Holway also described how Stengel’s encounter with Moore and his 25th Infantry teammates in Arizona in 1919 led to the recruitment of five Negro League stars who formed the nucleus of the 1920 Kansas City Monarchs. He wrote:
He (Stengel) discovered Dobie Moore, along with Bullet Joe Rogan, Oscar "Heavy" Johnson, and several other black stars playing with the 25th Infantry team in Fort Huachuca, Arizona, in 1919 … "I first saw Moore down below Albuquerque," Casey recalled more than half a century later. "We were down near the Mexican border, and the army brought these buglers and made all the soldiers line up and march across the ball field and pick up pebbles and rocks so we could play.
"We had a big guy who pitched for St. Paul in the American Association who cheated. So before the game I went out behind home plate and I announced:… ladies and gentlemen, we're now going to have a young man that pitches this game today that throws that new, mysterious ball known as the Tequila Pitch! It's taken from the tequila plant.' And he was spitting all over the ball and everything else, you know, and cheating. So we won the game."
No box score has ever been preserved of that historic encounter. But Casey was mightily impressed with the "Black Buffaloes," as the Indians called the dark-skinned soldiers. When he got home to Kansas City he looked up J. L. Wilkinson, a white man who was forming a new club in the new Negro National league, and told him where he could find practically a whole ball team. Wilkinson promptly signed five of them – Moore, Rogan, Johnson, Lemuel Hawkins, and Bob Fagin. The famous Kansas City Monarchs were born."
In 2007, historians Gary Ashwill and David Skinner debated the veracity of Holway’s claims in the blog post: Did Casey Stengel Discover Bullet Rogan?
Skinner told Ashwill, “I respectfully disagree that there is ANY evidence that Casey scouted Rogan for Wilkinson.” Skinner added, “The Wreckers were bragged by the (Nogales) Daily Herald as the best team in the Army, but their games were little reported, maybe a mention of winning a home game vs. a local team from Arizona or Sonora, but no game stories.”
Well, I am pleased to report that 100 years after the “historic encounter” between Stengel’s All-Stars and the 25th Infantry, those long-lost game-related articles that eluded baseball researchers for decades have surfaced.
Thanks to GenealogyBank.com and the digitization of a now defunct newspaper in Nogales, Arizona called the Daily Morning Oasis, these newly discovered articles address many unanswered questions.
They corroborate some facts shared by Stengel, confirm some of Skinner’s contrary positions to Holway’s claims, and above all, provide further evidence to the greatness of Walter “Dobie” Moore.
FAN SUMMARY
No time to read the full-article below and just want the highlights? Here are 13 key takeaways from the newly discovered box scores and supplemental research:
1. Casey Stengel’s Kansas City All-Stars played five games against the 25th Infantry Wreckers in early November 1919. Initially, a best-of-three-games series was scheduled for November 3rd, 4th, and 5th. After the three-game series ended, two additional games were played on November 6th and 7th.
2. The Wreckers won the series, three of five games. The scores were:
- Monday, Nov. 3, 1919 - Game 1: Wreckers 5, All-Stars 4
- Tuesday, Nov. 4, 1919 - Game 2: All-Stars 14, Wreckers 11
- Wednesday, Nov. 5, 1919 - Game 3: Wreckers 8, All-Stars 6
- Thursday, Nov. 6, 1919 - Game 4: Wreckers 8, All-Stars 6
Note: The reported outcomes of Game 3 and 4 are the same. While it's possible the scores were the same, there is also the possibility that final score of Game 4 is incorrect. - Friday, Nov. 7, 1919 - Game 5: All-Stars 19, Wreckers 3
4. The Kansas City All-Stars were undefeated prior to playing the Wreckers (which included two victories, 4-1 and 8-3, over Rube Foster’s Chicago Giants in mid-October).
5. Dan Griner, the pitcher who defeated the Wreckers in game 2, was not an original member of Stengel’s All-Stars. Griner was a spitball pitcher from St. Paul who was visiting relatives in Tucson for the winter. When he heard about Stengel’s impending visit, he offered his services to the Tucson nine. The locals lost, but Stengel was impressed with Griner’s skills (both in hitting and pitching) and invited him to join the All-Stars for their series in Nogales.
