Sam Barkley

From the dizzying heights of pennant-winning baseball to murder scandals and penury, Sam Barkley’s life was the stuff of Greek myth, and just like every good hero, he ultimately found his way to redemption at the hands of the “Baseball Evangelist.”

Samuel Wilford Barkley was born on May 24, 1858, to Joseph and Catherine (née Colbert) Barkley in Wheeling, Virginia.1 The family had recently relocated from Brownsville, Pennsylvania. Sam, the couple’s fifth child, was the first to be born in the Barkleys’ new home. In total, Joseph and Catherine had at least 11 children, nine of whom lived into adulthood.

Joseph, listed as a cigar maker in the 1850 US census, established a tobacco shop in Wheeling.2 The family lived on Zane Street on Wheeling Island, located in the Ohio River between Wheeling and Bridgeport, Ohio. Sam attended Madison Primary School on the island.3

In the early 1870s, two events set the young Barkley on a path that came to define his life. His father died in February 1873, leaving behind six children under the age of 18, and around this time, Sam began to play competitive organized baseball.4

Barkley began his career as a left fielder,5 but in due time he found his way to second base, his primary position for the remainder of his playing days. Barkley’s team, the Wheeling Standard, was the pride of the region and featured future major leaguers Jack Glasscock, brothers Sam and Joe Moffet, and Chappy Lane. In 1877, the Standard became the first professional baseball team in Wheeling as part of Al Spalding’s League Alliance.6

Between the folding of the League Alliance at the end of the season and a flood that destroyed the ballfield at Wheeling Island’s Fair Grounds,7 Wheeling went without a professional baseball team for years. Glasscock and Lane moved to Pittsburgh to join the Alleghenys of the International Association, but Barkley remained close to home and focused on business. His elder brother Alonzo had taken over their father’s cigar manufacturing business,8 and Sam followed the same path. By 1881, the younger Barkley had his own cigar store.9

Sam Barkley’s cigar store soon became the epicenter of a baseball revival in Wheeling. In July 1882, Barkley hosted former Wheeling Standard players for the purpose of resurrecting the team.10 Within days, the Standard took the field at the New Fair Grounds with Barkley behind the plate. So swift was the return to play that Wheeling did not even have uniforms.11

The revival of the Standard became Barkley’s ticket back to professional baseball. Toledo of the Northwestern League took notice of the 24-year-old as well as Wheeling teammates Sam Moffet, Chappy Lane, and Joe Miller. In their inaugural season, the Toledo Blue Stockings made history in a number of ways, capturing the league title and paving the way for a significant milestone in the integration of baseball. As captain of the squad,12 Barkley helped guide the championship efforts – and in ceding his position as catcher to the exemplary backstop Moses “Fleet” Walker, an African-American, he indirectly contributed to Walker becoming the first openly Black player13 in a major-league game when Toledo joined the American Association in 1884.14 Despite being one of the younger members of the team, Barkley won praise as being “well liked by all of the men, who obey him in everything.”15

Most of the Blue Stockings, including Barkley, returned to Toledo when the team ascended to the 12-club major league American Association in 1884. Barkley, listed as 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds, was a breakout star thanks to his swift baserunning and steady fielding. Among American Association players with at least 100 at-bats, Barkley, who batted right-handed, ranked in the Top 10 in batting average, slugging, total bases, and hits, and he led the league in doubles with 39.

After the 1884 season, the Toledo franchise was eliminated when the AA contracted to an eight-club circuit. Barkley joined Charlie Comiskey’s St. Louis Browns.16 Making $2,100, he was listed among the highest-paid players in baseball (for good reason – he posted a fielding percentage 20 points higher than the league average).17 Again he proved himself a strong batter, leading the club in doubles and triples as the Browns stormed their way to the American Association pennant. Barkley struggled in the 1885 World’s Championship Series against the NL-champion Chicago White Stockings, managing just two hits in 23 at-bats in a seven-game series that ended in a 3–3–1 tie.18

Barkley spent the offseason on an exhibition tour with the Browns in New Orleans. Those were his final games in a St. Louis uniform. Where he would play next, though, was up for debate. Browns owner Chris Von der Ahe announced that he had reached an agreement to sell Barkley to the Baltimore Orioles for the 1886 season. Barkley, though, had been negotiating with Pittsburgh Alleghenys manager Horace Phillips in Wheeling.19 Von der Ahe had promised Barkley to whichever team would pay a $1,000 fee for his release. Baltimore first secured Barkley’s agreement in writing and then followed through with the money, but Barkley informed Von der Ahe that he would prefer to play for Pittsburgh and used the Orioles’ infraction of obtaining his written agreement prior to his release as his rationale for reneging on the deal.20

