This picture of a Farrell-Cheek
baseball team is undated, and unfortunately, we do not know the name of any of
the men in the photo. An article in the Sandusky Star Journal of July 8, 1916,
reported that there was a series of ball games between the African American and
white baseball teams, both made up of Farrell-Cheek employees. The games were often
played at Huron Park. A star player on Farrell-Cheek's African American team was
center fielder John Moses.
In the 1920s, a team from Farrell-Cheek participated
in the Factory Leagues. Below is a listing of the games played, as well as
batting averages for the Farrell Cheek team up to June, 1920.
A
cartoon of the cover of this Farrell-Cheek newsletter noted that their team won the baseball championships in the Factory League in 1919 and 1920.
In the 1940s, Granville “Red” Haley
was the manager of Farrell-Cheek’s African American ball team. He had previously played on an integrated baseball
team in Bismarck, North Dakota, where one of his teammates was Satchel Paige.
While we do not have detailed records of the local baseball teams in Sandusky,
it is clear that the sport was enjoyed by many of the hard working men who put
in long hours of work at local factories during their shifts. Many of the
factory men could be seen heading to the ball park on their nights off and
weekends.
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