1912 West Baden Sprudels

Saturday, September 21, 2019 Last Update: 10:03 AM ET

• 1912 Breakers Hotel Team
• 1912 Royal Poinciana Hotel Team
• 1912 Chicago American Giants
• 1912 Brooklyn Royal Giants
• 1912 Buxton Wonders
• 1912 Paterson Smart Set
• 1912 Lincoln Giants
• 1912 Cuban Giants
• 1912 Philadelphia Giants
• 1912 Kansas City Royal Giants
• 1912 Cuban Stars of Havana
• 1912 Indianapolis ABCs
• 1912 St. Louis Giants
• 1912 West Baden Sprudels
• 1912 French Lick Plutos
• 1912 Chicago Giants
• 1912 All Nations
• 1912 Rocky Mountain Athletic Club
• 1912 Tennessee Rats
• 1912 Oakland Giants
• 1912 Chicago Union Giants
• 1912 Louisville Cubs
• 1912 Wilmington Giants
• 1912 Newark Giants
• 1912 Washington Giants
• 1912 Cuban X Giants

• 1916 West Baden Sprudels
• 1915 West Baden Sprudels
• 1914 West Baden Sprudels
• 1913 West Baden Sprudels

• Known Roster
  Bingo Bingham
  George Brown
  Morten Clark
  Bingo DeMoss
  Jerome Lewis
• Will McMurray
  Hub Miller
  Luther O'Neal
  George Shively
  Ben Taylor
  C.I. Taylor
• Candy Jim Taylor
  Steel Arm Johnny Taylor

1912 West Baden Sprudels

Stories are placed in order of the date they appeared.

February 17, 1912

Denver, CO
"The Negro Baseball Teams - In the past five years the Negro baseball teams have advanced 100 per cent, in every way. Last year there was organized among some of the big eastern cities a league consisting of fast colored ball teams. And after the organization had gotten under way, it has proved to be a paying proposition to the owners and managers. There are players on some of the fast eastern teams that receive salaries as high as $300 per month. And they are playing different cities, the same as the big white league teams. The main Negro league teams for this season will have the Chicago Giants, Leland Giants, St. Louis Giants, West Baden, New York Giants, Cuban Stars, and the Stars of Cuba. And they all have the support of the people."

September 1?, 1912

West Baden, IN
"West Baden, Indiana - The West Baden Sprudels won the pennant and championship of the Spring Valley League by defeating the Plutos. The game marks the closing of the summer season. The fall pennant race begins September 1. Scotland robbed Clark of a home run by a remarkable catch in the eighth. Clark and Ward starred for the Sprudels."

October 13?, 1912

West Baden, IN
"Cincinnati vs. Sprudels - Future of A.B.C.s of Indianapolis - Jack Johnson had his Brother Arrested. - By Billy Lewis. - The Sprudels, the crack baseball team of French Lick, Indiana, had occasion to be considerably elated last week when they met the Cincinnati team of the National League. Of course, the Sprudels were worsted, which, in this case, is not of importance. The fact that they the Sprudels, a team of colored players, were recognized by the big leaguers is important. The same old thing of race prejudice has kept fine players of the colored race out of the big leagues, and it is still keeping them out. Perhaps the fault can not be laid at the door of any one man, or any set of men. I am quite sure that the condition cannot be charged up with certainty to anyone; but the condition is no less hard on that account. It is hard when we all know that Indians, Japanes, or any other of the dark races can have representation on our greater clubs. In view of this fact it is something to have the Cincinnati team go to French Lick, especially to engage the Sprudels. The Sprudels is such a splendid team that I must say something of it, especially of the manager Captain Taylor. The men are orderly and under fine control; they love the captain; yet he is such a disciplinarian that one can see it sticking out. But he is kindly, gentle, nevertheless insistent. There's that calm, ernest appeal which to disrespect would beget disrespect of one's self. He's all for the glory of the game; it is plain to see and through all this train the soft infection ran. I heard him say to one of his pitchers, in a tone that was paternal. Never mind the battling, save your arm. The pitcher was on deck for the batter's stand. The manager would not have him exert himself. He spoke in undertone, as if to save the feelings of his men, yet he told them what he wanted. For the life of me I could not say no. Taylor is just such a man; a born leader. The Sprudels travel in pretty fast company, the American Giants, the St. Louis Giants are its rightful class. The A.B.C.s of Indianapolis, perhaps, should be mentioned also."

June 5, 1912

West Baden, IN
"Following (Indianapolis), they will go to West Baden, Indiana, to play the Sprudels, June 5, 6, 7 and 8."
West Baden, IN
"June 5 they won over the West Badens, score 7 to 0, Gatewood pitching."

