Tag Archives: Denver Grizzlies

Homer Hausen

14 Jan

When Homer Hausen of the Sioux City Cornhuskers hit Omaha Omahogs catcher Bill Wilson in the head with a bat it was the culmination of a feud a over a woman.

While initial reports said Wilson was near death, the catcher made a full recovery.

In the aftermath of the July 1900 incident, Hausen was blacklisted by the Western League, joined a semi-pro team in Rock Rapids, Iowa, and was reported to have married the object of the feud.

If the wedding happened, as reported by The Associated Press, it didn’t last—there is no record confirming the marriage took place, and there is a record, six years later, for Hausen’s marriage to his wife Nellie.

Hausen went to Utah in 1901 and joined the Ogden club in the newly formed Inter-Mountain League; then returned to the Western League in 1902, splitting time between the Denver Grizzlies and Colorado Springs Millionaires.

During his time in Ogden in 1901 The Deseret News said Hausen seemed to “have trouble wherever he goes,’ with Utah fans:

“This happened again yesterday afternoon at Lagoon and Hausen attempted to reply to the taunt.  That only made matters worse and he got it harder than ever.  He remarked that some of the rooters were ‘Salt Lake curs,’ and said that he would ‘spoil the face of one dirty cur.’ before he left the state.”

Despite his problems with the state’s  fans, he returned to Utah in 1903, and became involved in another incident involving a bat to the head.

Homer Hausen

Homer Hausen

This time he was on the receiving end.

On June 28 Hausen was behind the plate for the Ogden team in a Utah State League game against Salt Lake City in Ogden.

The Desert News said:

“A most brutal and murderous assault took place yesterday afternoon on the Glenwood park ball grounds when George Marshall, one of the Salt Lake baseball team maliciously struck Hausen of the Ogden baseball team over the right side of the head with a baseball bat, breaking Hausen’s upper jaw and terribly battering his face.“

The Salt Lake Herald said:

“(Pitcher Erven “Si”) Jensen delivered one that went wide of the plate and was called a ball…Hausen had returned the sphere to Jensen and was squatting back, apparently giving the signal to Jensen for the next delivery when Marshall whirled and brought his bat down on the catcher’s face…Marshall was quite excited and shouted to the grandstand that Hausen had called him an insulting name.”

The blow broke his cheek bone below his right eye—rather than his “upper jaw”—had been broken, and “But for the mask the blow might have killed Hausen.”

From an Ogden jail cell, Marshall told a reporter from The Herald he “resented” a name Hausen had called him but, “did not mean to strike hard enough to break any bones.”

The Deseret News said the incident was the result of a long-standing feud between the players:

“Yesterday morning, it is stated, the two men had words in a cigar store, in this city, which almost resulted in blows, and it is also stated that the police have proof that Marshall has made the statement that he would hit Hausen the first chance he got, and it is fully believed by those who saw the murderous blow struck yesterday that Marshall intended to kill Hausen.”

Unlike Hausen, who three years earlier, avoided any legal action in Iowa, Marshall was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, and was unable to make bail.  Despite the serious charge, and the alleged “proof” of intent the police were said to have, the charges were reduced to assault and battery and a sympathetic judge “took into consideration the boy’s age—18—and the fact that he had already served considerable time in jail (nine days)” and sentenced Marshall to time served and a $50 fine.

It’s unknown what became of Marshall after his release.

Hausen continued the life of an itinerant early 20th Century ballplayer.  He returned to Iowa late in 1903, then back to Salt Lake City in 1904, for his best season.  He hit .318 for the Salt Lake City Elders in the Pacific National League, and his contract was purchased by the St. Louis Cardinals, but was returned to the minor leagues early in the spring.

The 1904 Salt Lake Elders, Hausen is standing second from the left

The 1904 Salt Lake Elders, Hausen is standing second from the left

Hausen spent time in the Southern Association and Central League before returning to Utah in 1909.  He played several more seasons of semipro ball until retiring to a farm in Rupert, Idaho.  He died there in 1935.

Advertisement for a 1909 Utah State League game between Salt Lake City and Ogden. Hausen played third base.

Advertisement for a 1909 Utah State League game between Salt Lake City and Ogden. Hausen played third base for Ogden

Despite his early trouble with fans in Utah, they seemed to have warmed to him later in his carer;

During one of his many stints playing in the state, The Salt Lake Tribune said of Hausen:

“No better or more faithful ball player ever stepped on a Utah diamond.”

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“The Poet-Pitcher”

17 Sep

Edward Benninghaus Kenna came from a prominent West Virginia Family; his father, John Edward Kenna was a United States Senator.  Another West Virginia Senator, William Edwin Chilton was often referred to as Kenna’s uncle—he was his father’s former law partner and best friend, but they were not related.

