Karl Kolseth

Karl Kolseth owed his big-league career to two-way talent and a stroke of luck. When his pitching arm wore out, he had enough pop in his bat to reinvent himself as a slugging first baseman. Also, he was a star amateur player in Baltimore in 1915, when the Federal League’s Terrapins threw their doors open to sandlotters after sinking irredeemably into the second division. Kolseth joined the Terps in their final days, when he appeared in six games and assured himself a place in major-league history.1

Beyond that, Kolseth’s well-traveled life in baseball might be best remembered for an unusual trifecta. In three separate on-field incidents, the player described as “a fighter from Scrappersville” was attacked by an opposing player, a fan, and an umpire, with Kolseth coming out worst in each incident.2 Kolseth also threatened at least one reporter with bodily harm.3 The scribe, at least, refrained from assaulting him.

Karl Dickey Kolseth was born on Christmas Day 1892, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His parents were Harry Lincoln Kolseth, a Vermont-born bookkeeper of Norwegian descent, and the former Clara Estes, born in Maine.4 During his baseball career, Karl took after his father in working as an accountant and bookkeeper in the offseason.5

Clara sought a divorce in 1903, telling a judge that Harry had left her for military service, had not contacted her in a year and a half, and was likely addicted to morphine.6 Harry Kolseth later surfaced as a doctor in Baltimore, with a new wife, at the same time his son played baseball there.7 Any hard feelings were apparently set aside, because Karl moved in for a time with his father, stepmother, and grandmother.8 Karl managed to maintain relationships with both parents – Clara was sharing his home in Baltimore at the time of her death in 1942.9

Between 1908 and 1910, Kolseth’s name appeared in Boston-area newspapers as an amateur and high-school athlete in Somerville, Massachusetts, a city adjoining Cambridge.10 In 1907 he was not only mentioned in the Boston Globe but also pictured, as a substitute pitcher and outfielder on an undefeated baseball team from the YMCA’s Camp Durrell in Rockland, Maine. Kolseth looks shorter and younger than his mates, and for good reason. Still a few months shy of 15, he’d played his way onto a team whose average age was almost three years older. The pitcher he was backing up was a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.11

Kolseth began his professional career as an 18-year-old pitcher and outfielder in 1911, on the recommendation of Harvard University coach and former pro pitcher Frank Sexton.12 His first season included the displays of raw talent and interpersonal conflict that would mark many of his later campaigns.

He began the season with the Lawrence, Massachusetts, team of the Class B New England League, then was loaned to a team in Hamilton, Ontario, before being returned to Lawrence. In Hamilton he hit a solid .299 in 65 games and won a game in late July with what was described as the longest homer of the season.13 In Lawrence, he pitched both games of an August 24 doubleheader against a New Bedford, Massachusetts, team that included future Hall of Famer Rabbit Maranville. Kolseth threw a two-hit shutout in the first game, then surrendered only four hits in a seven-inning 2-2 tie in the second game.14 As for the drama, his season included at least two ejections for arguing, as well as a $25 fine in Hamilton for going AWOL and skipping a game.15

One news story reported that young Kolseth was married during his “French leave.”16 If true, it was the first of four trips to the altar. He married the former Edith Hefner of Baltimore around 1916; they were divorced in the late 1930s after having one daughter, Doris.17 By the 1940 Census, Kolseth had remarried to a woman named Elizabeth.18 In 1948, he was wed to the former Helen Steele of Cumberland, Maryland. They remained married for the rest of his life.19

Returning to his baseball chronology, Kolseth’s second season was even more unsettled than his first. The Lawrence team suspended him twice early in 1912 for not being in condition to play.20 That summer, Kolseth bounced between New England League teams in Lawrence and Lowell, Massachusetts, as well as a semipro team called the Tigers in Leominster, Massachusetts.21 During his stint with Lowell, Kolseth drew an ejection, then sat in the grandstand and continued his verbal abuse until the umpire had the groundskeeper throw him out.22

