From Blackberriwyne Row to John Adams, Cleveland Sports Fans have Always Influenced Our Pastimes

If there is one thing that can be said about Cleveland, it’s that the residents of the city love their sports teams. It can also be said that the fans of Cleveland sports have been innovators, loyal, and the backbone of every sporting venture in Cleveland, professional or amateur, throughout the history of our town.

One of the first enclosed venues to watch a team sporting match was Case Commons, which, in 1868 had a wooden fence around the entire park. This innovation allowed field owners to charge 50 cents to attending fans, who came to support the amateur Forest City Base Ball Club despite the price. As a result, the sport of base ball flourished in the area. In fact, Cleveland hosted one of the first professional base ball teams in the country, in large part due to the fans willingness to pay to watch the sport.

By the 1880’s, Cleveland had a contending base ball club, and the first
unofficial “booster” club formed, “Blackberriwyne Row”. The fans of this notorious club were christened as such due to their penchant for consuming vast amounts of blackberry wine during Cleveland Blues games, and cheering for their home club, while heckling the opposition. This is amusingly noted in a Cleveland Leader article, August 23rd, 1883:

“The necks were knocked off of several bottles of wine and many bumpers were swallowed to the success of the Gilt-edged [Cleveland Blues] on their trip West and East.”

Members of the Blackberriwyne Row gang were influential Clevelanders. Al & Tom Johnson (future mayor of Cleveland), were prominent streetcar owners, while Charles LeMarche (Owner of Wedell House Hotel), George Wilson (Cigar Company Owner), and Mat Wolford (Tavern Owner), made up the leadership of the wine drinking hecklers, and were all major businessmen in the community. The club spearheaded an attendance that was 4th in the National League that year, 63,000 faithful souls in total.

As the population of Cleveland boomed, and the city attracted more professional sports clubs, attendance also rose, and Cleveland Sports Fan would become the backbone of sporting success in our town. On October 15th, 1915, 115,000 fans packed Brookside Park to watch the Cleveland White Autos v. Omaha Luxus for the National Amateur Baseball Championship. Cleveland also holds the title for largest attendance for a professional baseball game, when 84,587 loyal Cleveland fans packed Municipal Stadium to watch Bob Feller’s Indians.



Loyal Cleveland sports fans also packed stadiums and ballparks to witness the birth of the NFL. The fans outrage over Art Modell moving the Browns out of Cleveland in the 1990’s, resulted in an unprecedented move by the NFL to grant the city a franchise before an owner or stadium was in place.

Also during the 1990’s, Cleveland Indians fans set a Major League record of 455 consecutive sell outs of Jacobs Field from June 12, 1995-April 4, 2001. This amazing record was fueled by; a great team, enthusiastic fans, and the constant pounding of a drum at the games.


John Adams is the epitome of Cleveland Sports fan. On April 27th, he attended, and rallied the Cleveland Indians with his rally drumming, for the 3,000th game. This feat is unprecedented in sports, and an accomplishment that all citizens of Cleveland can be proud of. Adams exemplifies the historical spirit of Cleveland Sports Fan, and continues the proud tradition of the fans of Cleveland sports being the backbone of her professional and amateur franchises.

Sources:
Cleveland Leader
Base Ball on the Western Reserve, James Egan Jr.
Baseball Chronology
The Cleveland Blues Base Ball Club
Wikipedia

Photos:
1st Photo - Mayor Tom L. Johnson - Wikipedia
2nd Photo - Brookside Park, 1914 - www.cbbbc.webs.com
3rd Photo - John Adams - www.letsgotribe.com

Cleveland Baseball Spring Training History is Well Traveled

Spring Training in Cleveland

One of the sure signs that winter is heading into spring, is when the Indians begin Spring Training every year. This week, the tradition continued as pitchers and catchers had to report to the Indians Spring Training home in Goodyear, Arizona. In years past, Cleveland’s baseball clubs wintered in 13 different states, and even in some local places here in Cleveland that still exists today! The Waring Block Building, St. Malachi’s Hall and The Cleveland Athletic Club all were home to some “indoor” Spring Trainings in Cleveland’s past. These locations were chosen for one of two reasons; traveling South for Spring Training developed as a tradition in the late 1880’s; or, financial considerations.


