A year without Joy: part three

  I wrote a crazy long post about the 1907 Honolulu League season which I feel compelled to break up; this is the third and final part.
Part one 

Part two
Part three

 In the first game of July 6 Kamehameha beat Punahou 11-5. Bill Hampton was demolished; he gave up 11 hits, walked five, and gave up a homer in the eighth to Bill Vannatta, who hit the ball over the center fielder's head and had scored before the right fielder could throw home. It was his second homer of the year, and the sixth in the league altogether.

Evening Bulletin, 1907-6-01, p.1

Reuter was hard to hit - he gave up just three hits - but also surrendered six walks, contributing to the Puns' five runs.

Attention was also given to Kamaiopili, who made his debut for the Kams in the game, hitting ninth and playing center field. In the second inning, in which the Kams scored eight runs, he laid down what was considered to be "the prettiest bunt of the season," a single that brought in a run. It was to be his only hit in 14 at-bats that year, though throughout it all he was honored as a beautiful bunter.

The Punahous had now lost three straight, after having finished just one game behind St. Louis in the first half. 

In the second game, St. Louis beat the Diamond Heads 9-0 as Clown Leslie was found for ten hits. His opponent, Bushnell, threw his second shutout of the season. St. Louis was now tied with Diamond Head in the standings at 2-1.

From June 15 to June 29, Leslie had given up four hits in twenty-four innings. In the two games since then, he had given up twenty-two hits in seventeen innings. 

Punahou was likewise falling fast, but there was hope. Returning to Hawaii on a steamer from the mainland was Alfred Castle, a Punahou alumni who had pitched for Harvard. He was 6'0", 150 lb., and a fine pitcher in the Ivy League. His greatest athletic moment at Harvard came on June 6, 1906, in a game against Brown University. He threw a no-hitter, walked no one, made the only two hits of the game himself, and scored the only run. (Harvard made four errors, so it wasn't a perfect game.)

Castle graduated from Harvard in 1906, and finally returned to Hawaii just in time for the doubleheader of July 13. Maybe he could set things right for Punahou. 

Cartoon depicting Doc Monsarrat, Punahou manager, greeting Alfred Castle with joy. Advertiser, 1907-7-13, p.5

The first game of July 13 was a tight pitcher's duel between Andy Bushnell and Dick Reuter. St. Louis scored two runs on four hits and the Kamehamehas scored one run on five hits as Bushnell won his third straight game.

Al Castle was set against Leslie and the Diamond Heads (now that's a good band name) in the second game. The Jewels scored five runs off Castle in the first inning, and that was the game. Castle was highly mediocre, and the Punahou defense was no better. The Diamond Heads scored ten runs on eight hits, four walks, and six errors. The Advertiser was sympathetic to Castle, saying that "it was not fair to be expected that so soon after a sea voyage Castle would be up to his own standard, though after the first inning he held things down."

Alfred Castle. Advertiser, 1907-7-20, p.5

The first game of the July 20 doubleheader "was so poor that the crowd was hardly satisfied." The Diamond Heads beat the Kams 7-4 on just four hits; the Kams made seven errors and the Diamond Heads made six. 

Nani Lemon hit a homer, a "beauty," off Leslie in an abortive ninth inning Kam rally. He was also called out by the Advertiser for "the way in which he loafs before going to bat. Several times yesterday he delayed the game by his inattention."

Advertiser, 1907-7-20, p.5

The first game may have been a poor one, but the second game "made up for everything that was lacking in the first contest." St. Louis fought the Punahous twelve innings before finally coming out on top, 6-5. 

Eddie Desha had quite the game. He hit a double in the fifth and a homer in the seventh. He started the game for Punahou, the first game he'd pitched all year, and went six innings before he switched places with third baseman Bill Hampton with the score tied at 5-5. All five runs St. Louis scored had been unearned. 

