The Rise and Fall of the 1871 Kekiongas of Fort Wayne, Indiana’s First Professional Team

A Kekionga Base Ball Club collectible card from 1871. (SABR-Rucker Archive)

 

The National Association of Professional Baseball players was formed in 1871 in New York City leading to the first all-professional baseball organization. While many of the founding clubs were no surprise, one addition might raise eyebrows: the Kekiongas of Fort Wayne. Compared to the cities of the other clubs—New York, Washington DC, Philadelphia, and Boston—Fort Wayne was small, only around 17,000 people at the time.1

FORMATION OF THE TEAM

The Kekiongas were the champion club of Indiana.2 George Mayer—a wealthy local businessman and a member of the Kekiongas amateur team—had a vision to bring professional baseball to Fort Wayne. The only thing standing in the way was a lack of players. So it must have been fate when the Maryland Baseball Club was stranded while on a tour through the Midwest. The ballclub ran out of money, leaving them with no way to get back to Baltimore. Mayer, being a savvy businessman, offered the players contracts to play for the Kekiongas and most of them agreed.3

The acquisitions included Baltimore’s best player, Bobby Mathews. A short pitcher at 5’5″, he won 297 games spanning fifteen years in the NA and major leagues. Mathews and Candy Cummings were credited as the first professionals to master the curveball, and was one of the first to throw the spitball.4 Following Matthews to Indiana were William Lennon, Thomas Carey, Frank Sellman, Ed Mincher, and Wally Goldsmith. Mayer also recruited players from other clubs: Jim Foran, James McDermott, Bill Kelly, and Pete Donnelly. Lennon would serve as captain for the club.5

OPENING THE SEASON AT HOME

On May 4, 1871, all attention was fixed on Fort Wayne as the Kekiongas hosted the Forest Citys of Cleveland for the first professional baseball game in the new organization. Although professional baseball teams existed prior to 1871, most notably the Cincinnati Red Stockings, there had been no professional baseball league. The predecessor organization, the National Association of Base Ball Players (baseball was spelled with two words), was an amateur organization that eventually allowed teams to pay players. In response, several teams broke away to form the National Association, consisting of all professional baseball teams, while the amateur teams formed their own organization.6

This game was without precedent as it was the first time two professional teams in an all-professional organization faced one another. The threat of bad weather kept the attendance at around 200 people. Truth be told, the citizens of Fort Wayne didn’t give the Kekiongas much of a chance. A reporter admitted, “Our citizens had been of the opinion that our boys would be badly beaten.” The Kekiongas won the coin toss and elected to have the Forest City’s bat first.7

Mathews was in the pitcher’s box for the Kekiongas and James “Deacon” White, future Hall of Famer, led off for Forest City. After taking a ball on the first pitch, White made good on the next pitch with a standup double. With the next batter, shortstop Carey made a fine defensive play, catching a pop-up and tagging White out at second for an unassisted double play. A strikeout ended the inning for Forest City with no runs. With Al Pratt pitching for the Forest Citys, the Kekiongas answered with a single but couldn’t advance the runner.8

Kekiongas scored first in the second inning, plating a run by Lennon on McDermott’s single to first base. After that, both teams failed to register a base hit until Bill Kelly hit a single in the bottom of the fifth inning. He reached third on passed balls and eventually scored on a fielder’s choice getting Williams out at first. The crowd was cheering with excitement as the Kekiongas took a 2-0 lead.9

For the rest of the game, neither team could get farther than second base. The Kekiongas were about to start the bottom of the ninth (a full nine innings were played regardless if the home team was winning) when the rain started to come down. After two hours of play, the game was called. The Kekiongas won the first game in the NA. Superb pitching by Mathews and Pratt along with numerous defensive plays contributed to the low-scoring game. That was highly unusual in an era where scores regularly reached double digits.10

The Kekiongas were still enjoying their first win when the Chicago White Stockings club came to town a week later on May 13. The Kekiongas struck first, scoring two runs in the first inning. But in the second inning, Chicago scored five runs and never looked back. Chicago walked away with the victory, 14-5, handing the Kekiongas their first loss.11

