Athletes in Khaki
Organization teams were formed and equipped at Custer. The schedule was made up at divisional headquarters. The 329th aggregation was coached and managed by Captain Moore and Lieutenant Casey. Sergeant Hydon, of Battery A, was captain. Twelve games were played with seven resulting in our favor.
The line-up was as follows:
Player Battery Position
Doran Headquarters 2nd and 3rd
Bostwick Headquarters Pitcher
Miller Headquarters Field
Lyons A Shortstop
Hydon A First
Fraleigh A Right Field
Voytko C Catcher
Sullivan D Third
Kurkowski D Second
Erkfitz D Field & Catch.
Carpenter D Field
Ward E Third
Von Dette E Pitcher
Danowski E Utility
Carney F Field
Sprague F Field
Renny F Field
Games and Results
Score
Opponents Opp. 329th
339th Infantry......................................5 4
328th Field Artillery..............................3 5
328th Field Artillery..............................5 3
330th Field Artillery..............................7 12
330th Field Artillery.............................11 0
337th Infantry......................................4 7
337th Infantry......................................3 8
338th Infantry.....................................10 9
310th Ammunition Train.......................3 1
310th Supply Train...............................1 4
310th Supply Train...............................2 7
Hayes Wheel Co. (10 innings)..............1 2
While at Custer Battery B produced the best team in the regiment and trimmed Headquarters Company, the supposed-to-be champions, by a score of 10 to 6. Their line-up was as follows:
Zoltowski, c; Swayne-Barrett, p; Seefeld, 1st; Armstrong, 2nd; Reiger, ss; Gloetzner, 3rd; Kogelshatz, lf; Barrett, cf; Laetz, rf. Their first game was played with Battery A before they were organized and had been able to get a workout together, consequently Swayne was hit pretty hard for the first few innings but tightened up and held them to a final score of 10 to 9. Later they defeated Battery D by a score of 10 to 9 and had to play eleven innings to do it. This was a fine game from start to finish. Their last opponents were the uniformed team from Headquarters Company which had defeated all of the other teams in the regiment. Here again Swayne was walloped during the early innings and the score stood 6 to 0 at the end of the fifth. Harvey set his jaws and spit on the ball at the beginning of the sixth and from then on B began to show Headquarters a few points of the game. Swayne retired them, one, two, three, and B marched off at the end with a victory of 10 to 6.
* * * *
In the brigade track meet at Pont-a-Mousson, France, Battery B came across with the goods and won the majority of points for the 329th. The 330th won the meet easily but B pulled enough points to put the 329th in second place. The 328th made a poor showing. The men who won points were Zoltowski, third in the shot put; Barrett, second in the 100 meter dash; Sharrick, second in the 220 meter dash; McKee, fourth in the high jump; and Barrett, second in the broad jump. Out of a total of thirteen points won by the regiment, B gets credit for ten, the other three going to Battery A.
* * * *
Joseph Cyrill Hubacek, who is one of the members of Battery E, was commonly known in the bowling world as “300 Joe.” He won this soubriquet by making five perfect scores in the course of a few years. In addition to this, he is the only bowler who has made two “300" scores in one day. He also holds the record of 822 pins for three consecutive games.
Joe started bowling in 1906 in Paradise Park, Chicago, in a hall owned and operated by his father. The sport of bowling seemed to have come natural to him and it was not long before he was one of the best bowlers in the Windy City. Most of Joe’s early bowling was done when wooden balls were in style but Joe says that the bowling game has its strategy as well as the army and that in 1914 he sprung a mysterious ball on the Chicago bowlers, in Mussey’s hall. Due to its unusual performance it was afterwards called the “do-do ball.” This mysterious ball was made of wood with a heavy plug in it. It had about the same effect on the ten pins, in Mussey’s alley, as a German 77 has on the tile roof of a French chateau. He made his first “300" score with this ball.
Since 1914 Joe has participated in various bowling tournaments in the United States and has always been able to down enough pins to keep him among the leaders. He has met the big bowlers in the game, among these being “Jimmy Smith,” the worlds champion bowler, and Count Gengler, the most artistic bowler. The latter is from Luxembourg.