Bushnell and Bill Hampton traded zeroes until the twelfth when Bushnell won his own game. He got on first by a fielder's choice, stole second and third, and scored on a passed ball. 

The Advertiser commented the next week that "Bushnell and Soares make an ideal battery. They are working together in fine shape and for two youngsters have a fine baseball future ahead of them."

Neither Bushnell nor Soares had been much of a factor in the first half - Bushnell played more outfielder than pitcher, and Soares was on the Coast until June 22 - but they became absolutely essential to St. Louis in the second half. 

Soares was not much of a hitter - though he had led the league in home runs with two in 1906, he hit only .141, and would hit only .111 in 1907 - but he was an excellent fielder, by the far best defensive catcher in the league, going by statistics. In 1907 he made but one error and allowed but one passed ball in ten games, and made 21 assists. 

Advertiser, 1907-9-08, p.13

 The Advertiser was in awe of Evers - all rancor over his money demands was gone. "Evers, the shortstop of the St. Louis team made a catch in the seventh inning off Hampton's bat, that was a wonder. Running backwards at full speed he jumped into the air and caught a ball that there are few major league men could have handled." [somebody needed an editor] The next week the Advertiser called Evers the league's "bright particular star at short."

For the third straight week, the Diamond Heads and St. Louis were tied for first place - now at 4-1. Kamehameha was third at 2-3, and Punahou was languishing in last at 0-5. 

There was no baseball on Saturday, July 27. Percy Lishman had died. He was a long-time player, and very popular. He had been traveling on the steamship the Siberia from Honolulu to San Francisco in April. Soon after the ship had left Honolulu he fell on the deck of ship, and afterwards seemed a bit "crazed." Just a day into the voyage he cut his throat in a suicide attempt, but survived "due to the prompt action of surgeons on board the ship." "After his wound had been treated he repeatedly threatened to kill himself, and said he would never be landed alive in San Francisco." He was kept under close watch for the rest of the voyage.  "When the steamer arrived [in San Francisco, April 28], Lishman was considered out of danger and his chance for recovery good. No reason was found for the suicidal act, except that he must have become temporarily insane." (The San Francisco Call and Post, 1907-4-29, p.1) 

Advertiser, 1907-7-18, p.2

It was believed he had made a full recovery. He traveled on to New York, and met a number of his Honolulu friends there. He seemed to be in good spirits, and in July decided he would return to Hawaii together with them. "Lishman had already bought his railroad ticket via the Canadian Pacific, however, and the others were returning by a different route, so he came alone across the continent." He killed himself in Vancouver. He was just 31. 

And do you know what caused him to fall on the deck of the Siberia in the first place, starting the whole tragic series of events? It was a rope stretched "between the Caucasian steerage and that assigned to men of other races." He was running in the dark and tripped on it; it was supposed to be kept waist-high, but had sagged during the night. The story is like a symbol of the tragedy and insanity of segregation. It's just a shame that Lishman had to act it out. (Los Angeles Times, 1907-5-05)

Life goes on after tragedy, if fitfully, and the next Saturday there was baseball again.

There was a large enthusiastic crowd on August 3. "The bleachers, and in fact the whole grandstand, was overflowing with advice to the players and opinions of the game." 

Kamehameha defied the odds, beating St. Louis 6-4 in the first game. It was Bushnell's first loss since Paul Burns quit the team. Kamehameha third baseman Lota hit a homer off Bushnell in the sixth inning. It was the ninth and last home run of the season. 

Kamaiopili started in left field for Kamehameha and the crowd cheered for him loudly, remembering his brilliant bunt of July 6. It was his first game since then. The Advertiser summed him up so: "He is a youngster whose chief recommendation is that he is a willing performer." A charitable description.

Evers starred in the field again, making "a beautiful running catch bringing down a high fly with his left hand."

The second game was tied 5-5 until the tenth inning, when the Punahous scored three runs. Bill Hampton was the star of the game. Eddie Desha started, but switched places with Bill Hampton at third for the second straight game, this time after just three innings. Punahou was down 5-1 at the time. 

