An Ugly Ending to One of the Prettiest Races in Baseball History

Separate “ugly” incidents involving Milwaukee in the final week of the 1902 Western League season marred an otherwise fantastic pennant race that included four teams.

After Milwaukee’s one year stay in the major American League in 1901, the city was host to two minor league franchises in 1902. The American Association placed a team in Milwaukee, taking the traditional name Brewers, while a Western League franchise took the name Creams–called by some in the press “The Angels”–managed by future Hall of Famer Hugh Duffy.

The Brewers placed a distant sixth in the American Association, but the Creams were in the race right up to the finish. This 1902 Western League pennant went to the wire with four teams in very close contention on the final weekend. To add to the drama, the four teams were paired off against each other. The second to last game of the season perhaps sealed Duffy’s Creams fate for the season.

The Creams traveled to Omaha for a three-game series to end the season. Entering this series the top four spots in the Western League took this shape:

On Saturday, September 20, Milwaukee beat Omaha 3 to 2, pinning the loss on Mordecai Brown. In Colorado, Kansas City beat Denver 7 to 6, to tighten up the race even more, and put the Creams in first place.

On Sunday, September 21, the Kansas City/Denver game was rained out.

The Sunday Milwaukee/Omaha game at Omaha’s Vinton Street baseball yard was played before “a delirious throng of some 7000 or 8000 people.” Neither team scored in the first three innings; pitchers Frank “Yip” Owen for the Omahogs and John McPherson for the Creams giving up only a hit each.

In the fourth inning the Western League pennant took a turn against Milwaukee. The exact sequence of what happened differs in newspaper accounts, but the basic facts come through. The lead-off batter for Omaha in this fourth inning was Robert Carter. Some reports say that before the inning started Milwaukee manager Hugh Duffy went to umpire August Moran, and insisted the fans in the playing area be removed. How many fans is open to question. The Milwaukee Sentinel reported “the crowd had surged on the field;” the Milwaukee Daily News reported the “crowd overflowed the foul lines.” The Omaha Daily News commented “a dozen spectators were propped up against the left field fence.” Umpire Moran ordered a policeman to clear the field, but some fans were slow to leave.  The umpire called for Cream’s pitcher John McPherson to pitch, but McPherson refused until all spectators were off the field. The umpire replied “No, I’ll not wait another minute” and called a ball on the Omaha lead-off hitter. Apparently McPherson still refused to pitch and Moran gave Carter his base on balls.

There is disagreement in the press coverage whether McPherson walked Carter, or Moran gave a pass to Carter. The Omaha World-Herald indicated McPherson walked Carter. The Omaha Daily News reported Moran called a ball on Carter; then McPherson pitched and walked him. The Omaha Daily Bee simply said Carter was given a base on balls. The Milwaukee Journal said nothing of Carter, only commenting the next batter was given his base by the umpire. The Milwaukee Sentinel and the Evening Wisconsin reported the umpire gave a free pass to Carter. After the season, Harry Vaughn, who had finished the season with the Creams, told the Milwaukee Daily News : “The overflow at Omaha crowded our outfielders. Before we could get our players back into position Umpire Moran sent two Omaha men to base on balls without a ball being pitched.”

The walk to Carter brought Hugh Duffy in from his center field position, and a few other players joined in to argue with Umpire Moran. (Some reports claim it was at this point that Duffy called for the field to be cleared.) The next Omaha batter, Joe Wright., was waiting at the plate. “Then in stentorian tones, he [Umpire Moran] ordered Colonel McPherson to hurl the sphere in the direction of Mr. Wright, who stood at the plate with his sapling uplifted threateningly, but the colonel refused, and as he maintained his position, and insisted on a forensic debate of the question, Ump. Moran dispatched Mr. Wright to first on four balls that were never delivered.”

With runners on first and second, Duffy now told his pitcher to get to work. The next batter, Joe Dolan, beat out an intended sacrifice to load the bases. Asa Stewart then was hit by a pitch, bringing home Carter with the first run of the game. An amateur replacement, Harry Welch, followed with a single to left. A wild throw by Milwaukee left fielder John O’Brien was lost in the crowd, and all four runners scored. Omaha center fielder Jack Thomas then singled. A failed play at second on the next batter put Omaha runners on first and second. After a sacrifice, the Cream’s third baseman, Jim Cockman committed an error, allowing another run to score. This led to another argument by the Creams with Umpire Moran, and Milwaukee shortstop Frank Gatins was ejected after offering to punch the arbiter. After play resumed the Omahogs scored one more run. Total tally for the fourth inning: seven Omaha runs.

As Duffy returned to the bench after the inning the Omaha World-Herald reported he called the umpire a “robber” and “assassin,” and First Baseman John Thornton called Moran a “swopplespingler.” The Creams never got back in the game, losing 9 to 4.

Manager Hugh Duffy immediately stated he would protest the game to Western League President Sexton, based on the grounds there was no rule that authorized the umpire to call balls if the Creams failed to play. According to Duffy, the umpire would have had to wait until the field was cleared, or forfeit the game to Omaha.

On Monday, September 22, Milwaukee’s hopes of a Western League pennant ended “one of the prettiest races in baseball history.” Kansas City beat Denver 5 to 2, for its 82nd win against 54 loses.

Back in Omaha, Duffy’s team ended the season not acting like “Angels,” with another ugly incident. The game was a scoreless tie through 6 innings.

Pictured Left: Miller, Right: Evers

Again, the exact sequence is conflicting in the newspaper accounts, but all accounts relate a nasty on-field sight for the ladies’ day crowd. The reports are so different it is hard to believe the papers were reporting to readers about the same game. What is definite is that in the seventh inning Brewer second baseman Frank Miller was ejected from the game for arguing a call with umpire Moran. Either later that inning or the next Jack Evers, who entered the game as a replacement when Miller was ejected, got into a fight with Moran. It appears Evers struck the umpire either with the sleeve of his sweater or his fist, and Augie Moran countered “with a good soak on the rowdy’s jaw.” Four policemen were needed to keep Evers from Moran, “who was very willing” to let the player get close to him again. Evers was arrested after he struck several of the officers. The inning ended with Omaha scoring three runs, and eventually winning 4 to 0, dropping the Creams to third place.

As things turned out the Creams could not have taken first place even if the Omaha protest was upheld, and Duffy did not attend the Western League meeting the following week.

The final standings show how close a race the Western League pennant of 1902 had been:

Unfortunately the season did not end (at least in Omaha) with on field incidents baseball would be proud of.