The Kekiongas didn’t have much time to sulk as they hosted the Olympics of Washington two days later. The clubs were considered evenly matched, although the pitching of Mathews was far superior to the Olympics’ hitting ability. Although the Olympics scored first, with three runs in the second, they could not match the Kekiongas. The Olympics had two players out with illness but they conceded that even if they’d had their full nine, they couldn’t beat Mathews.12 The Kekiongas notched a win, 12-6, before a crowd of a thousand people.13

Before the Kekiongas embarked on their first road trip, they hosted the Forest Citys of Rockford. The game was mired in controversy before it began. One of the members of the Forest Citys, Scott Hastings, was ineligible to play. According to NA rules, a player had to be with the organization for sixty days prior to playing in a game. Hastings had played a game on April 16 with the Lone Star Club in New Orleans before joining the Forest Citys. The Kekiongas played the game under protest.14

For the first time, the Kekiongas lost the coin toss and had to bat first. They led off the game with three runs, but Forest City answered with four. Kekionga dominated the game, putting up runs in every inning except the third and fifth. As the game entered the eighth inning, Kekionga was up, 13-6. The Forest Citys added five runs in the bottom of the eighth and two more in the ninth to tie the game, making it the first extra-inning game in National Association history. Forest City scored four more runs in the tenth to win the game, 17-13.15

The Fort Wayne Daily Gazette gave a stinging critique of the Kekiongas’ losing performance, asserting that their playing was inferior to past games. Although the pitching was good, the batting and fielding were weak, with the play marred by errors and an increase in wild throws. The only way to get better would be through “systematic practice;” the Gazette opined that the only way to avoid throwing the ball fifteen feet over the head of another player would be to “go out on the field and spend the whole day throwing.”16

Not only that, Lennon had dislocated his finger in the first inning. The injury was possibly the result of catching barehanded as catchers did not universally adopt gloves until years later. Although he finished the game, he was not expected to play in the next game, which would be on the road.17

FIRST ROAD TRIP

The Kekiongas’ first road game was a rematch against the Cleveland Forest Citys. Two thousand people turned out to see the showdown between the two clubs. Despite his injury, Lennon did start the game against Forest City but was pulled in the first inning. He was replaced by Sellman. The Forest Citys saw this as a great opportunity, but Sellman rose to the occasion and Forest City was no match for the Kekiongas. Kekionga won the game, 16-7.18

The Kekiongas were then set to leave for a nearly month-long road trip on June 14. The first scheduled game was June 19 against the Haymakers in Troy, New York. The Kekiongas arrived at the grounds at 2:00 pm for their sixth championship game of the season. This game would end in a most unusual way. At the end of the sixth inning, the Kekiongas were winning, 6-3. But at the start of the seventh inning, the captain for the Haymakers, Bill Carver, objected to the ball being used. He claimed that it was ripped and the Kekiongas were responsible for replacing it. It was common during this time that teams only had one ball to get through a game. (On more than one occasion, the Kekiongas had to fish balls out of the St. Mary’s River that flowed beside the ballpark.) The Kekiongas, along with spectators, inspected the ball but could not find any rip. The umpire, who was from Troy, sided with the Haymakers and ordered the Kekiongas to furnish a new ball. They refused, and the game was called in favor of the Haymakers, 9-0.19

The Kekiongas refused to substitute the ball because they viewed it as an attempt for the Haymakers to gain an advantage. The Haymakers had supplied the ball for the game and since they couldn’t hit the ball, they were hoping to change their luck with a new ball. Even the home crowd was embarrassed and believed the Kekiongas were in the right. The Chicago Tribune was quick to report on the Kekiongas’ misfortune. While they reported that the Kekiongas did not have a reputation for fairness, the “Troy mob” was considered the worst in the country. The Kekiongas’ only solution was to take it before the judiciary committee of the association.20

Boston was the next stop. The Red Stockings were the best team in the organization. The team was managed by Harry Wright, who had assembled and managed the first openly all-professional baseball team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings. When they failed to join the NA, he was invited to manage the Boston Red Stockings. Charles Bierman was starting in his only game for the Kekiongas due to Mincher being injured. Mathews did not pitch with his usual vigor and the Kekiongas suffered their first shut-out loss, 21-0.

