Once A Knight ...: That's the old ballgame Shreveport, Chapter 5 (the early years)

Chapter 5
The early years

1895 -- The first recorded professional team in Shreveport, nicknamed the Grays, played in the eight-team Texas-Southern League. Frank P. Nolan and James Bowers were owners of a team that replaced New Orleans; W.H. Johnson was the team president/operator, then Nolan took over.

Because the league was Texas-based, there was an effort to keep Shreveport from being included.

The first manager was Pete Weckbecker, briefly a major-league catcher in 1889-90 and in his ninth season as a pro. It was the first of five teams he managed, but he didn't finish the season, and was replaced by George Keefe and Kennedy.

Five players on the roster played in the majors, most extensively Pearce Chiles, an outfielder-first baseman-second baseman who was in 130 games for the 1899-1900 Philadelphia Phillies.

The team went 42-18 in the season's first half and finished 2½ games behind Dallas (43-14), then dropped out of the league (on August 7) in the second half with a 16-19 record (in fourth place).

1899 -- The Shreveport Tigers played in the four-team Southern League, apparently with a short season (41 games, according to baseballreference.com). Infielder George Reed was the team's player-manager and a .318 hitter.

1901 -- The Shreveport Giants joined the Southern Association.

1904-07 -- The Shreveport Pirates were in the Southern Association through 1907. In 1905, the Pirates' Jim "Snapper" Kennedy led the league with 57 stolen bases and Steve Norcum was the leader in runs (105). In 1906, Bobby Byrne's 46 stolen bases were best in the SA.
1908 -- Captain William T. Crawford, one of Shreveport's leading businessmen (president/founder of a wholesale grocery and cotton firm and then one of the first automobile/trucks/tires dealers) purchased the Temple franchise and returned the team to the Texas League (where it remained through 1910). Harry Ehrlich was the Pirates' business manager.

Because of the increased travel mileage for a team in Louisiana, Shreveport paid a $75 guarantee daily to visiting clubs instead of the customary $15 for Texas teams.

The 1909 Shreveport Pirates (photo from Texas League office)

1911 -- Crawford sold the team to Austin, Texas, operators; Shreveport's team returned to the Southern Association, but there is no recorded evidence that it played in that league through 1914.

1915 -- Crawford bought back the Shreveport franchise and returned it to the Texas League with the nickname "Gassers." Crawford owned the team for eight years and was described as a "hands-off" owner. O.L. Sullivan was the operating officer through 1918, then railroad executive Capt. Hardie B. Hearn -- president-general manager of Shreveport Street Railways and a vice-president of City Bank & Trust -- operated the team through 1922.

1916 -- The Gassers (84-61) made a run at Shreveport's first pennant, finishing a half-game behind Waco (84-60). A doubleheader sweep at Fort Worth on the season's final day could have given Shreveport the pennant, but it only managed a split. At the end of the season, Shreveport manager Syd Smith wrote a public letter of thanks in The Shreveport Times.

1917 -- By February, a new grandstand, seating 4,500, and new bleachers (1,000) were completed at Gasser Park, replacing stands that were only two years old but had posts which caused obstructed views.

1919 -- The Gassers built such a big lead in the first half of the season that Texas League officials decided to have a split season, the second half beginning July 4. Fort Worth won the second-half title, but Shreveport took the championship -- its first ever -- with a 4-2-1 series edge.

1923 -- Ira Thomas, a catcher in the major leagues for a decade, including seven years with the Philadelphia Athletics and action in three World Series, headed a small syndicate that bought the Gassers from Captain Crawford. Thomas also managed the team on the field in '23 and '24, and the club had a working agreement with owner-manager Connie Mack's Philadelphia A's.

That year the Gassers won the Texas League's President's Cup with an Opening Day attendance of 7,556.

Below: Shreveport Times photos from the 1923 home opener ...

Top players from the era

GEORGE KEEFE -- A left-hander pitcher and outfielder, he was on the first three Shreveport teams that can be traced, and is listed as the interim manager in 1895. His career began in 1888 as a pitcher for the Washington Nationals; he was with them for five seasons, with a 20-48 record in 78 games and 616⅓ innings. For Shreveport in 1899, he was 2-2 as a pitcher and batted .329. Died Aug. 25, 1935, in Washington, D.C., at age 68.

