Once Upon A Summer 9/15/1918: Bushwick Sweeps Both Ends of Doubleheader Against Brooklyn Royal Giants at Dexter Park

From the desk: DEM BARNSTORMERS & THE DONALDSON NETWORK

New York Herald, Monday, September 16, 1918

On Sunday, September 15, 1918, Max Rosner's Bushwicks sweep both ends of a doubleheader from the Brooklyn Royal Giants at Dexter Park.

l; The Brooklyn Citizen, Monday, September 16, 1918

r; Times Union (Brooklyn, NY), Monday, September 16, 1918

GAME ONE - Right-hander Irvin Brooks toes the slab for Brooklyn and is opposed by Lefty Russell, one-time pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Robins.  

The Royal Giants open with two runs in the first inning.  But Bushwick answers in the second with a six-run burst, highlighted by Lefty Russell's bases-clearing double.  Joe Weiss singled and scored in the third, and in the fifth, right fielder Casey Stengel tripled home a run and scored, giving Bushwick a 9-2 lead.  The Royal Giants rally for two in the top of the eighth, but Joe Weiss pushes across the Dexter's tenth run in the bottom half.  Brooklyn then musters three more runs in the ninth to no avail.

Irvin Brooks surrenders ten runs on 15 hits, four going for extra bases, and four walks with six strikeouts in the loss.  Joe Weiss leads Bushwick with four hits, including a double and two runs scored, and Lefty Russell helps himself with two hits and a run scored.  Russell allows seven runs on eleven hits and three walks with three strikeouts to win on the mound.

Shortstop John Henry Lloyd leads Brooklyn with three hits, including a double, and left fielder John Donaldson goes 2 for 5 with a triple and two runs scored.

The Brooklyn Citizen, Monday, September 16, 1918

GAME TWO - With George Robinson facing off against Bill Kelleher for Bushwick, the teams traded single runs in the first inning, but not without incident.  In the top of the frame, Bushwick catcher Fred Hohman is knocked unconscious by a foul ball off the bat of John Henry Lloyd.  After about five minutes, Hohman resumes his position behind the plate.  

First baseman Al Birch singled and scored in the bottom of the frame, tying the score at one.  After two scoreless innings, Bushwick breaks out with four runs in the fourth, highlighted by Casey Stengel's run-scoring single and third baseman Joe Riconda's two-run home run.  The Royal Giants score once in the fifth, then tie the game at five apiece with three runs in the sixth, all the result of Bushwick errors as Bill Kelleher yielded no hits.  With one out and two runners on base in the home eighth, second baseman Joe Weiss clears the bases with a triple en route to a 7-5 victory and twin bill sweep in front of a record crowd at Dexter Park.

George Robinson yields seven runs on nine hits and five walks in the loss.  Bill Kelleher holds the Royal Giants to five runs on just five hits and five walks with four strikeouts for the win.

Casey Stengel goes 2 for 3 at the plate.  However, he lost one fly ball in the sun and simply dropped another otherwise easy chance.  

Robinson wields Brooklyn's only extra-base hit.  Center fielder William Parks, Oliver Marcell, John Cason, and John Henry Lloyd account for Brooklyn's remaining hits.  Through both games, Pop Lloyd totals four hits in ten at-bats.

