West Baden Sprudels
|
West Baden Sprudels (c.1907/8 - late 1910s) French Lick Township, Indiana | |
| League affiliation(s) | |
|---|---|
| Independent |
The West Baden Sprudels were a pre-Negro league baseball team that played as an independent club owned by the Burnett-Pollard-Rogers Baseball Club Company, where Edward Rogers was the Chief Officer.
Founding
The Sprudels appear to have been from Springs Valley, Indiana, but they often frequented baseball diamonds near the West Baden Springs Hotel in West Baden Springs, Indiana and the French Lick Springs Hotel in French Lick, Indiana. Games started between the teams between 1907 and 1908.[1] The team was managed by C. I. Taylor[2] from 1910 to 1913.
Competition
The West Baden Sprudels played long before the Negro National League formed in 1920, but still against many of the great pre-Negro league baseball teams of the day, including the Chicago American Giants, Indianapolis ABCs, Cuban Stars, Louisville White Sox, Chicago Union Giants, Chicago Giants, French Lick Plutos, and the Brooklyn All Stars.
Players
Many famous Negro league baseball and pre-Negro league players were on the West Baden Sprudels team during the years they were organized:
- Bingo DeMoss (1912, 1914)
- William "Dizzy" Dismukes (1910-1913)
- Chappie Johnson (1915)
- C.I. Taylor (1910-1913)
- Candy Jim Taylor (1915)
- Ben Taylor (1910, 1912-1913)
- Steel Arm Johnny Taylor (1910, 1912-1913)
- Morten Clark (1910, 1912-1913)
- String Bean Williams (1910, 1913-1914)
- George Shively (1911-1913)
References
- ↑ The Indianapolis ABCs: History of a Premier Team in the Negro Leagues by Paul Debono
- ↑ "LEADING BASEBALL CLUBS" Indianapolis Freeman, Indianapolis, IN, April 1, 1911, Page 7, Column 5