6. Wilbur “Bullet Joe” Rogan did not participate in the three-game series. He was discharged from the military in July 1919 and was living in Kansas City at the time Stengel was barnstorming through Arizona.
7. The 1919 articles reveal that Lemuel “Lem” Hawkins was also not available to play in the series. The reason for his absence was not reported, however according to the U.S. Census completed in January 1920, he appears to have been on leave back home to Macon, GA. According to his military service records, he received an honorable discharge in June 1920.
8. Oscar “Heavy” Johnson did compete in this five-game series. He is listed as a catcher and pitcher in the post-game reports. He is also listed as living in Nogales, AZ, in January 1920 for the US Census. This is important to note because there is often confusion among historians about which “Johnson” appears in which games for the 25th Infantry. Both Oscar and William H. “Bill” Johnson platooned between catcher and the outfield. However, unlike Oscar, William Johnson is not listed as a resident of Nogales, AZ, in January 1920, suggesting that he was discharged before the historic series.
9. There is no mention of Robert Fagen in the newly discovered game recap articles, however David Skinner previously identified Fagen in a 1919 article from the Nogales Daily Herald. Also, according to the U.S. Census, Fagen was living in Nogales, AZ, in January 1920. Despite the evidence that Fagen competed against Stengel, it is worth noting that other newspaper reports from early 1920 indicated that Fagen was invited to try out with Rube Foster’s Chicago Giants, and most likely did not make the cut. All of this suggests that the Kansas City Monarchs were not Fagen’s first choice.
10. Dobie Moore is well documented as playing in the series. He performed at an MVP level, hitting 2 home runs — an inside the park home run in game 1 (the difference maker in a game decided by one run), and a grand slam in the game 2 loss.
11. To recap, Stengel is credited with scouting all five 25th Infantry Wreckers players who later joined the Monarchs, but only three (Dobie Moore, Oscar Johnson, and Robert Fagen) are documented as participants in the five-game series of Nov. 1919.
Beyond the series:
12. During the summer of 1919, 25th Infantry players Moore, Rogan, Johnson and George Jasper joined a local, integrated border team called the Nogales Nationals that competed in Arizona and parts of Northern Mexico.
13. Supplemental research into the 25th Infantry backgrounds of Walter “Dobie” Moore and Wilbur “Bullet Joe” Rogan suggest that their baseball nicknames might be inspired by their past military roles.
***
On October 29, 1919, the Daily Morning Oasis reported that Casey Stengel (age 29) and his Kansas City All-Stars were scheduled to visit Nogales, AZ, to play the 25th Infantry ball club. Stengel sent a telegram to John D. Easton (age 42, Caucasian), athletic director of the camp, to arrange the series. Assistant athletic director, Sergeant John G. Howard (age 37, Black), handled the pre-game arrangements.
Source: Daily Morning Oasis, Oct 29, 1919, pg. 7.
The following day the Daily Morning Oasis reported that several stars of the 25th Infantry Wreckers would not be available to play, including: Wilbur “Bullet Joe” Rogan (age 29), Allie Crafton (age 28), Fred Goliah (age 31), Charles Smith (age 29), and Lemuel Hawkins (age 24).
Source: Daily Morning Oasis, Oct 30, 1919, pg. 2
Advertisement: Stengel All-Stars vs. the 25th Infantry Wreckers
Below is a advertisement for the initial three-game series. It’s worth noting that adjusted for inflation, a 50-cent ticket in 1919 is equal to roughly $7.00 to $8.00 in 2019. And with a start time of 2 p.m., the teams had roughly 3 hours and 35 minutes to complete the games before sunset.
Source: Daily Morning Oasis, Nov. 01, 1919, pg. 7.
Given that no other newspapers in the area provided extensive coverage of the 25th Infantry games, it’s worth learning more about the staff of the Daily Morning Oasis. The paper was owned and operated by the Bird family (Caucasian): reporter and son Allen T. Bird, Jr. (age 27); editor and father, Allen T. Bird, Sr. (age 69), and president and mother/wife, Calla Bird (age 54).
