1892 St. Joseph MO (Saints)

The earliest known photo of Fred Clarke, and of his forgotten teammates.

The biographies of Hall-of-Fame player-manager Fred Clarke skip right over this. They jump from Clarke delivering newspapers as a teen for Ed Barrow to his discovery by Louisville management in June 1894. Only a few mention his time with the semi-pro team in Hastings, Nebraska, in 1892, and none say that Clarke played for the fully professional St. Joseph team in late 1892. But he did. Remarkably, Clarke joined the Saints only days before the team photo below was made. The image was not made in 1893 as the caption says, but on August 13, 1892.

Photo A

Dated August 13, 1892, and not 1893 as the photo caption indicates. Fred Clarke sits in the middle row, far right. Not only was Clarke new to the team when this photo was taken, but so were the uniforms, described as “shirts and trousers made from black cloth with white caps.” Clarke’s name and many others were spelled incorrectly in the caption, suggesting the handwriting on the back of the original was difficult to read. The image scan comes from Getty Images, courtesy of Transcendental Graphics. Getty incorrectly identified the player in center front as Cupid Childs. This was catcher Pearce Chiles, and definitely no Cupid as you will see.

Who else was in this photo from 1892?
Of the remaining men, you’ll find that their baseball-reference pages are mostly blank. However the pages of their lives were anything but. Manager, trainer, umpire, team builder, APBPA founder — these men had baseball in their blood. I offer a quick sketch on each below. If interested, please read on.

Let’s start with Fred Clarke.

Clarke was only 19 years old at the time of the photo. He was described as “a hard-hitting left fielder from Des Moines” by the St. Joseph Daily Gazette on August 9, 1892, adding that he would “join the team this week.” The St. Joe roster had a complete overhaul by this time, the team “strengthened by the addition of several new players.” The St. Joseph box score from a game on Thursday, August 11, 1892, vs. Leavenworth, Clarke’s first game, matches perfectly with the players in the team photo above. At no time in 1893 were these same twelve men together on the St. Joseph team. After his first game in 1892, the Gazette noted that Clarke “shows up well with the willow” and that the reconstituted team will be “dressed in new suits” for Sunday’s game, August 14.

On Saturday, August 13, the new uniforms had arrived and the St. Joseph Saturday News reported that “the boys donned them this afternoon and had their pictures taken.” The team may also have ordered new black coats with white stripes, as shown in the back row of the photo.

Clarke would finish the 1892 season with St. Joseph and return for the following season when the Saints entered the Western Association. In late June 1893 the league dissolved and Clarke moved to the Southern League where the salary he was offered was “equal to the big league and [he] could not resist.” Clarke’s first game for Montgomery was June 30, 1893, however the season was cut short by a yellow fever outbreak. In 1894 Clarke was back in the Southern League with Savannah and was “discovered” when the team disbanded on June 27. Clarke’s major league debut with Louisville was June 30, 1894. He joined a much better team in Cooperstown in 1945.

Clarke remembered, later in life, that he was sent off to his first minor league assignment with “a farewell party at the old Starzinger Hotel in East Des Moines,” and that “everybody donated a dime for refreshments which were served out of a can.”

The Saints of 1892 go marching in.
For Clarke’s teammates, the team photo offers a kind of baseball immortality. 130 years after the image was made, their stories can still be told today. Most of the men were new to the team at the time of the photo, but they were not new to each other. Many traveled in the same baseball circles, in the same state leagues. In a way, the St. Joe squad pictured above was an all-star team. They were the best players from the lower ranks of the Midwest. In August 1892 they won 14 straight games for St. Joseph.

Top row, from left:

Harry T. Stoney – infielder and baseball charity founder.
Stoney played infield in Nebraska for Fremont, Omaha, and Beatrice in 1892 before coming to the reorganized St. Joseph team in the first week of August 1892. An Omaha newspaper said that “Harry Stoney can play as good a second base as any man in the state.” While in St. Joe, one observer thought that “a little ginger squirted into him might have a beneficial effect.” This may explain why Stoney was back with Omaha in 1893 and why he never played a major league game. He later moved to California and in 1924 was one of twelve former players to establish the Association of Professional Baseball Players of America (APBPA), according to his August 1941 obituary. The charity organization had at that time “paid out over a quarter of a million dollars to sick and needy former stars of the game.” It is still in operation today, their website states the charity has helped over 3,700 ballplayers since its founding.

