sun, Sims "went into the box Sunday afternoon as calm as though he had not worked at all.  The ovation given him when it was announced that he was the pitcher for the day certainly told Freddie what the Jamestown baseball fans think of him for the cheer lasted for several minutes, holding up the announcing of the rest of the team."

Sims would lead the Jamestown team in almost every hitting and pitching categories that season.  In September, the Jamestown Sun claimed that Sims "has played and won more games that any other pitcher in the state."   His record on the year was 20-6-1 while his batting average that same season was .434, second only to Risberg's .457.  Sims lead the team in home runs (11), triples (7), doubles (19) and runs batted in (84).  The team's overall record was 32-14 and one tie.

Jamestown Sun, May 1, 1930

Both Sims and Risberg returned to Jamestown the next season.  For 1930, Gilkerson had been contracted to headquarter his team in nearby Bismarck, North Dakota and represent the city in local competition.  According to the Bismarck Tribune, Gilkerson was paid $350 for keeping his team in the city for the month of June.  Bismarck and Jamestown were bitter rivals.

Before arriving in Bismarck, the Union Giants clashed with Jamestown in a doubleheader on Memorial Day.  Risberg pitched the first game for Jamestown, while Sims pitched the second.  The Union Giants won both handily.  Pitching for Gilkerson's team in the second game was Joe Lillard, who played at that time under the name Joe Johnson.   Lillard would soon jump ship and join the Jamestown team.

The Union Giants returned to Jamestown for two games in early July.  Lillard was on the mound for Jamestown, defeating the Union Giants 7-3 in the first game.  Sims played first base and had a home run in the contest.  The Union Giants won the next day against Risberg but Sims had another home run in that game.  On July 21st, the Union Giants returned for a fifth and final game in which Lillard aka Johnson pitched another gem.  Jamestown beat Gilkerson's squad, 12-2.

The Union Giants were soon headed towards Canada for a series of big tournaments.  On July 25, the Jamestown Sun reported that "Freddie Sims and Joe Johnson members of the Jamestown baseball club returned this morning from Rock Lake, Canada where they played with Gilkerson's Union Giants in the Rock Lake Tournament."   They added, "Both men were formerly with Gilkerson's, Sims belonging to Jamestown for three seasons and Johnson coming this season."  Despite the claim, by early August, both men had rejoined Gilkerson's team for good.

Jamestown Sun, August 25, 1930

Despite leaving the team early, Sims still led Jamestown in most batting and pitching categories at the end of the season.  He had the team's highest batting average (.492), as well as the most home runs (23) and doubles (12).  As a pitcher, he led the team with the most wins, finishing with a record of 13-7.  During his time with the team, Sims pitched 179 1/3 innings and allowed 164 hits.  The Jamestown team finished the season with 31 wins out of 47 games played.

As for the Union Giants, they continued to win tournaments in Canada as well as in Iowa and Nebraska.  On September 19th in Arlington, NE in front of 4,000 people, the Union Giants defeated the Kari-Keens of Sioux City to win their second consecutive title in the Eastern Nebraska baseball tournament.  As a result, Gilkerson and his team took home the top prize of $1,000.  The big blow of the game was Sims' home run in the 8th inning, his second one of the game.  In fact, Sims went 3 for 4 at the plate that day.  

Just prior to the tournament, the Union Giants had faced the House of David team in the Quad Cities.  The Davenport Democrat and Leader, in previewing the matchup, focused more on Sims' pitching skills:  "Fred Sims, considered one of the best colored pitchers in the country will be on the mound against the House of David nine Sunday night.  His presence in the box means that the Bearded Beauties will be the underdogs by a slight margin because his record for the season speaks for itself.  He has a curve ball that makes the batters break their backs going after it, and he has a change of pace that is very deceiving."  The Union Giants won the game 5-4 with Sims on the mound.

Despite all the success, Sims did not return to the Union Giants in the spring of 1931.  Instead, he went back to playing for "Chip" Sharp in Lone Rock, IA.  This time around, the team was mostly white, except for Sims and his catcher Charlie Hancock.  As the season progressed, Charlie's brother, Art, also joined the team.  They played primarily in northern Iowa. 