Years later, Kolseth told a remarkable story about the 1912 season. By his account, the American League’s New York Highlanders bought him from Lawrence that fall along with teammate Ray Keating. But the Lawrence team pitched Kolseth five times in his final seven games while also using him in the outfield. By the time he reached New York his arm was spent, and the Highlanders returned him to Lawrence without using him in a game.23 The Highlanders did sign Keating that season and pitched him in six games, but the author of this biography was unable to find proof in news reports that Kolseth was part of the deal.24 Still, descriptions of Kolseth as “formerly with the New York Americans” or similar language recurred in news stories throughout his life.25

One part of the story can be verified. Kolseth, who threw right-handed but batted left, developed arm trouble that cost him his job with Lawrence in the spring of 1913.26 Shifting gradually from the mound to first base and the outfield, Kolseth played amateur baseball in the Boston area in 1913 and 1914, appeared with the Fall River (Massachusetts) team of the Class C Colonial League in 1914, and joined Baltimore’s bustling amateur scene in 1915 after landing a job there.27

His play with the Mount Washington team of Baltimore’s Interclub League quickly earned him local renown. In mid-August, his .400 average ranked him among the loop’s top hitters, and the Baltimore Evening Sun noted that the “big first sacker hits the ball as hard as anybody in the circuit. Most of his bingles go for extra bases.”28 (Kolseth’s height and weight during his career are listed as 6 feet and about 185 pounds.)

That was enough to draw the Terrapins’ attention. Baltimore’s Federal Leaguers had been expected to compete for the pennant in 1915 after a third-place finish the season before, but manager Otto Knabe’s weak team was quickly left in the dust. May 7 was the last day the Terps ranked as high as sixth in the eight-team loop. On July 8 they fell into last place and stayed there, closing the season with a dismal 47-107 record. In the name of evaluating talent for the following season,29 the team resorted to signing amateur standouts, including Charlie Eakle, Tommy Vereker, Charlie Maisel, Ed Forsyth, Charlie Young, and Ken Crawford.30 Like Kolseth, these players never reached the majors with any other team. Some didn’t play in the minors but went straight back to amateur competition after they left the Terrapins.

Kolseth, labeled “the best amateur in Baltimore,” joined the team on September 30 at the tail end of a baseball death march.31 As a result of the league’s lopsided scheduling, the Terrapins hit the road from September 1 through September 28 after spending most of August at home. Rainouts and other cancellations32 from earlier in the season added to their load. Knabe’s squad was forced to play 11 doubleheaders between September 1 and the season’s end on October 3. This schedule would have tested the mettle of the best of teams, and the Terps wilted under its challenge. From September 1 through the end of the season, they went 7-29.

Kolseth started at first base in Baltimore’s final six games, home doubleheaders against Newark on September 30 and October 2 and a road doubleheader at Newark on October 3. He shone in the second game on September 30, going 3-for-4 with a double against veteran pitcher Ed Reulbach. “Koley” accounted for half of Baltimore’s hits in a 5-1 loss.33 The next day’s Baltimore Sun conceded his lack of foot speed but called him a powerful hitter and a competent fielder who “acted like a veteran.” The article added, “Everything considered, he is worthy of a thorough tryout.”34

In the first game on October 3, Kolseth went 2-for-5 with a triple and picked up his sole big-league RBI in a 9-5 victory. It was the only one of his games that the Terrapins won. He went hitless in the second game and closed his career with a .261 batting average in 23 at-bats. His Wins Above Replacement value has since been calculated as -0.2.35

From there, Kolseth resumed a rambling minor-league career as a powerful first baseman and occasional pitcher. His Sporting News contract card lists him as shuttling among 12 professional teams between 1916 and 1924 – two of them twice. Kolseth mostly left the pro ranks in 1917,36 when he took a job with Bethlehem Steel and played with a company team.37 He suffered a serious leg injury while sliding in May 1917 that was initially described as a broken leg, then as a torn ligament. It sidelined him until late July.38