After Boston, the next stop was Brooklyn to face the Mutuals of New York. The Kekiongas met the Mutuals on the Union Grounds in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. The Kekiongas weren’t given much of a chance to win based on their previous games and how well the Mutuals had been playing. The home crowd of 1,200 spectators were in shock from the first inning. Mathews was back to his old form, and the Mutuals were kept scoreless until the eighth inning. When the game was over, the Kekiongas walked away victorious, 5-3. The crowd trolled the team as they chanted “Kikankarogers.”21 A rematch was scheduled two days hence.

Nearly 4,000 people showed up to the Union Grounds to watch the rematch. The Kekiongas kept the same nine from the first game. This time not only was Mathews’s pitching ineffective, but the Kekiongas’ batting was worse. They managed only three baserunners and were blanked, 13-0. The only highlight of the game came from Lennon who didn’t have a single passed ball.22

The “City of Brotherly Love” was the next stop. The Athletics of Philadelphia and the Kekiongas met at the Jefferson Street Grounds for their championship game. The Athletics and White Stockings had racked up the second-most wins in championship games, behind the Mutuals. The Kekiongas had only played ten championship games while the other teams had played at least twelve. About 2,000 people came out to watch the game under an overcast sky. Although the Kekiongas scored first in the first inning, they couldn’t match the power hitting of the Athletics and lost, 20-3.23

The Kekiongas stopped in Baltimore to play the amateur club, Pastimes, before going to Washington, DC, to play the Olympics. This was the first time that the Maryland players had returned home, and it was a time to catch up with old friends. But that didn’t mean that the Kekiongas were going to take it easy on them, and the Kekiongas picked up the win, 14-6.24 Since they had played an amateur club, this win didn’t affect their NA standing.

The Olympics had just returned from a road trip out west. The Kekiongas were not in the best shape when they arrived at Olympic Grounds. Lennon was still suffering from a sore hand and was unable to play. At the beginning of the game, Mincher, who was playing in left field, was injured so badly that he had to leave the game and was replaced with Donnelly. The Kekiongas questioned the calls of the umpire during the sixth inning. The Olympics went on to score 18 runs in the sixth inning en route to a 32-12 win. That was the largest number of runs scored in one inning so far that year.25

The second game between the two clubs moved to Baltimore in hopes of increasing paid attendance. Mathews was still the favorite son of Baltimore and over 1,000 people turned out. The game was held at the Madison Avenue Grounds, Baltimore’s first fenced ballpark. Baltimore was still sore at the Kekiongas for what they perceived as the team that was stolen from them.26

The Kekiongas were depleted from injuries and they had to add Bill Barrett from the Pastime Club to replace Mincher. The game was tied at 7 at the end of the sixth, but errors doomed the Kekiongas. Carey had three of the team’s twelve errors that helped push across seven runs. The only highlight for the Kekiongas was an unassisted double play by Goldsmith. The Olympics defeated the Kekiongas, 15-7.27

TROUBLE BREWING

The Kekiongas headed back to Indiana after 24 days on the road missing some of their roster. Ed Mincher ended his career with the Kekiongas when he decided to stay in Baltimore. Although Mincher was from Baltimore, the reason given—that he was getting married—didn’t seem plausible.28 Some news outlets reported that he had been expelled from the club. Donnelly decided to stay in Philadelphia. Dissension was brewing within the Kekionga ballclub and the real reason for Mincher’s and Donnelly’s defections would soon be revealed.

The first home game in almost a month was against the Bostons. Lennon was still not able to play, but he continued to perform his managerial duties. The Kekiongas were unprepared for the dominant Red Stockings and they suffered a 30-9 loss.29

Attendance had hit a season low when the Athletics arrived on July 20 with only 300 people in attendance. The weather was beautiful with cool temperatures, so the Kekiongas’ poor performance had to be the cause for the decline. Lennon was selected as umpire and it was unclear if he would ever return to the lineup. The Kekiongas added two new players, Henry Kohler and Harry Deane, from Indianapolis, to play right field.30 During the second inning, Goldsmith, filling in as catcher, dislocated his finger. (He had dislocated the same finger during a previous game.) Sellman filled in behind the bat until the next inning, but the Kekionga nine was being depleted by injuries. Lennon was out, Sellman was also injured, and Goldsmith was banged up. The Kekiongas seemed rattled from the start, while the Athletics played a flawless game en route to a 26-7 win.31