Gilkerson's club, on the other hand, took one of their biggest tours ever, traveling all the way to the Pacific Northwest and Canada.  Sims, it seems, did return to Gilkerson on at least one occasion late in the season.  On September 23, 1931, the Union Giants were in Iowa to play the Hampton Pirates.  According to the box score, Sims was the losing pitcher for the Union Giants in a 6-2 decision.

For the next few years, Sims bounced around Iowa playing for a couple of different teams, including the Corwith Night Hawks and the Hampton Pirates.  Sims eventually returned to Arkansas, where he played for the Little Rock Stars in 1933 according to the Arkansas Baseball Encyclopedia.  While the Little Rock team was part of the Negro Southern League, by that point it was no longer considered a major league.  That may have been Sims' last season as a player.  By 1937, he was coaching the El Dorado (AR) Black Lions.

In 2001, the Lone Rock ballpark was renamed Don Blanchard Field in honor of a local baseball legend.  During the dedication, a tribute was read by John Cotton.  In it he included these lines:

The ghost of Glen "Chip" Sharp is here today.  He organized and managed Chip's Allstars, an all black team from Lone Rock that player here in the mid 20's.  They also traveled part of several states to play strong competition.  The ghosts of Fred Sims, an outstanding pitcher, Art Hancock, Slim Whitley, Half Pint Vaughn, a great catcher by the name of Casey, and their teammates are with us today.

Dick Whitworth

Chicago Whip, July 9, 1919

At the beginning of the 1919 season, Rube Foster crowned Richard "Dick" Whitworth the "greatest pitcher in the world."  He had already been the ace of Foster's American Giants for a few seasons by that point, pitching a no-hitter in his first year with the team.  Despite being a fan favorite in Chicago, Whit was released before the 1920 season as part of a plan to redistribute star players to different teams in the newly formed Negro National League.  He was meant to go to Detroit to play for the Stars but Whitworth had a different plan.  He headed east, joining the independent Hilldale club for two seasons instead.

Foster eventually brought Whitworth back to Chicago for another stint starting in 1922, but he suffered a serious leg injury in an automobile accident at the end of that season and was out for an extended period.  Whitworth was released from the American Giants for the final time before the start of the 1925 season.  He spent the summer in Kansas City instead, where he managed and pitched for the (Montgomery Ward) Monitors.

In the spring of the next year, Whitworth reported to Spring Valley, Illinois where he joined up with Gilkerson's club.  The two men had a long history together.  Before the American Giants, Whitworth had started his career with the 1914 Chicago Union Giants while Gilkerson was the team's traveling business manager.  The two had remained friends over the years.  In joining Gilkerson, Whitworth was also reunited with two of his old teammates from the 1914 squad, Clarence "Pops" Coleman and Jess "Bee" Turner.  Also joining Whitworth on the Union Giants was catcher Otto "Jay Bird" Ray who had been with him on the KC Monitors team the summer before.

Dick Whitworth - 1926 Gilkerson's Union Giants
Source: Phil Dixon

Whitworth started off the 1926 season with Gilkerson's Union Giants but only stayed with the team for about a month, pitching mostly in Illinois.  In one of the first games of the season, Whit gave up just one run on eight hits for an early win over the South Side team of Peoria.  He later pitched in Monmouth and Sterling.   As the team headed west, he was on the mound in Newton, IA but by mid-June, he was no longer travelling with the club.  It is unclear why he left or where he went next.   He would eventually return, but it we be nearly four years later.

In 1930, at the age of 34, Dick Whitworth was one of the main starters for the Union Giants for the entire season, traveling to more than half a dozen states and parts of Canada.  The other pitchers of the team that summer were Owen Smaulding, Cristóbal Torriente, "Yellow Horse" Morris, Earl Harrison, Maurice Young and Fred Sims.   On occasion, Joe Johnson (aka Joe Lillard) and Hurley McNair also pitched when necessary.  Whitworth was the team's ace however, pitching more than any of the others that summer.

According to the available box and line scores, here are just some of the games that Whitworth pitched in during the 1930 season:

Of the games identified, Whitworth started 28 times with 17 complete games (indicated with *).  He pitched in relief on four occasions.  The Union Giants' record when Whitworth was on the mound was 21-11.  It is worth noting that there are many games unaccounted for.  It is plausible that Whitworth pitched at least a dozen more times that summer.  Whitworth did not return to the Union Giants in 1931.