Kolseth returned to the pros the following season, when he split time among three teams in the Class AA International League, one level below the majors.39 It was as close as he came to a big-league return. Most of his remaining career was spent at the Class B and Class D levels – three and five levels below the majors, respectively.40 Kolseth took his only turn at managing in 1920 while still an active player with the Hanover, Pennsylvania, team of the Class D Blue Ridge League. On August 10, with Hanover fifth in the six-team league, he was traded to Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. His lifetime record as a minor-league manager was 29-39.41

His playing skills continued to earn acclaim. In Buffalo and Binghamton in 1918, he received notice for the rare feat of hitting over-the-fence home runs to right field. The Buffalo clout was described as one of the longest ever seen there.42 He reportedly led International League first basemen in fielding that season as well.43 Kolseth repeated his heroics at Hanover two seasons later by hitting “one of the longest [home runs] ever made” at the city’s McAllister Field.44 Baseball-Reference credits him with hitting .333 in 96 games at Class D in 192045 and .340 in 91 games at the same level in 1924, with averages at or near .300 in intervening seasons.

On June 14, 1922, he collected two homers, two triples, a single, and nine runs batted in for Spartanburg of the Class B South Atlantic League.46 His 15 total bases in a game was still being cited as a league record more than 30 years later.47 And in a final glimmer of his pitching talent, Kolseth threw a no-hitter for the Cambridge, Maryland, team of the Class D Eastern Shore League on August 11, 1923. He fell only two walks shy of a perfect game in a 2-0 win over Salisbury, Maryland.48

On the negative side of the ledger, Kolseth was arrested on the field mid-game in Baltimore in 1918 after another player attacked him. Kolseth exchanged words with Baltimore’s Sumpter Clarke while playing first base for Rochester in the second game of a July 24 doubleheader. Clarke, who had tussled with Rochester shortstop John Brady in the opener, got Kolseth in a stranglehold and wrestled him to the ground. Police arrested Clarke and Kolseth, then pinched Brady for good measure after the shortstop protested their intervention. Clarke and Brady were fined; Kolseth was not.49

Kolseth’s questionable judgment led to a set-to with a spectator in Charlotte, North Carolina, three seasons later. Late in a game on May 9, 1921, Kolseth wearied of fans’ persistent heckling and invited the loudmouths onto the field to discuss their complaints in person. About a dozen of them took him up on it. A fan with the ironic name of Giles Fite floored Kolseth with a punch, possibly while another fan was restraining the player’s arms. Two of Kolseth’s teammates entered the stands after the game to pursue the hecklers. Fite and Kolseth were fined.50

Kolseth’s last major misadventure occurred between games of a South Atlantic League doubleheader in Augusta, Georgia, on June 16, 1922. Umpire Richard Monohan ejected Kolseth for arguing in the eighth inning of the first game. Seeing Kolseth in the dugout between games, Monohan told the player that he could “whip [you] any time.” Kolseth rose to the bait, but as he was stepping out of the dugout, Monohan sucker-punched him and broke his nose in several places. The umpire was arrested, fined, and fired, while Kolseth received a suspended fine.51 News reports of the incident were picked up as far away as Calgary, Alberta, and Hilo, Hawaii. Kolseth was back in the lineup – and homered – on June 22; in early July he hit “the longest ball of the season” in Spartanburg.52

Other indicators of Kolseth’s apparently short fuse include “persistent” arguing with umps in 1916, as well as an incident in which he stopped just short of punching one; near-fistfights with opposing players in 1920 and 1921; an ejection for throwing his glove at an umpire in 1922; and another ejection and near-physical run-in in 1923 with an umpire who called his ninth-inning drive a foul ball.53 Paradoxically, news stories from 1921 and 1923 reported that Kolseth made brief attempts at professional umpiring during pauses in his playing career.54

Kolseth’s career petered out with a few more seasons in the Baltimore amateur leagues in the mid- to-late 1920s.55 After baseball he became a devoted follower of horse racing. He entered the business in the late 1920s56 as a horse trainer and later became a jockey’s agent. “I have never had a lot of money since buying the first [horse]. Still, I have had a good time and never went hungry,” he told a reporter in 1940.57 Coverage of Kolseth’s racing career tended to focus on victories and high points. He admitted late in life that racing was a feast-or-famine proposition: “I’ve been up and down so much in the racing business that I feel like an elevator.”58

