Angelo J. Louisa - The Pirates Unraveled: Pittsburghs 1926 Season

ALSO OF INTEREST

Edited by Angelo J. Louisa and David Cicotello:
Mysteries from Baseballs Past: Investigations of Nine Unsettled Questions (McFarland, 2010)

Edited by David Cicotello and Angelo J. Louisa:
Forbes Field:Essays and Memories of the Pirates Historic Ballpark, 19091971 (McFarland, 2007)

Foreword by
David C. Ogden

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE

BRITISH LIBRARY CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE

e-ISBN: 978-1-4766-2254-5

2015 Angelo J. Louisa. All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

On the cover: Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, 1925 (Library of Congress); unraveled baseball (Erik Clegg/Thinkstock)

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com

In memory of my favorite uncle,
William T. Gasper, who taught me to
always give credit where credit is due

Having been a lifelong Pittsburgh Pirate fan and, for the past 25 years, a serious baseball researcher, it is sometimes difficult for me to separate my scientific interest in the cultural nuances of baseball from my child-like wonder as a devout follower of the sport. As with others enthralled with the national pastime and a particular team, I find myself catching my breath in anticipation of what I will see in the box scores on any given morning (but especially on those mornings when I did not hear the results of the previous nights Pirate game).

Despite 20 consecutive losing seasons, the Bucs still claim a place in my heart and always will. To watch players like Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte, and Josh Harrison become the nucleus of a winning team is pure joy. But what frames that joy and makes it even more profound is the rich heritage that the Pirates have. Roberto Clemente, Ralph Kiner, Paul and Lloyd Waner, and Honus Wagner forged a legacy throughout the decades that has been passed from one generation of fans to the next.

Angelo Louisas book on the 1926 Buccos adds to that legacy not just by narrating the on-the-field accomplishments and failures of the players but also by focusing on the relationships among those players and their manager and coaches. Through his copiously documented study, Louisa shows that a baseball team is more than just the sum of its parts and is not isolated from its social and cultural surroundings.

Central to the account is the question of how a club that was the defending National League and World Series champion and was expected by the majority of preseason forecasters to dominate the senior circuit in 1926 could finish in third place. This book answers that question from two angles. First, by carefully examining countless articles and columns from the five mainstream Pittsburgh newspapersnot just those that have been digitized and are easily accessed onlineas well as a plethora of other sources, Louisa dispels the traditional account that lays much of the blame on Fred Clarke and the ramifications of the ABC Affair and shows the effect that illnesses, injuries, scheduling, and weather had on the teams lack of success.

And second, Louisa uses statistics to define both the team and the season. His analysis of the Pirates performance and that of the Cardinals and the Reds, the two clubs that finished ahead of the Bucs, offers some surprises and provides further insight into the teams fortunes.

But this book is not just a snapshot of one year in a baseball franchises history. It is a detailed picture of the dynamics of a team struggling to live up to the expectations thrust upon it and the way the media influenced the lives of certain members of that team, a microcosm of what is often seen in the world of sports today.

Thus, The Pirates Unraveled: Pittsburghs 1926 Season is a must read for any Pirate fan. It appeals to me as an ardent follower of the Pirates and it also appeals to me as a baseball scholar. Angelo Louisa is able to bridge those interests by writing a compelling account of a team that seemed slated for another World Series appearance but ended up breaking the hearts of its fans.

David C. Ogden is a professor in the School of Communication at the University of NebraskaOmaha and a member of the Society for American Baseball Research. He is co-editor of three books on sports history, and he has published articles in NINE: A Journal of Baseball History & Culture, Journal of Leisure Research, Journal of Black Studies, and Great Plains Research.

Just as a manager needs a good team to win ballgames, an author needs a good team to produce a book. Fortunately for me, I was blessed with the following all-star team, a group of people who I cannot thank enough.

Jean Alicz, the registrar of Ottawa Township High School in Ottawa, Illinois, who examined the records of her school to see if Tom Sheehan had ever been a student there and who recommended that I talk with Susan MacDonald.

Kerri Bobish, the assistant EMIS coordinator for the Buckeye Local School District in Dillonvale, Ohio, who checked the available sources for all the schools in her district but could not find any mention of Jack Onslow.

Terri Bone, the assistant principal of Sheridan High School in Sheridan, Arkansas, who searched for evidence that Earl Smith had been a student at Sheridan and who forwarded my query about Smith to Roy L. Wilson.

Robert L. Bromfield, associate dean and registrar of the University of San Francisco in San Francisco, California, who sent my inquiry about Ray Kremer to Fr. Michael Kotlanger, SJ.

Margaret Donahoe Burroughs, Fred Clarkes granddaughter, who graciously entertained my wife and me while we interviewed her, showed us some of her grandfathers memorabilia, and shared with us her knowledge about the Clarke family.

Gabriel Chadwick, secretary in Student Services for the Cecil County Public Schools in Elkton, Maryland, who attempted to help me find out if Red Oldham had been educated at one of the public schools in her area.

Ralph Christian, the historian at the State Historical Society of Iowa in Des Moines, Iowa, who allowed me to read his paper on Ed Barrow and who patiently answered my questions about Fred Clarke.

David Cicotello, my good friend and editing partner, who not only proofread the draft of this book and offered a number of helpful suggestions, but who also was a supportive sounding board for my ideas about the 1926 Pirates and the ABC Affair and who assisted me in gathering information on Fred Clarke in the Winfield area of Kansas.

S. Kelly Cragg, the principal of Corry High School in Corry, Pennsylvania, who provided me with the correct name of his school when Carmen Hill had been a student there.

Carol Donache, the librarian of the Historical Society of Cecil County in Elkton, Maryland, who, while looking for evidence that Red Oldham had attended high school in Cecil County, discovered that he probably had gone to high school in Pennsylvania.