Illinois Giants OR Lost Island Lake Giants

Detail of recently auctioned photo from the Phil Dixon Collection.  Source: Hunt Auctions

 The above photograph was recently sold online with the following description:

Illinois Giants Negro League Semi-Pro Barnstorming photograph c.1915 Original 2 1/2"x4 1/4" sepia tone snapshot image of two un-identified players from the Illinois Giants who were a Midwestern Negro League semi-pro team from 1909-1929.

 

Looking closely at the uniforms however, I wonder if this isn't instead a picture of two players from the 1917 Lost Island Lake Giants, a predecessor to Gilkerson's Union Giants.  The large letters running vertically along the buttons appear to me to read L-I-L and not I-L-L.

The only known photo of the Lost Island Lake Giants we have to compare it to is the team photo which ran in the Sioux City Journal, September 13, 1917.  The angle at which the players are standing makes it difficult to tell, but I believe the GIANTS across the chest is a match.  (That is Robert Gilkerson standing at the front of the line.)

As for the Illinois Giants, they were actually two distinct teams that used that name.  Both have connections to Robert Gilkerson.

The original Illinois Giants were an African American semi-pro team that played primarily in Chicago but also barnstormed around Illinois and Michigan starting in 1909.  When Gilkerson arrived in Chicago in July of that year, the Illinois Giants were one of the first teams he played for.  The team however was only together for two seasons.  There is no evidence that the Illinois Giants were still playing around 1915, when the photograph at the top was thought to have been taken.

In 1921, Louis Murphy, a white theatre owner and wannabe baseball promoter from Spring Valley, Illinois, organized an all new African American barnstorming team called the Illinois Giants.  The team, which was usually advertised as being from Chicago, had several good players over the years, including a young Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe.  Radcliffe eventually played for Gilkerson for part of a season.   He was one of several men to play for both clubs.  

La Crosse Tribune and Leader Press, August 8, 1921

Murphy and Gilkerson, both from Spring Valley, certainly knew each other.  They were mostly cordial towards each other in the press and were very likely friends off the field.  On the field however, Gilkerson's Union Giants and the Illinois Giants were rivals, going head to head against one another multiple times over the years.

The Chicago Whip, Oct. 7, 1922

The Illinois Giants stayed together until at least 1928, after which Murphy went on to manage one of the House of David teams that barnstormed across the country.  Again, Gilkerson and Murphy's teams continued to clash from time to time, much to the delight of baseball fans across the Upper Midwest.

Back to the photograph at the very top, the question remains who might the players be?  If they are indeed members of the Lost Island Lake Giants, they are very likely one of these men:

• W. H. "Bingo" Bingham
• Hugh Blackburn
• Edgar Burch
• ? Davis
• ? Francis
• Will Jones
• ? Lynch
• Hurley McNair
• ? Meredith
• Jess Turner
• Ruby Tyrees
• Clifford White

Can anyone help narrow it down even more?

Lefty Wilson

In the previous post, I mentioned that Gilkerson's team got off to a good start in 1926, in part, due to the fine pitching of "Lefty" Wilson.  Wilson, it turns out, was actually Negro Leagues pitcher Dave Brown.  

By the numbers, Brown was one of the greatest pitchers to have ever played the game.  Of moundsmen with at least 600 innings pitched, Brown has one of the lowest career ERAs (2.36) and highest career winning percentages (.741) in all of the Negro Leagues.   His stats are somewhat skewed however by the fact that his professional playing days was cut woefully short.  

At the start of the 1925 season, while playing in New York for the Lincoln Giants, Brown was (wrongfully) accused of murder in New York City.  Suddenly wanted by the FBI, Brown went on the lam.  He eventually made his way to the Midwest, likely landing in Chicago where he once had great success pitching for Rube Foster and the American Giants.  Those days were gone.  There is some evidence that Brown made his way to northern Iowa that summer where he played the outfield, as Wilson, for Chip's All-Stars, an African American team based in Lone Rock.

Brown was determined to keep pitching however.  In the spring of 1926, he found his way to Spring Valley, Illinois where he joined Gilkerson and his Union Giants for the next several months.  During his brief tenure with the team and for many years after, Brown used the alias William "Lefty" Wilson on and off the field.  

Wilson is credited with having the first start of the 1926 season for the Union Giants, an exhibition game on May 9th against the Princeton (IL) Tigers.  The Union Giants won, 6-5, in eleven innings.  Dave "Mule" Knight came in to pitch at some point, with Wilson finishing the game in left field.