In addition to the numerous souvenirs that Joe collected while sojourning with the A. E. F. In France, he claims to have a collection in the States, valued in the neighborhood of a thousand dollars, which he won in twenty-four hour endurance and individual bowling matches. Previous to his army career, Joe was employed as bowling instructor at the Detroit Athletic Club. Joe still thinks he is good and is willing to take on any good bowlers for money, marbles or chalk. He can be reached at the D. A. C., Detroit, Michigan.
* * * *
Regimental Color Sergeant L. A. Charbneau can boast that he is as good a fistic artist as ever fell over the ropes. He has fought in all parts of the globe and managed to drag home three belts. He enlisted in the Navy in 1908 in order to be in some light employment where he could recuperate his health. While there he practiced pugilistic maneuvers and knocked out eight comers in the service.
He then took on “Rufe” Turner, who was in the public eyes, and was resting on the mat at the end of the fourth round. This made Sarge take notice and renew his energies. On New Yea’s eve, 1911 he put away Watkins, in nine rounds, for the championship of the Pacific Fleet. Watkins was from the “Colorado” and Charbneau from the “West Virginia.” This was followed by two score minor victories, when he considered himself in shape to meet Cooley for the championship of the Asiatic Station. On June 7, 1912, they fought on Manila and Charbneau won in the fourth round of a six-round scheduled bout.
A few months later Sarge knocked out Chief Lewis at Manila in the sixth round of a match scheduled for fifteen, copping the middle-weight championship of the Orient. Typhoid fever laid him up shortly after this and when he again met Lewis he had only been out of bed two weeks. As a result Lewis knocked Charbneau down fourteen times in twelve rounds. Charbneau tried to stay fifteen for the purse but couldn’t stand the “gaff.” He then reverted to vaudeville, traveling with Bob Fitzsimmons and Frank Moran. His reputation kept him from engaging very actively in regimental boxing, except in exhibition work.
* * * *
Saddler Thomas Knight, “A,” was a jockey for five years, ‘07-‘12, and the owner of “Prosper,” the unbeaten two-year-old at New Orleans. He also played football with Dixon College, Dixon, Illinois.
* * * *
Corporal John Lagron, “A,” University of Detroit baseball, football and basketball class teams, ‘10. Played with the “Heralds” for four years, the champions of Indiana, football, ‘11-‘12-‘13. Coached the “Records” ‘15-’16-‘17. They were the junior champions of Detroit in ‘15-‘16.
* * * *
Sergeant Leo Von Dette played baseball with the regimental team at Custer. Was their star pitcher. Also played ball with Arthur Hill High and basketball with the Saginaw Athletic Club. Von is a regular 6-foot athlete. Also was on the regimental basketball team. Hails from M. A. C.
* * * *
Private Carl S. Huddlestone played baseball on the regimental team in Custer. He is an all-round athlete of stocky build. Also played on the regimental basketball. Played baseball with Macedonia High School and basketball and football with the “Y” team at Macedonia.
* * * *
Sergeant Daniel F. Sheedy, “A,” played on the championship soccer team of Ireland. He won the shot put in the regimental field meet.
* * * *
Bugler Oliver A. Thorpe spent some time on the Pacific coast as an amateur lightweight boxer.
* * * *
Mechanic Erick O. Horde, “A,” has annexed several prizes for wrestling, hockey and rifle shooting.
* * * *
Corporal Thomas Fraleigh, “A.” was a member of the Port Huron baseball team in the Huron County League.
* * * *
Being handicapped by the burdens of Instrumental Sergeant in Battery D and also being a modest sort of chap, for a sergeant, Rell A., Ambrose didn’t air his capabilities as an athlete very much and there may be a great many men in the regiment and even some in his own battery who do not know that as a wrestler Rell was a bear.
Of course, while attending a small down-state high school he was showered with more than his share of glory and then when he went to Ypsi Normal in ‘14 and ‘15 he won more than a wife along with what educational propaganda penetrated, which was extremely creditable in itself. It was as a quarterback he learned how to “Snap to it” and as a pitcher to “Pass the buck.” When it came to wrestling he simply had the college off its feet. He made his first big hit by flooring the Polish wonder at Albion in 22 minutes.
After finishing college in the summer of ‘15 he entered the professional field and stayed on the mat with Joe Smith at Coldwater for one hour without a decision. He was next booked with London who had the odds his way to throw the “College Boy” two times in an hour. Little Rell had him face up playing the part of a cushion at the end of eighteen minutes. After many other successes his career was ended when the draft blew his way.
