Zeke Wrigley

A middle infielder debuting in the mid-1890s, Zeke Wrigley proved not quite good enough for an extended major league career. Yet during the winter club owners meeting of 1899, access to his services spawned a high-visibility contretemps that featured two heavyweights on the National League scene – New York Giants club owner Andrew Freedman and Brooklyn Superbas president Charles H. Ebbets. Ironically, when the dust of “the Wrigley Case” settled, neither executive actually wanted the player.

Once his four-season turn in the bigs was over, Wrigley continued playing for another 15 years in the minors. He was the keystone of a Columbus Senators club that captured three consecutive American Association pennants; he also set fielding records in the AA and the Ohio State League. After playing high-profile semipro ball into his early 40s, Wrigley receded from the limelight, living and working quietly in his native Philadelphia until passing away in 1952. His life story follows.

George Watson Wrigley was born in the City of Brotherly Love on January 18, 1874. He was the younger of two sons1 begat by John Wrigley (born 1841), a cotton mill foreman of English descent who had been brought to America as a child by his parents, and his wife Gavina (née Watson, born 1846), a teenage emigrant from Scotland. George’s parents had separated by the time that he was seven; he grew up under the roof of grandparents Abraham and Alice Wrigley.2

George was educated in Philadelphia public schools through the eighth grade.3 Thereafter, he enlisted in the United States Navy, reportedly sailing to distant ports.4 Having grown up in the same neighborhood that nurtured the talents of Deadball Era pitching standout Bill Donovan5 and career minor leaguer Pat Meaney, Wrigley became an accomplished amateur ballplayer, a right-handed batter and thrower who started out as “a catcher and a baseman.”6 He soon settled in as a middle infielder, the “crack second baseman” of the Philadelphia Athletic Association nine.7

At age 21, Wrigley entered the professional ranks, signing with the Carlisle (Pennsylvania) Colts of the short-season Cumberland Valley League.8 There, his play drew raves, a local newspaper reporting that “Wrigley is hitting hard and truly, he is also fielding brilliantly.”9 Once league action concluded,10 he finished the 1895 campaign playing a few games for an independent club in nearby Shamokin, Pennsylvania.11

Wrigley stepped up in class the following year, manning the shortstop post for the Roanoke Magicians of the Virginia State League.12 Standing a shade over 5-foot-8 and weighing 150 pounds, Wrigley’s forte was offense, lacing the ball to all fields and frequently for distance. In early May, he hit for the cycle and added a second triple in a 21-8 pasting of the Portsmouth Browns.13 “Wrigley’s homer over the left field fence” was the feature of a subsequent 11-1 trouncing of Hampton-Newport News.14 In 107 games for Roanoke, he turned in a professional career-high .314 batting average, with 50 extra-base hits raising his slugging average to .510. Wrigley led Magician batters in runs (90), base hits (148), triples (10), home runs (16), and total bases (240). His defense at shortstop, however, was shaky, embodied by an unimpressive .900 fielding percentage.15

Wrigley’s batting numbers did not go unnoticed. When the Roanoke Magicians disbanded on August 20, he was promptly signed by a major league club, the National League’s Washington Senators.16 For reasons unknown but seemingly peculiar, the Western Union telegraph operator who touted the Roanoke star to Senators club boss J. Earl Wagner “delights in calling [Wrigley] ‘Zeke Wilson,’”17 the name of a right-handed pitcher for the NL Cleveland Spiders. The Wilson part of the moniker soon disappeared, but from then on George Wrigley was known as Zeke, a nickname which he tolerated but apparently did not much care for.18

The newly christened Zeke Wrigley made his major league debut on August 31, 1896, entering a scoreless game against the Chicago Colts in the 10th inning as a defensive replacement at second base. One frame later, a Wrigley grounder plated the only run needed in Washington’s 1-0 overtime triumph.19 Two days later, Zeke broke into the hit column with a single off Art Herman during an 8-6 loss to the Louisville Colonels.20 The newcomer saw only sparing action thereafter but “his work at short … was of such phenomenal order” in a mid-September win over Brooklyn that the Senators “will cling to him good and hard,” declared Sporting Life correspondent (and future National League president) John Heydler.21 Appearing in five Washington contests overall, Wrigley batted a meek .111 (1-for-9) but fielded well, making but one error in 20 chances at second base and shortstop.