But Punahou started chipping away, scoring three runs in the sixth, one in the eighth, and the three in the tenth, Hampton pitched six scoreless one-hit innings, and the Puns had finally won their first game of the second series. David Desha starred at the plate, hitting a pair of doubles.  

The Diamond Heads and St. Louis had both lost, so they were still tied for first, but Kamehameha was now just a game behind them. The pennant race was wide-open. 

August 10 turned out to be the day of Bill Hampton... for all the wrong reasons.

The Advertiser led off the sports section thusly:

"The Punahous lost, but Hampton lost his temper. A disastrous defeat in which however there was no discredit, was made discreditable by an outbreak on the part of Hampton, which absolutely appalled the spectators, so that for an instant there was absolute silence, and then a storm of hisses and exclamations of disapproval, as the crowd realized what had been done, and burst out in indignant resentment at the display of such spirit." 

The incident that called down wrath from above occurred in the sixth inning. Punahou was losing 5-0 to St. Louis. Bill Hampton came to the plate with two outs in the first half of the sixth and "a good deal of talking" coming from the crowd. He struck out. As he was trudging back to the dugout, his bat still clenched in his hands, he stopped in front of the grandstand and angrily asked "who was making the remarks he resented." No answer. 

Hampton returned to the dugout and came out to the pitcher's mound to face St. Louis. "Instantly there was a renewal of talk across the field, the expression 'kill it' being used several times. Gleason was at bat, in position, waiting for the ball to be pitched, when suddenly Hampton threw the ball with violent energy in the direction of the crowd at the rail in the carriage paddock right at the makai* end of the grandstand. The ball passed over the heads of the crowd but not very much over their heads, if indeed active dodging was not the only thing that saved somebody from being hit."

*Makai means "sea-ward." 

The crowd did not react well to this, as you might imagine. The St. Louis team was not particularly pleased, either, and "it looked for a time as though there would be trouble between the rival teams. There was a good deal of discussion, and some heat developed." 

When the Chief of Detectives asked Hampton whether he threw the ball intentionally, he replied: "What if I did? I have a right to throw the ball anywhere I please in the field." Okay... 

Hampton probably wished he was back in Maui, where at least the crowds were quiet. 

The Advertiser reported that "It was generally understood that Hampton's anger and the ball he threw were directed at Jimmie Thompson, who was coaching from his position just behind the benches."

Jimmy Thompson's rooting had drawn attention before; the Advertiser wrote on June 9 that: "The coaching of Jimmy Thompson, from the Clerk of the Supreme Court's office, was refreshing. He should keep it up." He did, and look what happened.

Advertiser, 1907-8-17, p.6

But a fight was averted, everyone settled down enough to continue, and St. Louis beat Punahou 8-0.

Everything else in the game was overshadowed by the maelstrom of indignation, but Bushnell pitched a beautiful game. He struck out nine and held the Puns to three hits in his third shutout of the year.

In the other game, Kamehameha beat Diamond Head 12-5. Every Kam batter scored a run - the top three in the lineup, Lemon, Miller, and Jones, each scored two, and the rest scored one each. Leslie had been humiliated again. The Diamond Heads made seven errors, so it wasn't all Leslie's fault, but he certainly didn't pitch well. Reuter struck out 10 and gave up just five hits to the Jewels. 

St. Louis was now alone in first place, at 5-2. Diamond Head and Kamehameha were tied for second at 4-3. 

Alfred Castle started for Punahou against Kamehameha in a "fizzle" of a first game on August 17. He was a disaster. In six innings, he was subjected to six walks, six runs, and one unceremonious yanking from the box. The fans were not appreciative.