DUMMY TAYLOR -- A right-handed pitcher, the first Shreveport player to have significant success in the major leagues. His career began with the Shreveport Tigers in 1899 (6-7 record, 15 games, 13 complete). Starting the next year, he was in the majors for nine years, all with the New York Giants, except for a brief time with Cleveland in 1902. A consistent winner, he was a 116-106 MLB record in 274 games (237 starts). Died Aug. 22, 1958, in Jacksonville, Ill., at age 83.

FRANK HUELSMAN -- A left fielder whose major-league debut (1897, St. Louis Browns) preceded three outstanding seasons with Shreveport in the Southern Association. For the Shreveport Giants (1901-03), he batted .392 (191 hits in 121 games), a league-best .360 and .343. The next year, 1904, he became the first major leaguer to play for four teams in one season. He hit only .258 in 235 MLB games, but went on to become one of the minor leagues' best-ever hitters -- a .342 average for nearly 20 years, five batting titles, two "Triple Crowns" and a near-miss (by .002 in batting average) in three years (1911-13, Class D). Died June 9, 1959, in Affton, Mo., at age 85.

FRANK WEIKART -- He was Shreveport's first home-run champion, his 11 leading the Southern Association in 1902 when he was age 37. A first baseman, second baseman and sometimes pitcher, he played with Shreveport from 1901 to 1905 -- batting .273, .272, .280 the first three years. His 21-year playing career -- all in the minors -- ended in the Texas League (Galveston, 1907-08).

ERVE BECK -- His only season in Shreveport, 1903, he led the Southern Association in hits (164, including 26 doubles) while batting .331 in 125 games. A second baseman, first baseman and outfielder, he had been in the major leagues briefly in 1899 and then full seasons in 1901-02 (with three teams) and was a .291 hitter with 42 doubles and 123 RBI in 232 MLB games. Died Dec. 23, 1916, in Toledo, Ohio, at age 38.

TOM FISHER -- On Sept. 1, 1906, he pitched a perfect game for the Shreveport Pirates in a 4-0 victory against Montgomery, part of his 24-12 record that season. The right-hander pitched for Shreveport teams for six seasons (1901-03, 1905-07), with a 104-83 record in 210 games, and the final year he also was the team's manager. He had a 24-11 record in 1903, prompting a promotion to the National League in 2004, and he was 6-16 for the Boston Beaneaters (31 games, 21 starts, 19 complete games, 214 innings). Also a centerfielder, he hit .369 in 1903 and .311 in 1907 for Shreveport. He finished his career with four more years in the Southern Association, the last three with Atlanta. Died Sept. 3, 1972, in Anderson, Ind., at age 91.

BOBBY BYRNE -- In his third pro season (1906), he was the Shreveport shortstop and hit .273 in 123 games, and led the Southern Association with 46 stolen bases. The next year he was with the St. Louis Cardinals to begin a major-league career that spanned 11 seasons (three teams). Mostly a third baseman, he hit .254 in 1,283 games. He was a minor-league manager in 1921 and '22. Died Dec. 31, 1964 (his 80th birthday) in Wayne, Pa.

BOB HARMON -- A right-handed pitcher, and switch hitter, he broke into pro ball at age 21 with the Shreveport Pirates in 1909 and in 16 games and 94 innings, he had a 5-3 record, then was sold to the St. Louis Cardinals and that season started 17 games for them, with a 6-11 record. He was in the majors, mostly as a starting pitcher, for eight subsequent seasons -- four with the Cardinals, four with the Pittsburgh Pirates. His best season was in 1911 when he had a 23-16 record and worked 348 innings (51 games, 41 starts). MLB totals: 107-133 record, 321 games, 240 starts, 143 complete games, 15 shutouts, 2,054 innings. A longtime resident of Monroe, La., he was a successful planter and dairyman and died there Nov. 27, 1971, at age 74.