Here are a handful of other games that Wilson pitched in for the Union Giants based on line scores and game summaries.  He was likely on the mound every 3-4 days so there are plenty more unaccounted for:

• May 22:  Gilkerson's Union Giants 7, LaSalle (IL) 1

• May 25:  Gilkerson's Union Giants 6, Monmouth (IL) Independents 6

Wilson was relieved by Dick Whitworth at some point.  The game ended in a tie after 10 innings because Monmouth had a second game scheduled that afternoon.  

• May 31:  Gilkerson's Union Giants 8, Sterling (IL) 4

• June 7:  Gilkerson's Union Giants 9, Newton (IA) Maytags 1

Wilson gave up one run on three hits.  

• June 12:  Gilkerson's Union Giants 9, Chip's All Stars of Lone Rock (IA) 2

• June 20:  Gilkerson's Union Giants 11, Knights of Columbus (Davenport, IA) 4

Wilson pitched all nine innings in a game against the Caseys, giving up four runs on nine hits.  He struck out seven.

• June 27:  Gilkerson's Union Giants 3, Galesburg (IL) 0
• June 27:  Gilkerson's Union Giants 5, Galesburg (IL) 4

Wilson pitched in both games of a doubleheader.  In the first contest, he threw a complete game shutout, giving up just three hits.  In the second game, he pitched two innings of relief.

• July 4:  Gilkerson's Union Giants 6, Lismore (MN) 1

At a big 4th of July celebration, Wilson pitched a complete game, giving up just one run.  John Donaldson pitched the second half of the game for Lismore.  According to Harry J. Earle of the Fairmont Daily Sentinel, "Lefty displayed pitching form galore."

• July 5:  Gilkerson's Union Giants 14, Charles City (IA) Collegians 6

Despite having pitched a complete game the day before, Wilson entered the contest in the third inning after Maurice Young gave up six runs in the opening innings.  Wilson slammed the door on the Collegians.  "Not a man reached third base in the seven frames he worked.  Lefty knows how to pitch," according to Earle.

• July 9:  Gilkerson's Union Giants 2, Spencer (IA) 0

Wilson threw a one-hitter, striking out 17, against the Spencer team on July 9th. 

• July 12:  Gilkerson's Union Giants 12, Winona (MN) 7

I could not find any evidence of Wilson losing a single game while on the mound for the Union Giants in 1926.  By mid-July however, he was no longer pitching for Gilkerson.  Instead, he was playing for the Pipestone (MN) Black Sox.  In one of his first games with the all African American team, Wilson struck out 14 against Granite Falls (MN).  In a game against Le Mars (IA), Wilson was advertised as the "best southpaw in the USA."

By August, Wilson was pitching for a different African American team, the Lone Rock All Stars of Iowa.  For the next several seasons, Dave Brown (as Wilson) would continue to move around from team to team in the Upper Midwest.  He remained a wanted man.

On at least two occasions in 1927, Wilson faced off against the Union Giants.  At the time he was pitching for the Armstrong (IA) club.  The Union Giants won both contests easily.  The recap for one of the games in the Fairmont Daily Sentinel said that Wilson had done "brilliant work" despite the score.  The newspaper also mentioned that Wilson was going to be rejoining Gilkerson's squad but I could not find any proof that he ever did.

For a detailed article about Dave Brown's entire pitching career as well as his life outside of baseball, including the murder and its aftermath, read Frederick C. Bush's excellent SABR biography.

Plenty Tough At Best

Harry J. Earle was a vaudeville performer turned sports reporter based in Fairmont, Minnesota in the 1920's and 1930's.  He was almost certainly one of only a few African Americans living in Marion County at that time.  Earle's column in the Fairmont Daily Sentinel covered Gilkerson's team extensively whenever they passed through the area.  Thanks to Earle, we have names and details about players and games that would otherwise be lost to time.  He even traveled with the Union Giants for a few days in early July 1926, providing us with one of the best reports of the era about life on the road for a Black barnstorming team.

In late June 1926, Gilkerson's men were bouncing around northern Iowa and would soon reach southern Minnesota. The team had gotten off to a hot start that season thanks in part to the pitching of "Lefty" Wilson and the home runs of "Steel Arm" Davis.  As always, the Union Giants were in high demand for 4th of July celebrations.  The previous year, they drew a crowd of 36,000 people in Wisconsin for a single game during the holiday weekend.  In 1926, they would play five games in three days, traveling hundreds of miles between engagements.

