The Motorized Base Ball Club

For a time in the early 1920's, Gilkerson's team was promoted as a “motorized base ball club.”  

An article in the Freeport Journal-Standard from May 17, 1922 explains, “the colored boys are traveling about in their own automobiles and hence the name.  Practically every trip made by the Giants is made in automobiles.  This is done to eliminate the possibility of missing trains and to avoid lay-overs in small towns which often cause the team to cancel games because of poor train connections.”   

A promotional photo of the team taken around 1922 (see this website's header) even shows the team vehicles and trailers displayed in the background.

While the use of automobiles certainly gave Gilkerson and his team a lot of freedom and flexibility while barnstorming around the Upper Midwest, life on the road was not without risks, particularly in a time before paved roads and major highways.  As a result, the team was involved in a number of accidents and mishaps over the years.   

On the morning of July 8, 1921, several players were injured outside of Lancaster, Wisconsin when the axle on one of the team vehicles broke, causing it to roll over.  Players were bruised and cut by flying glass but first baseman Jess Turner was hurt the worst.  He suffered a broken collar bone and two broken ribs.  Turner's season was finished.  As for the rest of the Union Giants, they played later that same day.

Two years later, four players were involved in another serious accident in Wisconsin.  A car carrying Clarence "Pops" Coleman, John Taylor, George Harney and Frank Cárdenas ran off the road, crashed through a wooden railing and rolled over twice as it plummeted twenty feet to the bottom of a ravine.

Incredibly, none of the players were seriously hurt.  The local newspaper reported, "The players say their lucky star was in the ascendency and they owed their escape to an act of Providence.  It was explained that the driver was unaccustomed to handling cars.  The swerve into the railing was caused by another member grasping the wheel in an endeavor to steer away from trouble."

The vehicle didn't fair as well as the players.  It lost a wheel and suffered a bent axle and a smashed top.  The players were quoted as saying "She's a good old boat just the same."

The team was not slowed down by the crash however.  They were able to complete several already-scheduled games in the area while a local garage repaired the car.  A few days later the Union Giants were back on the road.

Early in the 1928 season, Robert Gilkerson himself was involved in a vehicle fire while out booking games near Dyersville, Iowa.  After fueling up at a local service station, his car started to smoke and eventually burst into flames.  The local newspaper reported,  "An alarm was sent in and a fire crew responded with the truck.  The special hand chemical tank was put into play and the flames were extinguished, but there was considerable damage done the car.  A short in the ignition system is thought to have been the cause of the blaze."  Gilkerson and an unnamed player that was travelling with him were unharmed.

Gilkerson must of quickly replaced the vehicle because a few weeks later a Minnesota newspaper mentioned that "the Union Giants are traveling in style this year using a Studebaker and a Packard."  The paper added, "Coleman left with the Studebaker packed with nine ball players for that city (Alexandria) about 4 o'clock yesterday after awaiting word from Gilkerson who was in Albert Lea having a new box attached on the back of the Packard."

In 1930 during a series of games with the House of David team in Bismark, North Dakota, the local newspaper mentioned that the Union Giants' bus had overturned near Max, ND a few nights before.  As a result, pitcher Owen Smaulding was sitting out the series with a split finger but otherwise it was business as usual for the club.    

Given the various road conditions and remote locations that Gilkerson was travelling in, it is frankly surprising that the team didn't experience more trouble on the road than they did.  The Union Giants played more than 1,500 games in 18 different states and four Canadian provinces, yet they rarely missed a scheduled game.

In fact, in all my research, I could only find one instance where the team failed to make a game because of travel issues.  In 1932, the team arrived late for a game in Butte, Montana.  The Butte Daily Post reported "the traveling club failed to arrive before night fall.  Poor roads between Great Falls and Helena delayed the Giants, who had played in the Power city Monday evening."   The game could not be made up as the Union Giants were already scheduled in Bozeman the next day.

Otto Ray, Mule Knight & The 1926 Union Giants

This photo of Otto "Jay Bird" Ray and Dave "Mule" Knight in their Union Giants uniforms was first published in Phil Dixon's The Negro Baseball Leagues: A Photographic History.  The photo is undated but it must be from 1926, the only year both played for Gilkerson's team.

For just one season, Ray shared the Union Giants' catching duties with Clarence "Pops" Coleman.  Mule Knight, Ray's battery mate, was one of five regular pitchers that travelled with the team that year.  The others were Fred Sims, Charley Walker, Maurice Young and "Lefty" Wilson.  On a few occasions, Dick Whitworth and ? Hank pitched for the team as well.

The other members of the 1926 squad included:  George Giles (1b), Gene Redd (2b), ? Thomas (2b), Clarence Everett (3b, ss), Charley Akers (ss), Steel Arm Davis (lf, rf), Eddie Dwight (cf, lf) and Jess Turner (rf).  

In July, Redd broke his leg and was out for the rest of the season.  Sometime in September, ? Clark replaced Turner in the outfield.

During the team's "spring training" period spent around Spring Valley, Illinois, ? Britt (ss), ? Harris (rf) and ? Thompson (2b) were all listed in the lineup but did not end up travelling with the team.

The 1926 club was one of Gilkerson's winningest teams.  They played the bulk of their season in Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota with just a few games in Wisconsin.  

Their opponents were mostly town teams but they also played other barnstorming clubs like the House of David and the All Nations team.   They also had an extended series with the Rock Island Railway company team of Kansas City that was playing in Iowa that year.  

On more than one occasion, the Union Giants faced off against legendary pitcher John Donaldson, who was playing for the Lismore, Minnesota team at the time.  The Union Giants won both games of a big 4th of July doubleheader billed as "the greatest baseball card ever assembled for one day."

In early September, the Moline Dispatch reported, "The Union Giants have won ninety-six games this season, lost ten and tied three.  Two of their pitchers have pitched no hit, no run games this year, Sims blanking the Lone Rock, Ia., club, 4-0, and 'Slow Ball' Walker the Newton, Ia., team, 2-0."

For several days during their 1926 tour, a Minnesota columnist travelled with Gilkerson's team and reported on the trials and tribulations of life on the road for a Black barnstorming team.  During the brief time spent with the club, the Union Giants played five games in three days, travelling hundreds of miles between games.  They often didn't get a chance to eat a meal or warm up before games and had less than ideal accommodations in the small towns where they played.  Yet, the Union Giants still managed to win the vast majority of their contests.  (I will share the full reporting and other accounts from the road in an upcoming post.)

Their final tally for the 1926 season was reported at 117 wins, 22 losses and 4 ties.    Over half the players would leave the team or be replaced in the next season, including Ray and Knight, however the team would win even more games in 1927.

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In October 1926, the Chicago Defender reported that Robert Gilkerson was in the Windy City to attend the Colored World Series between the Chicago American Giants and Bacharach Giants.  Several former Union Giants players were on both rosters including Luther Farrell, George Harney, Rube Curry and Charley Williams.