June 6, 1912

West Baden, IN
"Following (Indianapolis), they will go to West Baden, Indiana, to play the Sprudels, June 5, 6, 7 and 8."
West Baden, IN
"June 6 the Americans beat the Sprudels at a score of 5 to 1."

June 7, 1912

West Baden, IN
"Following (Indianapolis), they will go to West Baden, Indiana, to play the Sprudels, June 5, 6, 7 and 8."

West Baden, IN
"American Giants At West Baden. - Rube Foster's Chicago Team Takes Three From Sprudels - West Baden, Indiana - The Sprudels went down for the third time before the mighty American Giants, Rube Foster's well-known Chicago aggregation."
West Baden, IN
"June 7, they won over the Sprudels 8 to 3."

June 8, 1912

West Baden, IN
"Following (Indianapolis), they will go to West Baden, Indiana, to play the Sprudels, June 5, 6, 7 and 8."

West Baden, IN
"The American Giants won another game from West Baden. The feature was three home runs, the home club getting one. The fielding of Monroe, the Giants' second baseman, was also a feature."
West Baden, IN
"June 8, with Foster pitching for the Giants, Dismukes piching, the Sprudels won, the score being 1 to 0."

July 1, 1912

West Baden, IN
"The West Baden Sprudels Win Over Indianapolis Reserves. - Colored Champs Play Fast Game Before Big Crowd at Washington Park, Indianapolis. - Before one of the largest crowds of the season the West Baden Sprudels defeated the Indianapolis Reseverves, last Sunday, 7 to 0. Taylor had the Reserves at his mercy throughout the game, holding them to five hits and striking out ten. The Reserves used three pitchers."

July 4, 1912

West Baden, IN
"Sprudels Lose Close Game. - West Baden, Indiana. - The French Lick Plutos defeated the Sprudels on the 4th, 2 to 1, before a large holiday crowd. The Plutos won by bunching four of their hits in the fifth and sixth innings. Both pitchers were given good support. Batteries - Johnson and Armstrong; Taylor and O'Neil. Umpire- Love."

July 7, 1912

Louisville, KY
"West Baden Sprudels Vanquish Cubs - In One-Sided Affair 10 to 0 - Whitewash Neatly Administered. - Wow! Those pill peltering Sprudels from West Baden bore down upon our city last Sunday and engaged in a little fracas with the Louisville Cubs at Springbank Park, and succeeded in administering a neat coat of kalomine by the one-sided score of 10 to 0. Steel Arm John was working like a steam derrick, letting the Cubs down with three measly hits, and our home boys had about as much chance as a mere man at a suffragette meeting, Burdette handed out a varied assortment of benders, the Sprudels getting only seven hits off his offerings, but received punk support. Numerous unneccessary errors that were enough to discourage anybody, were made behind him, Rodgers being the chief offender."

July 27, 1912

Chicago, IL
"The West Baden Sprudels will be at Schorling's Park on next Sunday. Be on time and get your reserved seats early. The Sprudels are the greatest players in Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee."

Chicago, IL
"Johnson, the spit ball pitcher who made good with the Plutos, has been taken by Foster."

July 28, 1912

Chicago, IL
"Sprudels Break Even. - Steel Arm Taylor Takes First Game and Rube Second - Gossip of the Field. - By Cary B. Lewis. - Special to the Freeman. - Chicago, Illinois, July 30. - It was an awful big surprise to see the West Baden Sprudels win the first game, against the American Giants. The first of the two games was played on Sunday, and a big crowd witnessed the contest. Steel Arm John Taylor, the man who uses his foot in a mysterious way, did the pitching for the visitors. He put up a splendid article of ball and entertained the crowd immensely. Wickware was the opposing slabsman, and did good work at the mound; but Mr. Taylor fanned out Pierce and Lindsey just at the right moment and closed the game with a score of 7 to 6 in favor of the Sprudels. The Giants, who have made a reputation for winning in the ninth inning, made two scores, but lacked the one to tie and two to win. They made several sensational efforts to become victorious, but with no avail. Rube Foster did some good batting, as did Hill and Duncan."

Chicago, IL
"Steel Arm Taylor was a mighty big drawing card at Schorling's Park last Sunday. Johnny throws a ball that is past finding by the average batter. J.A. Taylor, who has been helping Foster's team at third, returned to his old tam on Sunday and gathered three hits off Wickware, his second hit in the third inning scoring two runs.

July 29, 1912

Chicago, IL
"Foster Wins His Game. - The American Giants won the second game of the series with the Sprudels of West Baden Springs, Indiana. Rube Foster was determined that the visitors should not win both games, so the sturdy Roman pitched himself. Foster struck out seven men, and Miller only one. Rube had the boys at his mercy and could have shut them out but for an error. There was some sensational fielding by both teams. A large crowd witnessed the home boys win with a score of 7 to 1."