Bill Lange had his best season in 1895—he hit .389, stole 67 bases, drove in 98 runs and scored 120—but he was sure he had found the secret for an even better season for him and the fourth place Chicago Colts for 1896. The San Francisco Call broke the story:
“Bill Lange the big centerfielder of the Chicagos, now spending his vacation with his people at 415 Spruce Street, has a four-legged chicken, which is alive and well, and which he intends to take East with him in March as a mascot for his club.”
The Chicago Post expounded on Lange’s discovery:
“(A) mascot the like of which was never before seen on a ball field. It is a four-legged chicken which Lange secured out of a crop of 13 eggs set to hatch in the dark of the moon…This wonderful chicken is an ordinary fowl in all respects, except that to it’s under parts are attached four instead of two legs.”
Lange
The paper said:
“(Lange) is certain that his chick will turn out to be a rooster, and if it does, he proposes to train it to crow whenever the club wins.
“Should it prove a hen he will have it lay an egg and cackle when victory perches Chicago’s banner. Lange’s chicken is sure to win the championship.”
The Chicago Tribune said Lange stayed in San Francisco with his chicken—he also coached baseball at Stanford University–past the March 5 “expiration of the time limit” to sign his 1896 contract.
Lange held out for seven more days, finally signing on March 12. The Tribune said:
“The question as to whether he would attach his name to a Chicago contract was in doubt for some time…He of course made a strong bluff (to not sign) by demanding a salary far in excess of that of anybody on the team, not excepting (Cap) Anson. He could not be censured for that, as he was looking out for his own interests.”
Lange joined the Colts in Galveston, Texas. The Tribune said, “He is in gilt-edge condition.” But The Post reported tersely:
“Big Bill Lange’s mascot, the four-legged chicken he picked up in San Francisco, is dead.”
There was no further mention of Lange’s chicken or how he reacted to the death of the mascot.
Bill Lang, seated fourth from left, with 1896 Chicago Colts
Lange his .326 with 84 stolen bases, drove in 92 runs and scored 114, and the chicken-less Colts finished fifth.
Baseball History Daily 
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