"Castle did not seem to be half as much put out at walking men as the crowd was in watching it done... At times there was some little rooting and at all times the remarks from the bleachers were emphatically sarcastic, so much so that Castle wanted to make a date 'after the game' with one fan whose comments made the Varsity twirler 'feel sick.' "

The Advertiser noted next week that "It is doubtful if A.L. Castle will be seen in the box for the Puns again, unless he shows a desire to take part in practise when the other players do." I guess the Harvard star thought he was above "practise." 

He was replaced by Johnny Williams, who pitched three scoreless innings and struck out five, but the damage was done. (Johnny, the future major leaguer, had not pitched in over two months, and I have no idea why. He pitched fine in the early part of the season - surely they could have used him during their long losing streak?)

The final score was Kamehameha 6, Punahou 2. Dick Reuter was "in fine form", striking out 11, and giving up but two hits and one walk. 

Lota, Kam third baseman, had a good game, going 1-for-3 with a run scored, a stolen base, and flawless play in the field, but the Advertiser did not approve of his fashion, declaring that he "ought to be presented with a cap. The big, flappy felt hat he wears is neither pretty nor suitable."

The second game was a great one. Leslie blanked St. Louis almost to the end - the Diamond Heads had a 2-0 lead going into the top of the ninth. If they won, St. Louis, Diamond Head, and Kamehameha would all be bunched together at 5-3 in a three-way tie for first. But the Saints had other plans. Akoni Louis led off the top of the ninth with a single. Lo On sacrificed him to 2nd and Bruns singled him to third and then stole second himself - men on second and third, one out. Paddy Gleason hit an easy fly to center, but Olmos and Jonah, in center and left, "both did the after you Gaston stunt," and the ball fell to earth between them. 

From the comic master Fred Opper: Alphonse and Gaston.

Louis scored, Bruns made third, and Gleason made first, and stole second shortly after. Louis Soares sacrificed Bruns home and Gleason to third, and suddenly the score was tied at two. Clown Leslie unleashed a "wild, low pitch" that blew by Diamond Head catcher Sam Davis, Gleason scored, and St. Louis was up 3-2. Bushnell set down the Jewels easily in the bottom of the ninth, and St. Louis maintained their sole possession of first place. The Diamond Heads, two games behind St. Louis with but one game left to play, were mathematically eliminated from the pennant. All their hard work and steady improvement had come to naught. But the Kams still had a chance - if they won on August 24 and St. Louis lost, both would be tied at 6-3.

There was a good crowd at the final doubleheader. Both games were rematches of the previous week: Kam-Pun in the first game, and Diamond Head-St. Louis in the second. 

Advertiser, 1907-8-25, p.13. The Advertiser had been using this picture for a few years.

Johnny Williams started for Punahou, as he should have for the last two months, and Kamehameha managed just four hits off him. Punahou was up 4-0 after two innings and never looked back. Final score: Punahou 7, Kamehameha 2. At least the Puns went out with a bang.

The second game, between St. Louis and Diamond Head, was meaningless, as St. Louis had already clinched the pennant, and a bit of a farce. St. Louis won 17-8. It was Diamond Head's fourth straight loss. St. Louis made seven errors, and Diamond Head made twelve. When St. Louis and Diamond Head played on June 22, neither team made a single error. The game fattened some batting averages, and that was all. (Though Bushnell's pitching stats took a hit from the game, his hitting stats were bolstered: batting from the cleanup spot, he went two-for-four, doubled, and scored four runs.) Bill Hampton was lent to Diamond Head to catch, as Sam Davis, the regular catcher for the Jewels, was absent. In that way "Hamp" managed to play eighteen games in an eighteen game season while missing a game.

The Advertiser praised Bert Bower, the league's umpire, saying he officiated in a "manner which has satisfied both players and spectators. He is one of the best men with an indicator who could be found in the United States."

