The Founding Fathers of Michigan Athletics
8/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | General
Aug. 13, 2015
One of the earliest images of Michigan baseball, as some players practiced on a diamond laid out on the north end of the Diag in the early 1880s.
By Brad Rudner
You can't have a 150th anniversary without recognizing the very first team that started it all.
Back in the 1860s, baseball (or "base ball", as it was spelled then), was a game in its infant stages. Legends of the game -- Ruth, Aaron, DiMaggio -- weren't yet born. Other organized sports like football, basketball and hockey wouldn't appear on American soil for decades.
Our nation's pastime, the game you know and love today, was vastly different back then.
The very first varsity team at the University of Michigan was baseball, officially forming in the 1865-66 season. Unsurprisingly, gathering information on a team from 150 years ago is challenging, though there are several sources located within the university's Bentley Historical Library: The University Castalia, a yearbook created by independent/non-fraternity students; archived obituaries and alumni files on the members of the 1865-66 team; and an 1892 article from The Inlander Magazine (another early student publication) written by former pitcher and Michigan team captain George Codd (1888-1892).
Consider the setting. At the height of the Civil War, when battles were being fought hundreds of miles to the south and east, baseball was largely unfamiliar at Michigan, but it was a sport that exploded with excitement after it was introduced to the student body. Codd wrote in The Inlander that baseball had become very popular in Detroit as early as 1858 and that local communities in Ypsilanti, Adrian, Jackson, Denton Mills and Salem all had clubs. At Michigan, organized teams called "nines" began forming as early as 1863.
The only missing piece, as Codd wrote, was someone who knew the ins and outs of the game. Enter John M. Hinchman. If there was a founding father of Michigan Baseball, Hinchman was it. Codd writes:
"He had been a member of the crack Detroit team and was known as a good all-round player, having filled nearly every position on the diamond. Accordingly, in the spring of 1863, a number of students appeared on the campus and received their first instructions in the sport. It immediately became very popular, and scrub games were played on almost every pleasant afternoon."
Interest grew. In the spring of 1864, with students clamoring for an organized team, a meeting was held where the students elected an organization to select a regular nine. Hinchman was elected president and team captain.
From The Castalia:
"This organization is productive of great good. It not only gives honor and reputation to the University, but it engenders among the class clubs a strife, and a desire to render each best man a skillful player, and to seek for him a position on the 'first nine.' Only by this method can Base Ball be perpetuated in the University."
Left: The earliest team photo on file was of the 1868-69 baseball team, which featured seven members of the 1865-66 team.
Right: The boxscore published in The Inlander from Michigan's 70-18 win over Detroit in 1867 (click to enlarge).
The writeup later states that there were two grounds on which the game was played (Codd writes in The Inlander that it was in the northeast corner of campus), but that they needed funding in order to be "suitable." To that end, they sent a petition to the Board of Regents asking for $100 to fix the grounds.
Back then, there were no uniforms, masks or gloves. The players paid their own way, except on the road, when the opposing club paid for dinner.
The overhand, fireball-throwing pitchers of today weren't even imaginable back then. Pitchers had to throw an underhand twisted ball -- think slow-pitch softball -- so that games featured more hitting and fielding.
Most of the rules were the same except for one rather large difference: players couldn't walk and strikes were never called. It was hard to pitch (well), easy to steal bases and even easier to make contact.
William Cocker
Instead of calling balls and strikes, umpires would instead call 'attention' to a batter. Can you imagine stepping up to the plate and having an umpire whisper, 'That's a good ball to hit. You should hit it.'? As a result, home runs were about as frequent as singles.
By 1866, the interest levels reached critical mass. At the university, the regular nine was made up of only students from the literary department, but the professional schools wanted a seat at the table. The organization grew to be so large that two clubs were formed. From those teams, nine players were chosen to represent the entire university:
Catcher: Frank MacManus
Practiced law in St. Louis. He was a member of the Missouri State Legislature (1880-81) and also served on the St. Louis City Council (1884-86).
Pitcher: William Cocker
One of the first international student-athletes in U-M history, Cocker was born in England and emigrated to the U.S. from Australia. After graduating, he was principal of Adrian High School and later was superintendent of schools in Adrian. He was elected a regent for the university in 1890 and was named president of the Alumni Association in 1900.
First Base: John Biggar
Served in the Union Army and was a sergeant in the 92nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He went on to become a U.S. Attorney in Dallas (1882-85).