* * * *
The University of Wisconsin is represented in Battery F by Ralph Youngren who took a prominent part in inter-class and frat athletics. We are also indebted to him for some good cartoons.
* * * *
Mike Scavone, the blond pugilist, was vaunted by Battery C as one of the best ever. He easily put away Sergeant Wortkow of his own battery and Sergeant Meuer of “E” while at Custer. He brought the reputation of winning two out of three professional bouts at Windsor when he came to the army.
He also holds several medals, won at Belle Isle, while representing the Detroit “Y” as a swimmer and long distance runner. Four miles was his favorite distance for funning and ten miles for swimming. He has on several occasions swum around Belle Isle.
* * * *
No organization is complete without its Hoosiers. Sergeant M. F. Wetzel of the Medical Detachment, while attending Weidner College, ‘15-‘17, combined his lyrics with three years of basketball, three years of track, specializing in the high jump and 220-yard dash, and two years of football.
* * * *
Sergeant Herbert W. Butler was the first Corporal and the first Sergeant made in Battery D. He handled the stables, the horses and the police with equal vigor and with habitual strong-arm methods. He does not claim to be a professional boxer although he did amateur and exhibition boxing for ten years. He strips at 185 pounds and is a Canadian.
He met Mike Twin Sullivan of the 76th Army at Buffalo in 1911 under the auspices of the Argonaut Rowing Club of Toronto and boxed six rounds to a draw decision. He also encountered Patty Lavin, the welterweight champion, at Buffalo, with the same result. Butler was a member of the Simcoe hockey team which won the Ontario Hockey Association championship in 1906. He also took active part in the activities of the Toronto Rowing Club. The brigade was represented by him at the field day last April.
* * * *
Flint, Michigan, has always been noted as a rendezvous for athletes and the well-known druggist, Kilbourn, of the Medical Detachment, was no exception. With rare popularity wherever he went Glen made many fast friends of the baseball fans by picking up the bounding pill at short, and in the Army by passing them out at the infirmary. He played with the Flint aggregation in the Michigan State League and with the Buick nine. He also toured with the notorious Tom Stephens’ sphere pounders, playing independent ball for Otsego, backed by a million dollars and as many enthusiastic fans.
* * * *
The University of Michigan sent a man to our Medical Detachment by the name of W. N. Taylor, as elegantly proportioned a youth as ever was that fabulous Leander of Hellespont, and no mean athlete, having played two years of inter-class football, filing the position of right half, at which position he made a reputation while playing at Flint High. One year of basketball at the University also helped to put him in shape for Army activities.
And it might be mentioned in passing that Taylor was an acting Captain once. He was appointed by Judge Durant, of the Second District Board at Flint, when the June contingent were leaving for Custer.
* * * *
Especially while we were at the front was Corporal Hulburd, of Battery A, able to use his athletic proficiency in the fording of roads and swamps and progressing through the proverbial mud of France with alacrity. While he was a law student at Valparaiso College he won decorations for fancy swimming and diving. He carried away the medals when the college met the Gary swimming team and the Evanston Swimming Club. He spent one season in Vaudeville, meeting with success.
Hulburd was with the 163rd Infantry during the border trouble and so came to the Artillery with some military experience.
* * * *
Lieutenant C. L. Barnum, of Supply Company, first gained his athletic prowess by playing baseball with a championship high school team in southern Wisconsin. During the fall of 1915 he played left field for the Tokyo Americans while in Japan in the capacity of English instructor, teaching in the government schools. This team met a large number of college and professional teams of the world, including Waseda University of Japan and the University of Chicago.
* * * *
Private Morris Rosenberg is one of the “mat kings” of Battery C. He was transferred to our regiment at Camp Mills, bringing with him a string of scalps from Camp Upton. He wrestled professionally in the east for four years, his more prominent matches being pulled off for the Brooklyn “Y” at Brooklyn, which is his home city. Most of the New Yorkers with whom he grappled fell easy prey.
* * * *
As a baseball player Sergeant Lyons, Battery A, was as good a shortstop as ever “rolled ‘em” in a cigar maker’s league. He bounded all over the northwest passing out Flor de Nispls to the enthusiastic rooters who cheered the team to a championship. While he was still “rolling his own” in Springfield, Ill., H. S., he captained the nine for two years.