Greene Reporter, June 16, 1926

The Union Giants were in Albert Lea, MN on July 2nd for a game against the local team.  With Dave "Mule" Knight on the mound, the Union Giants beat the Tigers, 3-1.  The win, according to the Albert Lea Evening Tribune, "gave the Giants a record of forty-nine wins and five defeats for the season."  The team quickly headed south to Greene, IA to play the Eldora team as part of the town's Sesqui-Centennial Celebration.

In front of a large crowd in Greene, the Union Giants defeated the Eldora team 4-3.  Maurice Young pitched for Gilkerson while field manager Clarence "Pops" Coleman did the catching.  The team likely did not stick around to enjoy the festivities however.  Instead, they got right back on the road and headed north to Fairmont where they were scheduled to a play a double header the next day, starting at 1 pm.

In Fairmont, they would face the Lismore, MN team which included legendary African American pitcher John Donaldson.  In the second game, they would meet the team from Swea City, IA.  The advertisements for the event called it "the greatest baseball card ever assembled for one day."  

An article promoting the contests claimed, "Donaldson has won more ball games than any living ball pitcher, white or colored, and Gilkerson has won more ball games than any other colored base ball manager in the world.  Swea City will be loaded for bear, as a win for them means a reputation worth thousands of dollars.  The management guarantees this to be the best aggregation of base ball stars they ever had, and has guaranteed these team over one thousand dollars to get them.

The Truman Tribune, July 1, 1926

The Union Giants did not arrive in Fairmont until six that morning due to car troubles.  Despite the all night journey from Iowa, Gilkerson's team won both contests easily.  Harry J. Earle recapped the twin bill for the Fairmont Daily Sentinel the next day.  

 "Gilkerson's Union Giants won both games of the double header at Hand's Park yesterday.  Lefty Wilson held Lismore in check during the opener to cop a 6 to 1 verdict.  Lefty displayed pitching form galore to snatch the victory.  Dedus started the game for Lismore and the famous John Donaldson finished.  Three runs were scored off each pitcher.  Three double steals netted three runs while Donaldson was on the mound.  The Giants' hitting and inside baseball won for them."  He added that "Steel Arm Davis added a home run to his string by dumping one over the right field fence in the first game."

In the second game, the Union Giants defeated the Swea City team 3-0.  Earle wrote, "Knight held Swea City to four hits, but his support was spectacular throughout."  Later he wrote, "it was by far the best game of the season to be staged at the park."  The Union Giants could not enjoy the victories for long however.  They had another doubleheader scheduled in Charles City, IA the next day starting at 10 am.  With little rest, it would mean getting back on the road for several more hours.

Earle decided to make the trip to Charles City with the team.  On July 7th, 1926 the Fairmont Daily Sentinel published Earle's report from the road:

    The writer embarked for Charles City with the Gilkerson caravan Sunday night and experienced once again, the trials and tribulations that go with a traveling baseball club.  We arrived in Charles City about 3:45 a.m.  The Union Giants were slated for a morning game at 10 o'clock with the Charles City Collegians.  The boys were in uniform at 9 o'clock, without breakfast.  Arrived at the Lion's Park, where a huge celebration was staged about 9:30.  With no hitting practice the Giants annihilated the Collegians 14 to 6.  Young started the game but gave way to Lefty Wilson after the Collegians had registered their six runs.  Wilson had just hurled the game at Hand's Park, but he stood the Collegians on their heads.  Not a man reached third base in the seven frames he worked.  Lefty knows how to pitch.

    The morning setto drew a large crowd, but the afternoon game was the knockout.  Fully 5,000 customers saw the afternoon session.

    The morning game did not conclude until after 12 o'clock and as the aftermath was slated for 3, the boys were not allowed to eat.  The four games in two days and the 300 mile jump began to toll.  Knight started on the mound for the Giants but had nothing, not even a prayer, so "Steel Arm" Davis, the home run hitter took up the burden, and his stuff ran short after two frames and Knight was sent back to the mound.  When the smoke had cleared, the score was 14 to 1 in the favor of the Collegians.  The Giants' one run being a homer, coming from Mr. Davis.

