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.

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.

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 of the game however, printed two days after the fact, 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 - August 22, 1926

Gilkerson's Union Giants 4, Newton Maytags 0

In his second year with the Union Giants, Admiral Walker pitched a no hitter against the Newton Maytags of Newton, Iowa in August.  Several newpapers noted that 36 assists were made by the two teams in the game.  The next season, Walker would go on to pitch for the Kansas City Monarchs.

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."

The 1920's: A Decade of Winning

Fargo Forum, June 9, 1928

For more than a decade the Union Giants were known as one of the best barnstorming teams in the country.  In 1928, Robert Gilkerson was interviewed by the North Dakota newspaper, The Fargo Forum, where he defended his team's reputation, "We do not claim to be the best traveling team in the business, but if there are any teams claiming that honor, we'd like to meet them in a three game series, and we'll bet our end of the gate receipts on the outcome."

Gilkerson added, "There are plenty of strong traveling teams this season but any team that can win 95 percent of their games, playing the best aggregations in the middlewest, and barring none, is certainly worthy of consideration."

The idea that the Union Giants won 95% of their games was a bit of a stretch.  It may have been true when considering a short run of games, the Union Giants were known for long win streaks, but it simply wasn't sustainable over the course of a whole season and certainly not long term.  So, it's fair to ask, how good were the Union Giants really?  

Unfortunately, when it comes to independent traveling teams like Gilkerson's there were no official records or stats.  They did not belong to any league or conference and did not report to any governing body.  Instead, year-end totals were compiled and occasionally sent off to various newspapers by team owner Robert Gilkerson, mostly to promote the team the following year.

A century later, these records remain buried and forgotten in old sports columns, spread out over a decade and isolated in different parts of the country.   To my knowledge, no one had ever tracked them all down, compiled and publicly shared them until now. 

With this in mind, during the 1920's, the Union Giants are reported to have won 1,017 games out of 1,301 played.  This would put Gilkerson's combined winning percentage for the decade at over 79%.  The team's best overall year, according to the totals, was 1927, when they won nearly 84% of their contests.   Both are elite numbers and demonstrate clearly how the majority of their opponents were simply outmatched by the Union Giants.  Even on their worst year, the team won over 72% of their games.

Here are the totals broken down by year (sources below):

YEAR	W	L	T	PCT
1920	91	20	4	.809
1921	97	23	1	.806
1922	89	29	2	.750
1923	88	22	4	.789
1924	101	38	1	.725
1925	91	30	4	.744
1926	117	22	4	.832
1927	118	22	2	.838
1928	103	23	3	.810
1929	122	26	4	.816
TOTALS	1017	255	29	.793

The question remains, are these numbers accurate?  The totals seem almost too good to be true and there would have been nothing preventing Gilkerson from simply embellishing his wins and losses to help promote his team.  

On this point, I can offer this amateur analysis.   I've positively identified the outcome of approximately 60% of the 1,301 games the Union Giants are said to have played during this 10-year period.  I used box scores, line scores and accounts of games from a variety of newspapers that had no real interest in making the Union Giants appear better than they really were.  Of the more than 780 games I've verified for this period, the Union Giants won roughly 74% of them.  For 1927, the Union Giants' best year according to Gilkerson's numbers, I show them winning over 78% of their games.

While these winning percentages fall below what Gilkerson provided, they are still quite impressive.  With 40% of the games still unaccounted for, it is within reason to expect the gap between the two set of numbers to narrow.  I would even say, for most years, Gilkerson's totals are still plausible.  Based on my preliminary numbers alone, the 1925 team was likely a little worse than Gilkerson said.  At the same time, the 1926 Union Giants might prove to be better than reported.  

In the end, if it turns out that Gilkerson did in fact boost his numbers, it wasn't really necessary.  His team clearly lived up to their reputation as one of the great independent barnstorming teams of the decade. 

Here are the newspaper sources for each of the above totals along with some additional information.  As you will see, most years had multiple sources.  Any discrepancies or conflicting reports are also noted.

