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.
Gilkerson's club were bouncing around northern Iowa in late June 1926 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.
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| Greene Reporter, June 16, 1926 |
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.
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| The Truman Tribune, July 1, 1926 |
The Union Giants did not arrive in Fairmont until 6 am 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 the 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.