Although groomed for the shortstop position in 1897, Wrigley’s defensive versatility – he also played third base (30 games), second base (nine games), and all three outfield posts (36 games, combined) – made him a valuable Washington club asset in an era of limited player rosters. Nevertheless, it was his 33 appearances at short that drew applause from the hometown press. In late July, the Washington Evening Star related that shortstop Wrigley “played his position like an artist, taking care of every chance that came his way without an error” in an 8-0 thrashing of St. Louis.22 Thereafter, the Washington Morning Times pronounced him “a star shortstop.”23

As the season neared a close, however, a disquieting tendency in our subject’s play was captured in a newspaper sub-headline. After a three-error performance in a 5-4 win over Philadelphia, the Washington Post informed readers that: “Wrigley Plays an In and Out Game, Making Brilliant Stops of Difficult Chances and Falling Down on Easy Balls.”24 This penchant for making challenging plays adroitly while booting routine grounders, often at the most inopportune time, plagued Wrigley throughout his days as a shortstop. But one place where Zeke was reliable all season long was at the plate. In 104 games, he batted a solid .284 (110-for-388), with 25 extra-base hits. He also scored 65 runs and knocked in 64 more. In all, and late-season fielding problems notwithstanding, Wrigley enjoyed a more than satisfactory rookie season, with even better performance presumed to be on the horizon.

Regrettably, that never happened. Instead, the play of the young infielder deteriorated in 1898. This was unexpected; preseason pundits predicted continued improvement by both Wrigley and his sixth-place Washington team. “Wrigley is bound to work faster than he did last season, and his performance last year was the talk of the year,” maintained the Washington Post.25 Meanwhile, syndicated sportswriter Bill Phelon picked “Washington for the surprise of the season.”26 It did not happen. As for Wrigley, he proved unable to suppress the urge to chase bad pitches, particularly high ones. Consequently, his batting average slipped to .245, with reduced extra-base hits (21), runs scored (50), and RBIs (39) in 111 games. Meanwhile, his defensive play at shortstop remained  erratic. “With Wrigley it is a case of in and out,” the Washington Morning Times lamented. “One day his work is brilliant and the next exceedingly rank.”27 The Senators also regressed, finishing a distant next to last (51-101-3, .336) in final standings of the 12-club National League.

During the ensuing winter, Wrigley was among the players placed on the market as Washington club management cleaned house. When no other major league team showed interest in him, he was sold to the Richmond Bluebirds of the minor Atlantic League.28 There, at age 25, Wrigley’s fortunes rebounded. By early May, his sparkling play led Sporting Life to declare that “Zeke Wrigley is already the ball-tossing idol of Richmond.”29 Wrigley’s new club also prospered, taking a healthy lead in the Atlantic League pennant chase. The circuit as a whole, however, was in financial distress. With the Bluebirds in first place (63-25, .716), the Atlantic League ceased operations on August 9.

Free agent Wrigley was scooped up by the Syracuse Stars of the Eastern League and immediately appointed team captain.30 As he had in Richmond, Zeke played well for his new club, particularly on defense, where he ranked second among circuit shortstops in fielding (.922 fielding percentage).31 Thus the stage was set for the convoluted affair dubbed “the Wrigley Case.”32

More detailed accounts of the matter can be found elsewhere.33 But in short, the proceedings arose from competing claims upon the services of Zeke Wrigley after the Eastern League season had run its course. The principal litigants were the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Superbas, with the Eastern League an interested third party. The Giants’ claim, pressed on behalf of proud and disagreeable club owner Andrew Freedman, was premised on the notion that Wrigley was at liberty to sign with New York for the remainder of the 1899 season once Syracuse finished EL play. Wrigley had done so, and appeared in four September contests for the Giants, albeit with piddling results (.200 batting average; sub-.900 fielding).

