Baseball at the Inter-Allied Games

1919 Inter-Allied Games

Tournament details
Country	France
City	Paris
Venue(s)	1 (in 1 host city)
Dates	23 June – 6 July
Teams	4
Final positions
Champions	United States (1st title)
Runner-up	Canada

Baseball was played at the Inter-Allied Games, a multi-sport tournament held in June 1919 and organized by the United States military and the YMCA. It took place in June 1919, nearly a year after the armistice brought an end to the fighting of World War I. All of the games were played at the newly constructed Stade Pershing (named after American general John J. Pershing) in Paris.

Two teams represented the United States and, in its international baseball debut, Canada; both teams were composed entirely of soldiers from the American and Canadian Expeditionary Force. In a best-of-four series, the United States defeated Canada three games to one.

Background

Baseball was played extensively by Canadian soldiers, who were stationed on the western front as early as 1914, and later, by American soldiers, after the U.S. joined the war in 1917. With the cessation of hostilities in 1918, Unrest among soldiers awaiting repatriation caused officers to encourage baseball, in an effort to boost morale. An Anglo-American Baseball League was formed in early 1919, with games between all-star Canadian and American teams being held at Stamford Bridge and elsewhere in England. ^[1]

Venue

Paris, France	Stade Pershing
Stade Pershing

Teams

The United States was represented by the "Le Mans" team, of the 86th "Blackhawk" Infantry Division, that had won the American Expeditionary Forces league championship (a three-game series against the Third Division team). ^{[2] [3]} One former major leaguer was Adam DeBus, a sergeant and former infielder that played a single season with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1917; DeBus had spent the war years at Camp Grant in Illinois, but was shipped to France after the Armistice. DeBus captained the United States team at the games. ^[3] Also part of the U.S. team was William Marriott, who had played in 1917 with the Chicago Cubs and would go on to stints with the Boston Braves and Brooklyn Robins. ^{[4] [5]} Several other Americans had minor league experience, including Wheeler "Moose" Fuller, who had a long career with various Eastern League clubs. ^{[6] [lower-alpha 1]}

The Canada national team

The Canadian team was also the champion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force league, selected by a series in London and reinforced by the best players from other Canadian teams. Many of these soldiers were from the "Artillery" team, champions of the Witley area. ^[8] None of the Canadian players had major league experience, though Larry Carmel would later play with the Montreal Royals and Quebec Bulldogs of the Eastern Canada League. ^[9] Three of the Canadian players (Ernest Tate, John Edis, and Paul Gilpatrick) were born in the United States, though at least two of them served in the Canadian Army. ^{[10] [11] [12]}

One of the umpires was "Smiling Al" Orth, a former MLB pitcher who had traveled to Europe to care for his son, wounded in the Meuse–Argonne offensive. ^[13]

Rosters

  Canada

Canada — "Artillery"
Roster
Pitchers Pvt. Ernest Kurd Pvt. Ernest Tate Gnr. Ralph E. Clayton Sgt. Richard B. Odgers Pvt. Maurice Daly Sgt. Fred A. Barker Sgt. Norman H. Chalmers Catchers Cpl. Victor C. Sheppard Pvt. Earle S. Peckham		Infielders Cpt. John F. Edis Pvt. Whitney G. Dewhurst Pvt. Alfred Klaehn Pvt. William N. Wright Pvt. Larry Latimer Pvt. Paul Gilpatrick		Outfielders Pvt. Larry Carmel Pvt. Frank S. Smith Spr. Clarence W. Robinson Cpl. Alexander T. Thompson

^[5]

  United States

United States — "Le Mans"
Roster
Pitchers 2nd Lt. Wheeler B. Fuller Sgt. George Taylor Pvt. Englebert W. Becker Cpl. James Duben Sgt. Ira Creel Sgt. Ernest Chambers Catchers Cpl. William Novak 2nd Lt. N.J. Fish Pvt. Vernon W. Lightfoot		Infielders Sgt. Jesse Gross Sgt. Adam DeBus (cpt.) Sgt. William E. Marriott Cpl. Henning Anderson Cpl. Simon P. Brausen		Outfielders Pvt. Faber J. O'Hara Pvt. Harry Knapp Sgt. Lloyd Dean Cpl. Edward Aaron

^[5]