    "Red" Learn worked on the mound for the Collegians in the afternoon and had plenty.  His win was merited, but the fans of that city will always believe that Gil's crew laid down. 

    It is great stuff, to listen to the different "why fors" when a colored traveling club gets the short end of the score.  Gilkerson has a better club than Charles City, and that's no joke, but they were beaten without a chance Monday afternoon and offered no alibi.  It was just a simple case of vitality snapping.  The life of a traveling ball club is plenty tough at best, but Gil caught three big celebrations - five games in three days - and the answer is there.  Just why the fans will always think that the game was framed when Gilkersons' drop one, is more than we can understand.

Tired and hungry, the Union Giants still managed to win four out of five games over the long holiday weekend.  Still, unrealistic expectations to win everyday were put upon the team by both their fans and their detractors.  Earle illustrates nicely how, despite having a better team than most of their opponents, life on the road came with challenges that even the best of teams could not always overcome.

Gilkerson's club would continue on in this manner for three more months.  In the end, they would log thousands of miles around the upper Midwest and finish the season with an impressive record of 117 wins, 22 losses and four ties.

Webster McDonald & The Mysterious Duff

Webster McDonald was a right-handed "submarine artist" that pitched for a number of great Negro League teams including the Chicago American Giants, the Homestead Grays and the Philadelphia Stars.  In 1952, the Pittsburgh Courier voted him to their "Honor Roll" team as one of the best African American pitchers of all time.  

This photo, which was published in the Philadelphia Daily News around the time of his death in 1982, appears to show McDonald warming up for Gilkerson's Union Giants sometime in the late 1920's.   

McDonald only pitched for Gilkerson a handful of times in 1928 and 1929.  He was never a regular member of the Union Giants' roster.  Instead, Gilkerson would hire him on a limited basis for big games at the end of the season, especially tournaments with large purses.

Between 1928 and 1931, McDonald pitched for a white team in Little Falls, Minnesota for most of the season.  The Union Giants traveled in that part of the country often, playing the Little Falls team a number of times during those years.  In late August 1928, the Union Giants faced off against McDonald.  He struck out seven of the Union Giants in a extra inning game but had no run support whatsoever.  The Union Giants beat the Little Falls team, 1-0, in 12 innings.  Less than a month later, McDonald was pitching for the Union Giants in Iowa.  In a game against the Bayside Cubs of Mason City, MacDonald's underhand delivery was described as "wizard-like" as he pitched four shutout innings.

St. Louis Argus, Sep 27, 1929

In June 1929, McDonald threw a shutout against the Union Giants in Little Falls, allowing just five singles in the game.  Three months later he was back on the mound for Gilkerson's team pitching in the championship game of the Eastern Nebraska tournament at Arlington.  McDonald and the Union Giants went up against a team from Blair, Nebraska that was made up of mostly Western League players.

"McDonald, former American Giants Hurler Holds Opponents in Palm of Hand," proclaimed the Kansas City Call.  He gave up just one run on six hits.   The Union Giants won the championship easily, 10-1, which came with a $1,000 prize. 

McDonald briefly remained with he Union Giants, pitching again is Sioux City a few days later.  Against the local Stockyards team, McDonald started the game but only pitched three innings, giving up three hits and two runs. This was likely the last time McDonald pitched for Gilkerson...  or was it?

Starting in 1928, Gilkerson had a mysterious "submarine twirler" that would occasionally pitch for him, typically in Canada.   He was only ever listed as Duff.  The Winnipeg Tribune claimed he was "rated as the best colored submarine pitcher in baseball."  In mid-July 1928, Duff pitched part of a game against the House of David team in Winnipeg.  "Duff's peculiar delivery and his underhand ball which broke sharply, had the bearded stars swinging wildly in the two rounds that he worked.   He was nicked for a single hit, while he whiffed four," wrote the local paper.  The very next night Duff pitched again.  This time a complete game against the House of David, giving up only one run on five hits.  The Union Giants won, 2-1.

When the Union Giants returned to Winnipeg in August, Duff was back with the team, at least for one game.  He showed up to pitch against the Plentywood, Montana team which featured six former major league players, including Happy Felsch.  Thanks to Duff, the Union Giants were able to beat the Plentywood club that night.  It would be their only win in a four game series with the all-star team.  