JEFF TESREAU -- A big right-hander (6-2, 218) known for his spitball success, he first pitched for Shreveport in 1909 -- his fourth Texas League stop that season -- and then returned in 1910 as a front-line starter. He was 15-14 for the Pirates that year, with 33 starts and 274 innings in which he had a fine strikeout-to-walks line (179 to 71). Two years later he began a seven-year stay as a top starter for the New York Giants. As a rookie, he had a 17-7 record and was manager John McGraw's choice to start Game 1 of the World Series against the Boston Red Sox. In that Series, he won Game 7, beating the great Smoky Joe Wood (who won the decisive Game 8 when the Red Sox rallied in the bottom of the 10th against Christy Mathewson). Tesreau had records of 22-13 and 26-10 (with a National League-best eight shutouts) in 1913 and '14, and also had 19- and 18-win seasons. He pitched in three World Series (also in 1913 and 1917, with three starts and a 1-3 record). He quit baseball in the middle of the 1918 season at age 29 after a feud with McGraw. His MLB totals: 119-72 record, 2.43 ERA, 247 games (207 starts). He was the baseball coach at Dartmouth College for 28 seasons (1919-46) until he died Sept. 24, 1946, in Hanover, N.H., at age 58.

"RUBE" GARDNER -- A left-handed first baseman from Huntington, Texas, given name Luther Curtis, his 14-year pro career included two seasons with the Shreveport Pirates. In 1909, he batted .292 in 69 games; the next year he batted .279 in 133 games. Four of his first five seasons were with Southern Association teams; the bulk of his time -- 1913 to 1918 -- was with Oakland in the Pacific Coast League.

HYDER "SCOTTY" BARR -- An outfielder with a well-traveled 10-year pro career (10 teams), his final two seasons (1915-16) were with the Shreveport Gassers (he hit .261 in 136 games the last year). A three-sport star at Davidson College in North Carolina, his pro career began in 1908, and he made the major leagues almost right away, playing in 41 games for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1908-09. He spent most of his career in the Southern Association. During his Shreveport years, he worked off-season at an oil refinery in Mooringsport, La., managed a pro team in Fort Smith, Ark., in 1917 and a semipro team in Haynesville, La., in 1922. He died Dec. 2, 1934, in Fort Worth, Texas, at age 48, and is buried in the same cemetery as Lee Harvey Oswald.

DIXIE CARROLL -- A left-handed hitting outfielder, he was a sixth-year pro when he joined the Shreveport Gassers in 1915. He stayed for three seasons and had batting averages of .314,.306 and .312. He was a .303 hitter over 20 minor-league seasons through 1929, eight in the Southern Association, and his only major-league time was 15 games in 1919 for Boston (National League) when he batted .265. Died Oct. 13, 1984, in Jacksonville, Fla., at age 93.

HARRY SWACINA -- A pro since 1901, he was Shreveport's first baseman in 1919 at age 37, a .287 hitter in 119 games. He had been in the majors with Pittsburgh (National League) in 1907-08, for 79 games, and for Baltimore (Federal League) in 1914-15. He hit 26 doubles and drove in 90 runs in 1914. His MLB totals: 322 games, .256 average. Died June 21, 1944, in Birmingham, Ala., at age 62.

CHICK GANDIL -- Regarded as one of the best first basemen in the game, his fulltime pro career began with Shreveport in 1908 when he hit .269 in 116 games, and it ended after the 1919 World Series when, after nine major-league seasons, he was suspended for good as one of the ringleaders of the Chicago "Black Sox" throw-the-Series scandal. He denied that to the end of his life (died at 82 in 1970). Drafted by the St. Louis Browns after the 1908 season, he was ordered to report back to Shreveport, but refused. He did return after the 1910 season -- his rookie White Sox year -- for an off-season job as a policeman. He subsequently played for Washington and Cleveland, then the White Sox again for three years, and helped to the 1917 World Series and 1919 American League titles. A solid 6-2, 195 pounds with a tough attitude, he was a .277 lifetime hitter and in 14 Series games hit .245 with 10 RBI. But he also was known as a "professional malcontent" whose disenchantment with White Sox owner Charlie Comiskey helped lead to the Series scandal and permanent banishment of eight players. Died Dec. 13, 1970, in Calistoga, Calif., at age 82.

CHICK KNAUPP -- A career minor leaguer over 17 seasons and nearly 2,000 games, he was a second and third baseman who played eight years in the Texas League, including all or parts of five seasons (1915-16, 1918-20) with the Shreveport Gassers. He was their leading hitter for the near-pennant winners in 1916, .323 in 135 games, and also a regular (.263 average) for the 1919 TL champions.

