“All” National and “All” American “1902” California Tourist w/team pics & write-up
Picture identification:
"Back Row (L-R): Mike Kahoe, Jack Chesbro, Bill Donovan, Sam Crawford, Jake Beckley, Joe Cantillon, Win Mercer, Harry Davis, Dick Harley, Bill Bernhard, Monte Cross.
1902-1-11 All-Americas baseball team will compete in bowling tournament. All-Americas beat Nationals in bowling last night.
1902-1-16 Nationals 4, All-Americas 3. 10 innings. Frank Chance.
1902-1-19 All-Americas 4, Nationals 3. Call and Post. Players leaving for eastern homes today. Cartoons. Van Haltren, Steinfeldt, etc.
https://www.newspapers.com/search/results/?date=1902&keyword=steinfeldt®ion=us-ca
Picture identification:
"Back Row (L-R): Mike Kahoe, Jack Chesbro, Bill Donovan, Sam Crawford, Jake Beckley, Joe Cantillon, Win Mercer, Harry Davis, Dick Harley, Bill Bernhard, Monte Cross.
Front Row (L-R): Dick Cooley, Claude Ritchey, Charley Irwin, Charley Dexter, Willie Keeler, child mascot, Topsy Hartsel, Billy Sullivan, Nap Lajoie."
"Joe Cantillon, then a National League umpire, but later the manager of the Washington Nationals (1907-1909), organized the tour. The original itinerary was as follows:
October 12-Chicago Illinois, 13-Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 14-Des Moines, Iowa, 15-Sheldon Illinois, 16-Lamar Iowa, 17-Sioux City, Iowa, 18 and 19-Omaha Nebraska, 20-St. Joseph Missouri, 21 and 22-Kansas City Missouri, 23-Topeka Kansas, 24-Sabine Kansas, 25 and 26-Denver Colorado, 27-Colorado Springs Colorado, 28-Pueblo Colorado, 29-Trinidad Colorado, 30-Las Vegas New Mexico, 31-Santa Fe New Mexico.
November 1-Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2-El Paso, Texas, 3-Benson, Arizona, 4-Tucson, 5-Phoenix, 6-San Bernardino, California, 9-Los Angeles, 10 through 29-other sites in southern California, 30-San Francisco.
After two to three weeks in the San Francisco Bay area, the teams would perhaps sail to Honolulu for some exhibitions in Hawaii. The All-Americans preceded the tour with a two-game set against the National League champion Pittsburg Pirates on October 7 and 8.
Ultimately, the teams never got to Hawaii; they remained in California through mid-January. After returning east, Dick Harley was quoted as saying, “It was the greatest trip I ever had in all my experience. We had a fine crowd of fellows and we all enjoyed ourselves immensely. The scenery in the various states which we visited was simply grand and the climate was wonderful. At some places, particularly Denver, Albuquerque, and Las Vegas, the climate affected our ballplaying to a considerable extent. Being so accustomed to playing in the East, the rare atmosphere, of course, interfered with our wind. This was particularly noticeable in running, and after making a dash around the bases we were frequently compelled to lie down for several minutes before we could again breathe naturally. The air also had an odd effect on our batting. We would seem to hit the ball as hard as ever, but somehow or other it didn’t seem to go as far or as quickly. The reason, I guess, was that the air affected our eyesight somewhat, and we did not time the ball the way we thought we were doing. From a financial viewpoint, the trip was a success. After having a good time and visiting many points of interest, we cleared more than $550 each over and above all expenses.”1
Though financially successful, the tour was marked by a significant tragedy. On the night of January 12/13, Win Mercer died, apparently by suicide at the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco. He had registered there under an alias; the teams were staying at another hotel. Mercer’s death caught his tour-mates by surprise; he had not seemed depressed. Several suicide notes were found, though some aspects of the notes have led some to suggest that Mercer may not have written them. An excellent discussion of these notes and the events leading to Mercer’s death are in Keenan’s biography referenced above. The last few scheduled games of the tour were played after this event, with the final game serving as a benefit for Mercer’s mother; a sum of $1575 was raised for the cause. Joe Corbett, who had pitched for Washington and Baltimore in the 1890s and would pitch for the Cardinals in 1904, was in the box for the All-Nationals in that game, and Ham Iburg pitched for the All-Americans, though he had played for the Phillies in 1902, his only major league season. Former major league outfielder Bill Lange served as an umpire in the game.