The contract dispute nearly cost Barkley his season. In early March, the American Association club presidents voted to suspend him for one year and fine him $100. Pittsburgh owner William Nimick moved to appeal the decision and settle the matter in the courts.21 Barkley remarked, “I think [the decision] was most outrageous and unjust.”22 The matter was ultimately settled out of court with Barkley being reinstated and granted to Pittsburgh.23 Fittingly enough, he and the Alleghenys opened the season against Barkley’s former team. He received a “royal reception” in his return to St. Louis.24

Barkley proved well worth the trouble for Pittsburgh. He gained admiration with his watertight defense at second base, being described as a “careful, painstaking player.”25 With shortstop Pop Smith, Barkley formed a lethal double-play combo. At the plate, Barkley managed to lead the team in RBIs despite being a fairly light hitter (.266 average, .715 OPS). His speed remained an asset as he cracked 31 doubles and stole 22 bases.

The 1887 season was the beginning of the end for Barkley’s professional career. He missed much of April with a broken finger;26 in June, he suffered from a severe illness that cost him further time.27 At the end of July, he sustained a biceps injury that affected his ability to throw the ball and forced him to play first base.28 He collected just 76 hits in 89 games, and his OPS dropped from .715 to .579.

Prior to the 1888 season, Pittsburgh sold Barkley to the Kansas City Cowboys for $2,000. The hometown boy did suit up for the Alleghenys in an exhibition in Wheeling before heading west.29 With Kansas City, Barkley maintained his reputation for sterling defense, but his hitting continued to decline. He posted a career-worst .216 batting average and .571 OPS, but he did hit for the cycle in an 11–6 loss to Cincinnati on June 13. Mere days later, Barkley, the team’s captain, took the reins of the club as manager.30 Under his care, the Cowboys went 21–36–1, finishing with a 43–89–1 record, 47 1/2 games behind the first-place St. Louis Browns.

In 1888, Barkley met the “rebellious, quick witted, and imperious” 18-year-old Dora (aka Flora) Feldman of Chicago.31 According to Barkley, she became infatuated with him and “followed him” to Kansas City, where “the day previous to the wedding she went to her room… and took poison, fearing that he would not marry her.”32 Marry they did in a private ceremony at the home of Judge J. J. Davenport, future mayor of Kansas City.33

Again, Barkley spent the offseason in Wheeling before returning to Kansas City for the 1889 season, demanding a $2,300 salary (to match his 1888 stipend) or his release.34 Barkley played the first half of the season for the Cowboys but was traded to Toledo of the minor league International Association in mid-July for Billy Alvord and $1,000.35 At some point toward the end of the season, Barkley severely injured his knee. He returned to Wheeling to play in exhibition games, but it was clear that significant damage had been done – he “could only limp” as he rounded the bases.36 His playing days were through.

Barkley returned to the family business, buying a cigar store on Smithfield Street near Fifth Avenue in Pittsburgh.37 His brother Alonzo had also taken up the trade in that city. Barkley would have gone the way of many a bygone baseball player, fading into obscurity, had it not been for his wife.

By 1893, the Barkleys had moved to Chicago, where Dora’s family lived. They had a son, Harold. Sam opened a saloon while Dora pursued a career in the theatre through the avenue of burlesque. One fateful night at a benefit performance, Dora met notorious gambler and political boss Michael “King Mike” McDonald.38 She subsequently sued Barkley for divorce and, on January 1, 1895, married McDonald. Harold went to live with the McDonald family.

Over the next decade, Barkley fought to keep his saloon profitable in the face of Chicago’s increasingly strict ordinances. His business located at 15 North Clark Street was part of a grand jury investigation into saloons in 1900. “Men and women drinking, swearing, and carousing, with music; open after midnight in the past. Several murders have been committed in front of this door,” a Chicago daily complained. The grand jury stressed the importance of the city enforcing an established ordinance that closed watering holes at midnight.39

Murder struck even closer to home in 1907 when Barkley’s ex-wife became the talk of the town.40 In February 1907, Dora McDonald shot and killed Webster Guerin, an artist with whom she had allegedly been having an affair.41 McDonald claimed that Guerin was blackmailing her. As she attempted to flee the scene, she was arrested.42 Ultimately, McDonald was acquitted of the murder but not before her husband had died. Scandal once again visited her in 1909 when Dora was named as the “other woman” in a divorce case.43 Each time Dora found herself in the news, the press made a point to establish her first husband as the former star baseball player Sam Barkley.