According to the Arizona Memory Project, the Oasis launched on May 11, 1893, in Arizola, AZ, and moved to Nogales in late 1894. “Like many early papers, partisanship had its effect on the Oasis, which originally began as a Republican newspaper, but would later change to a Democratic one around 1914.” In the Oasis, Allen T. Bird, Sr. advocated for women’s suffrage for Arizona, while Calla served on a committee for women’s votes. “On October 9, 1920, the Oasis was sold to a larger association, which ceased its publication.”
Below the masthead of the Daily Morning Oasis, the Bird’s displayed the political quote: “Equal Rights for All, Special Privileges for None.” These words illustrate “an underlying American principal held by Jeffersonian as well as Jacksonian Democrats, the idea that the government is meant to protect the common man as an equal to the elite. It is not meant to treat a privileged elite class with “special privilege.” There should be no special interests for businesses and the elite, but rather equality of all sexes, classes, races, creeds, etc.”
Field Location -- 25th Infantry Athletic Field, Camp Stephen D. Little
Camp Little was a “military camp established in Nogales, Arizona, in November 1910 … the post was renamed on December 14, 1915, for Private Little who was killed in action during the border troubles which climaxed with the taking of Nogales, Sonora, by rebel forces of Pancho Villa on November 26, 1915. After reaching a peak strength of 12,000 in 1916, forces were gradually reduced after World War I to less than 1,000 men. The post was abandoned May 5, 1933." Source: Camp Stephen D. Little, The Historical Marker Database.
Camp Little, 1914.
Camp Little circa 1923
Map of Nogales, Rand McNally & Co., 1924.
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GAME 1 – Monday, Nov. 3, 1919
Score: Wreckers 5 - All-Stars 4
Recap:
TWENTY FIFTH INFANTRY WRECKERS WON FIRST
"The sensation of the afternoon's playing was a home run by Moore of the Wreckers. With the willow the batter landed on the flying sphere just right, and it just kept climbing into the air until when it began to come down it was away over in the vicinity of Yaqui village, and before it had been recovered Moore, had made the circle of the bases, coming safe to home plate."
"One of the main features of the game was the music played by the 25th infantry band and the buglers, which seemed to give the Wreckers fresh courage and the All Stars the blues."
Score by innings:
All Stars
Hits .......... v 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0
Runs .......... 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
25th Infantry Wreckers
Hits .......... 1 1 1 2 3 0 0 0 0
Runs .......... 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 1 0
Source: Daily Morning Oasis, Nov 04, 1919, pgs. 1 and 6.
Game 1 -- Players mentioned:
25th Infantry Wreckers
- Walter “Dobie” Moore
- George Jasper
- Clyde Aulston
- White - most likely Walter C. White from the Company A 1915 baseball team in Hawaii, with Hawkins, Jasper, Goliah, and Ward; also listed as resident of Nogales, AZ, in 1920 U.S. Census.
Kansas City All Stars
- Rolla Mapel – Pitcher, St. Louis Browns
- Tony Defate – 2b, 3b, Kansas City
- Cotton Tierney – Infielder, Kansas City
- Bert Graham – Pitcher, Kansas City Blues, Louisville
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GAME 2 – Tuesday, Nov. 4, 1919
Score: All-Stars 14 - Wreckers 11
Recap:
"In the beginning the Wreckers made good. Swinton, first up to bat, knocked a home run and Johnson went home on Moore's ball. But after the fourth inning the fates seemed against the 25th; the game was the All Stars until the end, Griner doing some clever pitching for the All Stars.
"... In the eighth inning the All Stars made six runs and the Wreckers scored the same, both teams doing fast work. Moore of the 25th, knocked a home run with three men on bases."
Score by innings:
All Stars
Hits ..........1 1 0 0 3 1 2 2 0
Runs .........0 1 0 0 3 1 3 6 0
25th Infantry Wreckers
Hits ..........2 0 0 4 0 1 1 2 0
Runs .........2 0 0 3 0 0 0 6 0
Source: Daily Morning Oasis, Nov 05, 1919, pg. 2.
Game 2 -- Players mentioned:
25th Infantry Wreckers
- Walter “Dobie” Moore
- Oscar “Heavy” Johnson
- Phillips – Possibly David Philips (b. 1889, Alabama), pitched in Hawaii with the Company D and Hospital Corps baseball teams; lived in Nogales in 1920.