Brooklyn based its claim upon Wrigley’s reservation for the 1900 season by Syracuse. Brooklyn purchased Wrigley’s release from the Stars and signed him to a Superbas contract after he abandoned the Giants in mid-September. When Freedman protested, National League president Nick Young ordered Brooklyn not to play Wrigley until the competing claims upon him were resolved by league officials. Brooklyn played Zeke anyway, but his performance (.204 batting average and mediocre fielding stats in 15 games) was again underwhelming.

Freedman cared little about Wrigley but saw the situation as an opportunity to injure the  Superbas, a competitive rival that he wished to drive out of greater New York. And when the NL Board of Arbitration ruled in New York’s favor on the Wrigley claim, Brooklyn club president Charles H. Ebbets viewed the outcome as an affront to his organization’s integrity. Ebbets appealed to the NL Board of Directors, a body composed of fellow club bosses that had the final say in such disputes. Meanwhile, Eastern League president Pat Powers entered the fray, maintaining that failure to uphold Syracuse’s reservation rights to Wrigley jeopardized the well-being of all minor league baseball. After hearing the parties out, the Board sided with Freedman in a close 7-5 vote. But given the Giants’ plain lack of further interest in Wrigley’s services, the Board was hard-pressed to identify any harm done to the Giants and granted no damage award. A $500 penalty was imposed on the Superbas, however, for defying the directive of league president Young. Brooklyn was also accorded the rights to Wrigley for the 1900 campaign.

The Wrigley Case served as appetizer to the main course on the winter meeting menu: the Freedman proposal to contract the bloated National League to an eight-club circuit for the 1900 season.34 The ensuing adoption of this reduction scheme did not directly affect the Brooklyn Superbas, but it did precipitate the liquidation of the other NL club operated by the Superbas’ ownership syndicate: the Baltimore Orioles.35 The shrinkage of major league roster spots attending NL contraction also had a life-changing effect on many marginal talents, including Zeke Wrigley. Unbeknownst at the time to the still-young infielder, his major league career was now behind him. He never received another chance to play at the game’s highest level, spending the next 15 years entirely in the minors.

In parts of four seasons, Wrigley appeared in 239 major league games. His.258 batting average (222-for-861) might have been adequate for a middle infielder in the late 19th century, had his fielding been more reliable. But it had not been – only his defense at second base (.943 fielding percentage in 23 games) was acceptable. Otherwise, Wrigley’s sub-.900 marks at short (145 games), third base (36 games), and in the outfield (39 games) were not up to major league norms. Wrigley’s deportment had been commendable. He was a sober, conscientious, and intelligent man, liked by club brass, most teammates,36 the sporting press, and baseball fans. Yet he was not a big enough plus to extend his time in the majors.

Wrigley’s minor league odyssey began with his return to the Syracuse Stars, the Brooklyn Superbas no longer interested. He was reappointed Stars team captain, but his play was uninspired.37 In mid-August, Wrigley’s contract was sold to an Eastern League rival, the Worcester Farmers,38 for whom he finished the 1900 campaign with his play on the upswing.

The ensuing year was a particularly eventful one for Zeke Wrigley. Left untaken in the NL minor league player draft and unapproached by any club in the newly declared major American League, Wrigley returned to the Worcester club (by then called the Quakers) and was later appointed team captain. More important, a 1901 position shift initiated the transformation of Wrigley from an erratically fielding shortstop to a premier defensive second baseman.