The Winnipeg Tribune reported, "Duff was in his element last night.  His usual control was perfect and he displayed to the fans once again his ability to cut the plate in half at any time he chose to do it.  He didn't walk a man and made eleven Plentywood batters bite the dust.  His submarine ball looked tantalizingly easy to hit, yet the batters couldn't connect."  After one game, the dominant pitcher disappeared as quickly as he came.

The name Duff wasn't associated with the Union Giants again until late in the 1930 season.  The Union Giants provided a possible lineup for the Southwestern Iowa tournament and it included a pitcher named Duff.  There is no evidence however that Duff ever pitched in any of the contests.  The Union Giants lost the tournament's championship game to the Kari-Keens of Sioux City.  Duff however did return briefly the next year.  In early June 1931, he pitched at least one game against the Stockyards team of Sioux City and then was gone for good.

So who was Duff?  The most logical answer is that it was Webster McDonald pitching under an assumed name.  But why?  McDonald told John Holway in a 1970 interview that his top salary with the Little Falls team was $750 a month with expenses and transportation included, making him the highest paid player in the league by a long shot.  With that in mind, it is quite possible he used an alias so as to not jeopardize his contract with the Little Falls team.  This is only a theory however and needs more research.

Additional Notes:

Gilkerson had another pitcher named McDonald in 1933 and 1934 however this could not have been Webster as he was playing and managing in Philadelphia by then.  Instead, it may have been Luther McDonald.

For more info on Webster McDonald please see his SABR bio by Leslie Heaphy.

The No Hitters & Two Perfect Games

Below is a brief account of ten different no-hitters that Robert Gilkerson was associated with, either as a player, a manager or a team owner.

 

HORACE JENKINS - July 24, 1909

Illinois Giants 3, Chicago Wrigleys 1

Robert Gilkerson left his hometown of Pittsburgh in early July 1909 and headed to Chicago hoping to take his baseball career to the next level.  He played at least one game for the Chicago Union Giants when he arrived but soon joined the Illinois Giants.  In one of his first games with the new team, Gilkerson assisted in a no-hitter while playing second base.  On July 24th, his new teammate, Horace Jenkins, struck out nine men, giving up a run on two errors, but allowed no hits against the Chicago Wrigleys.

JAMES HARVEY - July 4, 1911

Chicago Union Giants 2, Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin 0

By 1911, Gilkerson was back playing for the Chicago Union Giants full time.  In fact he was the team's captain that year and was playing second base when James Harvey threw a no-hitter in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin on July 4th.  According to the South Bend Tribune, "Harvey pitched a no-hit, no run game, only one man reaching second base."  The Chicago Union Giants won the game 2-0.

BILLY NORMAN (Perfect Game) - July 21, 1913

Chicago Union Giants 10, Guthrie Center, Iowa 0

Robert Gilkerson was spiked in a game in June 1913 that ended his season at second base.  That year however Gilkerson was also the team's manager.   Less than a month later in Guthrie Center, Iowa, the Union Giants defeated the local team 10 to 0.  On the mound that day was William Rufus Norman.  According to the Omaha Daily Bee, "The most remarkable game of the season was played at Guthrie Center, only twenty-seven men facing the colored phenom, Norman, during the entire game and not a man reaching first base."  No line or box score for the game has been identified.  While the score was reported in several other newspapers, none made mention of it being a no-hitter.

EDGAR BURCH - May 28, 1917

Lost Island Lake Giants 5, Toulon, Illinois 0

Gilkerson's playing days ended in 1913 but he stayed on with the Union Giants for several more years as the traveling business manager.  In 1917 however he severed ties with the Chicago club and started his own team.  They had yet to adopt the name of Gilkerson's Union Giants and instead went by a few different monikers that summer.

While playing in Illinois, he often passed his new team off as the "Chicago Union Giants."  This was the case in Toulon, Illinois where the Stark County News reported, "The Chicago Union Giants held Toulon to a no hit, no run, game Monday afternoon on the local grounds, while the Giants secured five runs and could have run up a larger score had they been so minded."  The paper did not record the name of the pitcher.  In Iowa however, Gilkerson's team was known as the Lost Island Lake Giants.  The Des Moines Register provided a line score for the exact same game (above) where that team name is used and Edgar Burch is credited with the no-hitter.