After surviving a 1950 accident in which his car rolled four times,59 Kolseth’s health began to fail in 1956. He died of lung cancer in Cumberland, Maryland, on May 3, 1956, at age 63.60 Following services at the George Funeral Home in Cumberland, he was buried in Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery in the city. In addition to his wife, he was survived by his daughter and two grandchildren.61 His daughter Doris became an athlete in her own right as a professional duckpin bowler.62

Baltimore’s Oldtimers Baseball Association, a group of former amateur players, inducted Kolseth into its Hall of Fame in 1962 alongside former big-leaguer Eddie Rommel. Two Baltimore Sun articles about the inductees focused on Kolseth’s Baltimore sandlot days and his time in the International League, while they omitted his brief stint with the long-gone Terrapins.63

Acknowledgments

This story was reviewed by Rory Costello and Mike Eisenbath and checked for accuracy by SABR’s fact-checking team. The author thanks Lynn Blumenau for assistance with genealogical research, as well as the Giamatti Research Center at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Sources and photo credit

In addition to the sources credited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for background information on players, teams, and seasons. He also consulted box scores and game stories from newspapers in Karl Kolseth’s many professional and personal ports of call.

Photo from the Boston Globe, July 9, 1913: 7.

Notes

1 Kolseth’s place in big-league history was fully assured in March 1968, when the major leagues’ Special Baseball Records Committee voted to formally award major-league status to the Federal League of 1914 and 1915.

2 “Newsy Sport Gossip,” Charlotte (North Carolina) Observer, April 9, 1921: 8.

3 “News from Over the Blue Ridge,” Gettysburg (Pennsylvania) Times, July 24, 1916: 3; “Notice to Mr. Kolseth (or Any Other Rowdy Ball Player),” Chambersburg (Pennsylvania) Public Opinion, July 22, 1916: 6.

4 Record of 1892 births in Cambridge, Massachusetts, posted on Familysearch.org and accessed in June 2023; 1900 US Census listing for Harry, Clara, and Karl Kolseth, posted on Familysearch.org and accessed in June 2023. In 1900, the family was living in Rochester, New Hampshire, and Harry Kolseth’s employment was listed as “U.S. Army.”

5 Kolseth’s Sporting News contract card lists his profession as “accountant,” while the 1930 US Census describes him as doing clerical bookkeeping work. (Both sources accessed in June 2023.) Other mentions of Kolseth’s offseason accounting work are found in “Winter Directory of the Champs,” Chambersburg Public Opinion, September 7, 1916: 6; and “A Hornet A Day for Local Fans,” Charlotte (North Carolina) Observer, April 6, 1921: 11.

6 “In Divorce Court,” Boston Globe, October 23, 1903: 11. Despite this tale of woe, the judge did not award Clara a divorce at this hearing. The text of the story also implies that Karl was Harry and Clara’s only child.

7 “Rochester Club Loses Two Players,” Buffalo Commercial, August 2, 1918: 5; “Wed in San Francisco,” Buffalo Courier, March 23, 1902: 25. The full story of Harry Kolseth’s journey from bookkeeper to morphine-addicted soldier to big-city physician longs to be told. The final step of that journey, at least, is in the public record: The Baltimore Sun reported on Harry’s graduation from medical school in “26 To Be Doctors,” May 29, 1912: 11.

8 R&L Polk and Co. Baltimore City Directory, 1915: 1207, accessed online June 2023. The 1910 US Census also recorded physician Harry Kolseth and his wife, Bessie, living in Baltimore with Harry’s mother Alma. (Bessie is not mentioned in the 1915 city directory but was still married to Harry at that time and was presumably living with Harry, Alma, and Karl.)

9 “Brown” (obituary), Boston Globe, March 5, 1942: 26. Harry Kolseth, Karl’s father, died in December 1925. “Kolseth” (obituary), Baltimore Sun, December 7, 1925: 16.

