Stars Travel to the Bushes: A Barnstorming Photo Essay

Small, remote towns such as Edmonton, Alberta, eagerly turned out to watch a variety of barnstormers. Such teams as the House of David played in Edmonton in 1933, featuring recently retired great and eventual Hall of Fame member Grover Cleveland Alexander. Alexander, then age forty-six, would start a game, pitch 2 or 3 innings, and then depart with his wife for the next town in a private car. His not-so-fortunate teammates would have to settle for a bus ride after the contest ended.

Earle Mack's American League All-Stars played games in Edmonton on October11 and 12, 1934, demolishing a collection of local stars 9-2 and 20-2. The biggest thrill for the local fans was to see future Hall of Famer Heine Manush smash a huge home run. In 1921, playing for the Edmonton Eskimos of the class B Western Canada League, he started serving notice that he might be Major League material. The 1934 season saw Manush bat .349 for the third best average in the American League (Lou Gehrig led the league with .363). Earle Mack's team featured not only Manush but also pitcher Ted Lyons, who would eventually gain entry to the Hall of Fame. Lyons's record for the 1934 season with the last-place White Sox was 11-13, and his ERA of 4.87 was one of the poorest of his twenty-one-year career. Conversely, third baseman Pinky Higgins, a lifetime .292 hitter, was coming off what turned out to be his best year in the majors by batting .330 for the A's.

Joe Louis, world heavyweight boxing champion, was at the plate in Edmonton on May20, 1945. Louis was touring U.S. service bases as the Second World War was drawing to a close. Louis's spontaneous visit and appearance at the game created a huge sensation in the town. Two U.S. service teams stationed in Edmonton (primarily to provide staging work for the Alaska Highway and the Canol Pipeline) played in a local four-team league. Ironically, it would still be a year before Jackie Robinson would be playing with the Montreal Royals.

Figure 1 The House of David. (Photo courtesy of The City of Edmonton Archives, EA524-27)

Figure 2 Earle Mack's 1934 American League All-Stars. Back row (left to right): Russ Walberg, P (Bos.), Heine Manush, LF (Wash.), Bruce Campbell, RF (St. L.), Roger Cromer, RF (Phila.), Pinky Higgins, 3B (Phila.), Dick "Wiggles" Porter, O (Bos.), Luke Sewell, C (Wash.), Red Kress, 1B (Wash.); front row (left to right): Ted Lyons, P (Chi.), Earle Mack (A's), Tommy Thomas, P (Wash.), Earl Whitehall, P (Wash.), Charlie Moss, C (Phila.), Marty Hopkins, P (Chi.). (Negative #A7270; reprinted by permission of Provincial Archives of Alberta,Edmonton, Alberta)

Figure 3 Joe Louis at the Plate. (Negative #BL542/1; reprinted by permission of Provincial Archives of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta)