19th CENTURY UMPIRE FOUND ALIVE & ANGRY!

***BREAKING NEWS***
Dateline Egypt- In an amazing discovery, Westfield Wheelmen owner Anheiser Van Pilsner, on his yearly Thanksgiving pilgrimage to Egypt, has, with the help of his guide discovered alive and very angry the 19th Century umpire thought left for dead back in 1889. In 1889 Albert Spalding organized a world tour of some of the best base ball players and went to, of all places, Egypt in order to promote the game. In the middle of the 4th inning a horiffic sand storm just came out of nowhere and caused a cancelation of the game. Unfortunately the Honorable Vincent Kleese was thought to have been swept away and never returned to America. According to Van Pilsner, Kleese was very well preserved, almost mumified. "The first words out of his mouth was 'they kept calling me four eyes!...I want to get them back'" said Van Pilsner. Van Pilsner went on to say, "I have offered him a position umpring our games at the 'Shire...he will certainly be an attraction...just the thing we need."

Wheelmen Announce Far East Tour for April 2010

In a press conference today at the Wheelmen offices on Elm Street in downtown Westfield it was announced that for the entire month of April the Wheelmen will be in Japan for their spring training and will play a series of games against Japanese power house vintage teams Rodans, Mothras, Gigans and others. "Its hard to believe but we have a tremendous following in Japan," noted Wheelmen captain Gunner,"Its like we're Cheap Trick." Dates and details to follow.

The Wheelmen are also in the process of developing their 2010 regular season schedule. If any non-vintage club is interested in a challenge match, send an email to Captain Gunner to arrange..."I don't think any over-30 teams out there are man enough to get out of their comfort zone and try," blurted out Gunner.

Terry's 1st No-Hitter in The Philadelphia Record

This box score and brief recap of Adonis Terry's 1st no-hitter in 1886 and appeared in The Philadelphia Record and had recently appeared on eBay. As you will read there was no mention of the "no-hitter" as the term was not used until the late 1930s to 1940's.

Wheelmen Sign Evan Williams to a One Year Deal

It was announced this evening that the Westfield Wheelmen have signed Evan Williams to a one year deal. The announcement came this evening as Wheelmen owner Anheiser Van Pilsner and captain Gunner arrived back at the Whip City train station on a recent trip through the south. On a lead from Wheelmen shortstop, Silky Och, Williams was hiding-out down in Kentucky at a well known distillery. It had been a few years since Williams has played so Van Pilsner and Gunner put Williams through a brief tryout. The deal was quickly consummated over some cheap bourbon. The details on the deal were not known at press time.

Williams, a pitcher, last played in 1884 in the Union Association for Altoona Mountain City where he led the league in just about every offensive catagory. Unfortunately when the league folded after just one year he was black-balled by the other major leagues at the time. According to Van Pilsner, "Don't really care about the other leagues or teams...he's our kind of player...he's a bit dour, doesn't say much but he makes some dam good whiskey."

Terry Terrifies the Washington Outfield in this 1884 Scorecard

In this eBay offering Adonis Terry's Brooklyn is taking on Washington on May 5th, 1884 at Brooklyn's Washington Park. The Brooklyn Eagle sports reporter, possibly the "Father of Baseball" Henry Chadwick, was taken back by the "presence of so many ladies in the grandstand." In the first inning Brooklyn struck for 2 runs as the reporter noted, "Terry terrified the Washington outfielders with a long ball to their district," driving in the second run of the inning. Brooklyn was never in trouble in this game and won easily 11-3. The scorecard shows that Terry was a not scheduled to start in centerfield but was a fill in as his name is scratched in. The asking price was $599 for this card.

A Terry 1886 Shutout Scorecard on eBay for $1,150

A scorecard from July 9, 1886 between Adonis Terry's Brooklyn Grays and the Pittsburg Allegheny's in Pittsburg has recently surfaced on eBay with an asking price of $1,150. Interestingly, Terry was not slated to start the game as his name appears in smaller letters compared to the scheduled starter. The switch proved to be the right move as Terry pitched a 4 hit shutout over 9 innings as Brooklyn won 4-0. Less than a month later Terry would pitch the first of his two no-hitters. HUZZAH!