The Standard Union (Brooklyn, NY), 

Monday, September 16, 1918

⚾

BROOKLYN ROYAL GIANTS

ONCE UPON A SUMMER, 1918: JOHN DONALDSON'S LONE SEASON WITH THE BROOKLYN ROYAL GIANTS

• 6/28 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Acquire Midwest Pitching Great, John Donaldson
• 6/30 - John Donaldson Loses Brooklyn Royal Giants Debut To New York Lincoln Giants
• 7/3 - John Donaldson Poised To Make Brooklyn/Queens Debut At Dexter Park
• 7/4 - John Donaldson Twirls Shutout Over Cuban Stars In Dexter Park Debut
• 7/7 - Joe Williams Wins Second Straight Decision Over John Donaldson; Lincoln Giants and Royal Giants Split Twin Bill
• 7/13 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Defeat Glendale at Farmer's Oval, Queens
• 7/14 - John Donaldson Defeats Bushwick; Royal Giants Split Twin Bill At Dexter Park
• 7/15 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Take Series Opener From Atlantic City Bacharach Giants
• 7/16 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Take Game Two from Bacharach Giants; John Donaldson Earns The Victory
• 7/17 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Wrap Up Series With Bacharach Giants at Atlantic City
• 7/18 - N.Y. Ship League Team Defeat Brooklyn Royal Giants at Camden, New Jersey
• 7/21 - Cuban Stars Double-Up Brooklyn Royal Giants; John Donaldson Takes Loss at Dexter Park
• 7/24 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Bow To Stan Baumgartner and Bethlehem Steel at Allentown, PA
• 7/27 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Defeat Camp Dix Soldiers*
• 7/28 - Silk Sox Clout John Donaldson's Offerings; Brooklyn Royal Giants Fall at Doherty's Oval
• 8/3 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Defeat Prospect Heights at Hackensack*
• 8/4 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Forfeit Game To Glendale at Farmer's Oval
• 8/7 - Bethlehem Steel Team Hosts a Scoreless Tie Against Brooklyn Royal Giants
• 8/11 - New York Lincoln Giants and Royal Giants Split Twin Bill at Olympic Field; Joe "Cyclone" Williams Wins Opener, John Donaldson Wins Game Two
• 8/17 - New York Ship Wins Second Contest Against Brooklyn Royal Giants at Camden, N.J.
• 8/18 - The Tietjen & Lang Shipyard Nine Defeat John Donaldson and the Brooklyn Royal Giants, North Bergen, N.J.
• 8/24 - Morse Dry Dock BBC Defeat Royal Giants in John Donaldson's True Brooklyn Debut
• 8/25 - Irvin Brooks Twirls Shutout; Brooklyn Royal Giants Defeat Glendale at Farmer Oval, Queens
• 9/1 - New York Lincoln Giants Sweep Twin Bill From Royal Giants at Olympic Field; Joe "Cyclone" Williams Earns Dual Victory, John Donaldson Suffers Loss in Second Tilt
• 9/2 - Brooklyn Royal Giants and Cuban Stars Split Games of a Doubleheader at Dexter Park
• 9/4 - Southpaw John Donaldson Hands Camp Mills Their First Loss This Season; Brooklyn Royal Giants Win, 7 to 6
• 9/8 - John Donaldson's Return Match Against Morse Dry Dock Along Brooklyn Waterfront Likely Rained Out
• 9/12 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Defeat Glendale in Eleven Innings at Farmer's Oval, Queens
• 9/14 - Brooklyn Royal Giants Defeat Tietjen and Lang Club; John Donaldson and the Backdrop of WWI

LHP - JOHN DONALDSON'S PITCHING RECORD w/ BROOKLYN:

1. 6/30/1918 - (L) 9 innings, 2 runs, 7 hits, 2 W, 2 K (Lincoln Giants; Olympic Field)
2. 7/4/1918 - (W) 9 innings, 0 RUNS, 5 hits, 1 W, 6 K (Cuban Stars; Dexter Park)
3. 7/7/1918 - (L) 9 innings, 3 runs, 9 hits, 2 W, 2 K (Lincoln Giants; Olympic Field)
4. 7/14/1918 - (W) 9 innings, 1 run, 7 hits, 1 W, 5 K (Bushwick; Dexter Park)
5. 7/16/1918 - (W) 9 innings, 4 runs, 14 hits, (?) W, 6 K* (Atlantic City; Bacharach Park, N.J.)
6. 7/21/1918 - (L) 9 innings, 6 runs, 10 hits, 4 W, 1 K (Cuban Stars; Dexter Park)
7. 7/28/1918 - (L) 9 innings, 9 runs, 16 hits, 2 W, 3 K (Silk Sox; Doherty's Oval, N.J.)
8. 8/11/1918 - (W) 9 innings, 2 runs, 13 hits, (?) W, (?) K (Lincoln Giants; Olympic Field)
9. 8/18/1918 - (L) 9 innings, 5 runs, 5 hits, (?) W, 4 K (Tietjen & Lang; Nurge's Field, N.J.)
10. 8/24/1918 - (L) 9 innings, 8 runs, 19 hits, 1 W, 2 K (Morse Dry Dock; Brooklyn)
11. 9/1/1918 - (L) 9 innings, 4 runs, 14 hits, (?) W, (?) K (Lincoln Giants; Olympic Field)
12. 9/2/1918 - (L) 2 innings, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 W, 1 K (Cuban Stars; Dexter Park)
13. 9/4/1918 - (W) 9 innings, 6 runs, 7 hits, (?) W, (?) K (Camp Mills, Garden City, NY)
14. 9/14/1918 - (W) No game account vs. Tietjen and Lang Ship Club (Nurge's Field, N.J.)

• LINE: 110 innings, 51 runs, 128 hits, 13 walks, 31 strikeouts, 4.17 ERA 

BEDFORD & SULLIVAN PODCAST:

Restoring Baseball Great John Donaldson's Lost Legacy With Negro Leagues Historian and Founder of The Donaldson Network, Peter Gorton.

Minnesota native Peter Gorton leads a group of historians dedicated to discovering the lost legacy of John Wesley Donaldson.  In this episode, we discuss the man, baseball career, and life of one of the more incredible and inspiring athletes to ever play the game, and how his amazing legacy became lost to a nation, most particularly Baseball's Hall of Fame.  

Original airdate: March 13, 2021