10 Later in life, news stories sometimes cited Somerville as Kolseth’s hometown, and his death certificate incorrectly lists “Summerville, Mass.” as his birthplace. (Kolseth’s death certificate is included in his clipping file at the Giamatti Research Center at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.) A few examples of his early appearances in print include “Lynn Grocers Badly Defeated,” Lynn (Massachusetts) Daily Item, July 31, 1908: 9; “St. Joseph’s 4, Defenders 2,” Boston Globe, August 1, 1909: 13; and “Kolseth Not Eligible,” Boston Globe, October 28, 1910: 6.

11 “No Defeat for Camp Durrell,” Boston Globe, August 24, 1907: 4.

12 Billy Mack, “Kolseth Looks Good to Shine for Rochester,” Wilmington (Delaware) Evening Journal, April 18, 1919: 28.

13 Sporting Life, December 23, 1911: 17. Accessed June 2023. https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll17/id/27312/rec/5; “Smith’s Return,” Brantford (Ontario) Expositor, July 26, 1911: 3.

14 “Kolseth Puzzle in Two,” Lynn Daily Item, August 25, 1911: 6; “Lawrence 3-2, New Bedford 0-2,” Fall River (Massachusetts) Evening Herald, August 25, 1911: 6.

15 “Needs a Rest,” Brantford Expositor, August 2, 1911: 3; “Canadian League,” Brantford Expositor, June 16, 1911: 3; “New Bedford 2, Lawrence 0,” Fall River Daily Evening News, August 24, 1911: 3.

16 “Canadian League,” Brantford Daily Expositor, August 15, 1911: 3.

17 The date of their wedding is extrapolated from their 1930 US Census entry, accessed through Familysearch.org in June 2023. The Census listing says Karl and Edith were both married for the first time at age 23. Since Karl turned 23 on December 25, 1915, that sets the date of their wedding most likely in 1916. Also, a Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, news story from late July 1916 mentions Kolseth being called to Baltimore by his wife’s illness. The date of their divorce is based on an alimony and attachment case listing for Kolseth v. Kolseth in the Baltimore Sun, November 15, 1937: 17.

18 1940 US Census listing for Karl and Elizabeth Kolseth, accessed through Familysearch.org in June 2023. The couple was listed as having two children, 13-year-old George and 12-year-old Nadine. Since Kolseth was married to Edith at the time George and Nadine were born, the author of this biography assumes that the children were Elizabeth’s by a previous relationship, and that Karl was their stepfather during his marriage to Elizabeth.

19 Commonwealth of Virginia marriage license for Karl Kolseth and Helen Steele, issued June 3, 1948, and accessed via Familysearch.org, by coincidence, on June 3, 2023; “Karl D. Kolseth” (obituary), Cumberland (Maryland) News, May 4, 1956: 8.

20 “N.E. League Notes,” Fall River (Massachusetts) Globe, May 16, 1912: 12. “Not in condition to play” was sometimes used in decades past as a euphemism for excessive drinking. The author found no specific proof of that in Kolseth’s case. News stories later in his career described him as “husky” and mentioned his putting on weight, so poor conditioning might well have been the issue. (Warren Corbett’s SABR Biography Project article on George Earnshaw provides one example of the phrase “not in condition to play” being used to describe a player with a drinking problem.)

21 News items that trace Kolseth’s complicated itinerary include “General Sporting Notes,” Fitchburg (Massachusetts) Sentinel, June 12, 1912: 6; “Leominster,” Boston Globe, June 20, 1912: 15; “Contracts and Releases,” Fall River Evening Herald, June 26, 1912: 6; “Contracts and Releases,” Lynn Daily Item, July 3, 1912: 6; “Tigers Are Taken On,” Fitchburg Sentinel, July 16, 1912: 6.

22 “New England League Notes,” Fall River Evening Herald, June 7, 1912: 6.

23 Kolseth is quoted telling this story in William Boniface, “Kolseth Hitting 1.000 as Owner,” Baltimore Evening Sun, September 20, 1940: 41. The same yarn appeared almost 20 years earlier in “A Hornet A Day for Local Fans,” cited above. One assumes Kolseth was the source there as well, though he is not directly quoted.

