THE SECOND SEASON BEGINS

by Mike Comfort

The Marshalltown Times declared that the first season “proved a great success”, but also declared that every team lost money, including Marshalltown who lost $1000. Naturally, this led to speculation of a change in membership. Muscatine, Clinton, and Quincy (IL) attempted to join the league, with Muscatine needing to build a good park in order to join. Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, Davenport, and Rock Island were all confirmed and then denied to be part of the next season of the Iowa League. Oskaloosa almost lost their team to Muscatine when they weren’t going to allow Sunday games, but they relented and kept their team. Despite the rumors of new teams, the 1905 season would have the same membership from the 1904 season.

The league discussed moving from Class D to Class C which would have raised the salary limit from $800 to $1000. Ultimately this did not happen, but teams were urged to follow the salary limit for the 1905 season in order for the league to continue to survive. Financially, President Norton claimed that “money was not scarce”, but also said “no towns made money” in 1905 due to the new ballparks. Even in 1905 owners were claiming poverty. The season was also now 126 games and clubs had a $200 guarantee to finish the season. The Iowa League was ready for season number two.

The Iowa League teams spent April preparing for the season by playing exhibition games against various teams of different leagues. The two most common leagues the teams played against were the Class A Western Association and the Class B Three I League, both significant steps up from the Class D Iowa League. Three I opponents included Davenport (split with Oskaloosa), Cedar Rapids (lost to Burlington twice and Oskaloosa once), and Rock Island (lost to Oskaloosa). The Western Association Milwaukee and Des Moines franchises played against Oskaloosa, although the results of the games were not found. Burlington found time to play both major league Chicago teams, losing to the Cubs 6-0 with no record of the score against the White Sox.

Unfortunately for the league, the same problem that plagued season one asserted itself in season two: poor umpiring. Jack Flynn started the umpiring concerns by simply not showing up to games he was scheduled to ump. A May game between Marshalltown and Waterloo was umped by the players due to his absence which remained a “mystery” until he returned in June, according to the Marshalltown Times. A month later, Flynn, who was captain of the umpires, was suspended for not showing up to umpire a game played by Ottumwa (and likely Waterloo as the Waterloo Courier reported this). His disappearance was never explained. He did make a contribution to umpiring, when he showed up. During a game, Flynn called balls with his left hand and a strike with his right hand. Fans were able to understand the call, even if they were unable to hear.

The most polarizing umpire was Quigg. Waterloo and Fort Dodge claimed that he was the best umpire in the league, while Boone and Waterloo refused to play when he umpired. Quigg was criticized for missing a balk in the 10th inning in a game which hurt Keokuk. The Marshalltown Times blamed Quigg for two losses Marshalltown had to Keokuk (“deliberately stole victories”). The negative reaction must have been enough because he was fired by President Norton in June. Quigg wasn’t the only umpire to get the ax. Ed Fleming, a former Burlington outfielder who was appointed in June to replace Quigg, was just as horrid as Quigg. By the end of June, the Waterloo Courier claimed that there was “considerable dissatisfaction” with Fleming and that he was “not good in balls and strikes”. In July, the Courier wrote a scathing review of Fleming saying he “robbed” Waterloo of victory and called him the “worst umpire who ever handled an indicator”. The Courier continued “he stutters, stammers, and blunders over his decisions, invariably saying what he does not mean” and then “sticks to his blunders”. They continued “he is a positive failure as an umpire and if President Norton wishes to break up the Iowa League he has only to appoint a few more officials such as Fleming to do it.” In a reprieve from the drama, notable evangelist and former major league player Billy Sunday umpired a game between Keokuk and Boone.

The games would go on – bad umpiring and all. May 5th was opening day: Ottumwa beat Boone 10-3, Oskaloosa was victorious over Fort Dodge 5-3, Marshalltown downed Keokuk 8-4, and Waterloo edged Burlington 2-1. Fan interest was high to start the year as 2300 people attended an early game between Marshalltown and Burlington. The defending champions Ottumwa started out hot with a 5-1 record, while Fort Dodge sank to the bottom by losing their first 6 games. The southern teams had an early advantage as they all started at home for the first part of May, before the northern teams were able to have some home cooking. This would spark Fort Dodge as they won 17 straight games after those opening 6 games and rocketed to the top of the standings. It wasn’t all good times for Fort Dodge, however, as their box office was broken into with bats and gloves stolen. Marshalltown was in 2nd place after winning 8 of 9, to finish the month with a 14-8 mark. Ottumwa was in 3rd at 12-11, after stumbling through a 5-11 stretch. Waterloo was in 4th with an 11-13 record, while Boone was in 5th with a 10-12 record, which included a 6 game win streak. Keokuk was right behind them at 10-13. Oskaloosa (8-13) and Burlington (8-14) picked up right where they left off the previous year – in the basement. Burlington ended the month with an 8 game losing streak, only to be outdone by Oskaloosa who finished the month on a 9 game slide.

Sources
Council Bluffs Nonpareil, Oskaloosa Herald, Davenport Times, Cedar Rapids Gazette, Waterloo Courier, Marshalltown Times, Sioux City Journal, Ottumwa Courier, Clinton Herald, Quad City Times, Davenport Star, Muscatine Times

This article is copyright Mike Comfort and used with his permission. You can read more at his Substack by clicking HERE.

Mike Comfort is an Oskaloosa native as well as a baseball and history buff. He resides in Oskaloosa and is an educator and coach.