The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-10-28
DAD OF BASEBALL
ID. r. Evans, of Topeka, an Or
ganfzer Of the Athletics"
Santa Fe Man Headed Team
With AL Reach in 1861.
IN DEATH ACCIDENT.
Evans Collision With a Player
Result Fatally.
Took a Long Time to Interest
Public i'm Game.
IN DEATH ACCIDENT.

Topeka and the Santa Re railway
have a right to claim a part OF the
honor of the recent victory of the Phil
adelphia Athletics in defeating the
New York Giants for the world S
championship. d. r. Evans, 43l West
erR avenue, a bOOkkeeper in the ONCE
of E L. Copeland, secretary and treas
urer of the Santa Fe, is one of the or
ganizers of the first baseball teams in
PhiladeIphia=and possibly in the
United States. Evans with Al Reach,
who became famous as manufac-
turer of sporting supplies, assem- bled
a bunch of Phiiadelphians fifty years
ago this last summer, and they named
their team the Athletics.
Although the name Athletics" has
reached fame more recently IN league
circles. it has been upheld in Phila-
delphia since .. r. Evans and Al
Reach organized their baseball club a
half century ago Evans baseball ex-
Derience is a proof of the physical
value of athletics to a man. He is II
wears old now=not a hair is missing
in his head and the only wrinkles that
grace his eountenance are the signs of
good cheer-out from the eyes and
from the corners of the mouth
Has Lost Interest Now.
Evans is one of the veterans of the
Santa Fe He will be retired soon on
a pension following many years of
faithful service.
The originator of baseball in Phila-
delphia is not as enthusiastic over the
game as he was many years ago
s'I'n have to admit that I took
great interest in the game until they
started to play on sunday said Mr.
Evans 'sThen I decided that 1 would
forget it It is against my principles
to play baseball on Sunday guess
ID is an old fashioned idea, but it is one
OF the ideas that L viii carry to my
= ss1To,,- ms baseball accented AZ +ha+
time - was asked of Mr.. Evans. The
old nan-old in years but young in
spirit=picked q clog from his pen,
pushed one of his mammoth record
books to the top of his desk and an
swered:
1--WE had q hard time in Philadelphia
trying to make the game popular.
When our team was first organized we
played on a vacant lot on Broad street
south of Diamond street A big build
ing is located there now and the terri
tory is solid with skyscrapers.
I'VE laid out our diamond and start
ed the game. A few onlookers watch
ed for amusem ent-more out OF curl
osity than anything else. I don't re-
member the score of that first game.
J know that my biggest asset was in
running the bases-I was able to run
like a shot in those days But I do
know that we had an awful hard time
putting anybody out.
eve played all that year and finally
aroused interest in the city In those !
days everyone was playing shiny and
it was hard matter trying to divert
their attention to baseball We did NOT 1
erect any grandstands on our vacant
Iot-we allowed anyone to see fine
game free of charge
First Death in Baseball.
Evans remembers the first known I
death as a result OF a baseball game 1
Furthermore Evans was one of the in
nocen4 participants in the accident.
It was catcher in those days. said
Evans in one of our games on that
Broad street lot high fly had been
knocked just over my head One young
mani have forgotten is name now
was pitcher. We both ran for the ball.
The ball really was in my territory but
with our heads in the air and our eyes
on the ball we did not see each other.
I remember a Grassland a feeling of
sickness
81 didn't Anow anything until the
next day. was told then that we had
ru4. into each other with terrible force
and both had been knocked uncon-
Icious by the blow. The injury dazed