Harley said, “The death of Mercer was a shock to every one of us. He was one of the finest fellows I ever travelled with. Win always was ready for a joke or a good time and made friends with everyone he met on the trip.”
October 12-Chicago Illinois, 13-Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 14-Des Moines, Iowa, 15-Sheldon Illinois, 16-Lamar Iowa, 17-Sioux City, Iowa, 18 and 19-Omaha Nebraska, 20-St. Joseph Missouri, 21 and 22-Kansas City Missouri, 23-Topeka Kansas, 24-Sabine Kansas, 25 and 26-Denver Colorado, 27-Colorado Springs Colorado, 28-Pueblo Colorado, 29-Trinidad Colorado, 30-Las Vegas New Mexico, 31-Santa Fe New Mexico.
November 1-Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2-El Paso, Texas, 3-Benson, Arizona, 4-Tucson, 5-Phoenix, 6-San Bernardino, California, 9-Los Angeles, 10 through 29-other sites in southern California, 30-San Francisco.
After two to three weeks in the San Francisco Bay area, the teams would perhaps sail to Honolulu for some exhibitions in Hawaii. The All-Americans preceded the tour with a two-game set against the National League champion Pittsburg Pirates on October 7 and 8.
Ultimately, the teams never got to Hawaii; they remained in California through mid-January. After returning east, Dick Harley was quoted as saying, “It was the greatest trip I ever had in all my experience. We had a fine crowd of fellows and we all enjoyed ourselves immensely. The scenery in the various states which we visited was simply grand and the climate was wonderful. At some places, particularly Denver, Albuquerque, and Las Vegas, the climate affected our ballplaying to a considerable extent. Being so accustomed to playing in the East, the rare atmosphere, of course, interfered with our wind. This was particularly noticeable in running, and after making a dash around the bases we were frequently compelled to lie down for several minutes before we could again breathe naturally. The air also had an odd effect on our batting. We would seem to hit the ball as hard as ever, but somehow or other it didn’t seem to go as far or as quickly. The reason, I guess, was that the air affected our eyesight somewhat, and we did not time the ball the way we thought we were doing. From a financial viewpoint, the trip was a success. After having a good time and visiting many points of interest, we cleared more than $550 each over and above all expenses.”1
Though financially successful, the tour was marked by a significant tragedy. On the night of January 12/13, Win Mercer died, apparently by suicide at the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco. He had registered there under an alias; the teams were staying at another hotel. Mercer’s death caught his tour-mates by surprise; he had not seemed depressed. Several suicide notes were found, though some aspects of the notes have led some to suggest that Mercer may not have written them. An excellent discussion of these notes and the events leading to Mercer’s death are in Keenan’s biography referenced above. The last few scheduled games of the tour were played after this event, with the final game serving as a benefit for Mercer’s mother; a sum of $1575 was raised for the cause. Joe Corbett, who had pitched for Washington and Baltimore in the 1890s and would pitch for the Cardinals in 1904, was in the box for the All-Nationals in that game, and Ham Iburg pitched for the All-Americans, though he had played for the Phillies in 1902, his only major league season. Former major league outfielder Bill Lange served as an umpire in the game.
Harley said, “The death of Mercer was a shock to every one of us. He was one of the finest fellows I ever travelled with. Win always was ready for a joke or a good time and made friends with everyone he met on the trip.”
1902-1-11 All-Americas baseball team will compete in bowling tournament. All-Americas beat Nationals in bowling last night.
1902-1-16 Nationals 4, All-Americas 3. 10 innings. Frank Chance.
1902-1-19 All-Americas 4, Nationals 3. Call and Post. Players leaving for eastern homes today. Cartoons. Van Haltren, Steinfeldt, etc.
https://www.newspapers.com/search/results/?date=1902&keyword=steinfeldt®ion=us-ca
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