During the season, Zeke also instituted defamation-based legal proceedings against the Worcester Post for insinuating that he had dumped games – an accusation almost universally denounced as unfounded and scurrilous by observers.39

Finally – but perhaps most important to our subject personally – was a change in his domestic status. Shortly after the baseball season ended, Protestant George Wrigley was united in matrimony with Margaret Torpey, the daughter of Irish-Catholic immigrants, in the rectory of Worcester’s St. John’s Roman Catholic Church.40 Soon thereafter, Wrigley embraced his new wife’s faith and thereafter became active in church affairs, providing catechism lessons to prison inmates on Sundays.41 He also took a leadership role in the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization.

Meanwhile, back on the ball field, Wrigley resumed the captaincy of the renamed Worcester Hustlers. That season, his bat revived some, as attested by a .286 batting average with 31 extra-base hits. But where Zeke really shined was at second base, as exemplified by the 19 or 20 chances – the next day’s newspaper box scores differed42 – that he handled without miscue during the split of a doubleheader against the Providence Grays in late July.

Wrigley was appointed Worcester’s manager for the 1903 season.43 Stable in temperament and baseball-savvy but a lax disciplinarian, he was not a success. With the Hustlers’ record standing at a non-contending 15-24 (.385) on June 18, Wrigley was sold to the cellar-dwelling New Orleans Pelicans of the Class B Southern League.44 Shortly thereafter, he assumed command of his new club.45 But again success eluded him. Unable to turn around club fortunes, Wrigley resigned his manager’s post in late August. Shortly thereafter, New Orleans released him.46

Despite the tribulations of his 1903 season, considerable interest was vested in Wrigley during the offseason. The Newark Sailors of the Eastern League claimed him in the minor league player draft;47 soon thereafter, the prospect of a return to the majors surfaced when the Chicago White Sox of the American League also drafted Wrigley.48 His chances for such a comeback were then enhanced when the National Commission, Organized Baseball’s newly established governing body, ruled that Chicago’s claim upon Wrigley superseded Newark’s.49 By then, the Columbus Senators of the Class A American Association had also entered the lists, asserting a claim to Wrigley based upon purchase of his rights from New Orleans.50

Chicago club boss Charles Comiskey publicly backhanded the Columbus claim and ordered Wrigley to report to White Sox spring training camp when the time came.51 But thereafter, the Sox lost interest and withdrew their hold, leaving him to Columbus.52 And over the ensuing six seasons in Senators’ livery, Wrigley ascended to the pinnacle of his performance on the playing field.

Although his batting was in slow decline, Wrigley formed the backbone of Columbus ball clubs that won three consecutive American Association crowns (1905-1906-1907) and set new standards for defensive excellence at second base. When a broken left forearm put him on the sidelines for seven weeks in 1905, the Kansas City Star observed that Wrigley “has been putting up a most remarkable game for the Senators all season long. Wrigley is not only a clever second baseman, but plays sensational ball all the time; he knows the game thoroughly and is always ready for ‘inside’ plays that a great many second basemen pass up.”53 The following season, Zeke set a new American Association record for second sackers, playing in 28 consecutive games without an error.54 He also topped the competition in fielding percentage at the keystone (.973).55

Although he would be 33 at the outset of the new season, Wrigley was selected by the Philadelphia Athletics in the September minor league player draft.56 But he was not invited to the A’s spring camp and returned to Columbus. During the 1907 season, he put together another lengthy errorless game string (23)57 and led American Association second baseman in fielding by a wide margin (.977). By the following year, however, age, a soft bat, and growing friction with Columbus manager Bill Clymer signaled that Wrigley’s time with the Senators was growing short.

