An advertisement for the Memphis Chickasaws 1919 home opener against the Little Rock Travelers at Memphis’ Russwood Park:
“Some Faces You’ll See at the Opening Ball Game
“‘Fan.’ A hard loser but a game fan–you’ll like him too
“And when ‘Cy’ (Memphis manager, outfielder and pitcher Eros Bolivar “Cy” Barger) pounds the pill for a homer with a couple of Chick sluggers on the bases, there is going to be some faces from Little Rock that are going to show the shock…
“‘Fan.’ With the winning smile, that makes you happy.
“If ‘Cy’ hits a home run.
“In the first game of the season–if he wallops that old pill over the right field fence–you’ll see this happy grin on a thousand faces…The artist couldn’t draw a face that would show the consternation, the gloom, the lost-heartedness depicted. on the face of the Little Rock fans who are rash enough to follow the Travelers to Memphis, should old Cy smash that pill over the fence and into the bleachers.
“But Cy’s Chickasaws have to beat somebody in the opening game at home and it might as well be Little Rock.
“‘Fan.’ Whose grandma dies about this time every year.
“‘Fanette.’ Who says she is going to see every game.
“No! Memphis isn’t full of sport ‘Pikers.’ We’re going to break the attendance record and win the cup to show the Southern League how much we appreciate their electing the greatest true-blooded sportsman in the South for its president. And because he hails from Memphis we’re not going to let him feel sorry for it. We know the man and know we’ll get the good, clean game we’ve wanted in our national sport for the last ten years if we’ll support him as loyally as he’ll support us.”
The new league president referenced in the ad was John Donelson Martin, a Memphis attorney, who later became a federal judge.
The mention of the need for a “good, clean game” refers to the lingering concerns in Memphis about the integrity of the league which began when the Memphis Egyptians collapsed in the last three weeks of the 1907 season, giving the pennant to the Atlanta Crackers, after holding a wire-to-wire lead.
As for the opener, the Chickasaws lost to Little Rock 4-2. Things never got better for the team, which finished fifth with a 66-79 record.
Cy Barger
Cy Barger didn’t hit a home run on Opening Day, he didn’t hit a home run all season. In 1758 at bats during a 16-year professional career (seven in the major leagues) Barger hit a total of four.
Baseball History Daily 