Entering his 50s, Barkley found himself struggling physically and financially. His friends organized a benefit baseball game on August 22, 1908, in hopes of helping him start a new cigar business.44 By early 1912, Barkley, in ill health, had moved back to Wheeling. While there, he met with former baseball player turned evangelist Billy Sunday, who sat at Barkley’s bedside and discussed both baseball and faith. Barkley left the meeting with an intention to become baptized.45 However, he was bedridden at the time and died mere weeks later.

After a long illness, Barkley died at home on Wheeling Island on April 20, 1912. Former teammates Jack Glasscock and Sam Nicholl served as pallbearers at Barkley’s funeral.46 He is interred at Peninsula Cemetery in Wheeling, West Virginia.

Acknowledgments

This story was reviewed by Bill Lamb and Rory Costello and fact-checked by Dan Schoenholz.

Photo credit: Sam Barkley, Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources shown in the Notes, the author used Baseball-Reference.com.

Notes

1 Beginning in 1861, Wheeling became the site of a series of conventions that led to the establishment of West Virginia as the 35th state. Consequently, Wheeling served as the state’s capital from 1861–1870 and 1875–1885.

2 “City Directory,” Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, June 26, 1865: 1.

3 “Roll of Honor,” Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, November 21, 1870: 4; D. T. Williams, “Madison School: A History (1908),” The 9th Annual Report of the Public Schools of Wheeling, West Virginia, Ohio County Library. https://www.ohiocountylibrary.org/wheeling-history/5472, accessed July 13, 2026.

4 While a second baseman by the name of Barkley appears in box scores for Wheeling teams as early as the August 20, 1867, edition of the Wheeling Daily Register (pg. 3), it seems far more likely that the Barkley listed as playing for the Crescents and Standards in late 1874 and early 1875 is Sam. See: “Wielding the Willows,” Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, November 2, 1874: 4, and “Base Ball Items,” Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, June 14, 1875: 4.

5 “Going to Pittsburgh To-Day,” Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, October 13, 1875: 4.

6 Spalding, manager of the NL’s Chicago White Stockings (now the Cubs), and Chicago president William Hulbert devised a plan to partner with independent baseball clubs. By affiliating with the NL, these independent teams could better protect contracts while the senior circuit extended its reach across the nation. Brock Helander, “The League Alliance,” Society for American Baseball Research. https://sabr.org/bioproj/topic/the-league-alliance/, accessed July 15, 2026.

7 William E. Akin, West Virginia Baseball – A History 1865-2000 (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 2006), 29.

8 “A Temperance Ticket to be Nominated,” Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, December 30, 1878: 4.

9 “Cigar Markers’ Meeting,” Wheeling Daily Register, October 12, 1881: 4.

10 “Revive Us Again,” Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, July 26, 1882: 4.

11 “The Standards Down the Stars by a Score of Seven to Two,” Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, August 4, 1882: 4.

12 “Personal Mention,” Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, April 4, 1883: 4.

13 William E. White played one game with the Providence Grays on June 21, 1879. A formerly enslaved man, he could accurately be described as the first African-American to play a major-league game, but White passed for white while Walker openly identified as Black.

14 On May 1, 1884, the date of Walker’s major-league debut against Louisville, Barkley served as Toledo’s leadoff batter and second baseman. He went 3-for-4 with a double and a triple and scored Toledo’s sole run in 5–1 defeat.

15 “Another Wheeling Base Ballist,” Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, July 23, 1883: 4.

16 Barkley was one of four players sold by Toledo to St. Louis in late 1884; the other three were player-manager Charlie Morton, outfielder Curt Welch, and pitching ace Tony Mullane, who opted not to sign with the Browns and attempted to “jump” to Cincinnati. Mullane was suspended for the 1885 season as a result. The contract dispute offered a grim foreshadowing of Barkley’s later scandals. “Sporting Notes,” Buffalo (New York) Post, November 17, 1884: 3.

