and the
1884 Stillwater Baseball Club
Mankato State University –
Fall semester 1982
John DiMeglio
History of Sports
First time I ever heard about Fowler
How did Stillwater become a Baseball Town
Early History of Stillwater Baseball
1859 – St. Paul traveling to Stillwater to play a game
1860 – Another St. Paul match in Stillwater
1866 – After the Civil War – team formed
1867 – Team named “St. Croix Base Ball Club”
1868 – St. Croix’s win State Base Ball Championship
October 19,1876
St. Croix Base Ball Club vs. Chicago White Stockings
in Stillwater
Minnesota Chief’s Baseball Club 1880-1883
The 1883 Minnesota Chief's roster
Thomas Birmington, Captain, Stillwater, MN
Andrew Brown, Chicago, IL pitcher
Thomas Griffin, Rockford, IL first base
Gurdon Whiteley, Providence, RI second base
B.S. Carr, Chicago, IL shortstop
Fred Javne, Chicago, IL left field
James Messenger, Menomonie, WI
Thomas McCarthy, Stillwater, MN
Daniel McCarthy, Stillwater, MN
Stillwater, Minnesota 1884
Minnesota State Prison – the notorious Younger Brothers at the prison. January 1884 a fire caused the convicts to exit the cell blocks. Youngers housed at Courthouse until cellblocks repaired.
According to the Stillwater City Directory – Stillwater’s population was 13,698 – with South Stillwater & Oak Park the population was 15,448.
Logging & Lumbering was main industry in Stillwater.
Getting into the Northwestern League 1884
Stillwater – A “Plucky little town” said the Sporting Life Newspaper when it came to raising money for the baseball club.
Northwestern League Cities
Stillwater Baseball Association Directors
Charles P. Gregory
William S. Conrad
George S. Brown – resigned
Frank Joy - appointed
Dudley H. Hersey
Seward P. Richardson
William S. Conrad
Charles P. Gregory
Stillwater Club Managers
Joel May
0-6
Joseph Miller
9-18
Fred W. Gunkle
7-7
Johnny Peters
6-13
Stillwater Players
Original club members:
Frank M. Jones, Princeton, Ill
John Numan, Westerly, R.I.
Edgar B. Chapman, Westerly, R.I.
E.D. Gibbs, DesMoines, Iowa
Harry Yarnell, Philadelphia
James McKendrick, Porter Hill, R.I.
John W. Fowler, Boston
J.J. Horan, Chicago
John Traffley, Chicago
John Irwin, South Boston
E.C. Stapleton, Elgin, Ill
Peter L. Fries, Chicago
Joseph Visner, Minneapolis, MN
Joe Visner
John W. (Bud) Fowler
Live and Let Live
Owner of the boarding house was William Humphries, an African-American.
Fowler began cutting hair with Sam Hadley, another well-known black barber in Stillwater.
The 1884 Season Begins
Northwestern League season was 110 games – 55 at home and 55 away.
Stillwater was to play it’s first 27 games on the road as the local ball park needed upgrades to meet the League standards.
The Streak!
First Win
Fowler pitched club to first win against Fort Wayne – He receives a $10 bonus and a new suit of clothes.
Fowler getting noticed
Grand Rapids [MI] Eagle June 6, 1884
**Fowler, the colored bonanza [Stillwater Daily Sun]
**The playing of Fowler, the colored pitcher of the Stillwaters, was one of the features of yesterday’s game. After capturing two long flies in left field, he was placed in the box at the commencement of the seventh and did some excellent pitching. His base throwing was also quick and accurate. He is one of the most handy men on the visiting nine. [Quincy Whig]
**Fowler, the phenomenal pitcher, is a good one. [Muskegon Daily Chronicle]
**Fowler, however, played right away from everybody else in both teams, making a total of six bases in five chances offered, and running the bases like greased lightning. He plays ball as though really in love with the game, and through ebony-hued, is a prize of no small value. [St. Paul Daily Globe p.5]
Stillwater Finally at Home
Extra inning wins against Minneapolis
A “Rumpus” at the Sawyer House
with Bay City Boys
A few of the Bay City Base Ball club got full of booze Thursday evening and attempted to run the town. The didn’t succeed in doing this but an officer run one of them in for a nights lodging, which cost him $7.50 when he faced Judge Nethaway the next morning. When it comes to running a town, the boys had better let Stillwater alone. [Stillwater Gazette July 16, 1884]
Beginning of the End
Disbanded
What’s next?
Stillwater Players in the Major Leagues
Edward P. Brown - 2 years - St. Louis & Toledo
Joseph P. Connor – 1 year – Altoona & Kansas City
Fred Corey - 7 years - Providence, Worcester, Philadelphia
Peter Fries - 1 year - Columbus
Frank Graves - 1 year - St. Louis
Pat Dealey - 5 years - St. Paul, Boston, Washington, Syracuse
Fred Gunkle - 1 game - Cleveland
Frank M. Jones - 2 games - Detroit
Joseph Miller - 2 years - Washington, Keokuk, Chicago
Johnny Peters - 11 years - Chicago, Providence, Buffalo, Pittsburgh
John Pickett - 3 years - Kansas City, Philadelphia, Baltimore
Otto Schomberg - 3 years - Pittsburgh, Indianapolis
Joseph Visner - 4 years - Baltimore, Brooklyn, Pittsburgh, Washington, St. Louis
Fowler’s Career after Stillwater
John W. (Bud) Fowler
In July 1987, the Society of American Baseball Researchers, SABR, placed a headstone at the unmarked grave of John W. Jackson, AKA, Bud Fowler in Oak View Cemetery in Frankfort, NY.
Class of 2022