* * * *
Sergeant Lawrence A. Ward. This regimental favorite, proudly owned as the celebrity of Battery D, represented the battery and the regiment in the fight contests at Custer. He took the decision from Sergeant Dibble at Battle Creek in four rounds, among several other good bouts at the “Y” and the K. C. Hall.
Ward spent several years with the big boys, hobnobbing and sparring with Jack Doyle, Joe Rivers, Johnny Kilbane, Bud Anderson and Leach Cross. He fought “Coney” Kelly, of East St. Louis, at the Arabic Athletic Club in 1907 for six rounds with a draw decision. He was given a decision over “Dummy” Shank, at St. Louis, in six rounds. He met Young Corbett at the Mound City Athletic Club of St. Louis and Lewis at the National Athletic Club in Denver.
* * * *
When it comes to pitching, “Bill” Carpenter, of Battery D, is as good a twirler as ever disputed an umpire. Formerly with the Southern Michigan League, Carpenter did some excellent work. He pitched on the regimental team at Custer and played regimental and battery basketball. He played several seasons of professional ball at Detroit and Chattanooga. Wall-scaling was one of his favorite sports, acquired while in the Army.
* * * *
Captain Clarence Landgrebe, of Regimental Dentistry, found that his athletic training stood him in good stead. For the first time in their lives a great many men entered a good dental institution and an enormous amount of work had to be done. A large number of Uncle Sam’s soldiers were given numerous treatments. The Captain, while studying at the Western Reserve University, Cleveland, participated in three years of varsity athletics, playing left half of the gridiron, first base on the diamond, center on the basketball floor and specialized in the broad jump and 100-yard dash in track.
* * * *
A very interesting wrestling match was called off on account of “mess” while we were bivouaced at Maure, en route from Messac-Guipry to Camp Cöetquidan. Private I. M. Henry, of Battery D, attempted to throw Sergeant Ambrose of the same organization. He did not know that Rell was a professional and met with serious impediments. After about twelve minutes the mess whistle terminated the match. Henry was a member of the St. Louis “Y” and has done considerable amateur wrestling. He also spent a week in Jacksonville doing exhibition work in vaudeville.
* * * *
One of Battery D’s machine gunners, Private Gramas, is known coast to coast in the circus world as one of the most daring of the aerial acrobats. For ten years he defied death with his flying casting act. He opened three seasons in Milwaukee with Gallmer Bros.’ circus and has been connected with several of the best carnival companies. Semi-professional wrestling in Chicago, for the Douglas Center Athletic Association, was also one of his pleasures. He is a wizard of the baseball diamond and was enthusiastic in battery athletics. He went on the mat with Hobbs at the New Year’s entertainment given by his battery and received the decision.
* * * *
Sanilac County, Michigan, sent an athlete to our Veterinary Department. He was the star first-sacker for the Brown City High School. He was also one of the official umpires for the McKinley Club of West Detroit. Veterinarian Joseph E. Sade is a sport fan.
* * * *
Our jovial Captain, Junius H. Moore, of Battery A, has caused more than one crowd of baseball fans to break into spontaneous applause or convulsive laughter over his spectacular playing or his ever-present corncob pipe. He played professional ball for three years, 1901-1903, while with the Mapleton Athletic Club of Indianapolis, while attending school in that city. During 1906-07
he caught in the Cotton State League.
He was regimental athletic officer at Custer until he went to Fort Sill, when he was succeeded by Lieutenant Casey. He was also an athletic director at Fort Sheridan. He is without rival the original pep producer and much of the athletic spirit which developed in the regiment was due to his efforts.
* * * *
One of our best know regimental athletes is Sergeant Hydon, of Battery A. He participated to a small extent in athletics while a freshman at the University of Michigan. While attending high school in Skaneateles, New York, he played first base for five seasons. The team held the championship of the central New York high school for two of these seasons. Hydon entered and carried away his share of points whenever the regiment held a track meet. He specialized in the dashes.
* * * *
Chester Gurskey, of D, is always ready for five minutes of pitch and catch or for a regular game against any opponents. He comes from Allentown, Pa., where he played in the Blue Mountain League for two years. He also played for Flint one season in the Southern Michigan League. He can play any position with credit but prefers third base. It might be mentioned, too, that Gurskey is quite a pool “shark.” He ran 42 balls in a straight call shot match in a club tournament, taking second money.