That was the Kekiongas’ sixth straight loss. Since they started their eastern tour on June 14, they had only managed one win—against the Mutuals. Attendance was waning, injuries were rampant, and there was growing discord between the players and management. Frank Sellman and Bill Lennon then left Fort Wayne unexpectedly, without any notice to the management. It was assumed that they headed back to Baltimore. The club alleged that they left behind unsettled debts and had overdrawn their pay.32

The Kekiongas were falling apart right when they were due to play a championship game in two days against the Mutuals. Without Lennon, the team lacked a manager. The vice-president of the club, Max Nirdlinger, went to Chicago to recruit Paddy Quinn and Jimmy Hallinan of the amateur Chicago Aetnas.33 Harry Deane was named the team’s new catcher and captain.34

At the same time that Nirdlinger was in Chicago, the rest of the team’s management had a meeting to formally expel Ed Mincher and Pete Donnelly, the two players who had bolted during the road trip. Mincher and Donnelly were accused of violating their contracts by leaving the team without permission. They were not allowed to play for any other team that was part of the professional organization.35 They denied the accusations by the team’s management and instead claimed that the club still owed them money.36

Quinn and Hallinan’s first game with the Kekiongas was against the Mutuals. The game was not very exciting and attendance was sparse. The Kekiongas tied the game in the sixth inning but eventually lost, 12-9. The only drama came in the fourth inning when the umpire had to be replaced. Both teams objected to the calls by J. Stophlet of the Keystone Baseball Club and he was replaced with F. Walker of the Summit City Baseball Club of Fort Wayne.37

The day before the game with the Mutuals, the Kekionga management leveled specific charges against Lennon and Sellman leading to their expulsion. The first charge: Lennon had deserted the team on June 23 when they were playing the Atlantics of Brooklyn. The next day, at the Earl’s Hotel in New York City where the team was staying, Lennon violated all rules of decency when he refused to obey orders from team management. He was also accused of being intoxicated on four separate occasions at the beginning of July and for refusing to practice. The final charge was that he violated his contract when he left Fort Wayne without any notice to the club. The same accusations were leveled against Sellman, except for the desertion charge.38

The timing was suspicious. If management knew about these offenses that occurred at the beginning of July, why wait until after Lennon and Sellman left Fort Wayne to charge them? The same was true with Mincher and Donnelly, with management waiting weeks to expel them from the club.39

Bill Lennon responded to the charges because his reputation as a ballplayer and his personal character had been called into question. As to the first accusation, Lennon claimed he had been told by the management that he didn’t have to play because of his hand. He still went to the ballpark with Sellman filling in as catcher. After the game started, he went to the Union Grounds to watch the Mutuals play. Upon returning to the hotel, he learned of the Kekiongas’ defeat. The management found fault with Lennon for not being there to direct the team. Lennon’s defense was that no club would allow the captain of a team who wasn’t playing to direct the team. He was just following the rules.40

The management was not specific about the orders Lennon refused to obey. On the day in question they played the Eckfords of Brooklyn. The night before, George Mayer had approached Lennon and stated he didn’t have to play due to his injured hand. However, an hour before the game, Mayer asked Lennon if he was going to play and was told no. There was no further conversation. Lennon didn’t refuse an order because no order had been given. Lennon refuted the entire charge of being intoxicated in Fort Wayne or in any city that they had traveled through.41

The Kekiongas management accused Lennon of violating the contract by leaving without permission, but according to Lennon, it was the club that violated the contract. When the players signed with the team, they were to receive $75 a month ($1,708 in 2022 dollars). They would receive $7 a week and the remainder would be paid at the end of the month. Lennon claimed that he was never given his full pay and the club owed him $70. When the team returned home from their eastern tour, the management still had not paid the players their weekly salary. Failing to pay the players’ salaries violated the contract and Lennon felt he was therefore not obligated to abide by it.42

While Lennon took issue with the Kekionga management, he did express his gratitude to the president of the club, Charles Dawson, stating that Dawson always treated the men with kindness and respect. Had the club been managed more closely by him instead of Nirdlinger and Mayer, perhaps they might have been more successful. Even the Chicago Tribune, which had always been critical of the Kekiongas, referred to Dawson as a gentleman.43