The final standings for the second series:
St. Louis, 7-2
Kamehameha, 5-4
Diamond Head, 4-5
Punahou, 2-7

Final standings for the season:

W  L RS RA                           Manager       Captain

13  5 103  73  St. Louis          Charlie Falk, Pat Gleason
  8 10  93  95  Kamehameha   John Wise, Bill Vannatta

  8 10  83  93  Diamond Head  Eddie Fernandez
  7 11  73  91  Punahou                           , Eddie Desha

As St. Louis won both series, no play-off was needed to determine the championship. St. Louis was clearly the best team in Hawaii, even in a year without Joy.

Stretch your mind back to the very beginning of the season - do you remember when Diamond Head protested Eddie Desha playing for Punahou? Well, more than three months later, after the season was already finished, the league finally responded. Throughout the entire season, a majority of the league's trustees had been abroad. Finally, on August 28, three of the five trustees were present (President Paul Isenberg and Charles Chillingworth were still gone) and the league held a meeting to address the Desha case, among other issues. They ruled that Eddie Desha's signing with Diamond Head and notification  to them that he had decided against playing for them all occurred before April 17, so it was fine that he had played for Punahou all season. 

I have a hard time finding words to express my disbelief that a league would have a majority of its trustees absent through the entire season. Maybe they should have had trustees who actually made the league their priority. Is that really such a crazy idea?

Anyhow... Eddie Desha turned out to be the top player for Punahou, so their determination to field him in the face of a protest held in suspension was wise. He led the league in hits (20), doubles (7), slugging percentage (.500), and total bases (32). He finished second in batting average only to Eddie Fernandez, the manager of Diamond Head, who had protested against Eddie Desha playing with Punahou. 

Eddie Fernandez had a case for the league's most valuable player: he was a shortstop, though not a great one, and led the league in batting average (.328), runs scored (21), and stolen bases (21). 

Nani Lemon, Kamehameha outfielder noted for his small size, loafing before at-bats, and plate discipline, was third in batting average, .283, and second in slugging percentage, .441.

En Sue, St. Louis third baseman, hit .237, which sounds bad, especially as he hit .375 in 1906, but was still well above the league average of .204. He hit three doubles and three triples to tie Nani Lemon in slugging percentage. 

Andy Bushnell tied for the league lead in runs scored, with 21, despite hitting .194 without power or stolen bases. I don't get it. 

The top ten batters:

.394, Johnny Aylett, cf, St. Louis, 13 for 33 (did not qualify for batting title)
.328, Eddie Fernandez, ss, Diamond Head, 
.313, Eddie Desha, 3b-p, Punahou, 20 for 64
.283, Nani Lemon, lf, Kamehameha, 17 for 60
.283, Jones, catcher, Kamehameha, 15 for 53
.273, Darcy, 2b-lf, Diamond Head, 15 for 55 
.270, Bill Hampton, p-3b-c, Punahou, 17 for 63
.254, George Bruns, c-lf, St. Louis, 17 for 67
.242, Miller, ss, Kamehameha, 16 for 66
.239, Bill Vannatta, 2b, Kamehameha, 16 for 67

Evers, St. Louis shortstop, led the league with four triples and and five sacrifice hits, and was the best fielding shortstop by FAR.

Here's my list of Gold Glovers, based on stats and reputation:

                                                   G  PO A E DP FLD PB  League fielding at position:
C  St. Louis * Louis Soares       10  64 21 1 1  .988 1      .974 (with average of .67 PB/ G)
1b St. Louis * Pat Gleason        15 135  1 5 6  .965         .952
2b St. Louis * Jimmy Williams   11  15 19 1 1  .971         .919
SS St. Louis * Evers                  15  40 43 8 3  .912        .851
3b Diamond * Eddie Desha        8  14   9  4 0  .852        .805  (No particularly good choice)
LF Diamond * Jonah                 11 16   1  2 0  .895         .880 
CF St. Louis * Johnny Aylett    10  16  1  0  0 1.000       .893
RF St. Louis * Akoni Louis      14  19  2  2  0  .913        .851
P   Punahou * Bill Hampton       9  12 41  0 3 1.000       .965

It's easy to see that much of St. Louis' success came from their fielding. The Advertiser noted on June 15 that  "All tales to the contrary, notwithstanding, the secret of the St. Louis success is team work. They play together better than any of the other teams. This is just contrary to what has generally been accepted, but it is true just the same." You can see it in their stats. They turned 13 double plays in eighteen games, five more than any other team, and their .931 fielding percentage was rivaled only by Punahou's .925. 