The line-up was as follows:
Player Battery Position
Doran Headquarters 2nd and 3rd
Bostwick Headquarters Pitcher
Miller Headquarters Field
Lyons A Shortstop
Hydon A First
Fraleigh A Right Field
Voytko C Catcher
Sullivan D Third
Kurkowski D Second
Erkfitz D Field & Catch.
Carpenter D Field
Ward E Third
Von Dette E Pitcher
Danowski E Utility
Carney F Field
Sprague F Field
Renny F Field
Games and Results
Score
Opponents Opp. 329th
339th Infantry......................................5 4
328th Field Artillery..............................3 5
328th Field Artillery..............................5 3
330th Field Artillery..............................7 12
330th Field Artillery.............................11 0
337th Infantry......................................4 7
337th Infantry......................................3 8
338th Infantry.....................................10 9
310th Ammunition Train.......................3 1
310th Supply Train...............................1 4
310th Supply Train...............................2 7
Hayes Wheel Co. (10 innings)..............1 2
While at Custer Battery B produced the best team in the regiment and trimmed Headquarters Company, the supposed-to-be champions, by a score of 10 to 6. Their line-up was as follows:
Zoltowski, c; Swayne-Barrett, p; Seefeld, 1st; Armstrong, 2nd; Reiger, ss; Gloetzner, 3rd; Kogelshatz, lf; Barrett, cf; Laetz, rf. Their first game was played with Battery A before they were organized and had been able to get a workout together, consequently Swayne was hit pretty hard for the first few innings but tightened up and held them to a final score of 10 to 9. Later they defeated Battery D by a score of 10 to 9 and had to play eleven innings to do it. This was a fine game from start to finish. Their last opponents were the uniformed team from Headquarters Company which had defeated all of the other teams in the regiment. Here again Swayne was walloped during the early innings and the score stood 6 to 0 at the end of the fifth. Harvey set his jaws and spit on the ball at the beginning of the sixth and from then on B began to show Headquarters a few points of the game. Swayne retired them, one, two, three, and B marched off at the end with a victory of 10 to 6.
* * * *
In the brigade track meet at Pont-a-Mousson, France, Battery B came across with the goods and won the majority of points for the 329th. The 330th won the meet easily but B pulled enough points to put the 329th in second place. The 328th made a poor showing. The men who won points were Zoltowski, third in the shot put; Barrett, second in the 100 meter dash; Sharrick, second in the 220 meter dash; McKee, fourth in the high jump; and Barrett, second in the broad jump. Out of a total of thirteen points won by the regiment, B gets credit for ten, the other three going to Battery A.
* * * *
Joseph Cyrill Hubacek, who is one of the members of Battery E, was commonly known in the bowling world as “300 Joe.” He won this soubriquet by making five perfect scores in the course of a few years. In addition to this, he is the only bowler who has made two “300" scores in one day. He also holds the record of 822 pins for three consecutive games.
Joe started bowling in 1906 in Paradise Park, Chicago, in a hall owned and operated by his father. The sport of bowling seemed to have come natural to him and it was not long before he was one of the best bowlers in the Windy City. Most of Joe’s early bowling was done when wooden balls were in style but Joe says that the bowling game has its strategy as well as the army and that in 1914 he sprung a mysterious ball on the Chicago bowlers, in Mussey’s hall. Due to its unusual performance it was afterwards called the “do-do ball.” This mysterious ball was made of wood with a heavy plug in it. It had about the same effect on the ten pins, in Mussey’s alley, as a German 77 has on the tile roof of a French chateau. He made his first “300" score with this ball.
Since 1914 Joe has participated in various bowling tournaments in the United States and has always been able to down enough pins to keep him among the leaders. He has met the big bowlers in the game, among these being “Jimmy Smith,” the worlds champion bowler, and Count Gengler, the most artistic bowler. The latter is from Luxembourg.
In addition to the numerous souvenirs that Joe collected while sojourning with the A. E. F. In France, he claims to have a collection in the States, valued in the neighborhood of a thousand dollars, which he won in twenty-four hour endurance and individual bowling matches. Previous to his army career, Joe was employed as bowling instructor at the Detroit Athletic Club. Joe still thinks he is good and is willing to take on any good bowlers for money, marbles or chalk. He can be reached at the D. A. C., Detroit, Michigan.
