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In the old days, baseball could be a game of trickery. So it was
when a smoky haze swept the diamond in Buffalo, New York. The
bases were loaded and two men were out, when the batter lofted a
fly ball toward Dalrymple in left. The agile outfielder made the
leaping "catch", preserving his team’s victory. Only
later was it revealed that the ball had actually cleared the
smoke-shrouded fence—and Dalrymple had replaced it with one
conveniently hidden in the blouse of his uniform. It was the
talk of the baseball world for years.
* * * * * * * * * *
Abner Frank Dalrymple was born on September 19, 1857 near
Gratiot, Wisconsin, the son of New York-born auctioneer Samuel
L. Dalrymple. By the early 1860s, the family had removed across
the State line, to Warren, Illinois. This growing community,
astride the tracks of the Illinois Central, was to nurture the
twin passions of young Abner— railroading and baseball.
Both of his future careers were to be rooted in Jo Daviess
County.
Abner attended the Warren grade school and took on odd jobs
to help support his family. He also joined the local baseball
team, immediately showing great promise as both a hitter and
fielder. At the tender age of 14, he was hired by the
Illinois Central as a substitute brakeman—not because of his
potential skill at this profession, but because the railroad had
organized a ball club in Amboy, Illinois. After three years, it
became apparent that Dalrymple’s own abilities as a baseball
player far eclipsed those of his fellow workers. He began
playing for more established teams in Freeport, Illinois and
Janesville and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. And while playing at the
latter place, Abner Dalrymple’s dream was realized—the major
leagues!
The National League, created in 1876, had a new member—the
Milwaukee Cream Citys—and in 1878 Abner Dalrymple became their
left fielder. And this, his rookie season, made him a star. He
was among the top ten players in the league in nine offensive
categories—and was credited with the 1878 batting crown,
hitting a robust .354. Called "the demon hitter of his
time", his performance resulted in a spirited bidding war,
as virtually every team sought his services for the 1879 season.
A $2,500 offer sent Dalrymple to the Chicago White Stockings—beginning
an association that would last an exciting eight years.
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A
young Abner as a Chicago White Stocking. |
Player/Manager Cap Anson’s White Stockings were to be the
team of the next decade, winning five National League pennants
in seven seasons (1880-82, 1885-86). And the club’s leadoff
hitter—the man to ignite their offense—was left fielder
Abner Dalrymple. Four times "Dal" paced the league in
at-bats. In 1880, he led in runs, hits and total bases, while
batting a splendid .330. In one game that year against
Worcester, Dalrymple and two of his teammates, normally all
left-handed batters, switched over to the right side—each
collecting a hit in a 4-0 triumph. In 1883, Dalrymple and Anson
(a future Hall of Famer) each collected five hits in a 31-7
demolition of Buffalo. In that game, the blistering White
Stockings collected a major league record fourteen doubles, four
by Dalrymple himself.
And "Dal" could hit for power. In 1884 Abner socked
22 home runs for a Chicago team that, thanks to a short right
field fence, totaled 140—a single season record that stood
until the 1927 Yankees hit 158. His 11 homers in 1885 led the
league. As Dalrymple continued to excel, his salary rose
accordingly. At his professional peak, the White Stockings paid
him the astronomical sum of $300 per month—an extraordinary
amount for the time. And he traveled the country with some
equally famous teammates—including Anson, the first player to
amass 3000 hits; and fellow outfielder, and speedy base stealer,
Billy Sunday, who would one day make a career of evangelism.
Abner Dalrymple had journeyed far from Warren, Illinois and
substitute railroad brakeman.
Following the 1886 season, when he hit a disappointing .233,
Dalrymple was sold to another team—the Pittsburgh Alleghenys.
It was written that "life never seemed the same to the old
crowd of rooters at Harrison and Loomis streets in
Chicago." In 1887, four images of the famous left fielder
appeared on tobacco trading cards advertising "Old Judge
Cigarettes" showing an athlete in the waning days of his
prime. Mainly due to illness, his batting average continued to
decline during his two year stint in Pittsburgh.
After years with Denver and Milwaukee of the Western
Association, "Dal" got his final chance in the big
leagues in 1891. The American Association had a new team, the
Milwaukee Brewers, a late season replacement for the departing
Cincinnati Porkers. And Abner immediately became the fan
favorite. In this, his farewell season, he hit an admirable
.311. His career had come full circle—beginning and ending in
Milwaukee.
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Trading
card of Abner as a member of the Pittsburgh Alleghenys. |
On January 24, 1892, Abner re-entered railroad service—becoming
a passenger conductor for the Northern Pacific line. But he
obtained a ninety day leave of absence each summer for four
seasons—finishing out his career in Spokane, Washington;
Macon, Georgia; Indianapolis and Evansville, Indiana. His last
appearance on the field, at the age of 50, was with a semi-pro
team in Grand Forks, North Dakota in 1907.
On September 20, 1926, Abner returned to his boyhood home of
Warren, Illinois to marry Mrs. Margaret Alderson Glasgow. The
bride had a "beautifully and artistically furnished"
bungalow there, where the couple spent the summer months prior
to Abner’s retirement from the Northern Pacific in 1928.
And on January 25, 1939, Abner Dalrymple died at his home in
Warren. He was buried in Elmwood Cemetery, within earshot of the
train whistles so inspiring during his youth. In September of
that year, a "unique marker" was placed on the grave.
The J.P. Vincent & Sons Monument Works of Galena had created
a granite stone, in the center of which is the image of a
left-handed batter. And the inscription includes: Chicago White
Stockings, 1879-1886.
Abner’s memory lives on. As does his team—now known as
the Chicago Cubs.
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