One thing confuses me terribly about the fielding stats I imperfectly compiled: The league fielding average was .918, far below the 1907 MLB average of .958, but the average for pitchers in the Honolulu League was .965, well above the 1907 MLB average of .948. I assume the difference lies somewhere in the scoring methods, but I have no idea what the difference is.

The top pitcher was easily Andy Bushnell, who was 10-3, allowed 3.59 runs per nine innings, and threw three shutouts. Paul Burns, the primary pitcher for St. Louis in the first half, was 3-1 with a 3.65 RA/9, and led the league with a WHIP of 0.83 - he allowed but 12 walks and 25 hits in 44.1 innings. Much of the success of the St. Louis pitchers, of course, must be credited to the excellent defense behind them.

Dick Reuter, Kamehameha, was the workhorse of the league, leading in losses (8), strikeouts (112), innings (131), starts and games pitched (15), hits (95), runs (74), and complete games (15). He had a very good season; his mediocre RA of 5.08 and win-loss of 7-8 were fueled by the Kams' terrible fielding: their fielding percentage was .902, ten points worse than any other team, and twenty-nine points worse than St. Louis. 

Early in the season people were worrying that Punahou was conniving their way to the pennant by hoarding pitchers - they need not have worried. Eddie Desha was terrible, and Bill Hampton was mediocre (3-7, 4.69 RA). Johnny Williams was very good, with a 3-2 record and league-leading 3.56 RA, but was used too infrequently to save Punahou's season.

Bill Chillingworth was the primary Diamond Head pitcher until June 15 - after that, he pitched one inning for the rest of the year. He was okay, with a 2-4 record, 39 strikeouts against 11 walks in 48 innings, and a 4.69 RA, but after that Robert Leslie got hot and Chillingworth was forgotten. Leslie was ineffective for most of the second half, and finished with a 5.11 RA, worse than Chillingworth. He led the league in walks (54 - 17 more than anyone else) and wild pitches (10 - six more than anyone else) in just 104 innings. Through it all he was held in high regard - for some reason people couldn't grasp that despite the no-hitter and speedy fastball, he was not actually a good pitcher.

If you would like to see the complete stats I compiled for the 1907 Honolulu League, here they are:
https://1drv.ms/x/s!Ako34EwWdHgA5xOmsL7qOa6g4Wt3?e=7SY2rL
I will warn you: the pitching stats are slightly off in a couple places (I need to fix that), and the fielding stats don't add up perfectly, so there must be a few small mistakes somewhere. I'm just not sure where. 

And in case you care as much about finances as I do, here are the financial stats:

The treasurer of the league, H.M. Whitney, presented the financial statement of the league for the 1907 season at the meeting of August 30. The Trustee's total gross receipts were $2,553.90, and its expenditures were $2,407.94, "leaving a balance in the treasury of $145.96." 

Gate receipts were detailed from every game of the year. I think it's fascinating to be able to compare attendance at the various games.

As tickets cost 25 or 50 cents, paid attendance never reached 1,000, and was usually far lower. The crowds for the Honolulu League were dwarfed by those of the Riverside League, which played in Honolulu on Sundays and charged nothing for attendance. I'll write something about the Riverside League in the future. 

The trustees' "disbursements": 

(All these figures were printed in the Evening Bulletin, 1907-8-30, p.11)

I believe the "paid league in full" item refers to the share of the money distributed among the teams. 

Thus ended the 1907 Honolulu League, with $145.96 in the league treasury and St. Louis as king.