* * * *
Regimental Color Sergeant L. A. Charbneau can boast that he is as good a fistic artist as ever fell over the ropes. He has fought in all parts of the globe and managed to drag home three belts. He enlisted in the Navy in 1908 in order to be in some light employment where he could recuperate his health. While there he practiced pugilistic maneuvers and knocked out eight comers in the service.He then took on “Rufe” Turner, who was in the public eyes, and was resting on the mat at the end of the fourth round. This made Sarge take notice and renew his energies. On New Yea’s eve, 1911 he put away Watkins, in nine rounds, for the championship of the Pacific Fleet. Watkins was from the “Colorado” and Charbneau from the “West Virginia.” This was followed by two score minor victories, when he considered himself in shape to meet Cooley for the championship of the Asiatic Station. On June 7, 1912, they fought on Manila and Charbneau won in the fourth round of a six-round scheduled bout.
A few months later Sarge knocked out Chief Lewis at Manila in the sixth round of a match scheduled for fifteen, copping the middle-weight championship of the Orient. Typhoid fever laid him up shortly after this and when he again met Lewis he had only been out of bed two weeks. As a result Lewis knocked Charbneau down fourteen times in twelve rounds. Charbneau tried to stay fifteen for the purse but couldn’t stand the “gaff.” He then reverted to vaudeville, traveling with Bob Fitzsimmons and Frank Moran. His reputation kept him from engaging very actively in regimental boxing, except in exhibition work.
* * * *
Saddler Thomas Knight, “A,” was a jockey for five years, ‘07-‘12, and the owner of “Prosper,” the unbeaten two-year-old at New Orleans. He also played football with Dixon College, Dixon, Illinois.
* * * *
Corporal John Lagron, “A,” University of Detroit baseball, football and basketball class teams, ‘10. Played with the “Heralds” for four years, the champions of Indiana, football, ‘11-‘12-‘13. Coached the “Records” ‘15-’16-‘17. They were the junior champions of Detroit in ‘15-‘16.
* * * *
Sergeant Leo Von Dette played baseball with the regimental team at Custer. Was their star pitcher. Also played ball with Arthur Hill High and basketball with the Saginaw Athletic Club. Von is a regular 6-foot athlete. Also was on the regimental basketball team. Hails from M. A. C.
* * * *
Private Carl S. Huddlestone played baseball on the regimental team in Custer. He is an all-round athlete of stocky build. Also played on the regimental basketball. Played baseball with Macedonia High School and basketball and football with the “Y” team at Macedonia.
* * * *
Sergeant Daniel F. Sheedy, “A,” played on the championship soccer team of Ireland. He won the shot put in the regimental field meet.
* * * *
Bugler Oliver A. Thorpe spent some time on the Pacific coast as an amateur lightweight boxer.
* * * *
Mechanic Erick O. Horde, “A,” has annexed several prizes for wrestling, hockey and rifle shooting.
* * * *
Corporal Thomas Fraleigh, “A.” was a member of the Port Huron baseball team in the Huron County League.
* * * *
Being handicapped by the burdens of Instrumental Sergeant in Battery D and also being a modest sort of chap, for a sergeant, Rell A., Ambrose didn’t air his capabilities as an athlete very much and there may be a great many men in the regiment and even some in his own battery who do not know that as a wrestler Rell was a bear.
Of course, while attending a small down-state high school he was showered with more than his share of glory and then when he went to Ypsi Normal in ‘14 and ‘15 he won more than a wife along with what educational propaganda penetrated, which was extremely creditable in itself. It was as a quarterback he learned how to “Snap to it” and as a pitcher to “Pass the buck.” When it came to wrestling he simply had the college off its feet. He made his first big hit by flooring the Polish wonder at Albion in 22 minutes.
After finishing college in the summer of ‘15 he entered the professional field and stayed on the mat with Joe Smith at Coldwater for one hour without a decision. He was next booked with London who had the odds his way to throw the “College Boy” two times in an hour. Little Rell had him face up playing the part of a cushion at the end of eighteen minutes. After many other successes his career was ended when the draft blew his way.
