Otsego Independents
Encyclopedia
The Otsego Independents was a white minor league baseball team in Otsego, Michigan
in the early 1900s. It was owned by paper industry magnate George E. Bardeen
and was affiliated with the Michigan State League.
The team is best known for its 1902 season, during which their star pitcher was the legendary Andrew Rube Foster. Foster proved his talent by striking out Neal Ball
of the Three Rivers
team, who would go on to play for the Cleveland Naps in the Major Leagues and became famous as the first player in history to complete an unassisted triple play in a Major League game. Foster was signed by the Cuban X-Giants Negro League team the following year and pitched that team to the 1903 Colored Championship title.
After Foster's departure, Negro Leaguer Pedro Pratt was recruited to the team from Portland, Michigan
by former Portland citizens Melvin Gamble and Gale Newman. Newman was a member of Bardeen's pitching staff.
Otsego, Michigan
Otsego is a city in Allegan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,934 at the 2000 census. The city is within Otsego Township, but is administratively autonomous....
in the early 1900s. It was owned by paper industry magnate George E. Bardeen
George Bardeen
George Edward Bardeen, Sr., a native of Otsego, Michigan, USA, was a businessman and state-level politician. He owned and operated the Mac Sim Bar paper mill in Otsego, the Otsego Independents semi-professional baseball team, and was financially instrumental in the founding of Olivet...
and was affiliated with the Michigan State League.
- Location: Otsego, MI
- League: Michigan State League
- Ballpark: Memorial Park (probably Diamond #6)
The team is best known for its 1902 season, during which their star pitcher was the legendary Andrew Rube Foster. Foster proved his talent by striking out Neal Ball
Neal Ball
Cornelius "Neal" Ball , the American baseball player, achieved fame on July 19, when he pulled off the first unassisted triple play in Major League baseball history in a game against the Boston Red Sox. "During the same game, he set another major league record for shortstops...
of the Three Rivers
Three Rivers, Michigan
Three Rivers is a city in St. Joseph County in the US state of Michigan. The population was 7,811 at the 2010 census.Three Rivers derives its name from the confluence of the St. Joseph River with its tributaries the Rocky and Portage Rivers. It is the home of St...
team, who would go on to play for the Cleveland Naps in the Major Leagues and became famous as the first player in history to complete an unassisted triple play in a Major League game. Foster was signed by the Cuban X-Giants Negro League team the following year and pitched that team to the 1903 Colored Championship title.
After Foster's departure, Negro Leaguer Pedro Pratt was recruited to the team from Portland, Michigan
Portland, Michigan
Portland is a city in Ionia County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 3,789. The city is situated in the south central portion of Portland Township, but is administratively autonomous.-Geography:...
by former Portland citizens Melvin Gamble and Gale Newman. Newman was a member of Bardeen's pitching staff.
Hall of Fame alumni
- Rube Foster, from the Independents' 1902 season, was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.
External links
- Archie Nevins & Dorothy Dalrymple, As It Was In Otsego (Otsego: Otsego Bicentennial Committee, 1975), p. 8.