Edward B. Kenna, circa 1900

Edward B. Kenna,1900

He was, according to The Kansas City Star:

“(A)n unusually well-educated young man,.  He spent four years at Mount St. Mary’s College and was graduated there in 1898.  His post graduate course of one year was taken at Georgetown University, and the following three years he spent at West Virginia University, studying law.”

Kenna played football and baseball at all three schools—and coached both sports at Richmond College in 1900, the same season he made his professional debut with the Toledo Mud Hens in the Interstate League.

He was also a poet who had two anthologies of his poems published and was later the editor of The Charleston Gazette.  While most current sources say his nickname was “The Pitching Poet,” during his lifetime he was nearly always referred to by the slightly less lyrical “The Poet-Pitcher.”

Despite his education, and pedigree, The Star said:

“Seeing Kenna on the ball field one would not think that he was the possessor of so many distinctions.  He does not attempt to hold himself aloof from his teammates, but on the contrary is one of the most energetic (players) in the pursuit of victory and when not in the pitcher’s box is on the coacher’s line haranguing the opposing players and urging the members of his own team to their best efforts.  Coaching is one of his hobbies and he is particularly successful at this line of work.  He finds special enjoyment in ‘kidding’ the bleacher element…He says that base ball is not an uplifting pursuit either morally or intellectually, but is an enjoyable one.”

He pitched two games in the major leagues—with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1902–but said the two most interesting games of his career were back-to-back starts in 1904 while he was a member of the Denver Grizzlies in the Western League.

When Kenna joined the Louisville Colonels in the following season, The Louisville Times told the story of the games—both against the Des Moines Prohibitionists:

“(He) was touched up for nineteen safe hits, and yet his opponents failed to get a runner over the pan.  In one inning he was hit for a triple, a double and three singles, and still his opponents failed to get a man home.

“The first batter up hit for a triple, but was nailed trying to stretch it into a homer.  The next man doubled down the left field line, but was afterward caught off second by the poet.  The next three batters hit safely, and then Kenna got down to work and fanned the next batter with the bases full.

“Two days later Kenna was sent in against the same team.  For eight innings he did great work (allowing no hits) and his teammates made but one error.  He had perfect control and during this period gave only one base on balls.  The Denver team managed to get one runner across the pan, which looked as good as a hundred when the ninth inning was about to close.  The bard fanned the first two batter, but the third reached first on a fluke (a second error).  Then (Bob) Ganley, who is now with Pittsburgh, stepped to the plate and drove out a home run, which won the game.  Only one hit was made off his delivery, and yet Kenna lost the contest by one score.”

He was 16-13 for the Colonels in 1905 when, on September 1, he and seven other members of the team were injured in Kansas City when an electric trolley car crashed into the wagon they were riding  to the ballpark.  Kenna was the most seriously injured, and  reportedly suffered broken bones in his right (pitching) hand, a fractured left arm, a concussion, broken nose and an eye injury.  The Kansas City Star said he was listed in serious condition at a local hospital.  Despite the extent of his injuries—which ended his season– Kenna sent a telegram to family members in Washington D.C., saying simply

“Nothing serious; strained arm.  Don’t worry.  Ed.”

He never fully recovered.  He returned to Louisville in 1906, and struggled, finishing the season 12-21, but he hit .325 in 166 at bats.  Given his new found success as a hitter—his best previously recorded average was .225—Kenna decided he was through as a pitcher:

The Louisville Times said:

“Kenna announces that from now on he will be an outfielder, and he hopes (team President George) Tebeau will play him in right field on the Louisville team next season.  Kenna is simply tired of pitching.”

The Colonels accommodated him, but he struggled at the plate and was released in July after hitting just .143.

Edward Kenna, circa 1910

Edward Kenna, circa 1910

Kenna returned to West Virginia, newspapers, and poetry.  About the time his book “Songs of the Open Air, and Other Poems” was published in early 1912, he left his job at the paper, and went to Florida to attempt to recover from what was described simply as “a heart condition.”  He died in Florida on March 22.

Sporting Life said of the thirty four-year-old’s funeral in Charleston:

“(It) was one of the largest ever seen here.  All races and creeds showed their deep grief for this beloved man.”

Kenna’s younger brother John Edward Kenna Jr. was also a right-handed pitcher; he was 15-6 for the Chattanooga Lookouts in the South Atlantic League in 1909 and 7-7 with the Worcester Busters in the New England League in 1910—also born in Charleston on January 6, 1883, he died there on May 5, 1956.

