Early Day Legacy...

Baseball Legacy...

A Grandfather's Legacy

Grandpa's Baseball Legacy

This is a photo of the "Austin Senators" baseball team, in the "South Texas League" that my Grandpa Will McGill pitched in during this time. Photo dated 25 April 1906.

Backrow left to right: (1) Geo. Felter (right-field), (2) Harry Short (left-field), (3) Happy Fields (2nd-base), (4) W.J. "Will" McGill (pitcher), (5) Richardson, (6) Stevenson, (7) Carter (short-stop), (8) McCall.

Front left to right: (9) Suitor, (10) Hartman (3rd-base), (11) Capt. Gill (1st base), (12) Red Gordon (catcher), (13) Hutchcroft (center-field).

[My Grandpa Will McGill (4) is standing on backrow, fourth from the left, top of head is cropped in photo.  You can see this picture on my sons Athletic Foot(ball) Times Sports site.]

Austin Senators vs. San Antonio Bronchos
South Texas League, May 1, 1906

Austin wins third game from San Antonio in hard fought battle of thrilling plays on both sides.

Fourteen Innings -- Three times San Antonio had chance to score and could not get the run no matter how hard they tried.

Score One To Nothing -- Only one run made by a scratch after runner had reached first base on an error -- Sensational plays by all players.

Fourteen Innings. Austin , 1; San Antonio, 0. Only run of game made on an error. Senators, 2 hits; Bronchos, 2 hits. Third straight from San Antonio was made by the Austin Senators at the Driving park yesterday afternoon. It took fourteen innings of the closest contested and hardest fought game of baseball played on the local diamond in many years to win. If the game of Sunday was spectacular, if it was well played and hard fought, it must take a second place when compared with the game of yesterday. It is a pity that the game was not witnessed by a larger crowd. As it was, about 500 people saw the contest, and all were unanimous that it was without a doubt the best time ever played here.

The Senators won in the last half of the fourteenth inning. Time after time both sides came to bat and neither side scored. Finally the fourteenth inning rolled around and the Bronchos went out in one, two, three order. Then the Senators came in to bat. McGill was the first man up. Through an error on the part of Page, the San Antonio shortstop, McGill reached first base. There was no one out and immediately there was a howl set up by the fans for a run. McGill was followed at the bat by Hutchcroft, who attempted a sacrifice hit, and got safe to first on it through an error of Fredericks at first base, who dropped the ball when thrown at him. McGill by this sacrifice was forced to second. Nearer and nearer the fans saw their chance of scoring. Then Short came to bat and made a sacrifice and went out to first, but not until McGill had gone to third and Hutchcroft to second. One man was out, two men on bases when Carter, the Senator's shortstop, came to bat. Carter did exactly the right thing and won the game. He planted the ball clear out to the center fielder, who caught it. The attention of the spectators was on an edge; they were standing, for it was no time to sit. McGill, long, lank and lean, like a deer out of the bushes and quick as a flash of lightning, had his big number nine shoe on the third base and came home at a pace that would put Lou Dillion to shame. Pendleton at center field for the visitors did his best. He threw with all his might and so sure was his aim that the ball landed squarely in Ragsdale's hands, but perhaps half a second sooner McGill crossed the home plate. "Safe at home," yelled Umpire Quigg, so loudly that it was heard all over the grand stand. The fans literally went into the air. Hats flew up, the ladies screamed, the small boys rushed on the field and even the sombre and serious hard-playing Senators smiled, and even the defeated Bronchos had to acknowledge the fine play. Money was heard to change hands. It was without a doubt the most thrilling play that could have been made. it was a case of half and quarter seconds and McGill made good by crossing the home plate just a fraction of a second before the ball.

This was not the only thrilling play of the game. Several times the Bronchos threatened to score and then the Senators would brace up and prevent the tally by some grand stand, spectacular and starting play which seemed almost impossible, holding the visitors down to the large goose egg in the run column.

It was a fielders' day. The batters time and again planted the ball to all directions, and all fouls, fair balls, hot grounders were mitted so promptly that invariably the batter was retired. Never before has such excellent field work been done, both on the part of San Antonio and Austin.

The fact that fourteen innings were played and the score was so small is good evidence of the closeness of the game. One, two, three, fast and furious, out went the batters and the side went out. Then the other team would come to bat. One, two, three again, and the side was out.

In fairness to the Bronchos they came more often near scoring than the home team. In the fourth inning they got a man to third and the chances were a hundred to one that they would score. Hubbard got the first hit of the game, was forced to second on a beautiful sacrifice by Parrott, and then went to third on a hit by Fredericks. A man on third and a man on first with only one man out looked dangerous for the home team. Osgood came to bat and landed a long fly to Felter at right field, who mitted it and caught out Parrott at first base and the side was out. This was the only double play of the game.

Both sides went out one, two, three in the fifth inning. In the sixth again things looked bad for the home team. One man was out and Thebo got his base on being hit by a pitched ball. A second later he stole second. Thebo went to third again on Hubbard going out to first. Two men were out and Thebo on third when Parrott, the heavy batter, came to bat and went out to first base and the visitors were prevented from scoring.

