Morris Platte: Baseball Star, Soldier in War, Victim of Influenza

 

On the left of this photograph of the Shamrocks baseball team is Morris "Baldy" Platte, star pitcher for the 1914 Sandusky city champions. He accomplished much in his tragically short life.

Born in Sandusky in 1891, the son of Adolph and Mary, Morris Platte married Elsie Ramm when they were both teenagers. The couple had their first child in 1911, before he had turned twenty years old, and they had three more children in quick succession. (Sadly, their second child died at birth.) He supported his family in jobs that included delivering ice for the City Ice Company in town. But life wasn't all work; he had a passion for baseball, and played for teams including the Sandusky Tool Company team (below) and the Shamrocks, where he helped lead the team from the mound to the city championship.

But after the United States entered the Great War, Morris Platte chose to serve his country and joined the Army. He went to Camp Sherman in Chillicothe for training in July 1918, and quickly advanced up the ranks to Sergeant. Later, he was transferred to Fort Benjamin Harrison for continued training. It was there that he faced the enemy that would defeat him.

During the First World War, nearly as many servicemen died from influenza as from war wounds. Approximately 45,000 died from the flu; 53,400 died in combat. Sadly, Morris Platte was one of the 45,000; he died on base in Indianapolis on October 9, 1918, about one month before the end of the war.

E.H. Schlessman, Commercial Photographer

During the first quarter of the twentieth century, Edward H. Schlessman was a commercial photographer in Sandusky. On his World War I Draft Registration card, Mr. Schlessman stated that he was self-employed as both a photographer and a taxi driver.

Though he made his living by taking pictures, no known picture of him is in the historic photographic collections of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. 

Mr. Schlessman’s photos and postcards chronicled the everyday life of area residents. Ice workers and friends were captured on Sandusky Bay in this postcard from December, 1909.

     

In 1912  Schlessman took a picture of the Shamrocks, who were the champions of their baseball league that season.

Sandusky newsboys who were promoting the Saturday Evening Post were captured in this 1916 Schlessman postcard, near the stand of Norman Holzaepfel.

A young lady feeding two horses is the subject of this undated photograph.

          

When a tornado struck Sandusky in 1924, Schlessman took a series of photographs that showed how much damage the tornado had caused to the Sandusky area. You can see that many buildings were reduced to rubble.

       

The National Guard can be seen near their supply area in this photo taken on June 28, 1924.

By 1934 Edward H. Schlessman had left Sandusky. A legal notice which appeared in the September 22, 1934 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal stated that his last known address had been in Detroit, Michigan, and his wife, Mrs. Josephine Schlessman, had filed for divorce. Though Edward Schlessman moved away from Sandusky, he left us with a better understanding of local life in our community. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to view over one hundred photographs taken by E. H. Schlessman.

Frank "Casey" Casserly

On December 29, 1890, Frank J. Casserly was born in Sandusky, Ohio, to Michael and Julia Casserly, who were both natives of Ireland. Frank Casserly was the manager of the Shamrocks baseball team in Sandusky in the 1910’s. The picture above is a portion of the 1914 championship team photo. Below is a postcard of the Shamrocks team, though Baldy Platt appears to be wearing a jersey from the Sandusky Tool Company team.

Front row: Walter Wendt, Whitey Metzgar, Manager Frank “Casey” Casserly, George Kimball and Elmer Brengardner

Back row: Butch Eckler, George Dahm, Walter Appel, Norm Troike, team secretary-treasurer, Alde Broderson, Gordon Osgood, Baldy Platt, and Roy Kerber

An article in the August 26, 1911 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal referred to Manager Casserly as “the Connie Mack of Sandusky.” In the 1930’s he managed the Eagles baseball team, and he coached area football teams as well. In the Spring of 1935, Frank Casserly was struck by an automobile, and was hospitalized for several weeks. The Eagles sponsored a benefit to help with his medical expenses. In the 1940’s and early 1950’s, he was a popular bartender at Stone’s Grill and Jax Bar on Columbus Avenue.

On November 20, 1954, Frank J. “Casey” Casserly died after a lengthy illness. At the time of his death he was secretary-treasurer of the Bartenders Local No. 804. He was past president of the Eagles Lodge. Mr. Casserly was survived by his wife Minnie, and two daughters, Nancy and Julia. Charles J. Andres Sons’ was in charge of funeral arrangements, and burial was at St. Joseph Cemetery.

It's Baseball Season!

Baseball has long been a popular sport in Sandusky. It was played by both the prisoners and the guards at Johnson’s Island Prison during the Civil War. The Bay City Baseball League was organized here in April 1868, while in March 1886 William J. Stoffel purchased several lots bordering Central Ave., Osborn and Prospect Streets to be fitted up as a baseball park. The streetcar line ran close to these grounds, so fans could come to the games from far and near. Here is a view of the Central Park ballfield around 1940:

The Detroit Tigers of the American League were the opposition for the Sandusky team when League Park opened at the corner of Columbus and Perkins Avenues on April 22, 1907; future Hall of Famer Ty Cobb played right field for the Tigers. An estimated crowd of 2200 fans were at the game that day. Herman Schleman’s “Sanduskys” were defeated 18 to 1 by the Detroit team. Herman Schleman later went on to manage the Telling Strollers in Cleveland.

Elmer Smith, a Sandusky native, hit the first grand slam home run in World Series history when he played for the Cleveland Indians in 1920. Other major league baseball players born in Sandusky are George “Jerry” Upp, Elmer Miller, and Alva “Al” Halt (pictured below, at around age 20, with the Sandusky BPOE Elks Team in 1910, four years before he entered the major leagues; unfortunately, although we know the names of the players, we do not know which person is which).

The Martins and Shamrocks were popular baseball teams in Sandusky in the 1910’s. (Below: the Shamrock baseball team, Sandusky city champions, 1912.)

Ernie Nimmons, an outstanding Sandusky High School athlete in the late 1940’s, played for the Indianapolis Clowns in 1952.

Baseball continues to be played in Sandusky in several area leagues, with youngsters as young as age five playing T-ball. To read more about baseball in Sandusky, you can view the sports pages from our local newspapers in the Archives Research Center.

Baseball on the beach at Cedar Point, date unknown.