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“An Umpire Nearly Lynched”

11 Mar

The above headline appeared on an Associated Press story in August of 1890.  Former Major Leaguer Jimmy Manning, then managing the Kansas City Blues in the Western Association had interceded to quell a riot at the end of a game with the Denver Grizzlies in Kansas City:

“Two questionable decisions by umpire Jovin (Sic) in the ninth inning, when Kansas City was about to tie the score, angered the crowd to such an extent that they swarmed into field, hooting and jeering the umpire.  Two young boys got hold of a rope, and in fun proposed to lynch him.  This added to the excitement, and it looked for a time as if the umpire would be mobbed.  Jimmy Manning climbed up to the top of the fence and addressed the mob.  He said the umpire had decided rightly and advised that no violence be attempted.  This quieted the mob to a degree.  In the meantime the players of both clubs formed a hollow square around the umpire and conducted him to the clubhouse.”

Jimmy Manning

Jimmy Manning

“Jovin” was actually Fred Jevne, a 26-year-old minor league veteran who had become an umpire just a month earlier.  After joining the Spokane franchise in the Pacific Northwest League in April, Jevne was suspended in May for punching an umpire.

In July The Spokane Falls Daily Chronicle said Jevne and teammate Tom Turner “quit the nine because they were excessively fined and ill-treated.”  According to the paper the two players showed up at the July, 1 game “in an intoxicated condition and acted like ruffians in the grand stand.” Turner was eventually reinstated and finished the season in Spokane, Jevne did not.

Since 1885 Jevne had played for a variety of teams in several leagues, including the Southern, International, and California.  When he was signed by Spokane to play center field and serve as captain, The Daily Chronicle said:

“Jevne is rather short.  He is a good batsman and a good player generally.  The San Francisco papers, when he played there, alternately praised him and berated him, but all agree that he was a good player.”

Jevne made one more attempt at playing, joining the Evansville Hoosiers in the Northwestern League in 1891.  He then returned to the Western Association as an umpire.

Fred Jevne

Fred Jevne with the Minneapolis Millers, 1889

In December of 1894 Jevne was named to the National League umpiring staff, where his work received mixed reviews.  In June The Baltimore Sun called him “As good an umpire as there is in the business.” In August, after a he worked a game between the Boston Beaneaters and Chicago Colts, The Boston Globe said “Umpire Jevne did poor work, both sides suffering from his yellow decisions.”  The Pittsburgh Press called Jevne’s performance in a September game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Athletics “By far the worst exhibition of umpiring given this season.”

Jevne was not offered a position in the National League for 1896, and went to work in the Southern Association, where he seems to have a continued his fighting ways.  In July, The Birmingham Age-Herald said Jevne had missed the previous day’s game between the Montgomery Senators and Columbus River Snipes:

“Jevne, the regular umpire, arrived in town last night, but this morning loaded himself up with the spirit of hilarity, got into a fight with a citizen and when the hour for playing arrived was in the hands of the police, and failing to make bond was unavoidably absent from the field.”

Despite his troubles, or because of them, Jevne was asked to join the Interstate League at the end of the 1896 season because, according to The Sporting Life, umpires were losing control of games:

 “(Interstate League President Charles) Powers to-night wired for Fred Jevne the ex-National League umpire, who is so handy with his fists, to report for duty.”

Jevne was not popular with players or the press down south, and said his time in the Southern Association was difficult:

“It was no snap umpiring down South.  Fines didn’t go—were never paid—and so I used to remove men from the game.  Sometimes I would have to take out about half of a team before they would behave, and then the papers would roast me good and plenty the next morning…I had a scrap with a player named (Al) Gifford (Atlanta Crackers shortstop), and punched him in a car going from the grounds.  The local paper came out the next morning and urged the chartering of a special car for the umpire. So that he could be alone in his dignity, and another paragraph hinted that a cigar sign or dummy could be put in the special car for the umpire to punch”

Jevne appears to have returned to the Southern Association for parts of the 1897 and ’98 seasons.  He spent at least part of 1899 and 1900 in his hometown, Chicago, where he worked as an umpire in some college games.  In 1901 Jevne became a Western League umpire and that year met with a violent and mysterious end.

Initial newspaper reports said Jevne had fallen from a third story window in Denver’s Hotel Victor on August 2; he lingered for two days before dying. His body was returned to Chicago and he was buried at Graceland Cemetery.

However, several months after his death, Jevne’s brother Lloyd, a well-known three cushion billiard champion, told The Associated Press he was certain he had been murdered, and that before dying Jevne had said he was pushed:

“I saw Fred’s body after it was shipped back to Chicago, where the burial took place, and the most prominent feature of his injuries was the bruise on his nose.  Doctors I saw believe that he was struck across the face with some blunt object… When he was about to die it is not probable he would have told a falsehood.  He would not have said at that time that he had been pushed out the window.”

Lloyd Jevne

Lloyd Jevne

Whether Fred Jevne fell or was pushed from that hotel window has never been positively determined.

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