24 The author searched the New York Times archives, as well as newspapers available through Newspapers.com in June 2023. These included the Boston Globe, several other New York City dailies, and several Massachusetts papers that included news of the New England League. A search in Sporting Life magazine and on the New York State Historic Newspapers site (nyshistoricnewspapers.org) also turned up nothing.

25 Two examples: Sparrow, “Beating the Gate at Delaware Park,” Wilmington (Delaware) Morning News, July 14, 1937: 15; Jack Powers, “No Boxing Probe Necessary,” Jersey Journal (Jersey City, New Jersey), June 24, 1955: 17. The latter story, published less than a year before Kolseth’s death, also incorrectly credits him with going 8-for-8 in an Opening Day doubleheader with the 1915 Baltimore Terrapins.

26 “Manager Sellers to Stand Pat,” Fitchburg Sentinel, April 24, 1913: 6.

27 “Lincolns Expect to Have a Strong Nine,” Boston Globe, June 21, 1913: 7; “Amateur Nines Are Beginning to Play Midweek Games Now,” Boston Globe, July 16, 1913: 7; “Lincolns Get Winning Run Across in the 11th,” Boston Globe, July 19, 1914: 12; “O’Brien Enjoys Ultimate Titter,” Fall River Evening News, June 20, 1914: 5; “Mt. Washington Wins,” Baltimore Sun, June 15, 1915: 8; Mack, “Kolseth Looks Good to Shine for Rochester.”

28 “Interclub Leader Will Play Towson,” Baltimore Evening Sun, August 11, 1915: 9; “Doc Kerr Leading Interclub Batters,” Baltimore Evening Sun, August 18, 1915: 5.

29 C. Starr Matthews, who covered the 1915 Terrapins for the Baltimore Sun, repeatedly described the team as making personnel changes with its eye on the 1916 season. One example is in “Fielders Want Walsh” in the August 30, 1915, Sun: “The directors … are going about their building in an earnest, careful manner. … With a lot of young, fast and ambitious players, Manager Knabe will have some material to work with next year.” In another story, Matthews quoted league President James Gilmore repeating the party line: “Radical shifts have been made, but this has been done only for the purpose of building up the team for next season. … New blood is needed and Baltimore will get it.” “Terps Get Smith in Doolan Trade,” Baltimore Evening Sun, September 2, 1915: 9. Of course, “next year” never arrived for the Federal League, which folded after the 1915 season.

30 C. Starr Matthews, “Knabe Will Give Youngster Chance,” Baltimore Evening Sun, August 20, 1915: 10; “Vereker Wins His Game,” Baltimore Sun, June 20, 1915: 10; “Alco Nine Will Play Newark Club Sunday,” Baltimore Evening Sun, April 16, 1925: 40; C. Starr Matthews, “Peps Outclass Terps,” Baltimore Sun, October 3, 1915: 28; “Terrapins Go Halvers,” Baltimore Sun, September 6, 1915: 6; C. Starr Matthews, “Knabe’s Rookies Look Promising,” Baltimore Evening Sun, September 7, 1915: 5.

31 C. Starr Matthews, “Will Close Season with Double-Header,” Baltimore Evening Sun, October 2, 1915: 9.

32 The Terrapins and Chicago Whales postponed a July 25 doubleheader in Chicago following the Eastland steamboat disaster that day. The boat rolled over while docked, causing the deaths of nearly 850 people. One game was played July 26, while the other was made up on September 12. “Disaster Halts Game,” Baltimore Sun, July 26, 1915: 6.

33 Kolseth’s nickname also appeared in print as “Koly” and “Kolly.”

34 C. Starr Matthews, “All Eyes on New Terps,” Baltimore Sun, October 1, 1915: 10.

35 As of June 2023, Kolseth’s major-league fielding average is listed on Baseball-Reference and Retrosheet as .915 – due in part to three errors in the second game on October 3. However, box scores published at the time credit Kolseth with only one error in the game, not three. (They also credit the entire Baltimore team with three errors, as opposed to the eight errors listed in box scores on Baseball-Reference and Retrosheet.) “Terrapins Divide Bill,” Baltimore Sun, October 4, 1915: 5; “Final Games Played Sunday, October 3,” Sporting Life, October 9, 1915: 16.

