Lexington Illinois Baseball Great - Ed Kinsella
(May 2007)
“There is no other game that can provide the thrills of a tense baseball game, and in which the unexpected happens so frequently. That’s the reason baseball has lasted through so many generations.” Ed Kinsella
As we look around our small town and see the diamonds filled with ball players of all ages, shapes, sizes and genders on these lovely spring days of 2007, our memories go back to a Lexington character who helped influence our love of “the national pastime”…………BASEBALL! Hope you enjoy the story!
Rube Kinsella
Edward William Kinsella was a bonifide Lexington farm boy who made the professional baseball ranks in 1905 with the Pittsburg Pirates of the National League.
In the 1890s Lexington’s baseball rivalries were played at the “Old Dawson Park” This is where Ed Kinsella, and others like Noah Henline, John and Bill Turnipseed, Melvin Barnard, Bert Franklin, Bert Stevens, Billy Bold, Charlie Hibbs, and Billy Lawrence exercised their talents. Most progressed only to either the muni or Three-I League level.
As told in an undated “Young’s Yarns” 1976 column in the Bloomington, Illinois Daily Pantagraph
FIRST TO REACH MAJORS
Edward Kinsella, who went on to his reward last week was the first student who graduated from the ISNU diamond to the majors. Some will claim the late Clark Calvin Griffith had that distinction, but the last time the long time owner of the Washington Senators was here, he told me at the time he pitched for the ISNU team against Charlie (Old Hoss) Radburn, that he was actually a student in Normal High School at the time, and that he had never attended a class at ISNU. That was not unusual in the 80's when a fancy booking was arranged like the classical battles between the Redbirds and Titans, for as a matter of fact, Radbourn had never attended a class at Wesleyan either.
"SCOUT" CHARLES HALL
There was a little smoke shop on Normal’s North Street and the proprietor, Charlie Hall, was a close friend of Frank “Cap” Dillon, who managed the Los Angeles club in the original Pacific Coast League, and after Hall had seen Kinsella as a gangling farm boy off the sandlots of Lexington throw for Bill Connors [manager of Bloomington Bloomers] at the old south side arena in Bloomington in the Three-Eye League, he tipped Dillon off to Kinsella’s abilities, and it wasn’t long until Ed was throwing strikes in the Pacific Coast League, then the top minor league in the country. Kinsella did so well in the Triple-A circuit that he was soon sold to the Pittsburg Pirates, owned by Barney Dreyfuss at the time.”
What Barney Dreyfuss saw might be the incident described in this article from an old undated newspaper clipping in Helen Kinsella Killian's scrapbook. (Some of the words couldn't be deciphered where the paper had torn, but I put in my best guess.)
“—Kinsella going to Toledo means that he will have the pleasure of again meeting the man who tested him for fast company. Last fall the Pittsburg club arranged to play a Sunday game at Columbus. Kinsella was sent to the slab for a tryout. Billy Clymer [who only played in 3 games with 11 at bats with the 1891 Philadelphia team of the American Association] caught sight of the bean pole going to the hill and let out a shout of joy. Running up to the coaching box Clymer brushed the occupant out of the way, “G’wan, here is my meat.” And then he started. All kinds of shouts, quips, antics, (even to the famous) and standing on the head stunts, came from the noisy William Clymer. Never before had Kinsella ever run into anything like that. He was never in many circuses. Here was a free one. He could not keep his eye on the Columbus clown and the plate at the same time. Walks came thick and fast. The more promenades, the more stunts from Clymer. Finally Kin began to get red in the face. The Premiers watched him. Was the tall sycamore game enough to stand the gauntlet of fire? After the fourth hand had been handed a comp to first, the Pittsburg men were amazed to notice the sky scraper hand the ball to an infielder, run over to the coaching box, point his finger at Clymer and into his ears words to this effect: “Darn you, if you don’t stop that I will kick you all over this field. I am in here to make a living out of baseball just like you are. Play fair to a man who is trying to get there or take chances of getting a rib or two broken. And maybe you think I can’t do it.” Kinsella glared at Clymer in such a manner that William quailed. Perhaps this big farmer could go some in an off-the-chart affair. At any rate Clymer smiled and walked to the bench. Edward Kinsella returned to the slab and showed the boys that he could whip the ball over the plate, and everything but the necessary essential of baseball experience. Owner Dreyfuss witnessed Clymer’s downfall. He vowed that any old time some baseball player wanted a licking, let him try something when Kinsella was around.”
