Tribute to the Dead Ball Era

 

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“Tribute to the Dead Ball Era” Photo Gallery
Click on any image below to view entire gallery:

The 1914 Federal League Chi-Feds 

In April, 2014, the Cubs celebrated the 100th anniversary of Wrigley Field, which was originally known as Weegham Park. It was built as the home for the Chi-Feds, the Chicago entry into the ill-fated Federal League. To commemorate this 100th anniversary, the Cubs printed a beautiful photo of the 1914 Chi-Feds (also known as the Chicago Whales) on the cover of the souvenir program. This is one of the best Dead Ball Era team photos I’ve ever seen,

In the Dead Ball Era, the Chi-Feds finished second in 1914 and then won the Federal League pennant in 1915. After this season ended, the Federal League disbanded and the Whales  merged with the Cubs. They moved from the wood-strucutured West Side Park into the new steel and concrete structure .

I was able to identify most of the players in this great photo. Most are obscure, but there are a few notables, including manager and Hall-of-Famer Joe Tinker. Claude Hendrix, Max Flack, and Al Wickland would be teammates on the Cubs’ 1918 pennant winner, Flack being the starting right-fielder and Hendrix being the ace of the staff. Art Wilson was one of John McGraw’s catchers on his pennant-wiining teams of the early 1910’s. Dutch Zwilling was a baseball lifer who was still managing in the Minor Leagues as late as 1951!

Ironically, Claude Hendrix was involved in a minor gambling incident in a meaningless game against the Phillies in 1920 that eventually lead to the Grand Jury cracking open the Black Sox scandal.

Here’s the player identifications on the great photo of the 1914 Chi-Feds. Can you name any of them?

1914 Chi-Feds

Top Row, L-R: Skipper Roberts, Bill Jackson, Claude Hendrix, Unknown(1), Doc Wilson, Dan Sherman, Tom McGuire.

Middle Row: Clem Clemens, Dutch Zwilling, Fred Beck, Art Wilson, Bruno Black, Harry Fritz, Max Fiske.

Front Row L-R: Jack Farrell, Max Flack, Unknown(2), Al Wickland, Joe TInker (Mgr.), Jim Stanley, Rankin Johnson.

(1) might be Jimmy Smith; (2) might be Ad Brennan.

-Gary Livacari

Photo Credits: Most of the photos found on Jay Nolen’s Dead Ball Era Pinterest page.

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