Wrigley returned to Columbus for a sixth consecutive season in 1909 but was traded to the American Association’s St. Paul Saints in mid-May.58 Six weeks later, he “made a new A.A. fielding record by accepting 18 chances [at second base] without an error” in a 13-inning, 4-3 Saints’ loss to his former club.59 Zeke’s stay in St. Paul lasted until late in the 1910 season. With his batting average down to .226 and beginning to show his age (36) in the field, the veteran was released in mid-August.60 But Wrigley still wanted to play. Before the month was out, he hooked on for a September stay with the Ottumwa (Iowa) Packers of the Class D Central Association.61

After the season, Wrigley opened a smoke house and billiard parlor in Columbus.62 But he kept his hand in the game, as well, signing as player-manager for the Chillicothe Infants of the Class D Ohio State League.63 After leading Chillicothe to a respectable fourth-place (78-62, .557) finish, Zeke spent the following two seasons guiding OSL also rans.64 But even then, he set another league fielding record for second basemen, going 35 consecutive games without an error for the Lima (Ohio) Cigarmakers in 1912.65

The 20-season professional career of Zeke Wrigley came to an end in 1914 when he served as player-manager of the Trenton (New Jersey) Tigers of the Tri-State League. In early July, with Trenton’s record standing at 23-28 (.451) and batting a tepid .162 (11-for-68) in 12 playing appearances, manager Wrigley was terminated by the Tigers.66 In all, Wrigley took part in approximately 1,850 minor league games and registered about the same number of base hits, good for a career minor league batting average in the neighborhood of .282.67 He then spent the remainder of the summer as a scout for the St. Louis Cardinals.68

With his days on the professional diamond over, Wrigley returned to Philadelphia, where he eventually found work as a detective for the Reading Railroad.69 By then in his 40s, he satisfied the itch to continue playing ball by shortstopping in fast Delaware River Valley semipro leagues on weekends.70 When the country entered World War I in April 1917, Wrigley was too old to enlist. But to do his part in the war effort, he resigned his railroad detective job to serve as athletic director/baseball instructor for the Knights of Columbus outpost at Camp Sherman in Ohio.71

By 1920, Wrigley’s name had largely disappeared from newspaper sports pages. For the remainder of his life, he supported himself and his wife – the Wrigleys were childless – via local government employment as a court clerk and highway bureau stenographer, retiring sometime in the 1940s. Suffering from kidney failure, George Watson “Zeke” Wrigley died at Philadelphia General Hospital on September 28, 1952.72 He was 78. Following a Requiem Mass said at Most Blessed Sacrament Church in Philadelphia, the deceased was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in suburban Yeadon, Pennsylvania. The only immediate survivor was widow Margaret Wrigley.

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Gregory H. Wolf and Rory Costello and fact-checked by Joe Wancho.

Sources

Sources for the personal info imparted above include the Zeke Wrigley file maintained at the Giamatti Research Center, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Cooperstown, New York; Wrigley profiles published in the New York Clipper and Major League Baseball Profiles, 1871-1900, Vol. 1, David Nemec, ed. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2011); US Census data and other government records accessed via Ancestry.com; and certain of the newspaper articles cited in the endnotes. Unless otherwise specified, statistics have been taken from Baseball-Reference.

Notes

1 Older brother Abraham Wrigley was born in Philadelphia in 1871 and died there in 1897.

2 Per the 1880 US Census. Gavina Wrigley later remarried a man surnamed Wills.

3 According to the 1940 US Census.

4 See “Baseball Brevities,” Muskegon (Michigan) Daily Chronicle, June 25, 1897: 1: “Zeke Wrigley is a globe trotter. Before his diamond career set in he was in Uncle Sam’s navy and girded the globe twice.” It is uncertain if our subject is the same George Wrigley cited for bravery in the rescue from drowning of two naval cadets training on the Delaware River aboard the sloop Saratoga. See “The Saratoga Off,” Philadelphia Inquirer, July 1, 1894: 5; “Medals for Young Sailors,” Philadelphia Times, July 1, 1894: 7. Stories that Zeke Wrigley was once the captain of a schooner named Mary Ann are likely apocryphal.