The Bronchos seemed to have a way of scaring the life out of the Senators and then not profiting by the chance. Again in the seventh inning it looked as if all the powers that be could not prevent the Bronchos from scoring. Fredericks went to first on an error of Carter's . He was forced to second on an unsuccessful sacrifice by Osgood. Page came to bat and went out to first and Fredericks went to third and Osgood to second. Only one man out, with a man on third and a man on second.

Right at this stage of the game another sensational play was made which cut off the run which the visitors came near making. Pendleton landed a hot one to McGill in the pitcher's box, who threw home to Gordon putting Fredericks out at home. This play set the fans wild. Thus two men were out and Osgood on third when Ragsdale flew out to right and the visitors' chance to score was lost. The seventh inning was a good one for the Senators. They did their best playing both at the bat and in the field in this inning. Gill, the first man up, went out at first. Gordon came to bat and got the first hit of the game for the Senators. Hartman followed with a clean hit and Gordon was forced to second. Fields landed a hot one to the first baseman and was out, but Gordon had in the meantime gone to third base. This was as close as the Senators ever came to scoring until the fourteenth inning when the first run was made. Two men out with a man at third and a man at second and Felter flew out to center field and the chance was lost.

The eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh and the thirteenth innings were uneventful for the batters, though some good playing was done on the fielders' side. As fast as the batters came up to the home plate they went out. It seemed simply impossible to get a man on base. When Carter, Gill and Gordon all died at first in the last half of the ninth inning everybody knew that a hot game was on for a ten or eleven innings. In the first half of the eleventh inning, Gill at first base made a sensational stop of a hot ball which seemed almost impossible and put out the runner. Both sides went out in the twelfth and then the unlucky thirteenth rolled around and still no one could get past first.

And finally the fourteenth came and the Senators scored. At this stage of the game it was beginning to get slightly dark and another inning would very likely have seen the game called on account of darkness.

Two better or more evenly matched teams would be hard to get together than Austin and San Antonio. They play ball and the very best ball. There is no doubt that they will make things hot for the other four teams this season for the pennant. Every man on both teams played like a Trojan. Almost perfect fielding tells the tale.

Following is the score:

San Antonio	AB	R	H	PO	A	E
Thebo, lf	4	0	0	4	0	0
Hubbard, 2b	4	0	1	2	1	0
Parrott, rf	5	0	0	4	0	0
Fredericks, 1b	5	0	1	18	0	1
Osgood, 3b	4	0	0	2	5	0
Page, ss	5	0	0	2	4	1
Pendleton, cf	5	0	0	2	0	0
Ragsdale, c	5	0	0	7	1	0
Thompson, p	5	0	0	0	5	0
TOTAL	42	0	2	*41	16	2

*Two men out in fourteenth inning when winning score was made.

Austin	AB	R	H	PO	A	E
Hutchcroft, cf	5	0	0	2	0	0
Short, lf	3	0	0	3	0	0
Carter, ss	6	0	0	0	4	1
Gill, 1b	4	0	0	23	0	0
Gordon, c	5	0	1	5	2	0
Hartman, 3b	5	0	1	4	4	0
Fields, 2b	5	0	0	3	2	0
Felter, rf	5	0	0	2	1	0
McGill, p	5	1	0	0	7	0
TOTAL	43	1	2	42	20	1

Score by Innings:

San Antonio --

Runs	000	0000	000	000	00	0
Hits	000	200	000	0000	00	2

Austin--

Runs	000	000	000	000	01	1
Hits	000	000	200	000	00	2

Summary --

Bases on Balls -- Off McGill, 2; off Thompson, 1.
Struck Out--By Thompson, 6; by McGill, 3.
Hits Apportioned--Off McGill, 2; off Thompson, 2.
Earned Runs--None
Hit by Pitched Balls--Thebo (2), Fredericks, Short, Gill.
Stolen Bases--Thebo, Short (2).
Sacrifice Hits--Hubbard, Parrott, Osgood, Page, Hutchcroft, Short.
Double Plays--Felter to Gill unassisted.
Left on Bases--Thebo (2). Hubbard (3), Fredericks, Osgood (2), Page, Pendleton, Hutchcroft, Short (2), Gordon, Hartman (2).
Innings Pitched--By McGill, 14; by Thompson, 14.
Runs Made--Off Thompson, 1; off McGill, 0.
Umpire--Quigg
Time of Game--Two hours and five minutes.

No Game Today

There will be no game at the Driving park this afternoon, as the Senators have gone elsewhere to do battle with other teams. The six games with Lake Charles and San Antonio will be watched with interest by the fans while the Senators are away.

South Texas League:

From left to right the Players listed in the photo to the left are:

My Grandpa, Will "Bill" McGill (pitcher w/Austin Senators); an unknown Houston player; an unknown Galveston player; and an unknown Austin Senators player.

If you know any of these players or have other photos of the south Texas league, please contact Linda at the following Email Addy.

South Texas League Standings:

© 2008 by WWWPubCo & OkieLegacy.org  All Rights Reserved.  - LK Wagner

Latest Revision - Friday, September 19, 2008 9:29 AM - Webmaster