Kansas City All Stars
- Dan Griner – Pitcher – St. Paul
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GAME 3 – Wednesday, Nov. 5, 1919
Score: Wreckers 8 - All-Stars 6
Recap:
25th Infantry Wreckers Take Third Game of the Series
"...The fans had given up victory to the All Stars until the fifth inning when the Wreckers woke up and played real ball.
The Wreckers lineup was changed in the second inning, when the pitcher, Johnson, was relieved by Veteran Jasper. Johnson caught for the remainder of the game, Swinton going to right field.
Falsken pitched and Hargrove did the catching for the visiting team ... Allston and Ward made home runs in the sixth inning. Russell and Aulston made the sensational catches of the day."
Score by innings:
All Stars
Hits ..........2 5 1 1 0 0 1 0 0
Runs ........1 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
25th Infantry Wreckers
Hits ..........0 1 1 3 2 4 0 1 x
Runs .........0 0 0 2 2 4 0 0 x
Source: Daily Morning Oasis, Nov 06, 1919, pg. 6.
Game 3 -- Players mentioned:
25th Infantry Wreckers
Kansas City All Stars
- Eugene Franklin “Bubbles” Hargrave
- John William Falsken (b. 1894, Nebraska)
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GAMES 4 and 5
On November 6, 1919, an advertisement appeared in the Oasis announcing two additional games in the series.
The details of the final two games between the Wreckers and the Kansas City All-Stars were not reported. Only the scores and vague highlights were reported on Sunday, November 9, 1919. Most likely the reference to “Grimes” in the article below is Dan Griner, the pick-up player who joined the All-Stars after a contest in Tucson.
GAME 4 – Thursday, Nov. 6, 1919
Score: Wreckers 8 - All-Stars 6
GAME 5 – Friday, Nov. 7, 1919
Score: All-Stars 19 - Wreckers 3
Source: Daily Morning Oasis, Nov 09, 1919, pg. 7.
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BACKSTORIES
ALL STARS UNDEFEATED
The Kansas City All-Stars were undefeated prior to playing the Wreckers, which included two victories, 4-1 and 8-3, over Rube Foster’s Chicago Giants in mid-October.
Source: The Tucson Citizen, Saturday, November 1, 1919, pg. 11.
PITCHER GRINER
Dan Griner, the pitcher who defeated the Wreckers in game 2, was not an original member of Stengel’s All-Stars. Griner was a spitball pitcher from St. Paul who was visiting relatives in Tucson for the winter. When he heard about Stengel’s impending visit, he offered his services to the local nine. Tucson lost, but Stengel was impressed with Griner’s skills (both hitting and pitching) and invited him to join the All-Stars in Nogales.
Source: Arizona Daily Star, November 2, 1919, pg. 7.
Source: Arizona Daily Star, 04 Nov 1919, pg. 8.
INTERNATIONAL BASEBALL TEAM – NOGALES
During the summer of 1919, 25th Infantry players Moore, Rogan, Johnson and Jasper all joined a local, integrated border team called the Nogales Nationals that competed in Arizona and parts of Northern Mexico.
Source: Daily Morning Oasis, Saturday, Jun 21, 1919, pg. 2.
WILKINSON & ROGAN, ALL-NATIONS 1917
According to baseball historian Phil Dixon, Rogan had already played for J.L. Wilkinson's All-Nations in April of 1917. Wilkinson already knew about Rogan. It’s in his book, “The Kansas City Monarchs, 1920-1938, Featuring Wilber "Bullet" Rogan, The Greatest Ballplayer in Cooperstown (Mariah Press, 2002). Dixon adds, "Oscar Johnson was from Atchison, Kansas and I'm sure he was no mystery to the Monarchs' owner either."
ROGAN PLAYING IN KANSAS CITY
According to baseball historian Phil Dixon, Rogan had already played for J.L. Wilkinson's All-Nations in April of 1917. Wilkinson already knew about Rogan. It’s in his book, “The Kansas City Monarchs, 1920-1938, Featuring Wilber "Bullet" Rogan, The Greatest Ballplayer in Cooperstown (Mariah Press, 2002). Dixon adds, "Oscar Johnson was from Atchison, Kansas and I'm sure he was no mystery to the Monarchs' owner either."