The Tribune’s opinion of Nirdlinger and Mayer was far different, feeling that they viewed ballplayers like cattle, “having some of the characteristics of men, but not enough to entitle them to humane treatment.” This was evident by the ridiculously low salaries given to the players and further enhanced by the fact that the men still had not been paid.44

The club took away the men’s dignity; they were not even able to purchase basic necessities. They had no money to buy clothes, but instead had to resort to buying on credit, if the merchant allowed. Instead of giving the men money to pay their rent, they were forced to make the landlord get it from Mayer on credit. The men had to beg Mayer just to get a shave. Their boarding fees were $6, leaving them with $1 if they were fortunate enough to get paid. There was a joke that the players couldn’t get drunk, because you couldn’t buy alcohol on credit.45

Mayer accompanied the team on their trip east and more accusations were leveled against him. The men claimed that food was withheld from them from morning until late at night. They didn’t have any money or friends to help them. Mayer refused to pay for lodging for two of the players and they were forced to sleep in chairs on the hotel porch. On their return trip to Fort Wayne, Mayer tried to get Lennon and Sellman kicked off the train when he refused to pay their fare.46

There was credible evidence to these claims from the players. James McDermott played in two games for the Kekiongas but was so “disgusted” from his time in Fort Wayne that players with his old club, the Eckfords, sent money to get him back home to New York.47 Riley, who originally played with the Railway Unions baseball club in Cleveland, played a few non-professional games with the Kekiongas. When the team got to Troy, he was discharged and given only $2.15 to get back to Cleveland, not nearly enough. Ironically, the Haymakers took up a collection to get him the rest of the money to get back home.48 Bonker, who originally played for the Troy Putnams, had been recruited at the beginning of the season. He was named as one of the original nine, but after a couple of weeks in Fort Wayne, couldn’t wait to get back to New York.49 Charles Bier- man played in one game with the Kekiongas against Boston when Mincher was hurt. He received no compensation.50 Nealy Phelps played two games for the Kekiongas, but only one at the professional level. He joined the team when they were in Philadelphia and he had the winning run in a non-championship game against the Olympics. When the team headed to Baltimore, he also wasted no time returning to New York.51

Mincher and Donnelly used the eastern tour to return to their hometowns at the Kekiongas’ expense. Sellman borrowed money from a friend to get back to Baltimore. He claimed the club still owed him $200. Lennon decided that he would rather leave the $75 he was owed than spend another night in Fort Wayne.52

Lennon’s explanations of the charges against him infuriated the management of the Kekionga club. They viewed Lennon’s explanations as slanderous statements and condemned the Tribune for printing it. They were compelled to get a list of citizens and business leaders who would attest to the character of their club. They even furnished a statement signed by all nine members of the club attesting that they are paid regularly and are treated humanely.53 However, by that point only four members of the original nine remained, with most of the players added just a week before.

Meanwhile, as the players were struggling to get paid, the stock in the Kekionga Base Ball Club had reached $10,000 and the management had begun planning for next season. Management was benefiting handsomely at the expense of the players.

As the teams entered August, the Athletics had won the most games, followed by Chicago and Boston. There were still a number of legal challenges that the championship committee would have to rule on at the end of the season, mostly stemming from the use of ineligible players. All the expulsions and desertions from the Kekiongas resulted in players being added to the roster that had not been with the club for sixty days. Any future games the Kekiongas played most certainly would result in a forfeit.54

THE FINAL ROAD TRIP

The Kekiongas began August on the road. They traveled to Rockford, Illinois, to take on the Forest Citys. Rockford was the only team worse than the Kekiongas. Even a bad team wasn’t enough to change their luck and they were shut out by the worst team in the NA, 4-0.

The next stop was Chicago to take on the White Stockings at Lake Shore Park. The game was poorly played by both teams. The White Stockings had one home run which accounted for the only earned run in the game. All of the other runs by both teams were from errors. Some of the Chicagoans were rooting for the Kekiongas because Hallinan and Quinn were in the game. The Kekiongas committed more errors than Chicago which led to another defeat, 13-10.55

The Kekiongas returned to Fort Wayne to take on the Cleveland Forest Citys on August 11. A lot had changed since the Kekiongas beat Cleveland on May 4. But after losing to Chicago, they had the worst record of all the NA teams. The Kekiongas beat Forest City, 15-3, winning their first championship series, sweeping Forest City in all three games played. But Forest City was sure that the win would not count when the teams met at the National Association meeting at the end of the season.56