The following paragraph was found in an old copy of the Pontiac Sentinel, page 3 column 1 of Friday, August 4, 1905:
Two Bloomington baseball players are slated to graduate into American league company. The deal for Godwin has been closed for $1,000 instead of $750 and Jim Collins is after Ed Kinsella. A representative of that club will watch the “Farmer Boy Wonder” work at Peoria, and if he shows form, the Boston team may offer the $1,500 asked by the Bloomington management. Kinsella is a brother of T. Kinsella, formerly of Pontiac and is quite well known here.
In 1905 Kinsella appeared in three major league games, started 2 of them, totaling 17 innings, and an ERA of 2.65 for the Pirates. This team, 96 - 57, finished in second place behind John McGraw’s New York Giants, 105 - 48. The Pirates’ team was managed by a future Hall of Fame member, Fred Clarke, and featured the famous Honus Wagner. In this “Dead Ball Era” trick deliveries like the spitball and various scuffed-ball tactics made for pitching dominance. Even the song “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” was penned in this era. Kinsella was a contemporary of these well-known National League players, Christy Mathewson, Cy Young, and the famous trio of Cubs fame, Tinkers to Evers to Chance.
It took five years for Ed Kinsella’s return to the majors, this time with the St. Louis Browns, the perennial doormat of the American League. His only career win came in 1910, having pitched in 10 games for 50 innings with an ERA of 3.78. The Browns again finished in last place, but remember they were playing against teams who had star players such as Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Chief Bender, Walter Johnson, and Nap Lajoie.
Story as relayed to me in a recent visit with Father Tom Maloney.....
Even at 70 years of age, Ed Kinsella had something on his pitches. Father Tom Maloney related a story of playing catch with his Uncle Ed Kinsella in the 1950s.
Tommy played ball in school and was a good athlete. His dad took Tommy out to Ed Kinsella’s house to talk baseball. They took a catcher’s mask and glove with them. His dad said he was one of the few people who could catch Ed’s pitches. He took the glove and caught balls, while Ed pitched. Then they asked if Tommy wanted to try catching. He figured it would be easy to catch this 70-something-year old man’s balls. The first few pitches went fine, and then Ed asked if he wanted to see the knuckle ball. Tommy found the ball was impossible to catch. It hit him in the thigh, in the head; he just kept missing it. The pitches weren’t real fast, but the ball wobbled, and just couldn’t be caught. Even in his 70’s, Ed was still a good pitcher! He was tall and lanky, and had big hands. The ball just disappeared in his hands.
And Ed was famous enough to be
noted in Bill North's book ……
Edward attended the Union School of Blue Mound Township and the Gregory School at Gridley, Illinois. He then entered Normal University. He taught in the county schools for four years after his course in Normal. For ten years from 1904, Edward played professional baseball and in that field he became known in all the cities of the Three Eye League. He was a pitcher for the Pittsburg Pirates and the old St. Louis Browns. After quitting active work in baseball, Ed operated a restaurant in Bloomington. Since 1919, he has been operating a farm near Towanda, Illinois engaged in livestock raising.
Fred Young recounts a meeting with Kinsella.
Years after quitting baseball, Ed was a devout follower of our national pastime and followed the development of many youngsters, but he enjoyed more than anything else, outside of his own family, reminiscing about his days in baseball. “It gives a man something to think about and maybe that’s the reason I celebrated my 96th birthday. There is no other sport that is comparable to baseball, and I would do the same thing again, if I were to live my life over.”
Edward William Kinsella 1880-1976
(We have a few more statistical items that we may be able to add here, so consider this a partially finished piece.)