1920 (Record: 91-20-4):  The Chicago Whip, March 5, 1921.  The Dubuque Times-Journal and The Dubuque Telegraph-Herald, April 10, 1921.  Both Dubuque, Iowa papers also reported their run differential and number of shutouts for 1920.

1921 (Record: 97-23-1):  The Capital Times (Madison, WI), May 26, 1922.  Grant County Herald (Lancaster, WI), May 31, 1922.  The Vernon County Censor (Viroqua, WI), June 7, 1922.  June 14, 1922.

Nearing the end of the season, The Chicago Whip on October 22, 1921 reported their record as 91-23-1.

1922 (Record: 89-29-2):  Montreal River Miner (Hurley, WI), August 10, 1923.  

The Ironwood Daily Globe (Ironwood, MI) also published the Union Giants' 1922 record on August 7, 1923.  They however listed 89 games played instead of 89 wins.

1923 (Record 88-22-4):  The Capital Times (Madison, WI), May 27, 1924.  The Bricelyn Sentinel (Bricelyn, MN), June 13, 1924.  Reedsburg Free Press (Reedsburg, WI), September 11, 1924.  The Omaha Monitor, September 26, 1924.  The Grand Island Independent (Grand Island, NE), October 2, 1924.

                           

1924 (Record 101-38-1):  The Chicago Defender, October 18, 1924.

The August 7, 1925 editions of the Daily Times (Davenport, IA) and the Davenport Democrat and Leader both listed the Union Giants' 1924 record this way:  "Last year the colored boys copped 101 of their 139 contests."  This fails to acknowledge either one of their losses or more likely, their one tie.

1925 (Record 91-30-4):  Moline Daily Dispatch (Moline, IL), October 14, 1925.  Bureau County Tribune (Princeton, IL), October 23, 1925.

The Sioux City Journal reported on April 17, 1926 one less win and one more loss: 90-31-4.

1926 (Record 117-22-4):  Winside Herald (Winside, NE), June 30, 1927.   

The Brainerd Daily Dispatch (Brainerd, MN), August 10, 1927 listed their record with two less ties, 117-22-2.  Several other newspapers that year published their record as 117 wins and 22 losses, with no mention of ties.  The real outlier however was the Daily Times (Davenport, IA), May 3, 1927 which listed the Union Giants' record for 1926 as 134-32-4.

1927 (Record 118-22-2):  The Winnipeg Tribune, June 7, 1928.

The Daily Times (St. Cloud, MN), August 24, 1928:  "The Gilkerson Union Giants copped 118 games this season and lost but 22."  No mention of ties.

Immediately following the season (October 6, 1927), The Daily Post-Tribune (LaSalle, IL) recorded four fewer losses:  "Gilkerson's outfit played 138 games.  Of these 138 they won 118, lost 18 and ended two in ties.  For those who must have statistitics [sic] and accurated figures and percentages with their baseball, it can be pointed out that Gil's team had a winning percentage of .855 of total number of games played."

1928 (Record 103-23-3):  The Albert Lea Tribune (Albert Lea, MN), June 26, 1929.

The Fargo Forum (Fargo, ND), August 8, 1929 listed the Union Giants with 105 wins and 23 losses in 1928.   During the 1928 season, the Brainerd Dispatch reported on July 9th, that the Union Giants had already played 147 games that year, winning 101 of them.  This seems to be pure fabrication.

1929 (Record 122-26-4):  The Daily Pantagraph (Bloomington, Illinois), Apr 19, 1930 and April 20, 1930.  The Bismark Tribune (Bismark, ND), June 4, 1930.

The Daily Times (Davenport, IA) and the Quad-City Times (Davenport, IA) on April 25, 1930 listed their 1929 record with four fewer losses:  122-22-4.  The Daily Pantagraph initially provided their record this way on April 16, 1930:  "won 92, lost 24 and played four tie games out of 122 contests waged in 1929."  (The math is clearly wrong here.)  Another early provided record that was later updated came from the Bismark Tribune.  On May 27, 1930 they wrote, "last year, the Giants played 105 games, 23 of which they lost.  Three of their games ended in ties."

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, Admiral 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), Dave 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.

__________

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.