5 According to sportswriter Cy Swaim, Wrigley arranged for neighborhood pal Donovan’s 1898 tryout with the NL Washington Senators. See “Pays Tribute to Donovan,” (New Philadelphia, Ohio) Daily Times, December 18, 1923: 3.

6 Per “Personal and Otherwise,” Carlisle (Pennsylvania) Daily Herald, June 10, 1895: 4.

7 “Around the Home Plate,” Carlisle (Pennsylvania) Evening Sentinel, July 3, 1895: 3.

8 Per “Diamond Dust,” Carlisle Daily Herald, June 29, 1895: 1. The Cumberland Valley League season started on July 1 and was over by early September.

9 “Base Ball,” Carlisle Daily Herald, August 9, 1895: 4.

10 Carlisle posted a 13-10 (.565) record and finished third in the four-club loop. See “Cumberland Valley League,” Philadelphia Times, September 8, 1895: 8.

11 As reported in the Carlisle Evening Sentinel, September 9, 1895: 3. Shortly after his arrival, Wrigley hit a home run for Shamokin in a 15-4 rout of Sunbury.

12 Wrigley’s signing with Roanoke was reported in “Boyer’s Vindication: The Roanoke Manager Refutes Hagerstown Aspersions,” Sporting Life, January 11, 1896: 6.

13 Per “Roanoke, 21; Portsmouth, 8,” Norfolk (Virginia) Landmark, May 7, 1896: 1; “Baseball Yesterday,” Roanoke (Virginia) Times, May 7, 1896: 4.

14 See “On the Diamonds Yesterday,” Roanoke Times, August 15, 1896: 4.

15 Per Official Virginia State League stats published in Sporting Life, October 17, 1896: 6.

16 See “For the Baseball Fans,” Washington (DC) Post, August 21, 1896: 8; “New Player Signed,” Washington (DC) Evening Star, August 20, 1896: 9.

17 Per “How Wrigley Was Signed,” Washington (DC) Morning Times, September 16, 1896: 3.

18 See “Around the Circuit,” Worcester Evening Gazette, May 2, 1901: 3, wherein Wrigley complained about press use of the nickname. “My name’s not Zeke,” an annoyed George Wrigley informed gathered sportswriters.

19 For more detail, see “No Run Till Eleventh,” Washington Post, September 1, 1896: 8.

20 See “First Blood for Colonels,” Washington Morning Times, September 3, 1896: 3.

21 John Heydler, “From the Capital,” Sporting Life, September 19, 1896: 4.

22 “Western Trip Over,” Washington Evening Star, July 26, 1897: 9.

23 “The Senators Break Even,” Washington Morning Times, September 25, 1897: 6.

24 “Mercer in Fine Form,” Washington Post, September 22, 1897: 8.

25 “Baseball Notes,” Washington Post, January 17, 1898: 8.

26 W.A. Phelon, Jr., “Chicago Gleanings,” Sporting Life, April 16, 1898: 8.

27 “A Miserable Showing,” Washington Morning Times, August 5, 1898: 6.

28 As reported in “Official News,” Sporting Life, January 14, 1899: 1, and “Richmond’s Strong Ball Team,” Baltimore Sun, January 11, 1899: 6.

29 “Atlantic Affairs: Items of Interest,” Sporting Life, May 6, 1899: 10.

30 Per “The Populous East: Nubbins of News,” Sporting Life, August 19, 1899: 8.

31 According to Eastern League fielding stats published in the 1900 Reach Official Base Ball Guide, 73.

32 See e.g., “The Wrigley Case,” Sporting Life, October 21, 1899: 1; “The Wrigley Case,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 11, 1899: 16.

33 See e.g., Jamie Talbot, “The National League Winter Meetings of 1899-1900” in Baseball’s 19th Century Winter Meetings, 1857-1999, Jeremy K. Hodges and Bill Nowlin, eds. (Phoenix: SABR, 2018), 360-362.