The last game of the season for the Kekiongas was against the Haymakers. Both teams played well, committing ten errors combined, which at that time was considered a great game. Deane was sick and unable to play, being replaced by Henry Kohler. Instead, he was chosen as umpire. The Haymakers tried to argue the calls but were unsuccessful and the Kekiongas ended up victorious, 6-4. Attendance was around 300 people and the weather was blamed, but a team in last place with no chance to win the championship was the more likely explanation for low turnout.57

THE END OF THE KEKIONGAS

The next day the Kekiongas’ season came to an abrupt end. Their star player and pitcher, Bobby Mathews, along with Tom Carey, left the team with no notice, just like so many previous players.58 It was assumed they returned to Baltimore. Management tried desperately to replace the loss, but soon realized that with only two months left in the season, it was impossible. Mathews was not only their pitcher but their best player. Their season officially came to an end on September 5. The remaining players went to find new teams or returned to their homes.

The Kekiongas’ record stood at 6 wins and 13 losses. By the end of the season, that win-loss record wasn’t even included in the NA standings since it was assumed that most of their wins would be forfeited when the championship committee met the following month.59 This was a sad end for the Fort Wayne Kekiongas.

There didn’t seem to be much of a future for the ballclub. By the end of the month, management had taken out ads to sell off the ballpark, the fence, and any and all improvements.60 Two days after the end-of- season meeting in Philadelphia, the grandstand burned to the ground. The fire broke out at 8:00 pm and the fire department showed up with everything they had, but it was too late: the fire had consumed it.61

The Athletics filed a protest against the Rockford Forest Citys because their catcher, Scott Hastings, was not a legal member of the team. A player had to be with the team for sixty days and not have played with another team during that time. The committee found him to be ineligible and all of the games played prior to June 15 were forfeited. That benefited the Kekiongas, whose record improved to 7-12.62 But then the break-up of the Kekiongas was brought up. The matter was referred to the championship committee, who ruled that the Kekiongas would forfeit nine games that would have been played, bringing the team’s record to 7-21.63

As an underdog in a league of giants, the Kekiongas’ season couldn’t have started off any better. Management put together a team mostly composed of the best players from Baltimore, but the talent couldn’t overcome the liabilities. Their overall record was better than the standing reflected, because of the number of games against amateur clubs they played which didn’t count for the championship. But those games caused their players to be fatigued and injured when they played other National Association teams. Ultimately, poor treatment of the players by management contributed to the demise of what could have been a promising season and a long future as a professional club.

ROBERT BOWLING is a lifelong Baltimore Orioles fan. As a local historian, he has written history articles for various publications and the local newspaper. He is a contributing writer for Officer Magazine focusing on law enforcement history and serves as an historical researcher for the Officer Down Memorial Page. Bowling has recently authored the book Wicked Fishers. A retired police officer, he now teaches high school in Indianapolis. His website is robbowling.com.

 

Notes

1. “Fort Wayne, Indiana Population History,” https://www.biggestuscities.com/city/fort-wayneindiana.

2. “Complimentary,” Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, September 6, 1867.

3. “Baltimore’s Many Ballparks,” The Baltimore Sun, April 9, 1981, 52.

4. Brian McKenna, “Bobby Mathews” SABR, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/bobby-mathews.

5. “Baseball Notes,” New York Daily Herald, April 18, 1871, 11. As team captain, Lennon was expected to both play and direct the team akin to a field manager today.

6. The National Association lasted until 1875; the National League was formed the following year. In 1968, MLB’s Special Records Committee ruled that the NA was not one of the major leagues of baseball. The committee did consider the NA to be the first all-professional baseball organization, the organization that paved the way for the formation of Major League Baseball. The exclusion of the NA as a major league was due to its erratic schedule, procedures, and widespread gambling. Therefore, MLB established the formation of the National League in 1876 as the beginning of the major leagues. While many players competed in both the NA and the NL, only their statistics from the NL are recognized by Major League Baseball. See John Thorn, “Why Is the National Association Not a Major League.. .and Other Records Issues.” https://ourgame.mlblogs.com/why-is-the-national-association-not-a-major-league-and-other-records-issues-7507e1683b66.