HOD LEVERETTE -- A Shreveport native, the right-hander was a starting pitcher for Shreveport in the 1915 and 1916 seasons, posting records of 5-15 and 18-13 with a workhorse 266 innings in 36 games the second year. After 10 years in pro ball, he made the majors with the St. Louis Browns in 1920, but did not stay long -- three games, 10⅓ innings, an 0-2 record. And that was the end of his career.

ED DUFFY -- His two seasons pitching for the Shreveport Gassers were notable: In 1915, he led the Texas League in win percentage (11-2 record, .846); in 1916 he was the workhorse for a team that just missed the league -- a 21-17 record, 54 appearances, 311 innings. He pitched in only five seasons -- four before World War I; one briefly afterward, 1920 for two games, four innings with Galveston in the TL.

JOE GLEASON -- A right-hander, he pitched five seasons for Shreveport (the Gassers in 1916-17-20-21, the Sports in 1926), with a 59-58 record in 145 games and 1,067 innings. His records in those years: 10-6, 15-16, 13-11 (after two years in military service), 16-18 and 5-7. The bulk of his 12-season career was in the minors (131-147 record, 371 games, 2,420⅓ innings); his only major league time was with Washington -- in 1920 after the Gassers' season for three games and eight innings, no decisions, and in 1922 for eight games (five starts), a 2-3 record in 40⅔ innings. Died Sept. 8, 1990, in Phelps, N.Y., at age 95.

JOHN VERBOUT -- A right-handed pitcher, he had been a pro for a decade when he came to Shreveport in the Texas League in 1918. A year earlier, he had a 26-7 record for Wilkes-Barre (New York State League). In three seasons with the Gassers, his records were 11-8, 12-4 and 22-11. His 1.56 earned-run average in 1919 tied for the best in the TL, but he quit the game at the end of July in 1919 for a shipbuilding job in New Jersey, and Shreveport went on to win the TL title. He returned for a final season in 1920, and was the team's ace with 296 innings and 2.89 ERA.

SKELTON "BUDDY" NAPIER -- The smallish right-hander (5-11, 165 pounds), a pitcher known to throw spitballs, was a Shreveport Gassers regular for four seasons (1917-20), a 20-game winner in the 1919 Texas League championship season. In the title series against Fort Worth, he won two games (including the opener) and went 10 innings in a 2-2 tie in Game 6. His records in his other Shreveport seasons were 12-19, 11-7 and 11-11, and he was a workhorse in 1917 (358 innings, 2.74 ERA). In his second pro year (1912), the Georgia native was in the majors (St. Louis Browns, American League), and during his Shreveport years he had time with the Chicago Cubs (1918-19) and Cincinnati (1920). MLB totals: 5-6 record, 39 games (13 starts). He pitched through 1924. Died March 29, 1968, in Dallas at age 78.

BERNIE HUNGLING -- A catcher and lifelong resident of Dayton, Ohio, he played for the Shreveport Gassers in 1918, 1919 and 1920, early in a 17-season pro career. He hit .263 in 328 games for Shreveport, with 56 doubles, 12 triples and 16 home runs; he played mostly first base in 1920. He made the majors as a backup catcher for brief stints with the Brooklyn Robins (National League) in 1922-23 and again with the St. Louis Browns (American) for 10 games in 1930, and hit .241 in MLB -- with one home run. After his Gassers time, he was back in the Texas League for all or parts of five seasons. Died March 30, 1968, in Dayton at age 72.

GEORGE JACKSON -- He was 38 when he came to Shreveport as an outfielder in 1920. In three full seasons for the Gassers, he hit .333, .310 and .344, and was back in 1923 until traded to Beaumont. His remarkable pro career started in 1906 and ran through age 50 in 1932. He was in the majors with the Boston Bees (National) in 1911-13, but 1912 was his only full season. He batted .285 in 152 total games. After 1923, he played Class D ball for nine years (at first base), the final six years as a manager, too -- two years in Tyler, Texas; four in El Dorado, Ark. Died Nov. 26, 1972, in Cleburne, Texas, at nearly 91.