EDGAR BURCH & RUBE CURRY (Combined) - June 8, 1919

Gilkerson's Union Giants 7, Sutherland, Iowa 0

In early 1919, Gilkerson's team was still playing near Ruthven, Iowa and still promoting themselves as either the historic Union Giants of Chicago or the Ruthven Union Giants.  By the end of the season, they settled on Gilkerson's Union Giants.  In one of the first games of the season Edgar Burch and Rube Curry threw a combined no-hitter against the Sutherland, Iowa team in front of 1,500 people.  According to the Ruthven Free Press, "Burch pitched the first six innings and did not allow the visitors a hit, and Curry who threw the last three also held them hitless."

RUBE CURRY (Perfect Game) - August 31, 1919

Gilkerson's Union Giants 11, Wellsburg, Iowa 0

The best bit of pitching in a Union Giants uniform however came in the second half of the 1919 season when Rube Curry pitched a perfect game against the Wellsburg, Iowa team.  The Des Moines Register recorded the achievement this way, "The winning pitcher was never in danger at any time during the full nine innings.  The locals failed to put a man on first base, either by the free walk route or by a hit."  The Sioux City Journal reported the win a few days later:  "Wellsburg lost to the Union Giants 11 to 0.  Curry, pitching for the Giants, did not permit a Wellsburg runner to reach first base."

Even a decade later the Kansas City American Sports made note of the accomplishment:  "Currie also pitched a no-hit, no-run game against Wellsburg, while he was playing with the Union Giants in 1919.  He didn't allow a man to get to first."

LUTHER FARRELL - September 20, 1922

Gilkerson's Union Giants 5, Whitehall, Wisconsin 0

By 1922, Curry and Burch were gone from the rotation and Luther Farrell was the new ace of Gilkerson's Union Giants.  In a game in Whitehall, Wisconsin near the end of the season, Farrell blanked the locals in a 5-0 win.  According to the Winona Daily News, "Luther, the colored southpaw ace, was the shining light of the game.  His fast and wicked shoots completely baffled the Whitehall batters with the result that not a single hit was collected off his delivery in the nine frames.  Only one Whitehall player reached first during the game.  That was on a walk.  Luther whiffed ten batters."  The Chicago Whip's recap of the game recorded 12 strikeouts for Farrell.

LUTHER FARRELL (No Hit One Hit Loss) - June 26, 1923

Tomahawk, WI 2, Gilkerson's Union Giants 0

In early July 1923, the Chicago Defender reported that Luther Farrell pitched another no-hitter in Wisconsin, however this time it was for a loss.  The Tomahawk Leader's recap, printed just two days after the game, included this rebuke of the no-hitter:  "The remarkable feature of the game was that Tomahawk won although they only got one safe hit and that was by Wangler who beat out an infield hit to the bag."  Wangler's hit did not contribute to the score however.  The Leader confirms that Tomahawk's two runs were achieved without a hit.

TOM COX - July ?, 1925

Gilkerson's Union Giants 14, Guttenberg, Iowa 0

Charles "Tom" Cox was in his second season pitching for Gilkerson when he threw a no-hitter in Guttenberg, Iowa according to the Chicago Defender.  The line score was printed on July 18th but the date of the game was not provided.

ADMIRAL WALKER (Perfect Game) - August 22, 1926

Gilkerson's Union Giants 4, Newton Maytags 0

In his second stint pitching with the Union Giants in two years, Admiral Walker threw a no hitter against the Newton Maytags of Newton, Iowa in August.  Walker would go on to pitch for the Kansas City Monarchs the next season.

UPDATED 11/1/2026: According to a newfound game summary in the LaSalle (IL) Daily Tribune, this was not only a no-hitter, but a perfect game.  The paper however incorrectly lists the location as being in Kansas.

FRED SIMS - August 26, 1926

Gilkerson's Union Giants 10, Lone Rock All Stars 0

A few days after Walker's no-hitter, Union Giants pitcher Fred Sims threw another one in Thornton, Iowa.  This time it was against the Lone Rock All Stars... or was it Rockdale?  Multiple newspapers reported the win over the All Stars, an African American team based in Lone Rock, Iowa.  The newspapers in Davenport, Iowa however reported, "Jimmy Sims hurled a no-hit, no run game at Thornton, Ia., yesterday, the Gilkersons defeating Rockdale by the score of 10 to 0.  The Giants secured 14 hits, including two home runs by 'Steel Arm' Davis."