7. “Sports and Pastimes,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 8, 1871, 2.

8. “Sports and Pastimes,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 8, 1871, 2

9. “Sports and Pastimes,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 8, 1871, 2

10. “Sports and Pastimes,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 8, 1871, 2.

11. “Games and Pastimes,” Chicago Tribune, May 16, 1871, 1.

12. “Championship Base Ball Game,” Philadelphia Inquirer, May 16, 1871, 1.

13. “Games and Pastimes,” Chicago Tribune, May 16, 1871, 1.

14. “The Ball and Bat,” Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, May 24, 1871, 4.

15. “The Ball and Bat,” Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, May 24, 1871, 4.

16. “The Ball and Bat,” Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, May 24, 1871, 4.

17. “Ball and Bat.” Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, May 27, 1871, 4.

18. “Ball and Bat,” Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, May 27, 1871, 4.

19. “Games and Pastimes,” Chicago Tribune, June 20, 1871, 4.

20. “Games and Pastimes,” Chicago Tribune, June 20, 1871, 4.

21. “The National Game,” New York Daily Herald, June 27, 1871, 4.

22. “Sporting Items,” Times Union, June 29, 1871, 3.

23. “Baseball,” Philadelphia Inquirer, July 3, 1871, 2.

24. “The Ball and Bat,” Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, July 6, 1871, 4.

25. “Baseball,” Philadelphia Inquirer, July 8, 1871, 1.

26. “That was our Team,” Baltimore Sun, April 17, 1960, 29.

27. “Local Matters,” Baltimore Sun, July 10, 1871, 4.

28. “Fort Wayne, Ind,” Pittsburgh Daily Commercial, July 12, 1871, 1.

29. “Indiana,” Philadelphia Inquirer, July 13, 1871.

30. “The Kekiongas,” Chicago Tribune, July 16, 1871, 1.

31. “The Ball and Bat,” Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, July 21, 1871, 4.

32. “Chance for Another Kekionga Reorganization,” Chicago Tribune, July 23, 1871, 1.

33. “Personal,” Chicago Tribune, July 24, 1871.

34. “Fort Wayne,” Cincinnati Enquirer, July 25, 1871, 1.

35. “Two Revolvers Expelled,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 24, 1871, 3.

36. “Notes,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 28, 1871, 3.

37. “Baseball,” Chicago Tribune, July 27, 1871.

38. “The Ball Club,” Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, July 26, 1871, 4.

39. “Card From Mr. Lennon,” Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1871, 4.

40. “Card From Mr. Lennon,” Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1871, 4.

41. “Card From Mr. Lennon,” Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1871, 4.

42. “Card From Mr. Lennon,” Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1871, 4.

43. “Card From Mr. Lennon,” Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1871, 4.

44. “Card From Mr. Lennon,” Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1871, 4.

45. “Card From Mr. Lennon,” Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1871, 4.

46. “Card From Mr. Lennon,” Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1871, 4.

47. “Card From Mr. Lennon,” Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1871, 4.

48. “Card From Mr. Lennon,” Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1871, 4.

49. “Card From Mr. Lennon,” Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1871, 4.

50. “Card From Mr. Lennon,” Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1871, 4.

51. “Card From Mr. Lennon,” Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1871, 4.

52. “Card From Mr. Lennon,” Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1871, 4.

53. “Base Ball,” Cincinnati Enquirer, July 31, 1871, 1.

54. “Sporting Matters,” Buffalo Morning Express and Illustrated Buffalo Express, August 3, 1871, 4.

55. “The National Game,” Chicago Tribune, August 7, 1871, 4.

56. “Sporting Items,” Times Union, August 12, 1871, 3.

57. “Games and Pastimes,” Chicago Tribune, August 30, 1871, 1.

58. “Kekionga Complications.” Chicago Tribune, September 1, 1871, 4.

59. “Sporting Matters,” Buffalo Morning Express and Illustrated Buffalo Express, September 28, 1871, 4.

60. “The City in Brief,” Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, September 27, 1871, 4.

61. “Personal,” Fort Wayne Sentinel, November 6, 1871, 4.

62. “Sports and Pastimes,” Brooklyn Dally Eagle, November 7, 1871, 7.

63. “Sports and Pastimes,” Brooklyn Dally Eagle, November 7, 1871, 7.