KARL BLACK -- A left-handed pitcher whose last name was simplified from the original Tauschenschleger, he was a career minor leaguer (17 seasons, from 1912 to 1930) who starred for the Shreveport Gassers in 1919 -- 15-10 record, 242 innings for a Texas League championship team -- and 1920 (8-4 innings, 115 innings). He came to Shreveport after five years with Birmingham (Southern Association) and pitched five years for Tulsa (Western League), with a 29-13 record and 345 innings in his first year there (1923).

GUS BONO -- Augustus (real name) was a spitball pitcher who came to Shreveport on loan in the 1919 season, threw a no-hitter -- the only one in the Texas League that season -- against San Antonio on July 19 and in the Gassers' title-clinching game pitched out of a jam and retired the final seven batters he faced to wrap up the championship. He was back in Shreveport in 1920 for a full season (16-13 record, 2.31 ERA, 265 innings in 35 games) and then was sold to Washington (American League), where his only major-league time was at the end of the 1920 (0-2 record in four games, 12⅓ innings, one start). He pitched for Kansas City the next two seasons, with a 25-11 record in 1921, and his career ended there. Died Dec. 3, 1948, in Dearborn, Mich., at age 54.

ART EWOLDT -- An infielder (third base, shortstop, second base), he played for Shreveport in 1920-22, in the middle of his career (1913-29). In 1919, he was in nine games for the Philadelphia Athletics (American League) and batted .219. He hit .290 and .310 in his full seasons for the Gassers (1920-21), then asked for his release when he was not named the team manager when Billy Smith was let go early in the '22 season. He moved on to play in New Orleans (Southern Association) for four full seasons and parts of two others. Died Dec. 8, 1977, in Des Moines, Iowa, at age 83.

HANK "HACK" EIBEL -- Shreveport's first outstanding power hitter, a left-handed first baseman (and sometimes pitcher). In 1921, he set Texas League records for home runs (35) and RBI (145) and also led the league in triples (18) and walks (105). His home-run record was soon broken by Clarence "Big Boy" Kraft of Fort Worth with 55 in 1924, a mark that stood until Shreveport's Ken Guettler (62 in 1956).

HARRY O'NEILL -- A right-handed pitcher, his 10-4 (.714) record for the 1923 Shreveport Gassers led the Texas League in win percentage. He pitched in 19 games and 128 innings, with a 4.71 ERA. His first recorded pro action, in 1922, was in the majors -- a three-inning stint closing out a game with the Philadelphia A's. He was with the A's again in '23 for three games, two innings -- and no decisions. After Shreveport, he pitched four more so-so minor-league seasons. Died Sept. 5, 1969, in Ridgetown, Canada, at age 72.

SMEAD JOLLEY -- A minor-league hitting legend, he was a farmboy from southern Arkansas -- born and raised just above the Louisiana border -- who was a right-handed pitcher when he signed a pro contract with Shreveport after a tryout in 1922. He was with the Gassers for a short time in '22 and '24, and had a 2-8 record in 1923. Also a powerful left-handed hitter, he became an outfielder and was in the majors (White Sox, Red Sox) for four seasons in the early 1930s (.305 hitter, 46 home runs). He was a notoriously poor fielder, but his bat was potent (.367 average, 306 home runs in 16 minor-league seasons, mostly in the Pacific Coast League). In successive seasons (1927-29), he hit .397, .404 and .387 for San Francisco and won the PCL's Triple Crown (average, home runs, RBI) in 1928. He died Nov. 17, 1991, in Alameda, Calif., at age 89.

WALT FRENCH -- A lefty-hitting rightfielder, he hit .350 with 34 doubles and 11 triples in 117 games for the Shreveport Gassers in 1924, his second pro season. He was with the Philadelphia Athletics as a rookie the year before, then played five seasons (1925-29) with them and was a .303 hitter in 397 major-league games. His last MLB at-bat was his only one in a World Series -- in Game 5 in 1929, a strikeout that opened the Athletics' ninth inning. Philly then rallied to score three runs against the Cubs' Pat Malone (a former Shreveport pitcher) to erase a 2-0 deficit and end the Series. French played four years in the Southern Association (Little Rock and Knoxville) near the end of his career. Died May 13, 1984, in Mountain Home, Ark., at age 84.

Note: Mike Massey, IF, 1918-21, listed in chapter 25, "They played and stayed."