17 “Pay of Baseball Players,” Essex County Herald (Island Pond, Vermont), December 5, 1884: 1.

18 Barkley was at the center of a controversial call in Game Two. He covered first base as Comiskey fielded a ball that Comiskey believed umpire David Sullivan had called foul. Comiskey continued with the play, flipping the ball to Barkley. White Stockings third baseman Ed Williamson beat the throw and was called safe. Comiskey confronted Sullivan, who reversed his call and declared the ball foul; then, Chicago player-manager Cap Anson and several White Stockings players rushed Sullivan in protest. Sullivan reversed his call again. Incensed, St. Louis fans stormed the field causing Sullivan to retreat to his hotel room and declare the game a forfeit in favor of Chicago. The umpire claimed that Comiskey had pulled his team from the field. St. Louis still holds that it is the winner of the 1885 series due to the “wrongful” forfeiture. Paul E. Doutrich, “Champions, Tantrums and Bad Umps: The 1885 ‘World Series,’” Baseball Research Journal, Society for American Baseball Research, Fall 2017. https://sabr.org/journal/article/champions-tantrums-and-bad-umps-the-1885-world-series/, accessed July 16, 2026.

19 “Barkley Goes to Baltimore,” Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, December 26, 1885: 4.

20 “The Fight for Barkley,” Wheeling Daily Register, January 6, 1886: 1.

21 “Sam Barkley,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 2, 1886: 7.

22 “The Barkley Case,” Wheeling Daily Register, March 5, 1886: 4.

23 “Barkley Back,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 16, 1886: 5. The compromise between Baltimore and Pittsburgh involved Pittsburgh paying a $500 fine and releasing first baseman Milt Scott, who signed with the Orioles. “Barkley to Be Reinstated,” Alton (Illinois) Daily Telegraph, April 7, 1886: 2.

24 “Gossip of the Game,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 19, 1886: 5.

25 “Another Medal to Wheeling,” Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, June 29, 1886: 4.

26 “Foul Tips,” Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, April 27, 1887: 4.

27 “Diamond Dust,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 9, 1887: 8.

28 “Notes,” Wheeling Daily Register, July 29, 1887: 4.

29 “Sale of a Pittsburg [sic] Player,” Hazelton (Pennsylvania) Plain Speaker, April 5, 1888: 1.

30 “New Blood for the Cowboys,” Kansas City Journal, July 6, 1888: 2.

31 “‘Mike’ M’Donald’s Wife Kills Artist in His Studio,” Chicago Inter Ocean, February 22, 1907: 5.

32 “Mrs. M’Donald in Care of Doctors is Regaining Senses,” Chicago Inter Ocean, February 23, 1907: 5.

33 “In a Small Way,” Wheeling Daily Register, September 29, 1888: 4.

34 “Barkley Leaves To-Day,” Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, April 10, 1889: 1.

35 “Ball and Bat,” Buffalo Post, July 19, 1889: 3.

36 “Philadelphia vs. Wheeling,” Wheeling Daily Register, October 10, 1889: 1.

37 “Diamond Dust,” Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, April 14, 1890: 1.

38 “Woman Charges Blackmail by Man She Slew,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 22, 1907: 3.

39 “Hits City Hall Hard,” Chicago Inter Ocean, December 2, 1900: 19. Mentions of further scandals at Sam Barkley’s saloon dry up after the investigation, but whether that was due to him getting out of the business or a change in behavior at the saloon is known.

40 According to Wisconsin marriage records (accessed via FamilySearch), Barkley married a woman named Mary Anna Maier (or perhaps May Maier) in Milwaukee in 1897. She and a son, Daniel, appear alongside Barkley in the 1900 US census, but no further record or mention of them can be found.

41 Contemporary and current sources claim that Guerin was a teenager, but his death record indicates that he was 27 years old at the time of the murder. Dora was approximately 37.

42 “‘Mike’ M’Donald’s Wife Kills Artist in His Studio.”

43 “Mike M’Donald’s Widow, Who Figures in Divorce,” Fort Wayne (Indiana) Journal-Gazette, March 1, 1909: 1.

44 “A Benefit for Sam Barkley,” Kansas City Post, August 20, 1908: 8.

45 “Ball Player in Shadows Calls For Billy Sunday,” Portsmouth (Ohio) Times, March 30, 1912: 12.

46 “Sam Barkley,” Wheeling Intelligencer, April 22, 1912: 10.