Jerry W. Eddinger – speedy pitcher and name dropper.
Eddinger, nicknamed “Whoa Bill” in one account, stood 6’ 2” tall in the pitcher’s box. As with Stoney, Eddinger first played for Beatrice in 1892, where the local newspaper described him as “of LeMars, Iowa, age 24.” He was known to be a “good hitter and base runner.” Another report said that Eddinger “is considered the speediest pitcher in the league.” He joined St. Joseph on July 8, 1892, and played first base when he wasn’t pitching. Eddinger later served as an umpire in the Western League, the Three-I League, and the Wisconsin-Illinois League. When Eddinger fell ill in 1938, it was reported he was once trainer for the Washington Senators when “Walter Johnson, speed-ball king, first joined the club” in 1907. Researcher Ken Samoil fact-checked this claim and confirms Eddinger was with the Senators as trainer from 1907 to 1909 and that he “was included in the 1909 Barr-Farnham series of images taken of the entire team that Spring.” Eddinger’s November 1938 obituary stated that he was “an ardent follower of the game” and that he “often named John J. McGraw, Connie Mack and Clark Griffith as his teammates.” Eddinger and McGraw both played for the 1890 Cedar Rapids team, but connections to Mack and Griffith have not been confirmed. Samoil agrees, adding “maybe he was on post-season touring teams with them.” Eddinger never played in a major league game.

Claude E. Jones – catcher and umpire without fuss or feathers.
Jones played for Beatrice as a catcher in 1891 and 1892. He was described by the local newspaper as “of Kansas City, Mo., age 23,” suggesting a birth year of about 1869. The newspaper also said that “the average crank knows his ability as catcher.” After Beatrice, Jones played for Leavenworth in 1892 and one day after a disputed call pulled his team off the field in a game on July 29, 1892. This may have led to his release from Leavenworth (the team, not the prison) by August 4. When new players were added to St. Joe in early August 1892, it was reported that “catcher Jones has been regularly engaged as umpire. If he is needed, he will be put in to catch. He is said to have been the star catcher of the Nebraska league.” Jones was labeled as umpire in the photo caption above. He officiated the St. Joseph game on August 11 and did so throughout the remainder of the season. “When it comes to umpiring without spread eagle, fuss or feathers,” one newspaper observed, “Umpire Jones may be said to be in it. Kicks are very rare under his decisions.” He may have been the Claude L. Jones that was born September 16, 1870, died June 16, 1949, and was buried in Kansas City, per findagrave.com. Jones has a baseball-reference page but with no biographical information. He never played a major league game.

Claude Marcum – first baseman and baseball organizer.
Marcum was born, according to findagrave.com, on March 3, 1869, in Benton County, Arkansas. He joined the St. Joseph team in May 1892 where he played first base and outfield. He was one of the few players to remain with the team for the entire 1892 season, and he stayed with St. Joe through 1895. He was said to be “the finest first baseman that ever played on the St. Joseph club,” though this may have been journalistic hyperbole. His name was misspelled in the photo caption above. Marcum did not play in a major league game. His January 1931 obituary in a Joplin, Missouri, newspaper reported that he was the “organizer of Joplin’s first professional baseball team” and that he was their “player-manager for 10 years.”

Middle row:

Russell M. ‘Doc’ Kneisley – team captain and state legislator.
According to a profile published in 1891, Kneisley was born in Carrollton, Missouri, on April 9, 1868, and “stands 5 feet 7 1/2 inches in height and weighs 140 lbs.” It was noted that “from his earliest days he has been fascinated with baseball and ambitious to become a professional.” However another report said that due to “Kneisley’s regard for his parents’ wishes and his attachments for home, he has refused several offers of trials with professional clubs.” Then St. Joe came calling. Kneisley was captain of the St. Joe team in 1892 and began the season as the team’s catcher. By mid-June he moved to the infield where one newspaper reported he was “developing into a lightning second baseman.” His crowning achievement may have been a walk-off home run on August 8, 1892, causing the grandstand to be “filled with flying hats and umbrellas.” Kneisley left the field “on the shoulders of several enthusiasts.” After baseball he worked as a lawyer and state legislator. Kneisley died October 15, 1915, in Carrollton at age 47 when he fell out of a moving car after driving over a “chuck hole.” (Seatbelts not mandatory until 1968.) His obituary said that “in 1892-1893 he was president, owner, and manager of the St. Joseph base ball club, and both years won the pennant.” That’s stretching the truth slightly. In 1892 he likely shared the managerial duties with several teammates, and as the club played as an independent, there was no pennant to win. In 1893, he was the manager of the St. Joseph team and the Saints did raise a quasi-pennant on June 27, at the same time the Western Association was folding. His baseball-reference page has no biographical information and lists no major league experience.