34 Armchair analysis of the motives of the long-deceased Andrew Freedman (1860-1915) is a fraught exercise. A thin-skinned and combative millionaire, Freedman operated the New York Giants as a hobby, a diversion from the weighty business and political affairs that dominated his attentions. His eight-season (1895-1902) stewardship of the National League’s cornerstone franchise was the despair of fellow NL club owners. But Freedman did not care, and often pursued action contrary to club interests, particularly if same enabled Freedman to avenge some slight or affront by his club owner brethren.

35 Also disbanded were the NL Washington Senators, Cleveland Spiders, and Louisville Colonels.

36 The notable exception was Washington Senators teammate Gene DeMontreville. When his keystone partner was sent to Baltimore in early 1898, Wrigley was openly pleased. “DeMontreville was a fine ball player,” said Zeke, “but somehow he and I could not get along. He had an aggravating way of slurring me, and we got on about as well as a pair of Kilkenny cats strung over a clothes line,” per “Baseball Notes,” Washington Post, March 18, 1898: 8.

37 According to Eastern League stats published in the 1901 Reach Official Base Ball Guide, 98-99, Wrigley batted .250 in 123 games, combined between Syracuse and Worcester. He posted a decent .912 fielding percentage in 51 games at third, but was weak (.867) in 48 appearances at shortstop.

38 The transaction was reported in “The Same Old Story,” Syracuse Post-Standard, August 17, 1900: 3, and            “Trade for Zeke Wrigley,” Worcester Daily Telegram, August 16, 1900: 4.

39 As gleefully reported in rival Worcester newspapers. See e.g., “An Editor and His Paper Sued,” Worcester Spy, July 24, 1901: 10; “The Post Sued by George Wrigley,” Worcester Evening Gazette, July 23, 1901: 1. As customary, the ensuing court proceedings dragged on interminably. The final disposition of the suit was not uncovered.

40 Per “Wrigley to Become a Benedict Today,” Worcester Spy, October 16, 1901: 5: “Gossip and Chat,” Worcester Evening Gazette, October 16, 1901: 4.

41 As noted in “Loss Adds to Gloom,” (Covington) Kentucky Post, June 11, 1906: 8, reporting on Wrigley’s consolation visit to a death row inmate at a Columbus penitentiary.  

42 Compare Worcester Spy and Providence News: 19 chances to Worcester Daily Telegram and Worcester Evening Gazette: 20 chances.

43 See “Wrigley Is to Manage!” Worcester Daily Telegram, January 3, 1903: 6; “Zeke Wrigley the Manager,” Worcester Spy, January 3, 1903: 3.

44 As reported in “Baseball Briefs,” Providence Evening Bulletin, June 19, 1903: 15; “New Orleans Accepts Offer,” Worcester Spy, June 18, 1903: 2; and elsewhere. New Orleans purchased Wrigley and three other Worcester players for a reported $5,000. The transfer from the Class A Eastern League to the Class B Southern League was a competitive step down under the minor league stratification system adopted in 1901.

45 See “Campau Is Out; Wrigley Is In,” Atlanta Constitution, July 2, 1903: 9; “Campau Gets Out,” Montgomery (Alabama) Advertiser, July 2, 1903: 10. Charles (Count) Campau was Wrigley’s predecessor as New Orleans manager.

46 As reported in “New Manager for Pelicans,” Atlanta Journal, August 28, 1903: 9; “Zeke Wrigley Released by Pelican Directors and Sent Back Home,” Atlanta Constitution, August 27, 1903: 12; and elsewhere.

47 Per “Late News by Wire,” Sporting Life, October 10, 1903: 4.

48 Per “Condensed Dispatches,” Sporting Life, October 17, 1903: 6.

49 Per “Important Decisions,” Sporting Life, October 24, 1903: 5.

50 See “Baseball Briefs,” Providence Evening Bulletin,” January 11, 1904: 15; “Ezekial Is All at Sea,” Worcester Spy, January 9, 1904: 3. Underlying the Columbus claim was a contract for the 1904 season purportedly signed by Wrigley with New Orleans.