* * * *
The University of Wisconsin is represented in Battery F by Ralph Youngren who took a prominent part in inter-class and frat athletics. We are also indebted to him for some good cartoons.
* * * *
Mike Scavone, the blond pugilist, was vaunted by Battery C as one of the best ever. He easily put away Sergeant Wortkow of his own battery and Sergeant Meuer of “E” while at Custer. He brought the reputation of winning two out of three professional bouts at Windsor when he came to the army.
He also holds several medals, won at Belle Isle, while representing the Detroit “Y” as a swimmer and long distance runner. Four miles was his favorite distance for funning and ten miles for swimming. He has on several occasions swum around Belle Isle.
* * * *
No organization is complete without its Hoosiers. Sergeant M. F. Wetzel of the Medical Detachment, while attending Weidner College, ‘15-‘17, combined his lyrics with three years of basketball, three years of track, specializing in the high jump and 220-yard dash, and two years of football.
* * * *
Sergeant Herbert W. Butler was the first Corporal and the first Sergeant made in Battery D. He handled the stables, the horses and the police with equal vigor and with habitual strong-arm methods. He does not claim to be a professional boxer although he did amateur and exhibition boxing for ten years. He strips at 185 pounds and is a Canadian.
He met Mike Twin Sullivan of the 76th Army at Buffalo in 1911 under the auspices of the Argonaut Rowing Club of Toronto and boxed six rounds to a draw decision. He also encountered Patty Lavin, the welterweight champion, at Buffalo, with the same result. Butler was a member of the Simcoe hockey team which won the Ontario Hockey Association championship in 1906. He also took active part in the activities of the Toronto Rowing Club. The brigade was represented by him at the field day last April.* * * *
Flint, Michigan, has always been noted as a rendezvous for athletes and the well-known druggist, Kilbourn, of the Medical Detachment, was no exception. With rare popularity wherever he went Glen made many fast friends of the baseball fans by picking up the bounding pill at short, and in the Army by passing them out at the infirmary. He played with the Flint aggregation in the Michigan State League and with the Buick nine. He also toured with the notorious Tom Stephens’ sphere pounders, playing independent ball for Otsego, backed by a million dollars and as many enthusiastic fans.
* * * *
The University of Michigan sent a man to our Medical Detachment by the name of W. N. Taylor, as elegantly proportioned a youth as ever was that fabulous Leander of Hellespont, and no mean athlete, having played two years of inter-class football, filing the position of right half, at which position he made a reputation while playing at Flint High. One year of basketball at the University also helped to put him in shape for Army activities.
And it might be mentioned in passing that Taylor was an acting Captain once. He was appointed by Judge Durant, of the Second District Board at Flint, when the June contingent were leaving for Custer.
* * * *
Especially while we were at the front was Corporal Hulburd, of Battery A, able to use his athletic proficiency in the fording of roads and swamps and progressing through the proverbial mud of France with alacrity. While he was a law student at Valparaiso College he won decorations for fancy swimming and diving. He carried away the medals when the college met the Gary swimming team and the Evanston Swimming Club. He spent one season in Vaudeville, meeting with success.
Hulburd was with the 163rd Infantry during the border trouble and so came to the Artillery with some military experience.
* * * *
Lieutenant C. L. Barnum, of Supply Company, first gained his athletic prowess by playing baseball with a championship high school team in southern Wisconsin. During the fall of 1915 he played left field for the Tokyo Americans while in Japan in the capacity of English instructor, teaching in the government schools. This team met a large number of college and professional teams of the world, including Waseda University of Japan and the University of Chicago.
* * * *
Private Morris Rosenberg is one of the “mat kings” of Battery C. He was transferred to our regiment at Camp Mills, bringing with him a string of scalps from Camp Upton. He wrestled professionally in the east for four years, his more prominent matches being pulled off for the Brooklyn “Y” at Brooklyn, which is his home city. Most of the New Yorkers with whom he grappled fell easy prey.
* * * *
As a baseball player Sergeant Lyons, Battery A, was as good a shortstop as ever “rolled ‘em” in a cigar maker’s league. He bounded all over the northwest passing out Flor de Nispls to the enthusiastic rooters who cheered the team to a championship. While he was still “rolling his own” in Springfield, Ill., H. S., he captained the nine for two years.