36 News coverage in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, newspapers indicates that Kolseth returned to the city for a game or two in May 1917, then decided to go back to his Bethlehem Steel job. “Kolly Leaves Us,” Chambersburg (Pennsylvania) Franklin Repository, May 12, 1917: 4.

37 “Lose Two Stars,” Chambersburg Franklin Repository, April 10, 1917: 5. Also, Kolseth’s World War I draft card describes him as an engineer with Bethlehem Steel at the company’s Sparrows Point facility. Accessed via Familysearch.org, June 2023. In 1917, Bethlehem Steel operated a six-team league staffed by employees at its various plants, including former major- and minor-leaguers and college players. “Bethlehem Steel League Has Successful Season How Six Teams Line Up,” Harrisburg (Pennsylvania) Telegraph, August 9, 1917: 11.

38 “Kolseth Breaks Leg in Sliding,” Chambersburg Public Opinion, May 17, 1917: 1; “All Set to Open $30,000 Grounds,” Washington (District of Columbia) Herald, July 21, 1917: 10.

39 The teams: Newark, Baltimore, and Rochester.

40 Minor-league classifications in segregated white professional baseball at this time, from highest to lowest, were Classes AA, A, B, C, and D.

41 “Kolseth Traded for Three Men” and “Blue Ridge Standing,” both Gettysburg Times, August 11, 1920: 4.

42 “Cooper’s Two-Base Drive Wins Own Game in Tenth; Chief Meyers’ Day Today,” Buffalo Courier, May 25, 1918: 8; “Bingos Win Double and Retain Lead,” Binghamton (New York) Press, July 27, 1918: 11; “Believed that Friedman Won’t Get Steady Berth with Colts This Season,” Rochester (New York) Democrat and Chronicle, April 24, 1919: 27.

43 “Believed that Friedman Won’t Get Steady Berth with Colts This Season.”

44 “Kolseth’s Home Run Wins Much Apparel,” Hanover (Pennsylvania) Evening Sun, May 26, 1920: 3. Kolseth’s homer, the first of the season at the ballpark, won him $20 in clothing.

45 A postseason summary gave his 1920 average as .345. “The League Averages Are Announced,” Chambersburg Franklin Repository, November 24, 1920: 1.

46 “Sally Records for 9th Week,” Greenville (South Carolina) News, June 25, 1922: 3B.

47 J.P. Friend, “Wide Open Race Still Cited by Sally Stax,” Montgomery (Alabama) Advertiser, May 6, 1954: 5C.

48 “Kolseth Twirls a No-Hit Game,” Philadelphia Inquirer, August 12, 1923: 22. At least one future major-leaguer, first baseman Charles “Chick” Tolson, was in the lineup that Kolseth subdued.

49 C. Starr Matthews, “Too Much for Money,” Baltimore Sun, July 25, 1918: 7; “Colts Divide Double Bill with Baltimore, Grabbing Closing Battle of Series,” Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, July 25, 1918: 19. In fairness to Kolseth, Clarke’s SABR Biography Project biography depicts him as a quirky and unpredictable figure who fought physically with one of his managers and even the president of a minor league. So, the blame in this incident may rest more on Clarke than Kolseth. Still, Kolseth played a part in inciting the fight by exchanging words with Clarke; he might have held his tongue.

50 Eddie Brietz, “Brawl Ends First Game Which Spartanburg Wins, 4 to 2,” Charlotte Observer, May 10, 1921: 12; “Charlotte Fan is Fined for Assault,” High Point (North Carolina) Enterprise, May 10, 1921: 2.