Summary

The first two games of the series were relatively close and characterized by pitching duels between the starters. In the first game, American starter Moose Fuller kept the Canadians to a single hit over eight innings of work. Canada won the second game thanks to starter Ernest Tate, who took a no-hitter into the ninth inning before it was broken up by the U.S.'s Henning Anderson. ^[14]

After the June 27 game, the American team traveled to Germany for a three-game exhibition series, while the Canadians waited in Paris without playing. The wait became evident in the final two games of the series, which the U.S. won convincingly. The fourth game, played on July 6, was called after seven innings, so as not to conflict with the closing ceremonies of the games. ^[14]

The championship trophy was presented by Hu Weide, ambassador of the Republic of China to France. ^[15]

Results

Game 1, June 23

June 23, 1919 at Stade Pershing, Paris

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Canada	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	5
United States	0	0	3	0	0	0	1	1	X	5	6	4
WP: Wheeler Fuller   LP: Ralph Clayton Umpires: Al Orth; Frambes Boxscore

Game 2, June 27

June 27, 1919 at Stade Pershing, Paris

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
United States	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	0
Canada	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	X	2	5	1
WP: Ernest Tate   LP: George Taylor Umpires: Al Orth; Frambes Boxscore

Game 3, July 4

July 4, 1919 at Stade Pershing, Paris

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Canada	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	6
United States	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	6	X	10	9	2
WP: Wheeler Fuller   LP: Norman Chalmers Umpires: Al Orth; Roth Boxscore

Game 4, July 6

June 23, 1919 at Stade Pershing, Paris

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
United States	0	0	3	0	3	2	4	12	8	1
Canada	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	10
WP: George Taylor   LP: Ernest Tate Umpires: Al Orth; Roth Boxscore

Statistical leaders

Statistic	Player	Total
Batting average	Henning Anderson	.461
Bases on balls	Simon P. Brausen	5
Runs scored	Simon P. Brausen	5
Fielding percentage	Larry Carmel Alexander Thompson Simon P. Brausen Lloyd Dean	1.000

See also

• Baseball in France
• Ty Cobb, a Hall-of-Fame MLB player and World War I veteran who was in attendance at the Inter-Allied Games, but did not participate in the baseball tournament. ^{[16] [17]}

Notes

1. Contemporary reports refer to Fuller as having played in the majors with the Washington Senators, but this is not supported by MLB records. ^{[7] [6]}

References

1. Horrall, Andrew (2001). ""Keep-A-Fighting! Play the Game!" - Baseball and the Canadian Forces during the First World War". Canadian Military History. 10 (2): 37.
2. Wythe and Hanson, p. 181
3. Bohn, Terry. "Adam DeBus". SABR. Society for American Baseball Research. DeBus was the captain of the Blackhawks, a team that won the championship of the Inter-Allied games in July 1919.
4. Morris, Jack. "Tom McGuire". SABR. Society for American Baseball Research. He was attached to the 86th Infantry Division (known as the Black Hawk Division) as a sergeant major in charge of troop transportation, and pitched on the division's baseball team, which also included former major leaguers Ed "Jeff" Sweeney, William Marriott, Adam DeBus, and Austin Walsh.
5. Wythe and Hanson, p. 476
6. "Moose Fuller". Baseball Reference (minors).
7. "YANKEES VICTORS IN OPENING OF GAMES". New York Times. 24 June 1919. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
8. Taylor, Andrew (2022). "Did Canada Save British Baseball?". Journal of Canadian Baseball: 44.
9. "Larry Carmel". Baseball Reference (minors).
10. "CANADIANS BEAT U.S. TEAM". New York Times. 29 June 1919. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
11. "Paul E Gilpatrick". Imperial War Museum.
12. "Ernest Raymond Tate". Imperial War Museum.
13. "A Belated Story from France". The Sporting News. 7 August 1919. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
14. Johnson and Brown, 337–45
15. Johnson and Brown, 259–60
16. "After World War I Canceled the Olympics, Allied Troops Held Their Own Games". Military.com. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
17. "Reichley: WWI Museum, all-star game have connection". Canton Repository. 23 May 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2024.

Bibliography

• George Wythe; Joseph Mills Hanson, eds. (1919). The Inter-Allied Games - Paris, 22nd June to 6th July, 1919. Internet Archive: Games Committee. pp. 180–82, 476.
• Walt C. Johnson; Elwood S. Brown, eds. (1919). "Baseball". Official Athletic Almanac of the American Expeditionary Forces. American Sports Publishing. pp. 337–43.