Baseball and Veterans

mkyzzzrdet

Corporal
Joined
Feb 23, 2013
Well, the last time the Cubs won the World series, there were probably Civil War vets in the stands watching the game. (It would be interesting to know) Even old Dan Sickles was alive then, but since he lived in New York, I doubt he was a Cub fan. He was mostly a fan of Dan Sickles!
 
Yes Dan Sickles was alive until 1913. Strangely there is actual old movie film of him alive in the early 1910s. There is a great inscribed 1850 Officer Sword Presentation from a Baseball club to a Union Officer from New York on this site. It is well work a look at to see what a real inscribed Civil War sword looks like. The baseball interest is also very interesting and extremely seldom seen type inscription.
 
I have seen that old film of him, at least I think it must be the same one. It was on a tv special and I can't remember what or when. I believe the film itself was taken at the 50 yr reunion at Gettysburg. He was riding in the back seat of a limo. It was almost surreal seeing it - and I can't find that newsreel anywhere on the Internet.
 
The 1908 World Series between Detroit and Chicago was played on five consecutive days, Friday through Wednesday, Oct. 10 through 14. The first, fourth, and fifth games were played at Detroit's Bennett Park, while the second and third were played at Chicago's West Side Grounds.

If there were any Civil War vets in attendance at the last game of that Series, they were part of a rather select group, as with the Tigers trailing three games to one, a rather sparse crowd showed up for the Wednesday afternoon game in Detroit. A total of 6,210 paying customers saw Orval Overall (yes, that was the guy's real name) pitch a three-hit shutout as the Cubs won, 2-0.

The Cubs' clinching victory in 2016, as we know, took almost five hours to complete. The clinching victory in 1908 was accomplished in a snappy 1 hour and 25 minutes.
 
In those old days Baseball was not what it was today. There was a much more regional competition and people had to work. ( Could you believed people actually worked!) The leisure time of people was extremely limited and money was tight. People worked 12 hours in a factory and on the farm was early to bed and early to rise every day! Only 6,210 paying customers is light particularly in two such big towns. It is the fact that there were so many different small teams and leagues at that time in the early 1900s.
 
Well, the last time the Cubs won the World series, there were probably Civil War vets in the stands watching the game. (It would be interesting to know) Even old Dan Sickles was alive then, but since he lived in New York, I doubt he was a Cub fan. He was mostly a fan of Dan Sickles!
Very surreal. Hard to believe it's been that long since the Cubs won (when Civil War veterans were alive). What a very cool thing to think about. Thank you for posting!
 
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