51 “Monohan Arrested for Breaking Nose for Karl Kolseth,” Charlotte Observer, June 17, 1922: 9; “Umpire Attacks Spartan Player,” Columbia (South Carolina) State, June 17, 1922: 5; “Umpire Monahan Fined $25 for an Altercation Yesterday,” Greenwood (South Carolina) Index-Journal, June 17, 1922: 1. Monohan’s Sporting News umpire card, which misspells his last name, indicates that he became a scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates the following season. He is mentioned as such in “Young Buccos Are Arriving; Catcher Land Is New Coach,” Pittsburgh Post, September 12, 1923: 13.

52 Eddie Brietz, “New Hornets Help Win Opener from Spartans; Bieber-Davis in Game,” Charlotte News, June 23, 1922: 14; “Karl Kolseth Hits Year’s Long Homer,” Charlotte News, July 6, 1922: 10.

53 “Kolseth’s Arguing Costs Maroons Game,” Chambersburg Public Opinion, July 20, 1916: 6; “Baseball,” Chambersburg Public Opinion, August 30, 1920: 4; “Newsy Sport Gossip,” Charlotte Observer, April 24, 1921: 12; “Rally in Eighth Wins for Champs,” Columbia State, May 30, 1922: 10; and “Umpire Calls Kolseth’s Home Run a Foul Ball,” York (Pennsylvania) Daily Record, June 8, 1923: 8.

54 Eddie Brietz, “Hornets Pass Up Pair of Good Opportunities and Are Nosed Out, 7-6,” Charlotte Observer, June 14, 1921: 12; “Mighty Costello Gets Bitter Dose from Cappy’s Gang,” Baltimore Evening Sun, September 14, 1923: 3.

55 A few samples of Kolseth appearing in coverage of Maryland amateur baseball between 1924 and 1928 include “Klemmick Will Twirl Against Alcos Today,” Baltimore Sun, September 21, 1924: II: 2; “Alco Nine Will Play Newark Club Sunday” (cited above); “Alco-J.W. Crook Feud to Be Renewed Today,” Baltimore Sun, August 8, 1926: II: 4; “Local Boys to Get Chance Make Team,” Frederick News, April 9, 1927: 6; and “Hebbville Tossers Face Canton Nine,” Baltimore Evening Sun, June 30, 1928: 13. In August 1928, the Baltimore Evening Sun reported that Kolseth “has forsaken the diamond for the sport of kings.” “Kolseth to Race in Marlboro Meet,” August 25, 1928: 9.

56 A Newspapers.com search in June 2023 showed a scattering of news clippings about Kolseth’s horse activity in 1928 and 1929, then nothing for several years. His absence from the horse racing business more or less coincided with the arrival of the Great Depression, though publicly available information does not draw a straight line between the two.

57 Boniface, “Kolseth Hitting 1.000 as Owner.”

58 J. Suter Kegg, “Tapping the Sports Keg,” Cumberland (Maryland) Evening Times, May 7, 1952: 14. In another possible sign of Kolseth’s financial straits, his wedding announcement in the Cumberland newspaper in June 1948 noted that Helen had recently resigned as a telephone operator and instructor. As of the US Census in spring 1950, Helen had returned to work as a telephone operator, while Karl was listed as a horse trainer looking for work. (1950 Census accessed via Familysearch.org in June 2023.)

59 Frank Colley, “Colley-See-’Um of Sports,” Hagerstown (Maryland) Morning Herald, June 10, 1950: 18.

60 “Karl D. Kolseth” (obituary), Cumberland News, May 4, 1956: 8; “Karl D. Kolseth Dies,” Chambersburg Public Opinion, May 4, 1956: 4; “Karl Kolseth, 64, Riders’ Agent, Dies,” Washington Evening Star, May 4, 1956: C2; death certificate for Karl Kolseth, cited above.

61 “Karl D. Kolseth.”

62 “Doris M. Small” (obituary), Baltimore Sun, October 20, 1981: D6.

63 “Rommel, 4 Oldtimers Picked for Hall of Fame Induction,” Baltimore Evening Sun, January 11, 1962: 52; “Ed Rommel is Honored,” Baltimore Sun, January 14, 1962: 7D.