Volume 11 , Issue 32

Looking Back ... 1904 Friends University Baseball

Back in 1904, while Grandpa Bill McGill was playing baseball at Friends University, Constance Estella Warwick was in Alva, Oklahoma Territory going to Northwestern Normal and teaching in rural schools in the area and communicating through letters with John C. McClure.

We found this little song ditty amongst Grandpa's baseball clippings:

Quakers Baseball Song (Friends University)
Hi Quaker, Ho Quaker, Come along with me,
Hi Quaker, Ho Quaker, Hi Quaker ball boys,
Sweeter than honey at a huckle-berry bee,
Hi Quaker, Ho Quaker ball boys.

[Same as first except third line.]

3rd line - 2nd, verse.
Burpee in the left field, Shorty in the right,

3rd, line - 3rd, verse.
Ginder on the third base, Texas on the stop,

3rd, line - 4th, verse.
McCully on home plate, McGill in the box,

3rd, line - 5th, verse.
Boon-ee in the center field catching all the flies,

3rd, line 6th, verse.
Rich is on the second base put e'm out at first,

3rd, line - 7th, verse.
Jefferies on first base, mighty sure and good.
We'll never come up, come up,
We'll never come up, come up,
We'll never come up, come all the way up to Fairmount.
They haven't got any team, their pitcher is minus the steam,
And for all their good batters, they've got soda crackers,
And they, er all the good men on the team.

Bill McGill left Alva, O.T. in 1903 and attended Friends University for three seasons and then went to Washburn and then on to the Kansas State League and later to the Texas League from whence he went to the majors.

It was late 1907 September and McGill returned to Alva to go into the furniture business and found little time thereafter to devote to organized baseball. He did take a short fling in the old Western Association with Guthrie and also pitched a few more games for Alva.

During McGill's brief major league career one whacky sportswriter dubbed McGill "The pitcher with the millian dollar arm and the ten cent head." BUT ... The allegation was decidedly unfair as McGill was considered one of the smartest pitchers of his time.

McGill denies being smart, "I didn't have an ounce of brains. I can see it now. If I had been smart I wouldn't have spent seven of my best years pitching college ball for nothing when I could have been drawing down big money in the majors." McGill grimaced and said, "Daw gawn-it!" McGill began college pitching at 21 and was near 30 when he reached the majors.   |  View or Add Comments (0 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

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