Samuel Hayes
Second Base: Lester Goddard
Became a railroad attorney. In 1883, Goddard was assistant solicitor for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. In 1887, he was named assistant first vice president. He later retired to become a partner in the firm of Kimball, Custer & Goddard.
Third Base: Samuel Hayes
Enlisted in the Union Army on Sept. 4, 1864, and served as a third sergeant of E Company in the 146th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He was discharged on July 8, 1865, and enrolled at Michigan two months later. Interestingly, Hayes was sergeant of the Guard of Honor at the Illinois State Capitol Building in Springfield when President Abraham Lincoln's body lay in state. He later was superintendent of public schools in Galena, Ill. (1869-79) and was tenured as a law professor at the University of Iowa (1891-1911).
Shortstop: Emory Grant
Served as vice president (and later president) of the Kenosha (Wis.) Lumber Co. According to his obituary published in the Detroit Free Press, Grant was one of the first to earn a prestigious 'M' letter. From Dec. 28, 1929:
"Years following this beginning of baseball, the Michigan organization with the power to grant the 'M' was created and Grant's work was recognized by awarding him letters in baseball for four years, 1862 to 1865. At the time of his death, Grant was considered the oldest Michigan 'M' wearer."
Albert Pattengill
Outfield: Edmund Gale
Little information could be found on Gale. In 1866, he was a sophomore.
Outfield: Alfred Wilkinson
Enlisted in the Union Army on May 20, 1864, and served as a private of B Company in the 140th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He was discharged Oct. 29, 1864. He later became a lawyer in Austin, Texas, and was a reporter for the Supreme Court of Texas beginning in 1896.
Outfield: Albert Pattengill
The only man on this list to stay at U-M, Pattengill was a professor for 37 years, mainly teaching Greek. He also had a reputation for being quite the power hitter. From his obituary:
"At that time, he was a big, square, shouldered youth. To this day, the students relate a tradition as to how he batted a home run once from a point 100 feet south of North University Avenue, so that the sphere landed on the skylight on top of the old medical building. Professional baseball players have looked at the distance and have disputed it, but the tradition stands, nevertheless."
The same obituary points to Pattengill as a main reason why Fielding H. Yost, the legendary football coach, stayed at Michigan:
"At one time, Yost wanted to break away and go where he had a better offer, but Prof. Pattengill argued with him an hour and at the end of that time, "Hurry-up" announced "I'll stick."
The Inlander also mentioned Galusha Pennell as a player in some of the games. He was sheriff of Clinton County for four years and was appointed as Deputy U.S. Marshall for Michigan's Eastern District by President Grover Cleveland in 1886.
To date, the University of Michigan baseball program has played in exactly 4,500 games, the first of which was officially recorded on May 26, 1866, against a local Ann Arbor nine. U-M won 33-11.
The two teams played again four days later and U-M won again, 19-5. After a win on June 2 over the Union School of Ypsilanti (no score given), Michigan finished its perfect, undefeated season with a 61-41 victory over Jackson.
The next year, practices began and all-white uniforms were worn. The high-scoring games continued, but none were more important -- or of a wider margin -- than when Michigan met Detroit. More Codd:
"The interest over this game was intense and about seventy students accompanied the team on their trip. As an example of how much was thought of the prowess of the Detroit Club, it is told that on their way to the grounds in Detroit, the players were stopped by an old ball enthusiast, who asked them what game was on for the afternoon. On being told that the University of Michigan were to play the Detroits, he remarked that 'he admired the students' nerve but would very much like to see what was left of them after the game.'"
Michigan won 70-18. In the official boxscore, the only hits credited to players were home runs. The catcher, George Dawson, hit four of them.
One hundred and fifty years and several more home runs later, the Michigan baseball team is still going strong. Just last year, Team 149 won the Big Ten Tournament and made its return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in seven years.
For this year-long birthday celebration, it seems only natural to get a cake in the shape of a baseball diamond, for those nine men all those years ago were the true pioneers of Michigan Athletics.
Let the celebration begin.
The 2015-16 academic year marks the 150th anniversary of Michigan Athletics. We invite the University of Michigan family to celebrate the passion that fuels us, rediscover the stories and traditions that unite us, and imagine what the future holds for us. We look forward to celebrating "This Michigan of Ours." To share a memory of Michigan Athletics, please fill out our online form or email goblue150@umich.edu.