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Sergeant Lawrence A. Ward. This regimental favorite, proudly owned as the celebrity of Battery D, represented the battery and the regiment in the fight contests at Custer. He took the decision from Sergeant Dibble at Battle Creek in four rounds, among several other good bouts at the “Y” and the K. C. Hall.
Ward spent several years with the big boys, hobnobbing and sparring with Jack Doyle, Joe Rivers, Johnny Kilbane, Bud Anderson and Leach Cross. He fought “Coney” Kelly, of East St. Louis, at the Arabic Athletic Club in 1907 for six rounds with a draw decision. He was given a decision over “Dummy” Shank, at St. Louis, in six rounds. He met Young Corbett at the Mound City Athletic Club of St. Louis and Lewis at the National Athletic Club in Denver.
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When it comes to pitching, “Bill” Carpenter, of Battery D, is as good a twirler as ever disputed an umpire. Formerly with the Southern Michigan League, Carpenter did some excellent work. He pitched on the regimental team at Custer and played regimental and battery basketball. He played several seasons of professional ball at Detroit and Chattanooga. Wall-scaling was one of his favorite sports, acquired while in the Army.
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Captain Clarence Landgrebe, of Regimental Dentistry, found that his athletic training stood him in good stead. For the first time in their lives a great many men entered a good dental institution and an enormous amount of work had to be done. A large number of Uncle Sam’s soldiers were given numerous treatments. The Captain, while studying at the Western Reserve University, Cleveland, participated in three years of varsity athletics, playing left half of the gridiron, first base on the diamond, center on the basketball floor and specialized in the broad jump and 100-yard dash in track.
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A very interesting wrestling match was called off on account of “mess” while we were bivouaced at Maure, en route from Messac-Guipry to Camp Cöetquidan. Private I. M. Henry, of Battery D, attempted to throw Sergeant Ambrose of the same organization. He did not know that Rell was a professional and met with serious impediments. After about twelve minutes the mess whistle terminated the match. Henry was a member of the St. Louis “Y” and has done considerable amateur wrestling. He also spent a week in Jacksonville doing exhibition work in vaudeville.
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One of Battery D’s machine gunners, Private Gramas, is known coast to coast in the circus world as one of the most daring of the aerial acrobats. For ten years he defied death with his flying casting act. He opened three seasons in Milwaukee with Gallmer Bros.’ circus and has been connected with several of the best carnival companies. Semi-professional wrestling in Chicago, for the Douglas Center Athletic Association, was also one of his pleasures. He is a wizard of the baseball diamond and was enthusiastic in battery athletics. He went on the mat with Hobbs at the New Year’s entertainment given by his battery and received the decision.
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Sanilac County, Michigan, sent an athlete to our Veterinary Department. He was the star first-sacker for the Brown City High School. He was also one of the official umpires for the McKinley Club of West Detroit. Veterinarian Joseph E. Sade is a sport fan.
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Our jovial Captain, Junius H. Moore, of Battery A, has caused more than one crowd of baseball fans to break into spontaneous applause or convulsive laughter over his spectacular playing or his ever-present corncob pipe. He played professional ball for three years, 1901-1903, while with the Mapleton Athletic Club of Indianapolis, while attending school in that city. During 1906-07
he caught in the Cotton State League.
He was regimental athletic officer at Custer until he went to Fort Sill, when he was succeeded by Lieutenant Casey. He was also an athletic director at Fort Sheridan. He is without rival the original pep producer and much of the athletic spirit which developed in the regiment was due to his efforts.
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One of our best know regimental athletes is Sergeant Hydon, of Battery A. He participated to a small extent in athletics while a freshman at the University of Michigan. While attending high school in Skaneateles, New York, he played first base for five seasons. The team held the championship of the central New York high school for two of these seasons. Hydon entered and carried away his share of points whenever the regiment held a track meet. He specialized in the dashes.
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Chester Gurskey, of D, is always ready for five minutes of pitch and catch or for a regular game against any opponents. He comes from Allentown, Pa., where he played in the Blue Mountain League for two years. He also played for Flint one season in the Southern Michigan League. He can play any position with credit but prefers third base. It might be mentioned, too, that Gurskey is quite a pool “shark.” He ran 42 balls in a straight call shot match in a club tournament, taking second money.
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