ROGAN PLAYING IN KANSAS CITY
Here's further evidence that Wilbur “Bullet Joe” Rogan did not participate in the three-game series. He was discharged from the military in July 1919 and was living in Kansas City at the time Stengel was barnstorming through Arizona.
Source: The Morning Chronicle, Manhattan, Kansas, 11 Oct 1919, pg. 4.
ROGAN DISCHARGED BEFORE STENGEL SERIES
Source: Honolulu Star-Bulletin, October 22, 1919, pg. 12
ROGAN SICK, IN MILITARY HOSPITAL DURING SERIES
Source: Daily Morning Oasis, Dec 07, 1919, pg. 3.
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RECAP OF 25TH INFANTRY PLAYERS IN 1919 SERIES
Players Living in Nogales, AZ, in January 1920
- Clyde Aulston
- Robert Fagen
- Moses Herring
- George Jasper
- Oscar Johnson
- Walter Moore
- David Philips
- Branch Lee Russell
- Norman Swinton
- Thomas Ward
- Walter C. White
Players NOT Living in Nogales, AZ, in January 1920
- Fred Goliah
- Lemuel Hawkins
- William H. Johnson (GA)
- Wilbur Rogan
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ROGAN RETURNS TO AZ IN APRIL 1920?
Source: Daily Morning Oasis, April 23, 1920, pg. 4.
1920 25TH INFANTRY DEFEATS UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA, 15-5
Source: University of Arizona yearbook, 1920.
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MILITARY INSPIRATIONS FOR NICKNAMES?
Possible origin of “Dobie”
Walter Moore was a member of the 25th Infantry division. According to Army Reserve Magazine, “Doughboy” is a derivative of “Dobie”, which means "infantryman." The 1993 article states: From "Adobe" (mud), then "Dobie"--the idea being infantrymen are the soldiers who have to march in the mud; hence the expressions used in the 1860's and early 1870's in referring to infantrymen as "Dobie crushers," Dobie makers," and "Mud crushers."
Source: At Ease - Doughboy, Army Reserve Magazine, Fall 1993, Vol. 39, pg. 24.
Possible origin of “Bullet Joe”
Wilbur Rogan and the rest of the 25th infantry were reassigned from Honolulu, Hawaii to Nogales, Arizona in March 1917. According to records in the U.S., Army Transport Service, Passenger Lists, Rogan’s military unit was: “Pvt 1cl, MG Co, 25th Inf”. Per the United States Army Training Manual (1925 edition), “MG” is an abbreviation for “Machine gun”. Thus, Wilbur was a Private, First Class, in the Machine Gun Company. He shot bullets.
Source: Photographic postcard of Charles Wilbur Rogan with his unit in the Philippines (Oct 1913), Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Bob "Bulls-eye" Fagen?
There are no reports of Robert Fagen ever being called "Bulls-eye," but had his reputation as sharpshooter reached the ball field, the nickname would have been well deserved.
Source: Daily Morning Oasis, May 16, 1919, pg. 5.
FAGEN & AUSLTON TRYOUT WITH RUBE FOSTER'S AMERICAN GIANTS
Contrary to reports that Robert Fagen joined the Kansas City Monarchs immediately after leaving the 25th Infantry in Arizona, the Chicago Defender reported in March 1920 that he and Aulston participated in Rube Foster's American Giants tryout in Chicago.
Source: Chicago Defender, Mar 20, 1920, p.9, col.5
Above Images: Custom baseball cards, 25th Infantry Wreckers vs. Stengel's All-Stars "Conlon Collection Tribute" of Dobie Moore, Robert Fagen, Bullet Rogan, and Casey Stengel. 25th Infantry photos courtesy of the Fort Huachuca Museum.
Photo: 25th Infantry Wreckers Display at the Fort Huachuca Museum, Fort Huachuca, Arizona, Spring Break 2013.
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The 1919 series between the 25th Infantry Wreckers and Stengel's All-Stars is just one of several stories to be shared at the Arizona's Negro Leagues Baseball Centennial Celebration on February 29, 2020. See below for early event details (time subject to change).
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The 1919 series between the 25th Infantry Wreckers and Stengel's All-Stars is just one of several stories to be shared at the Arizona's Negro Leagues Baseball Centennial Celebration on February 29, 2020. See below for early event details (time subject to change).