51 “Comiskey Knows Nothing of Trade of Wrigley,” Worcester Spy, January 21, 1904: 3.

52 See “Wrigley to Columbus,” Worcester Daily Telegram, February 12, 1904: 5. Because Zeke then remained an off-season resident of Worcester, the local press paid close heed to developments in his career.

53 “Base Ball Gossip,” Kansas City Star, July 24, 1905: 3.

54 As noted in “Greminger Made a Great Record,” Minneapolis Journal, June 28, 1906: 10.

55 Per American Association fielding statistics published in the 1907 Reach Official Base Ball Guide, 152.

56 “Drafted Players for Next Season,” Washington Evening Star, September 5, 1906: 10.

57 See “Wrigley a Whirlwind,” Toledo Blade, July 4, 1907: 6.

58 As reported in “Bits from the Sport World,” Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal, May 13, 1909: 5; “Cantillon Buys Catcher Kahoe,” Minneapolis Journal, May 11, 1909: 11.

59 “Features of A.A. Race to Date,” Toledo Blade, July 10, 1909: 14. See also, “Wrigley in New Record as Fielder,” Columbus Evening Dispatch, June 26, 1909: 6.

60 See “Bits of Baseball News,” Canton (Ohio) Repository, August 16, 1910: 6; “Veteran Wrigley Is Released by Saints,” Minneapolis Journal, August 15, 1910: 9.

61 Per “Zeke Wrigley Joins Miners,” Fargo (North Dakota) Forum and Republican, August 31, 1910: 4; “Wrigley Has Job,” Columbus Evening Dispatch, August 29, 1910: 6.

62 See “May Not Fight Umps,” Columbus Evening Dispatch, November 9, 1910: 15.

63 “Zeke Wrigley as Manager,” Lima (Ohio) Daily News, November 26, 1910: 3; “Zeke Wrigley to Manage the Babes,” Scioto (Chillicothe, Ohio) Gazette, November 22, 1910: 1.

64 In 1912, Wrigley managed the Lima Cigarmakers a seventh-place (64-73, .467) season. In 1913, the Wrigley-led Hamilton Maroons were in seventh (49-71, .409) when he resigned in early September.

65 See “Handles 210 Chances Without a Miscue,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, July 24, 1912: 7; See also, “Majors and Minors,” Newark Evening Star, August 20, 1912: 9.

66 As reported in “Zeke Wrigley Was Fired as Manager,” Portsmouth (Ohio) Daily Times, July 10, 1914: 14; “Lancaster Returns to Tri-State Fold,” Harrisburg (Pennsylvania) Telegraph, July 7, 1914: 10.

67 Baseball-Reference’s minor league stats for Wrigley are incomplete, and the absence of figures for his time with the 1895 Carlisle Colts precludes a precise calculation of his base hits and batting average.

68 Per “Wrigley a Scout,” York (Pennsylvania) Dispatch, July 30, 1914: 7; “Timely General Sporting Talk,” Reading (Pennsylvania) Eagle, July 28, 1914: 9.

69 “Zeke Wrigley a Detective,” Pittsburgh Press, January 13, 1918: 23.

70 See “Zeke Wrigley to Play with Brills,” Trenton Evening News, February 1, 1916: 8; “‘Home-Run’ Baker Comes Here Saturday with Star Upland Club, D.C.L. Champs,” Trenton Evening News, September 8, 1915: 11.

71 Per “Zeke Wrigley to Coach Baseball at Camp Sherman,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 9, 1918: 21; “Wrigley Made Athletic Director,” Philadelphia Inquirer, April 26, 1918: 15.

72 Wrigley’s death certificate identifies bronchopneumonia as the immediate cause of his demise. Uremia is listed as the underlying malady.