Leo J. Muchenberger – base stealer and community builder.
Muchenberger was a hometown product. He was born January 19, 1867, in Iowa City, according to findagrave.com, however he came to St. Joseph with his parents in 1869. He was a member of the St. Joe club when it formed in August of 1891, and was one of several player-managers of the 1892 team. In addition to patrolling the outfield, Muchenberger was described as “the king of them all when it comes to stealing a base.” For the following three years he played only sporadically for the St. Joe team and was seemingly more involved with the family’s wallpaper business, the Fox-Muchenberger Art Company, located in St. Joe and Kansas City. Muchenberger died June 29, 1947, in California. His obituary stated that in 1929 he refurbished a company building into a boys and girls recreation center and donated it and surrounding land to the city of St. Joseph. His baseball-reference page has no biographical information and lists no major league experience.

Albert H. Wendover – team manager and collections thug.
Thom Karmik wrote that Wendover was a “local jeweler” who owned the St. Joseph team; “his only foray into professional baseball.” Wendover was described both as president in 1892 and, along with Muchenberger, as manager—though in July 1892 “members of the team claimed that neither one of them are capable of handling the club.” The photo caption above listed Wendover as manager. He also umpired for St. Joe, which surely must have created a conflict of interest. He seemingly did not have a connection to the team after the 1892 season and may have been the “A. Wendover” who later spent his time tracking down jewelry customers who were late on payments. At times things would get out of hand. The police blotter from late March 1893 in St. Joseph said that “A. Wendover, a chattel mortgage man” appeared in court on assault charges after he “let his angry passions get the better of his judgement.” The altercation was with “a woman of bad character” regarding “some jewelry she had purchased on the installment plan.” Wendover died November 20, 1929, in Hackensack, Minnesota. His father, A. P. Wendover, was called a “pioneer jeweler of St. Joseph.”

Cornelius J. ‘Ace’ Holohan – one of the best, but died young.
Third baseman Holohan was born in 1872, according to his grave marker. As with Stoney, Eddinger and Jones, Holohan played for Beatrice in 1892 before joining St. Joseph in mid-July. He was described as “one of the best third baseman in the west;” possibly more journalistic hyperbole, or maybe not. Holohan stayed on with the team in 1893 and as the Western Association was folding in June, Holohan received an offer of $250 per month to join Louisville of the National League “for the balance of the season.” The locals thought Holohan “fully fast enough for the league company.” Ace reportedly was “considering the offer” but somehow it was never finalized. Holohan found himself playing in the Southern League to finish the year and in the Western League in 1894. The 1900 Kansas City directory listed Cornelius as a bartender. He died soon after on July 7, 1900, in a Kansas City hospital at the young age of 28. No cause of death published. His obituary made no mention of his baseball skills or his bartending skills. His name was misspelled in the photo caption above. His baseball-reference page has no biographical information and shows no major league experience.

Front row:

J. William ‘Ducky’ Holmes – baseball lifer and fighter.
As with Stoney, Eddinger, Jones, and Holohan, Holmes played for Beatrice before coming to St. Joseph in mid-July 1892. One report said that the St. Joe management will “sign either Holmes or Jones of the Beatrice team as backstop.” In Beatrice, Holmes was described as “a great hitter, a good base runner, and is well liked both on and off the field.” A report from St. Joseph noted that Holmes “comes highly recommended for his ability at the bat,” which seems odd since he spent a lot of time pitching for the Saints. Holmes played in 933 major-league games between 1895 and 1905. He then owned and managed two different Western League clubs, later umpired in the WL, and then worked as a scout, as many ex-players once did. In 1916 he managed a team in Lincoln nicknamed the “Ducklings,” and in 1922 he came full circle to manage the Beatrice team. His August 1932 obituary said he had “a turbulent, colorful baseball life.” Another said that “he was of a fiery disposition, a husky fellow, and always ready for a scrap at the drop of a bat.” Another said he was “an aggressive performer.” You get the idea.