List of Cleveland Baseball Clubs’ Spring Training Homes:

Cleveland Blues
· 1879 – Case Commons, Cleveland
· 1880 – Waring Block Building, Cleveland
· 1881 – St. Malachi’s Hall, Cleveland
· 1882-1884 – Cleveland
· 1887 – Cleveland Driving Park, Cleveland
· 1888 – Columbus, Ohio & Wheeling, WV

Cleveland Spiders
· 1889-1890 – Hot Springs, Arkansas
· 1891 – Jacksonville, Florida
· 1892 – Hot Springs, Arkansas
· 1893 – Atlanta, Macon, Charleston, SC, Savannah, GA and Chattanooga, TN
· 1894 – Cleveland Athletic Club, Cleveland
· 1895-1898 – Hot Springs, Arkansas
· 1899 – Terra Haute, Indiana

Cleveland Indians (Blues, Bronchos, Naps)
· 1901 – Cleveland
· 1902-1903 – New Orleans
· 1904 – San Antonio
· 1905-1906 – Atlanta
· 1907-1908 – Macon, Georgia
· 1909 – Mobile, Alabama
· 1910–1911 – Alexandria, LA
· 1912 – Mobile, Alabama
· 1913 – Pensacola, FL
· 1914 – Athens, Georgia
· 1915 – San Antonio
· 1916-1920 – New Orleans
· 1921-1922 – Dallas
· 1923-1927 – Lakeland, FL
· 1928-1939 – New Orleans
· 1940-1941 – Fort Meyers, FL
· 1942 – Clearwater, FL
· 1943-1945 – Lafayette, Indiana
· 1946 – Clearwater, FL
· 1947-1992 – Tucson, Arizona
· 1993-2008 – Winter Haven, FL
· 2009-present – Goodyear, Arizona

source – springtrainingonline.com & Base Ball on the Western Reserve

Through all the years of the Spring Training tradition, Clevelanders could look forward to baseball in the spring, while the players practiced to bring a Championship to Cleveland.

Photo Credits
- St. Malachi's Church - Cleveland Catholic Diocese
- 1909 Cleveland Naps in Mobile, Alabama - Library of Congress

Ill-Tempered Amputee Threw Cleveland’s First No-Hitter

Cleveland is known for having great pitching talent throughout major league baseball history. However, when you ask people who the best pitchers are, you get a list of the usual suspects: Bob Feller, Lenny Barker, Addie Joss, Cy Young, Early Wynn, CC Sabathia, Gaylord Perry, Satchel Paige, etc. Very few people, if anybody, would mention the first Cleveland ball player to throw a no-hitter, Hugh “One Arm” Daily.


Daily was born in Ireland in 1847, the son of a potato farmer. He lost his left hand and part of his forearm to a gun accident as a youngster, and quite possibly was the first amputee pitcher in the major leagues. He began his Major League career with the Buffalo Bisons on May 1, 1882. Considered a hard throwing right-hander, Daily made up for his physical limitations by catching the ball with is stump, protected in a leather-type covering. He also was able to hit one handed, hitting .157 for his six-year career.

In addition to his pitching, the most notable thing about Daily was his demeanor. Like many pitchers of his day, “One Arm”, was crude, and highly competitive. He’d do anything to gain an advantage over an opponent. Edward Achorn, is his new book Fifty-Nine in ’84, describes an event during the 1883 season when Daily was pitching for the Blues, and ½ game behind the first place Providence Grays and their superstar pitcher “Old Hoss” Radbourn. “His [Daily’s] moment of revenge came when Charlie [Radbourn] strode to the plate in the fifth inning of the July 30 game, with Cleveland holding a narrow 3-2 edge. Staring at his nemesis, One Arm reared back, ran to the front of the pitcher’s box, and fired a fastball at Radbourn. The ball slammed into Charlie’s chest with horrific force, and he buckled over in pain. Though he almost never left a game he started, Rathbourn could not go on.” Daily ended up winning the game 7-2. His proven ill temper and surliness wasn’t just reserved for the opposing team either. Daily once punched his own catcher for throwing the ball too hard back to him after pitches. He often argued with umpires and fans, much to the delight of the crowd.

His demeanor did not make him a popular player with his teammates or management, despite his success as a pitcher. As a result, during his six-year career, he played for six different ball clubs, including the 1883 Cleveland Blues of the National League, and the 1887 Cleveland Blues of the American Association. However, in his short time in the major leagues, he left his mark. Daily’s no hitter was thrown on September 13, 1883 for the Blues. He led the Union Association in strikeouts in 1884 with an astonishing 483. He struck out 19 batters in one game, a record that was not surpassed until the 1980’s by Roger Clemens. He also is tied for most one-hitters in a season.

Debuting at age 35, Daily got his start late in the game of base ball, and stopped playing after 1887. Not much is known about his whereabouts after his retirement. He was last known to be living in Baltimore in 1923. Although his career was short, he definitely was a top pitcher in the major Leagues for at least two seasons, and Cleveland’s first pitching superstar.

Sources:

Fifty-Nine in '84, Achorn
http://www.wikipedia.com/
http://www.baseballalmanac.com/
Base Ball on the Western Reserve, Egan Jr.

Photo:
Hugh "One Arm" Daily - http://www.wikipedia.com/