Pearce N. Chiles – catcher and con man.
Chiles, a catcher and outfielder, began the 1892 season with Hastings, Nebraska, but jumped his contract to join St. Joseph in early June. He teamed up with pitcher Lefty Myers and observers in St. Joseph felt the duo “will make any team hustle to get a game from them.” One report called Chiles “Cyclone,” no explanation found. The St. Joseph Daily News on July 15, 1892, reported that players “Myers and Chiles are the only salaried players on the team. The rest of the men receive a certain percentage of the profits.” After a year elsewhere, Cyclone was back with St. Joe in 1894 and then finally in 1899, at age 33, he made it to the National League where he played a total of 130 games. SABR BioProject writer Ron Schuler called Chiles “one of the most slippery, elusive historical characters major-league baseball has ever produced.” Chiles’ resumé included a role in the electronic sign-stealing scandal of 1900, one that was unearthed, literally, in the Phillies’ third base coaching box. Ne’er-do-well, scoundrel, con man — just a few of the labels historians have given Chiles. I encourage you to read of his many exploits at his BioProject page. Chiles name was misspelled in the photo caption above.

Billy ‘Lefty’ Myers – pitcher and question mark.
Myers was pitching and playing the outfield for Plattsmouth, Nebraska, in 1892 when he, like Pearce Chiles, jumped his contract to join St. Joseph in early June. The two men may have coordinated their move as it was said that once in St. Joe “Myers and Childs seem to be the favorite battery.” As noted previously, the two were the only salaried players on the 1892 team. There are a lot of Myers (and Meyers) floating around baseball. In 1892, the St. Joe Myers was called “Lefty,” and more often simply “Myers,” as if his first name was not generally known. Fortunately, when Myers returned to St. Joesph in 1893 he was called “Billy.” When the Western Association folded in late June 1893 Myers signed with Birmingham of the Southern League. He was called “William Myers, the great pitcher from St. Joseph” when he joined Birmingham in mid-July. After 1895 he fell off the baseball map. Too many Myers to track. His name was misspelled in the photo caption above. His baseball-reference page has no biographical information and lists no major league experience.

— I hope you found this “dig” enjoyable. Thank you for your time.

The following resources were referenced for the above effort: St. Joseph Daily Gazette, St. Joseph Daily Herald, St. Joseph Daily News, St. Joseph Saturday News, Beatrice (NE) Daily Express, Beatrice (NE) Daily Democrat, Bloomington (IL) Pantagraph, Chattanooga Daily Times, Des Moines Register and Leader, Des Moines Tribune, Hastings (NE) Daily Nebraskan, Iowa State Register (Des Moines), Kansas Democrat (Topeka), Kansas City Journal, Omaha World-Herald, Plattsmouth (NE) Daily Journal, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Savannah Morning News. Also findagrave.com, google books, baseballhistorydaily.com and baseball-reference.com.

The rendering at the top of the page is based on visual documentation for uniform style and written documentation for color. Minor details may be undocumented or difficult to determine. An educated guess is made to complete the rendering.

Rendering accuracy:Year: documented    Team: documented

Visual documentation on this uniform:

Dated August 13, 1892. Detail view of photo A.

Written documentation on this uniform:
August 1892: “The St. Josephs will be dressed in their new suits and clothes next Sunday [August 14 v. Kansas City].” From the St. Joseph Daily Gazette, August 12, 1892, page 2.

August 1892: “The members of the St. Joseph base ball team will make their first appearance in their new uniforms tomorrow [August 14]. The new uniforms consist of shirts and trousers made from black cloth with white caps and are very neat. The boys donned them this afternoon and had their pictures taken.” From the St. Joseph Saturday News, August 13, 1892, page 1.

August 1892: “The Kansas City Stars and St. Joseph teams will cross paths today [in St. Joseph, August 14] at South Sixth street park. […] The home team will wear their new uniforms, which are beauties.” From the St. Joseph Daily Gazette, August 14, 1892, page 5.

Team genealogy: Coming soon